175. It's A SpongeBob Christmas!

Pugs4Thugs said:
Oh, the memories. I for sure remember this episode premiering, and I remember it clearly. How could I not? It was the first episode to be completely stop-motion, and didn’t it premiere on CBS or something like that? Also, this episode used a song that had been out for years, “Don’t Be A Jerk (It’s Christmas)”, which is a song I remember very well because of that one lego animation for it, which was apparently the winner of a contest? Super cool. I also remember that song because of the line “don’t screen my calls”. When I was younger I remember not knowing what that meant, so I had to ask my parents lol. But anyway, obviously there’s a lot of things working in this episode’s favor for being memorable. And of course, on top of everything else, this episode is a Christmas special! The first in a decade! And so it’s part of my Christmas marathon the same way “Christmas Who?” is, so I have a pretty good memory for it.

Before I get into anything, I just wanna take some time to appreciate the production on this episode. The stop-motion looks so, so cool, and I love it for a SpongeBob product. Honestly if we could get a whole spin-off that uses this kind of animation, you would not see me complaining at all. Also I like how the Jerktonium makes everyone grow a 5 o’clock shadow lol. This episode is also the second in the entire series to use a 16:9 format, something we won’t be seeing regularly until season 9, which is coming up very fast. And lastly, I wanted to say that the theme song for this episode is cute, I love the Christmas theming to it. I also like the songs in this episode, and I don’t really feel like going into each and every one of them, so just know that I like them lol.

As always, I’ll split up talking about the Patchy segments vs. talking about the rest of the episode. It’s been so long since we’ve seen Patchy (since “Truth or Square”!), so it was really nice to see him here. The Patchy segments here are, as per usual, very entertaining. I also love how they made his segments stop-motion too, he looks so funny in that style. And it’s cool to see him in a different place than Encino lol. I just love how unhinged Patchy is here—too funny! And of course, it’s always fun to see his misfortune lolol, especially when it’s so self-inflicted as it is here.

Switching things over to SpongeBob’s portion of the episode, I like the plot here. Having Plankton be the villain here was a good choice, considering his near lack of appearance in the previous Christmas special. And his plan here is so delightfully juvenile, given how he complains about receiving coal every Christmas.

As for the characters in this episode, SpongeBob is simply great. His endless cheer and optimism is something that I already adore, as I’m sure I’ve made very, very clear by now, and in this episode it’s even better because of that Christmas spirit. SpongeBob’s interactions with other characters in this episode is great as well. He’s the perfect opposite to Plankton, which calls to mind some of their best dynamics like in “Walking Small”. And I just love how impervious he is to any kind of insult to his being, not to mention he’s completely unable to be a jerk. That’s my SpongeBob!

As for our supporting cast, I think everyone else in this episode is just hilarious. Like I said, Plankton is just a great antagonist here, he’s very fun to watch and that helps drive the plot of this episode. Sandy, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward all play very limited roles here, but I love them too. Even the Bikini Bottomites are great in this episode, which given how frequently they’ve been depicted annoyingly, is super exciting for me. Santa too, he’s also great, and has some really good one-liners too.

I keep using this word, but let me just go ahead and say it: This episode is hilarious. Especially when it comes to the jerk behavior of everyone once they get doused with some Jerktonium. It’s just too funny. Also the entire part with Sandy and SpongeBob where SpongeBob just keeps being like “uh-huh” literally has me rolling every time I see it. This is everything I like to see out of this character and this show, honestly.

And yes, I know I should probably address the elephant in the room. Do I like this special more than “Christmas Who?”. That’s actually a really hard question. And please ignore my scores in this determination, as I’ve noticed that my scores have inflated a little bit over time lol (just by like… .3 or so, maybe). But anyway, I think I like these episodes in different ways. I adore the visuals of this episode, and the story is a lot more fun. And I appreciate Sandy’s more substantial appearance. But “Christmas Who?” had more emotional impact, and was more wholesome too. So I love both, perhaps equally, perhaps not. But it doesn’t really matter to me, as these are both Amazing-tier episodes, and that’s that on that.

Episode Tier: Amazing
Episode Score: 9.4/10
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one of the best episodes of post movie, i love the vibe of this one, it doesnt feel like any era it feels like its own thing and i love that
 
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I often find myself coming back to this one. It was an enjoyable special, and I really love the direction of making this a stop-motion special. 10/10.
 
(Maybe it's a little too early to be reviewing a Christmas episode...)

