How Accurate Is The Spongebob Squarepants Movie To The Odyssey?

[00:00:00]Hey everybody, time for a different change of pace. So, if you don't know, Christopher Nolan is releasing a new movie being a modern adaptation of the famous Greek epic, The Odyssey, and it's been getting a lot of buzz and hype around it, but I won't be seeing it by my personal vendetta against Nolan. If you've been on my channel long enough, you'll know, not anything by the movie itself. So, instead, I'll go watch my personal favorite Odyssey adaptation.

[00:00:27]>> Yes, seriously. Now, it has been said before, but the Spongebob Squarepants movie has been credited to being a retelling of the Odyssey. And it seems wild to say, how can this movie be a retelling of the Odyssey? It's too random and silly. It's freaking Spongebob. But actually, there are direct references to the epic anyone can see. I mean, it's about an epic quest to travel across the ocean and come back home. They encounter numerous sea monsters. They receive a magic bag of winds and of course, a huge scene where they get captured and nearly killed by a giant cyclops. But I think it goes more than that. I think practically every single part of this movie correlates to the Greek epic. Yes, really. Every single part of this movie connects to the Odyssey in one way or another. Don't believe me? I'll show you. I'm going to go through the entire [music] Spongebob movie and show how accurate it is to the Greek Odyssey. After all, I love Spongebob and Greek mythology, so this is really perfect. Don't say that I never taught you guys anything on this channel. Also, can you telegraph into Epic the Musical?

[00:01:23]>> We [music] must sail through dangerous oceans and beaches. I'll go where Poseidon WON'T REACH US. THEN I'LL BECOME THE MONSTER. [music] >> NOW, before I start, small tangent, but you know, this isn't the only time Spongebob has mixed with ancient Greek myth. You know, the Class of Trident special, horrible. It's boring, unfunny, and a waste of time. But the Class of Trident Flash game is great. It's a beat him up where Trident now released takes over Bikini Bottom, destroys the locations, and the citizens join his army with chaos everywhere. as Neptune gives Spongebob the spatula of the gods from that one episode who have the power to stop his son's rampage and Spongebob's friends now transform into ancient Greek monsters. It is so wild, but it is so good. I haven't seen ancient Greek apocalypse done before, but I need more of it. It's surprisingly atmospheric.

[00:02:11][music] >> [music] >> I just want to shout out because I want to give it more attention. This deserves a big fan. Like the designs alone. But yeah, since this is a story about Greek myth, I will need to explain the epic as I go along and talk about the Spongebob movie connects to it so you have the proper context. Also, for footage, I will rely on animatics mostly from epic the musical to visually show a lot of the scenes. But I will of course put an on-creen credit for the amazing animators that worked on them. But first, we have to start how both of these stories began in tie with each other with the start of the journey.

[00:02:49]Now, the Odyssey starts right after the Trojan War, but that was a whole other thing. It's literally the previous book in the Iliad and I cannot summarize it in a timely way. So, long story short, so this guy Paris was the prince of Troy who was owed a by Aphrodite to have the most beautiful wife in the world.

[00:03:03]However, this was Helen of Sparta who was married to Kingman Alas as she was kidnapped and then created a 10-year war between Troy and Greece. However, the war was ended by Odysius, the king of the island. Ithaca who was a master tactician and devised the famous Trojan horse to get behind the walls and destroy the city and kill a baby.

[00:03:18]However, despite being clamored as one of the greatest heroes of the war, Odysius seeks to return home to his beautiful wife Penelopey and his infant son Telamachus, which he hasn't seen for 10 years and the word denied him the opportunity to live with as he sails with 600 of his men back to Ithaca, not knowing of his doomed journey. But admittedly, the start of the movie is where the story resembles the Odyssey the least. After all, it is before the actual plot kicks off and it's still just setting up the Spongebob we know as it transitions to the Odyssey story before the actual conflict starts.

[00:03:46]However, we start to see it take shape as Spongebob is obviously a standin for Odysius. Like Odysius, he's an accomplished person as well as being the star employee of the Krusty Krab and fantasizes about being a local hero.

[00:03:56]However, he's crush when he was denied becoming the manager of the Krusty Krab 2 as he was deemed too immature for a big responsibility. So, we can start to see where the two heroes arcs begin to intersect. However, the stories do truly start to parallel each other at the next part, the fruit of forgetfulness. After leaving Troy after fighting some of the Trojan's allies, they stop at an island to resupply for their journey. This being the island of the lotus eaters.

