Yes, this is a movie website but I took on a special project to settle the question on EVERYONE'S mind....What is the funniest Spongebob Squarepants episode of all time?
I didn't think it would be a big deal because the episodes are only around 11 minutes long. What I didn't realize is how many episodes there were. I ended up watching 195 episodes over 3 months... much more of a commitment that I'd have guessed. Not that I'm complaining. It was amazing to watch the first 5 seasons and I laughed A LOT but wow... It took WAY more time that I estimated. Good thing that I'm The Overkill Killer of Comedy!
Each episode is scored as such: 1/2 point for a chuckle, 1 point for a laugh and 2 points for a belly laugh.
Here are the average scores per episode for each season:
Season 1 20.21 Points
Season 2 22.62 Points
Season 3 20.37 Points
Season 4 12.51 Points
Season 5 11.73 Points
I stopped at Season 5 because of the diminishing returns on my time as the scores continued to go down each year with a significant drop off in laughs after Season 3. Only two episodes from Season 4 and two episodes from Season 5 made the top 50 list. Interestingly, the creator (Hillenburg) wanted to end the series after Season 3.
Literally, 145 episodes did not make the top 50 including some that I really love. Here are a few of my personal favorites that surprisingly did not make the top 50 but are still worth watching:
The Suds 10.5 Points
Patty Hype (Pretty Patty’s) 13 Points
Hooky 13 Points
Ripped Pants 16.5 Points
Opposite Day 16.5 Points
Spongeguard on Duty 17.5 Points
Squidville 18 Points
The Graveyard Shift 18.5 Points
HERE ARE THE 50 EPISODES THAT SCORED THE HIGHEST
#50 Season 1 Squeaky Boots 19.5 Points
#49 Season 3 Club Spongebob (Magic Conch) 20.5 Points
#48 Season 2 Wet Painters 21.5 Points
#47 Season 2 Shoes Untied 23.5 Points
#46 Season 2 Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy III 24 Points
#45 Season 2 Grandma’s Kisses 24.5 Points
#44 Season 2 The Secret Box 25 Points
#43 Season 2 Welcome to the Chum Bucket 25 Points
#42 Season 1 Pizza Delivery 25 Points
#41 Season 1 The Chaperone 25.5 Points
#40 Season 1 Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy I 25.5 Points
#39 Season 1 Squidward’s Unfriendly Ghost 25.5 Points
#38 Season 2 Spongebob, Sandy, The (Alaskan) Bullworm 25.5 Points
#37 Season 5 The Inmates of Summer 25.5 Points
#36 Season 3 Camping Episode 26 Points
#35 Season 4 Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI (the movie) 26.5 Points
#34 Season 3 My Pretty Seahorse 27 Points
#33 Season 1 Jellyfish Jam 27 Points
#32 Season 2 Artist Unknown 27.5 Points
#31 Season 3 Nasty Patty 27.5 Points
#30 Season 3 The Algae’s Always Greener 28 Points
#29 Season 4 Krusty Towers 28 Points
#28 Season 2 Bubble Buddy 28.5 Points
#27 Season 1 Boating School 28.5 Points
#26 Season 3 Snowball Effect 29 Points
#25 Season 1 Hall Monitor 29 Points
#24 Season 3 One Krab’s Trash (Smitty Werbenjägermanjensen) 29 Points
#23 Season 2 Life of Crime 29.5 Points
#22 Season 3 Krusty Krab Training Video (POOP) 29.5 Points
#21 Season 2 The Fry Cook Games 29.5 Points
THE TOP 20 !!!!!
#20 Season 3 The Bully 29.5 Points
#19 Season 4 Wishing You Well 30 Points
#18 Season 2 Band Geeks 31 Points
#17 Season 2 Squid’s Day Off 31 Points
#16 Season 2 Mid-Life Crustacean 31.5 Points
#15 Season 2 I’m Your Biggest Fanatic (Kevin) 32 Points
#14 Season 3 No Weenies Allowed 32 Points
#13 Season 1 Naughty Nautical Neighbors 32 Points
#12 Season 1 Valentine’s Day 32.5 Points
#11 Season 1 Rock Bottom 32.5 Points
THE TOP 10
(Patrick and Spongebob are losing their minds with excited anticipation)!!!!!!!!!!
#10 Season 2 Shanghaied (Flying Dutchman) 34 Points
#9 Season 2 Dying for Pie 34.5 Points
#8 Season 1 Plankton 35.5 Points
#7 Season 1 MuscleBob BuffPants 36.5 Points
#6 Season 2 No Free Rides (extra credit) 39 Points
#5 Season 5 Spy Buddies 40 Points
#4 Season 2 Frankendoodle 40 Points
#3 Season 2 Survival of the Idiots (Sandy Hibernates) 42 Points
#2 Season 3 Chocolate with Nuts (CHOCOLATE!) 43.5 Points
#1 Season 2 SOMETHING SMELLS 50.5 Points
It's important to keep in my that these are the episodes that made ME laugh the most. If you don't agree with the list, I'd encourage you to watch and score them yourself - you'll be happy that you did! Again, I was surprised that some of my favorites didn't make the list. It doesn't mean that they aren't funny and again, I still love them as much as ever!
It's my hope that there's an episode or two on here that you're not familiar with, that you might want to watch and enjoy for yourself and maybe give you a new favorite!!! I'm hoping that someone can tell me what their favorite episodes in Seasons 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12.
This was a fun project and even though I'm slightly burnt out on Spongebob for a while, these cartoons will always be special for me and I continue to be a big fan.
Lastly, the average comedy (movie) is roughly 90 minute long. That's about 9 Spongebob episodes. If you combined the scores of the top 9 episodes, it would total a whopping 361.5 points, which would make it #1 on the list of the funniest movies of all time (by far - the current #1 movie on the list scored 198.5 points)!
[in Plankton's voice] "That Spongebob is a hoot!"
PS: If someone has an especially funny episode that they'd recommend after Season 5, I'd love to know about it (and watch it)!
