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Before he lived in a pineapple under the sea, SpongeBob Squarepants was a camper at Kamp Koral. Paramount+'s new prequel series details the early years of SpongeBob and friends, and in the process, changed some of the things fans may have known from their days watching the original series.
As a fair warning to anyone about to dive in, there will be spoilers for the first 6 episodes of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years. With that out of the way, let's dive into this 3D animated prequel, and peel back some of the interesting tidbits we've already had confirmed or suggested by this Paramount+ series.
SpongeBob Was Not Always A Master Of Jellyfishing
If there's one thing SpongeBob SquarePants was adamant about in its early seasons, it's that SpongeBob has mastered the art of jellyfishing. The way he swung that net, I always assumed he was some sort of prodigy, especially since SpongeBob has a limited number of things he's really good at. Jellyfishing is one of the activities SpongeBob does really well, even if it's not a highly valued activity.
Imagine my surprise, then, when Kamp Koral revealed that SpongeBob struggled to catch a Jellyfish when it seemed so easy for the rest of his friends at camp. Even Patrick, who has struggled a great deal to accomplish simple tasks on SpongeBob SquarePants over the years, had little to no trouble catching one. I did appreciate this adventure was the first episode of Kamp Koral, as the Paramount+ series very quickly established that there are still many things fans can learn about SpongeBob SquarePants.
Squidward Is A Bit Older Than SpongeBob, Patrick, And Sandy
There's been past evidence and speculation that Squidward Tentacles is the elder of SpongeBob SquarePants, and Kamp Koral strengthened that argument and suggested he's older than Sandy Cheeks and Patrick Star as well. The Paramount+ series showed SpongeBob, Sandy, and Patrick as young campers, while Squidward as their slightly older-looking camp counselor. Given the usual dynamic between campers and counselors, it wouldn't be crazy to believe he's a few years older or whatever that equivalent would be in an aquatic world.
While Squidward appeared to be older than SpongeBob, he's still not old enough to be of equal standing among the Kamp Koral staff. Mr. Krabs, Plankton, and Mrs. Puff are all among the elder staff, and clearly older than Squidward and the campers. Oddly enough Larry The Lobster is also a camp counselor alongside Squidward, so this may confirm they're around the same age as well. Granted, this is a fictional universe and I'm using the typical camp dynamics of humans to base all this, but given the SpongeBob SquarePants series has lightly hinted Squidward is SpongeBob's elder, I'm willing to put more weight on that with this additional evidence.
SpongeBob Created The Krabby Patty Formula
SpongeBob SquarePants has toyed with the story of the Krabby Patty and its formula for years, and Kamp Koral made that whole story a bit more convoluted in the episode "Kitchen Sponge." SpongeBob was taken on by Plankton to help serve the campers food, and while it initially seemed like a big mistake, SpongeBob was revealed to be a wonderful chef. He eventually created a wonderful patty burger that became all the rage at the camp. Plankton tried the patty and suddenly realized he needed to steal the formula for himself for world domination.
Unfortunately, the recipe was destroyed when the only copy of it burned up in Sandy's invention. SpongeBob forgot the recipe, and life went back to normal on the Paramount+ series. Well, that was until young Sandy pulled out a device and communicated with her future self. It turned out young Sandy deliberately had the formula destroyed at the request of her future self, in order to preserve the timeline. Kamp Koral didn't explain what would've happened had the Krabby Patty been discovered well ahead of its original discovery, though Sandy's involvement could mean something bad could've happened.
There Are Hillbilly Narwhals Who Make Candy Moonshine
There are a lot of familiar faces in Paramount+'s Kamp Koral, but two distinctly new ones appear early on who are quite the trip. SpongeBob SquarePants and friends met Narlene Narwhal and her little brother Nobby in "Sugar-Squeeze!", which is named after what can best be described as candy moonshine. These local yokels put all the campers' candy in a machine and gave them the purest breakdown of it free of charge. SpongeBob and friends were thrilled, and soon bouncing off the walls back at camp.
Later in the episode, it's revealed Narlene and Nobby are deceptive hucksters. The two loaded the campers up on sugar only to charge Mr. Krabs to use a device that would settle them back down. Definitely a pretty clever gambit on their end, and I have to wonder if the two will continue to run similar schemes on Kamp Koral as the show continues.
Even With A Bed, Patrick Sleeps The Weirdest Way
Patrick Star is an enigma. SpongeBob SquarePants fans accept this and that there's oftentimes little reason why he does things the way he does. For example, why has Patrick slept on the underside of his rock when he has a fully-furnished home? Fans have even seen Patrick use the bed, so it's strange that he also occasionally sleeps on what would be the equivalent of his dwelling's ceiling.
Perhaps the answer will come on Kamp Koral, where the Paramount+ series revealed Patrick is up to old tricks. Though he shared a bunk with SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick slept on the underside of his best buddy's mattress, leaving the bed below intended for him untouched. Again, I'm not sure why this is a recurring thing when we know Patrick has used a normal bed, so I'd love for Kamp Koral to address this at some point in its run. I know there's no making sense of Patrick Star, but for the sake of my sanity, I need this to make sense. If not here, then at least on his spinoff!
Kamp Koral's first batch of episodes are currently available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription. Let us know what you think of the series by participating in our poll, and whether you think the prequel series is worthy of the SpongeBob SquarePants name.
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