[00:04:18]However, the local tribe are actually friendly, practically hippies, who do nothing but laz about and eat the sweet lotus that grows on the island. However, three of his men eat the fruit when offered by the tribe and forget all about wanting to go home and their journey and want to keep lazing and stay on the island. Realizing the danger this possessed, Odysius forces men back on the ship to keep sailing. This is also where the term Lotus Eater comes from, by the way. Now, the island of the Lotus Eaters does have a direct parallel in the Spongebob movie. Goofy goobers.

[00:04:45]Don't laugh. I'm being serious.

[00:04:47]Completely serious here. Patrick, who represents Odysius's crew in the allegory, takes the disheveled and depressed Spongebob after his humiliation earlier that day to take his mind off the events and get him ice cream to make him feel better. However, the ice cream is so good that the two keep constantly eating it, completely forgetting about their problems and ambitions to just eat [music] more and losing their grip on reality just as the crew ate the Lotus did. You may laugh, but it's literally one to one, even in the placement in the story. The only real difference between the stories is that Odysius didn't eat the lotus himself. Now, if you think that's still a stretch, the next connection is completely undeniable. The Cyclops.

[00:05:20]>> The Cyclops. [screaming] >> Now, this is actually a shakeup, as in the Odyssey, the encounter with the Cyclops is a true catalyst of the story.

[00:05:26]While in Spongebob, it's near the end.

[00:05:28]It makes sense for the movie since the Cyclops is arguably the most iconic and memorable part of the epic. So, them saving it for the climax makes sense.

[00:05:34]And even still, the consequences of this part makes sense in the time frame in both, as I'll explain. Landing in a mysterious island, Odysius and his crew once again go to resupply and find a cave of sheep and food. However, this cave was home to a massive cyclops, Polyphimmis, who closes the cave with a massive boulder. Odysius begs for hospitality as Polyphimas refuses and devours two men to eat before sleeping.

[00:05:56]Decided to make all the men in the cave his food. Odysius [music] knows he can't kill the Cyclops as only he can move the boulder. But he does take his sheep out of the cave to graze but make sure the men don't escape. This continues for two more days as four more of Odysius's men are eaten. As Odysius finally gets a plan, getting Polyphimis drunk with wine, he says he will give Odysius a gift and asks for his name. Odysius says his name is nobody. as Polyphimis before falling asleep says his gift is that he will eat him last. Odysius then gets his men to sharpen a massive wooden stick to a pike and then stab Polyphimis' eyes out. He screams in pain as this attracts other cyclopses that live on the island by the cave. They ask what happened through the door as he yells, "Nobody has blinded me. Nobody is killing me."

[00:06:38]As the other cyclopses figure he's just being a drama queen and abandon him, Polyphimmas needs to let his sheep out to feed and tries to use his hands to sense the sheep to make sure the men can't escape. as Odysius orders his men to use their belts to hang under the sheep as they're let out as they flee the ship with the blinded Polyphimis in pursuit. And yeah, this is one of the most direct references to the epic the movie has. Like literally, they invoke the same name of the Greek monster for it and it's acted the same way, even if it's a deep sea diver in live action. To the crew, it's a monstrous horror. They stumble across the Cyclops completely accidentally as it grabs them and takes them to their layer, Shell City, as it holds dozens of other trap sea creatures and they cannot escape it. Hell, they even try to escape the fishbowl he puts them in, but can't. Only by the Cyclops hands as they're sentenced to an inevitable death and turned into consumables. Well, okay, not the same type of consumables, but close enough.

[00:07:26]And how was he defeated? When all of his captives joined together and firstly blind him to incapacitate him as the heroes escape the layer, everything about the Spongebob movie Cyclops directly invokes the Odyssey, making it a pretty undeniable comparison. However, even though as I said the movie to skip ahead in the Odyssey's timeline, the effect of the Cyclops in the narrative is practically the same with the wrath of the sea god. So, as Odysius and his crew flee the island, Odysius actually calls out to the blinded Polyphimis that his name is not nobody but Odysius, the king of Ithaca. Now, if you've just heard the story through Epic, they reframe it as Odysius trying to make sure Polyphimas remembers his name after his atrocities against his men. But in the original myth, it was pure hubris.

