SpongeBob SquarePants is a present that is stuffed with all types of tousled moments, however no episode is extra disturbing than “I Was a Teenage Gary.” This Halloween particular aired throughout the first season of the present, when audiences have been nonetheless determining what previous Sponge (Tom Kenny) and the gang would possibly rise up to from episode to episode. Fairly than carve out the present’s lighthearted sensibilities, “Teenage Gary” paints probably the most upsetting episodes of SpongeBob within the recreation. Whereas it is not the head-scratcher that’s “SB-129” and never as disgusting as “The Splinter,” this episode managed to discover a center floor. “I Was a Teenage Gary” is as pure of a monster story as we’ll ever get from this happy-go-lucky child’s present, coming straight out of an period when the sequence’ humorousness managed to trip the road between being for each youngsters and adults.

By the point SpongeBob SquarePants first aired in 1999, Nickelodeon was already a decade deep into its most bodacious age of animation ever. These reveals did not give a rip about what was an excessive amount of for youths to see, nor did they care about following within the footsteps of the watered-down, uninspired animated programming of the 80s. Certain, there have been good reveals like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers again within the day, however you would not ever discover reveals like these on Nick. There, you’d discover the slimy, hairball-covered present CatDog, the warped and fever-dreamy world of Rocko’s Fashionable Life, and absolutely the insanity of Ren and Stimpy. These reveals weren’t fairly South Park, however for a channel that was supposedly geared toward children, these reveals positively took common audiences’ senses of humor to the following degree. SpongeBob would ultimately assist lead Nick right into a extra kid-friendly course, however its first season stays deeply rooted within the channel’s methods of previous, and “I Was a Teenage Gary” is unquestionably proof of that.

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‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Ignored Halloween Particular

This Halloween particular was delivered because the second half of a larger package deal. Forward of “Teenage Gary,” audiences had their appetites whetted with “Scaredy Pants.” This episode wasn’t almost as off-putting because the one which adopted it. As a substitute, “Scaredy Pants” follows SpongeBob after being pushed round by the residents of Bikini Backside all all through early Halloween Evening, and with Patrick’s (Invoice Fagerbakke) assist, the little Sponge has determined that he’ll get everybody again with one good scare. Our boy has his head shaved right into a spherical form, crashes the Krusty Krab Halloween Social gathering in a Flying Dutchman outfit, and is ultimately met with the true ghost of the Flying Dutchman (Brian Doyle-Murray). It is revealed that SpongeBob had the whole lot of his head shaved all the way down to his mind, scaring off the Dutchman and everybody on the celebration. It isn’t a gross-out episode by any means, however the mind reveal appears like a bit a lot (in a great way) by fashionable SpongeBob requirements, and it has a enjoyable Halloween vibe all through. A stable episode from Spongebob‘s “Golden Period,” for certain, but when we need to speak about SpongeBob and horror, then the one to comply with positively takes the cake.

“I Was a Teenage Gary” Is the Most Disturbing Episode of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’

“I Was a Teenage Gary” is about as easy of an episode as you may think about. That is the one the place Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) has to observe Gary whereas SpongeBob goes out of city for the weekend for a jellyfishing conference. Squid is overjoyed by the chance, abandoning Gary instantly to go tan out in his entrance yard for the following few days. As soon as Sponge comes house, Squidward realizes that he hasn’t sorted Gary in any respect, who’s now all shriveled up and on dying’s door. Squidward and SpongeBob freak out and name a snail physician, who fingers off a shot of snail plasma to be given to Gary. Squid tries to provide it to Gary however misses, injecting it straight into SpongeBob’s nostril. Squidward assures SpongeBob that he’ll be wonderful, and Gary will get all higher after consuming a bit little bit of water. All is properly now… proper?

