Rhombus Rota

SpongeBob SquarePants has just started its 16th season and, per my review of the season opener, the main show is still performing great. In order to change things up though, the show received spin-offs a few years ago with the hope of reaching new audiences. 

One such spin-off is Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, which is a CG animated show releasing in 2021, serving as a prequel to the main series. It sees SpongeBob and friends at summer camp getting up to mischief and all that.

To get this part out of the way: wasn’t the creator of SpongeBob, the late Stephen Hillenburg, against spin-offs? In truth, we have conflicted sources and opinions that I won’t go into. The gist is Stephen allegedly said “they’re going to want to make SpongeBob Babies. That’s when I’m out of here.” However, showrunner, Vincent Waller, tweeted that Stephen knew the show was in development.

Does that mean Stephen was happy it existed? Did he change his mind? Who knows.

I’ll be reviewing the show for what it is, and asking the question: is it any good? Let’s find out!

Story

You may remember The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which featured cute, but awkward, flashback sequences to SpongeBob’s life at summer camp. They felt out of place in the movie and it’s clear they were serving to promote this TV show. Another rocky start for Kamp Koral before it even premiered! 

This is where the story of the TV series is then, set about a year after those flashbacks in the third movie, continuing those camping adventures. That year allows for a voice change for our main cast, who are now played by their voice actors from the main show. A nice touch to keep things familiar but, as we’ll delve into, doesn’t help this SpongeBob feel much different to what he’ll grow into.

Despite the movie’s very corporate feel, this show has a lot of heart put into it still, and is a genuinely refreshing take on the universe. It has a new theme song which is actually quite catchy, and the CG animation certainly sets this apart from the main show.

The camp environment also allows for different situations, with your usual camp tropes like a camp art contest, the adults getting some time away from the kids, and a hunt for a camp mascot.

We got some new characters too, such as Narlene, Nobby, Nurse Helga, and Lady Upturn who are highlights. Narlene and Nobby have been controversial in the fanbase, but I genuinely think they are solid characters and add some nice ‘silliness’ to an era where our characters are younger.

Meanwhile, the character dynamics are also different. Craig Mammalton, Kevin C. Cucumber and Kidferatu (genius name for a younger Nosferatu) return from the main show, in recurring roles which was a lot of fun. We get to see the nerdy side of Bubble Bass and Kevin, and it was hilarious seeing a real-life Dungeons and Dragons game play out with campers in “Lords of the Larp”!

Seeing Squidward literally being the adult in the room, in charge of SpongeBob and Patrick, was more refreshing than you’d think. Sandy is also elevated to series regular, appearing in most episodes…

Wait. Didn’t SpongeBob meet Sandy years later in “Tea at the Treedome”? 

Yes yes, this show does interesting things with continuity. We have new questions around how Mr. Krabs and Plankton first met, and even SpongeBob and Patrick. Despite the crew’s attempts to cover the continuity cracks, most notably in an on-the-nose-but-hilarious Sandy explanation, they’ve been quite open with not taking canon too seriously. This isn’t a huge bother to me, and I’m sure we can have an Avengers: Endgame alternate timeline situation.

But importantly, breaking continuity has given more freedom for creative storylines right? Well, yes and no.

For as many new storylines and characters there are here, boy did I get some deja vu watching some of these episodes. They felt very familiar, with SpongeBob and Patrick dressing up as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. SpongeBob and Sandy do some karate. Campers wanting to pop Bubble Buddy (which they’ll want to do again decades later).

Alas, this made the series lack some identity at times, feeling like more of the main show. Regardless, there were many really strong storylines and characters introduced, which made some really standout episodes unique to this show.

Visuals

SpongeBob has been experimenting with CG since the second movie, Sponge Out of Water, and it’s been a staple of subsequent movies too with Sponge on the Run, Saving Bikini Bottom, and Plankton the Movie. I assume this is an attempt to change up the franchise, make it more cinematic and eye-popping.

Kamp Koral continues this trend, becoming the first SpongeBob TV show to be fully animated in CG. This is a great choice honestly, as it helps make the show feel like an extension of the flashbacks from the third movie.

In terms of quality, it is a somewhat mixed bag. Many fans like to point to the screenshot below, showing SpongeBob and friends and a brightly lit Jelly Meadow, with low texture grass and sky.

I agree this doesn’t look that impressive, and can make the show look cheap. Indeed, this continues a bit with the backgrounds in general, which are often static, I assume to save animation costs. The lighting on the show is also inconsistent, with some scenes appearing quite dark, and character models having quite harsh shadows.

There is a lot of good to be had here though. The character models are well textured, and a lot of interior scenes especially are really detailed and well lit. The show is also beautifully animated in general. It captures the 2D animation style brilliantly, feeling very fluid and suitably cartoony. For those who don’t like the super exaggerated movement of the main series of late, this tones it back a bit which works great.

While I criticised how the show didn’t do enough to differentiate itself from the main show, it’s a big compliment that, despite being 3D, the show still feels like SpongeBob, and the characters and world come across really well.

Legacy

Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years is a very controversial show, but I’d argue it’s very important for the future of the franchise. As I said in my blog about the evolution of SpongeBob, if Paramount wants to keep the franchise going, they will need to change things up.

This spin-off introduced new characters, storylines, and lore which creates new story opportunities for the franchise. The main show has brought in these characters many times, and we got a special episode in “Kreepaway Kamp” where SpongeBob and crew had a reunion at Kamp Koral. Patrick’s dad from The Patrick Star Show also visited camp in a really fun episode.

The SpongeBob universe suddenly feels larger, with some really cool synergy which rewards long-time fans for watching, and keeps the show feeling fresh. Kamp Koral played a big role in that, and The Patrick Star Show is keeping it going.

Beyond that, the show is a solid, fun time. There are some stand-out episodes here and all-in-all, it looks a lot better I think than people say. It’s a short series at 39 episodes over two seasons, so not too daunting a commitment if you’re unsure. There’s a lot of love clearly put into it – even if the series’ existence felt corporate – and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Chris.