[00:08:07]The great tactician Odysius once again outsmarting his foe against all odds and rubs it in his face. This was the biggest mistake of his life. Polyphimis screams through the sky to his father, the sea god Poseidon, to take revenge on Adysius to make sure he will never reach his home of Ithaca. But if he is faded to, then he will return very late to a changed homeland with all of his men dead. as now the journey is doomed and Odysius has to take on the daunting odds before him to get back to his wife, son, and home as Poseidon himself would ensure the journey would be near impossible. Also, another thing to epic fans that Poseidon doesn't actually appear himself in the story, just his powers. This is another thing that Spongebob movie does near exactly as Planton plans to enact Plan Z to steal the crown of King Neptune and give it to the Cyclops and frame Mr. Krabs for it.

[00:08:56]The Cyclops directly incurs the wrath of the sea god by his actions and kickstarts a true conflict as Neptune full of wrath tries to kill Crabs.

[00:09:04]Spongebob arrives and could have stood up for him potentially sparing the conflict of the movie. But no, Spongebob still drunk of ice cream lets his spike get the better of him as in an act of hubris berates Mr. Krabs after denying him the job he wanted and then cements Neptune's wrath. as the only way to save him, Spunzo has to take on the quest to go across the sea to recover the crown and return back on a mission that even he knows is doomed. Also, another call back could be that Neptune originally would give Spongebob up 10 days, which could correlate to the 10-year journey of the Odyssey until Patrick reduced it to six. Also, instead, the person they're questing for is Mr. Krabs to save him from Neptune's wrath. So, Mr. Krabs is a stand-in for Penelope, the person both heroes are trying to save.

[00:09:44]So in both the actions of the Cyclops incurred the wrath of the god of the seas who forced their heroes into an epic quest to return home against all odds. Again the link is there. Another direct reference to the Odyssey that is undeniable is the bag of winds. A short aides but to show their cursed fate. The crew lands on the island of Aolia where the king Alas gives them a gift a magical bag of wind which would ensure they would be able to return safely to Ithaca quickly and Odysius used some of its power to blow them to the island.

[00:10:12]However, just as it was in eyesight, the crew thought the bag had treasure and opened it completely, unleashing all the winds, which was so powerful it blew them right back to Alia, still unable to get home. And in the Spongebob movie, the bag of winds was directly referenced as it was given to Spongebob and Patrick by Princess Mindy. Now, Mindy is a standin for the goddess Athena, the goddess of wisdom who helped Adysius through his journey. In the book, Athena provides much divine intervention and wisdom to help Adysius complete his quest. As Mindy does so too, giving them advice, emotional support, and a few items so that they can save the day.

[00:10:43]Instead of King Aololis, she gives them the bag of wind with the same purpose as a way to quickly return home. However, due to Patrick's who represents the crew ineptitude, they use the bag incorrectly and waste it and strands them with no hope again. You see, the movie actively does reference and play out key aspects of the Odyssey. Well, you can't deny this isn't a reference, but it's to a potential connection. The attack of the giants.

[00:11:04]>> You were in [music] compliance. If I had to guess, you're headed to the land of the giants.

[00:11:09]>> The next part of the Odyssey involves the crew once again lost at sea by the bag of winds and Poseidon's curse. Then landing at Telephos, they leave the harbor with the ships to investigate the rocky landscape and cliffs until they suddenly encounter the inhabitants, the lace draggonian giants. These colossal cannibalistic monsters chased Odysius and his crew back to the harbor as they desperately tried to flee the island.

[00:11:30]However, the giants ambushed them on the cliffs, hurling massive boulders at the ship, sinking them and killing the crews as they destroyed 11 of the 12 ships with Odysius's crew as the last remaining men being the only ones to escape. This is by far the biggest proportion of the story's body count by one encounter, and it's caused by Poly Demonus' curse. Also, if you've only seen Epic, they cut the giants and estimate that Poseidon himself took most of the ships in revenge for Polyphimas with Odysius barely escaping with the bag of winds, which was made to streamline the narrative more. Besidon never actually appears himself in the story. Now, it doesn't seem like this part of the story has a parallel, but I think it does, even if it's loose. I think the Lace Regonian giants are the thug tug bikers. These bikers are huge, burly, threatening, and monstrous and somewhat deformed. as Spongebob and Patrick as soon as they encounter one get mudded and have to retrieve the patty wagon from them. Symbolically like the Odyssey where the giants deprive Adysius of his vehicles and only barely manage to make an escape as the thugs want to beat the crap out of the two and anyone else who's a baby. Again, it's loose. Probably the loosest connection in the video. But I still think a horde of threatening giants who take the hero's vehicles does still make it a narrative parallel. However, the next part I'm actually going to invert as this part of the Spongebob movie arguably has multiple parallels to the Odyssey. So, I'm going to bring up the Spongebob scene first and then bring up the multiple parallels with the maneing monsters. In the Spongebob movie with the Patty Wagon, the two travel through a valley of fish skeletons until being lured by an inexplicable ice cream stand. Ignoring the obvious danger, Spunzo walks through the corpses of the fish to gain ice cream for him and Patrick. However, the ice cream lady wasn't real as it's just the tongue of a monstrous frog fish. And yes, it is a frog fish, not an angler fish. Go to the wiki. Spongebob is only barely able to escape the monster's jaws, being saved by Patrick in the nick of time as they speed away as fast as they can from the sea monster's pursuit until they're ultimately forced to abandon the car by the cliff's edge as the monster runs to devour the patty wagon before being eaten by a bigger monster to the two shock of barely surviving the encounter.