Later that night time, SpongeBob begins to crave Gary’s meals and even begins meowing a bit bit — one thing is clearly off. A second later, Sponge goes upstairs to his lavatory, the place he falsely tries to reassure himself, saying, “Have a look at me, by no means higher!” His voice echoes in his head with an eerie delay as he says so. Then, in one of many strangest scenes in your entire sequence, SpongeBob begins to morph right into a snail proper in entrance of our very eyes. Sponge’s physique begins to swell and return to regular, creaking just like the sounds of battered, wood floorboards. His eyes bulge up, then rocket out of his head by their optic nerves, standing up far above his head like Gary’s eyes do. Then, his physique forcibly leans him over onto all fours, the place his left arm shrivels up into his physique. Sponge tries to remain calm, saying “That is okay, I am a lefty anyway…!”, however he groans much more in order his legs recede into his decrease torso. In a single last disturbing contact, SpongeBob’s again rigidly contorts and raises up right into a shell-like pose, as he lastly exclaims “One thing is mistaken with meeeeee-OW.”

The snail transformation scene in “Teenage Gary” is without doubt one of the most out-of-left-field moments in your entire sequence. That stated, it strains up completely with a great deal of scenes in basic werewolf motion pictures. That horror subgenre is greatest recognized for its shaggy beasts, however they’re at all times their most enjoyable throughout their transformation scenes. And whereas this episode evokes many werewolf-isms by having SpongeBob be given a supernatural capability that he did not ask for, go into denial, then be met full-on together with his new state, the film that it harkens again to essentially the most is An American Werewolf in London.

“I Was a Teenage Gary” Pays Homage to Werewolf Motion pictures

If something, An American Werewolf in London and this SpongeBob episode line up essentially the most only for the way in which that their protagonists shape-shift in entrance of their audiences. In most werewolf motion pictures, the protagonist shortly modifications from one type to a different, however in American Werewolf and “Teenage Gary,” the processes are far more drawn out. We see each final inch of each characters’ our bodies as they go from one type to the opposite. Not solely that, they each happen in well-lit rooms, the place no elements of the transformation will be hid. Their modifications aren’t painless both. Each David Kessler’s (David Naughton) and SpongeBob’s monstrous developments deliver them heaps of shock and ache. American Werewolf‘s very matter-of-fact and elongated transformation scene makes it the best in your entire werewolf subgenre. As for “I Was a Teenage Gary”… properly, it is not the very best episode of SpongeBob, but it surely is essentially the most disturbing!

The episode goes out with Squidward tucking himself and his clarinet away for mattress, just for somebody to ring the doorbell. With out even trying, Squid is aware of who it’s and solutions the door utterly fed up. On the opposite facet is a very snailed-up SpongeBob, sending Squidward right into a panic. In a second of disbelief, he touches Sponge’s new snail eye, which reacts by shriveling up and slowly pulling again in in direction of his physique. By SpongeBob requirements, that is nasty! It’s very in keeping with a present like Ren and Stimpy, however SpongeBob‘s a complete different story. Squidward boards up his home as SpongeBob harasses him, meowing round each nook of his home. After working in all places, Squid’s home finally ends up flipping over onto itself in whole cartoony glory. Squid comes out of the wreckage with the snail plasma syringe caught in his nostril, modifications right into a snail off-screen, and meows in music together with SpongeBob and Gary to shut out the episode — however not with out taking a boot to the face from Patrick.

“I Was a Teenage Gary” won’t be the best episode of SpongeBob (shoot, it isn’t even the very best episode of Season 1), but it surely completely pushed the boundaries for the type of horror that you just would possibly present in a child’s cartoon. Whereas reveals like Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Darkish rode largely off of the environment and a common spooky tone, few reveals up till this level offered the kind of physique horror that is on show right here. I imply, that is like SpongeBob meets David Cronenberg. Its common downbeat tone and nasty transformation scene are most likely the explanations that it has not solely fallen out of an everyday re-rerun rotation but additionally hardly airs throughout the Halloween season. You’d suppose this one could be a staple round then! Hopefully “I Was a Teenage Gary” not solely will get extra air time round Halloween, however let’s hope that it additionally earns a higher status with followers as one of many wildest and most annoying episodes in all of SpongeBob SquarePants.