Jump to content
  • Advertisement

226b. Don't Feed the Clowns


Jinjo

Episode Rating  

16 members have voted

  1. 1. How would you rate this episode?

    • 5/5 Clowns: Go get 'em, little clown!
      0
    • 4/5 Clowns: We have to get you back to your clown friends!
      3
    • 3/5 Clowns: You shouldn't stay in a place where they push you around all the time!
      11
    • 2/5 Clowns: YOU ARE FIRED!
      2
    • 1/5 Clowns: Don't feed the clowns!
      0


Recommended Posts

QbHmNKb.png

Premieres: 

Monday, February 12th @ 6:15pm ET/PT

Encores:

Saturday, February 17th @ 9:45am ET/PT

Saturday, February 17th @ 5:45pm ET/PT

Plot:

When a small clown gets left behind by the circus, SpongeBob takes the hapless harlequin under his wing.

Clips:

N/A

Edited by jjsthekid
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was ok, but there are certain concepts that get dangerously close to not feeling like a Spongebob episode. (They've plagiarized a TTG idea or two lately lol). 

The clown (let's call him Flappy Bob) repeats "Spongebob, You're Fired" (although at least here the firings try to be different) and the issue of the clowns not being allowed to be fed quickly becomes irrelevant. Nice candy trough btw.

I think the circus boss with the fish whip could've sustained the episode. Literally the clown just kept running into other big men (and Puff) who yelled at him so it's not like we swapped out for much higher depth. Spongebob bonking himself on the head and the lump becoming a siren was a neat visual gag.

Patrick kind of disappeared (could've had him change his perception of clowns while rescuing the flock?) but I guess we didn't need to oversaturate the amount of clowns on-screen. That is, until the end, where suddenly deep in the kelp forest lies a clown utopia.....again quite the universe logic and also a confusing solution since Spongebob didn't stumble across it by accident and could've gone there first. The circus villain could've been taking free clowns from that sanctuary and that could drive some sort of plot moral/message (If the clowns are considered wild animals, was Flappy Bob even making money at the circus?). 

Hope my questioning nature addressed the elephant snails in the room. Grade: C

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I felt like this episode wasn't a bad episode; but it wasn't a GREAT episode, either! It was just sort of...there. They never explained WHY you weren't supposed to FEED the clowns in this episode! (Although, I actually DO like Hayden's concept on the whole thing, that clowns are treated like WILD animals in the "Spongebob Squarepants" universe, and NOT feeding them was probably the circus boss's way of trying to control the clowns and make them behave). And maybe Spongebob didn't JUST always know about the wild clown sanctuary; he could've probably found out about it while the clown was doing his different jobs. I wish we had gotten more of a moral message with this episode; but as such, I can only give this episode an 80/100. Enough said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was alright overall. I don't have any strong feelings towards it. It was a harmless episode with couple of decent gags but nothing really amazing or interesting happens. It was weird that Patrick disappeared from the episode like that and some of the slapstick was just eh. At least the clown got a happy ending I suppose. Not Mr. Lawrence's best work of this new era for sure.

Grade: B-

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I have no real strong feelings to this one either. The gags were okay I guess, but not much really stood out. I thought the first half was alright for what it's worth. I liked how SpongeBob did help the clown out of there, and actually did care for him. My only problem is, I feel the second half of the episode is...kind of aimless? There's not really much that happens other than the repetitive firings, which just made me think "Clown, You're Fired!" should've been the title. It felt like they really didn't know how to continue the episode, and the whole clown forest thing just felt like it came out of left field because of it. I think perhaps if they did a classic "let's save someone/something from the circus" story then this episode might've been more interesting. And yeah, Patrick randomly vanishing was weird. Overall, not bad, but they could've done something a bit more engaging, especially for the second half. Just a middle of the road episode to me.

Grade: C+

Edited by jjsthekid
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This episode was just alright. I liked it better when SpongeBob was afraid of clowns, though apparently that traits went to Patrick now. I wasn't really fond of the little clown (maybe that's just my own dislike of clowns talking). Like everyone said, the rest of the episode being the little clown repeatedly being fired from jobs felt like "SpongeBob, You're fired" all over again (still like that episode btw) only less creative. The ending just came out of nowhere. If there was a clown paradise this whole time, why didn't SpongeBob just take him there in the first place? He apparently knew about it. I kinda wish Patrick's warning of clowns biting your legs off came true. It would've been a great gag to end off and maybe a reason why you shouldn't feed the clowns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally written: February 19th, 2018