This episode is an absolute delight! It's one of my favorite episodes of the show. The stop motion was a great idea and really makes this special stand out! And the stop motion is done very well! The episode would not have been nearly as good or memorable without it. The special is also very funny and entertaining. It's also full of Christmas spirit and really gets you in the mood for the holidays. The scene with the song at the end is amazing as well! The song is Don't Be a Jerk, It's Christmas, which was created years before. The classic song is put to good use here. This scene is the highlight of the special for me. I think "Christmas Who" is also a great episode, but I personally prefer "It's a SpongeBob Christmas" a little more. Overall, this is a fantastic Christmas special with some unique and charming animation for the series, while also being really entertaining and bursting with Christmas spirit!
 
Man I know I'm late for reviewing this in February but this episode slaps like HARD like SUPER HARD this is one of the best episodes of season 8 and one of the best episodes of the show I wish I could put this in my top 21 best pre sequel episodes which I couldn't put any specials and thats sad but aside from that THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT sure its not the funniest episode but everything else is great it has nice animation song's that SLAP and everything that I think which in Christmas who failed Christmas who doesn't feel very Christmas like and squidward doesn't get his stuff back and has a weird ending but this episode is GREAT like A LEVER OF GREAT
19/10
Rank: S tier (Would want to put it higher)
 
Christmas Who Wishes It Was This Good This Episode Ranks Among My Top 10
  1. It's A Spongebob Christmas! (15/10)
  2. Frozen Face Off (10/10)
  3. Ghoul Fools (10/10)
  4. Planet Of The Jellyfish (10/10)
  5. The Krabby Patty That Ate Bikini Bottom (10/10)
  6. A Squarepants Family Vacation (10/10)
  7. Mooncation (10/10)
  8. Mermaid Man Begins (10/10)
  9. The Hot Shot (10/10)
  10. Are You Happy Now? (9.5/10)
  11. Oral Report (9.5/10)
  12. Drive Thru (9.5/10)
  13. Treats! (9.5/10)
  14. Plankton's Good Eye (9/10)
  15. A Friendly Game (8.5/10)
  16. The Way Of The Sponge (8/10)
  17. InSPONGEiac (8/10)
  18. Home Sweet Rubble (8/10)
  19. Walking The Plankton (8/10)
  20. Squidward's School For Grown Ups (8/10)
  21. Sweet And Sour Squid (7.5/10)
  22. Sentimental Sponge (7/10)
  23. Accidents Will Happen (6.5/10)
  24. Glove World R.I.P (6/10)
  25. The Other Patty (6/10)
  26. Free Samples (5.5/10)
  27. Bubble Troubles (4.5/10)
  28. Fiasco! (4/10)
  29. Barnacle Face (3.5/10)
  30. Squiditis (3.5/10)
  31. For Here Or To Go (3.5/10)
  32. Karen 2.0 (3.5/10)
  33. Mr Krabs Takes A Vacation (3.5/10)
  34. Bubble Buddy Returns (3/10)
  35. Demolition Doofus (2/10)
  36. Restraining Spongebob (2/10)
  37. The Googly Artiste (1.5/10)
  38. Patrick's Staycation (1.5/10)
  39. Smoothe Jazz At Bikini Bottom (1/10)
  40. House Sittin For Sandy (1/10)
  41. Pet Sitter Pat (0/10)
  42. Face Freeze! (-9999999/10)
 
Web Surfer said:
Guys, should we delete the filler comments above? Not only is it wasting space, but I don't want anyone in the future to see those comments.
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You're not gonna believe this bro but I got something to tell you
 
SpongebobMaster said:
Man I know I'm late for reviewing this in February but this episode slaps like HARD like SUPER HARD this is one of the best episodes of season 8 and one of the best episodes of the show I wish I could put this in my top 21 best pre sequel episodes which I couldn't put any specials and thats sad but aside from that THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT sure its not the funniest episode but everything else is great it has nice animation song's that SLAP and everything that I think which in Christmas who failed Christmas who doesn't feel very Christmas like and squidward doesn't get his stuff back and has a weird ending but this episode is GREAT like A LEVER OF GREAT
19/10
Rank: S tier (Would want to put it higher)
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I think I should make a more in-depth review of why I love this so much
 
"It's A SpongeBob Christmas!" is one of the few season 8 episodes that are memorable for a good reason and not a bad one. While I prefer "Christmas Who?" over "It's A SpongeBob Christmas!" this episode is still a delightful watch. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and it's entertaining enough to keep you watching thru the entire episode and most jokes land (which is a rarity among season 8 episodes). Finally, the song "Don't be a Jerk (It's Christmas)" is very catchy and surely will get stuck in your head.

9.6/10
 
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