Don't Feed the Clowns is a very odd episode. Again, like an episode that came out almost a year ago (Krusty Katering), for some very odd reason, I just get Disney vibes from this episode. It feels like you're regular ol' Mickey Mouse cartoon, with the every man (Mickey/SpongeBob) feeling compassion for some kind of underdog creature, tries to help it out, if causes chaos, eventually takes it to where it's belong, they live happily ever after. It's a standard layout, yet I can't help feel this overall odd vibe from this episode. It certainly doesn't feel like a SpongeBob episode, more like SpongeBob's been transported into some other universe, or something like that. So you're telling me clowns are their own species in Bikini Bottom? That's a creative idea, but just...weird...

I don't know, at least it's a better execution that a...*ahem* certain other weird introduction in Season 11...

SnjvMeUl.png

 

Even though I hate this episode, I will never not love this image.

Anyway, Don't Feed the Clowns is such an odd episode, yet it kind of makes sense. Making clowns their own species in this episode is kind of brilliant. Okay, it's not..."brilliant", it's a word that I feel kind of sums up this situation, but it's as cleverly thought out to be described as being "brilliant". I'd say it's...kind of genius in a way, since clowns aren't fish...they're humans...but they're their own species...?

Somehow in it'd odd way, the overall conception of making clowns their own species in this series opens up the door to plenty of possibilities, without having to deal with the confusion of retcons. 

imageforums.php?img=RPKscdGaOiFeQKeI9ILk

 

Okay, well, not as many retcons as there would be had this entire "Separate species" detail was left out.

As for the conflict itself, it's definitely not that original. In fact, when you look at it closer, it's kind of like Big Pink Loser. Only all the special traits found in that episode (The comedic timing, the brilliant pacing, the heartfelt moments) are all out the door. The plot's execution is...entertaining to say the least. It's not groundbreaking, or anything, but it certainly isn't that boring. It's kind of structured in three separate parts, the set-up of SpongeBob and the clown (Which I think was perfectly handled, slowly building SpongeBob's overall impression of the clown, while he, himself stays true to his character), the different jobs SpongeBob and the Clown try out (Which definitely have some funny gags thrown in these sequences), and finally SpongeBob's ultimate exception of the clown's fate.

Yeah, it's premise is similar to that of Big Pink Loser, but the execution of this episode's conflict certainly strays it away from matching Big Pink Loser's overall execution. I didn't mind this episode's execution that much, each scene seems to bring in something new and entertaining. The only scene I didn't care for was the hot dog scene, and even then I admired the unique design of the vendor. 

Surprisingly, for an episode starring a clown the slapstick doesn't really go willy-nilly. In fact, it only seems to pop up when necessary, and actually is a necessary plot device to keep it chugging along.

There are actually some pretty clever jokes in this episode, I especially loved the pie gags with the different flavors. And the animation, holy crap, the "DON'T FEED THE CLOWNS!" animation is some of the best I've ever seen in this series. While the pacing may be a little sluggish at times, I personally feel as though this episode features some fairly amusing sequences. In general, the comedy isn't too grand, but it definitely has it's moments. There aren't really any jokes that bomb in this episode, either. I also gotta add, the ending where we see the Clown Prairie was hilarious.

As for the characters, I definitely give Mr. Lawrence props for making the clown silent. I don't know, the effect of the character's silence definitely allows his actions to build up his personality, a good general characterization I must admit. It kind of makes the clown more likable in a sense, I definitely found myself rooting for the clown at some points in the episode, even if that clown kept screwing up, he didn't seem to be that annoying of a character. SpongeBob, as he is in pretty much all Post-Prequel episodes, is spot on in this episodes. His desire to help the underdog, his caring and compassionate attitude all perfectly makes him a grand protagonist. In general, the two definitely work well together as main characters.

Overall, this episode is a Good Episode. It definitely has some flaws, but it's still a harmless and entertaining episode. It has it's clever moments here and there, with some likable characters thrown in. It's nowhere near a Great episode, but it definitely is much better than some of the episodes in recent time.

I give it a 7.4/10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After There's a Sponge in my Soup came out and had great humor based around hippies, I was hoping this episode would do the same but about clowns. However.... I was disappointed. There wasn'r much humor here, the story isn't very exciting or special here. This causes the episode to be very forgettable and boring. However, it does still have great visuals (like any other season 11 episode though), and I do honestly like the little clown character. I'll give this a 5.5/10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...