[00:13:26][music] So, I think this scene here parallels three different moments in the Odyssey. Cersei, the Sirens, and Sila.

[00:13:33]Chronologically, after fleeing from the giants, Odysius's crew went to the island of Aya, which unbeknownst to them is the home of the powerful Greek sorceress, Cersei. His men find her as she offers them food and shelter.

[00:13:45]However, the food was cursed as his men were turned to pigs by her magic. To save them from the eventual slaughter, Odysius tries to fight her in a doomed battle, but actually receives divine intervention by Hermes, who by the way is his godly ancestor. He gives a mystical herb, Moly, which makes Odysius invulnerable to Cersei's magic, allowing him to easily defeat her. Actually, this also could be another parallel, as Mindy, another deity, gives it two seaweed mustaches that protected them from the dangers of the trench. More on that later. And I guess after the boss fight, Cersei was just recruited to the party, restored his men, and they literally just hung out on the island for a year and banged. Yeah, Epic's a big liar. He cheated multiple times on his wife. So yeah, though not a sea monster, Cersei, just like the fish, tempted the two with a woman with food just to then nearly turn into food themselves. And this one is a bit chronologically separate, but one of the other most iconic moments is the encounter with the sirens. Sirens, even though mythologically they're more heartbeat like than mermaid, famously lur sailors through their death with their singing, so they sink, drown, and devour the bodies. Odicius was warned about the sirens in his path, however, and ordered his men to cover their ears with beeswax to be immune to the song.

[00:14:49]But Odysius's curiosity to hear the song, he orders his men to time through the mass until they get out of earshot, which thankfully works. The frogfish is also basically a siren. It lurs people to their death to devour them, but this time with food. Also, possibly the fact that Spongebob, who is Odysius, was the one to take the bait and was saved by Patrick, could represent Odysius needing his crew to save him from the song. And lastly, Sila, one of the most famous sea monsters from the Greek myth. They are paired with the other sea monster, Caribus. Percy Jackson fans know what's up. These two monsters take up two sides of the oceanic path. Correctus is a living whirlpool that sucks in water and ships and spit them out to be eaten.

[00:15:26]While Sila is a female monster with the upper half of a human woman, but a bottom comprising of dogheaded eel creatures. One of the weirdest monster designs, but it makes a good epic animatic. Cersei gave them advice on what to do. That it was better to sacrifice six men to Sila than risk everyone with Cherus as he unfortunately did what she said. Yeah, Abig was actually very close there, but there was an immunity after. And yeah, a freaking crazy nearly unbeatable sea monster.

[00:15:50]That's pretty much the frogfish. Also, maybe unintentional, but the frogfish does have an upper body of a woman with its fake tongue concealing a monstrous body underneath. Also, in a similar case, the two cannot fight the monster, but instead flee from it, ultimately needing a sacrifice to stop, that being the patty wagon. So yeah, the frog fist was kind of a fusion of all these parts of the Odyssey, which honestly makes sense for a movie based on the story, but it just combined these similar encounters to one big monster scene. I also need to stop here for what's going back in Ithaca, as Odysius's time away isn't just in a bubble. And yes, this also is directly paralleling with the Spongebob movie. Ever since the Trojan War ended and Odysius and his men never coming home, it has been presumed that he had died at sea. That means that Queen Penelope is technically available to marry, even if she is against it and thinks her husband is still alive. Their son Telamachus is also growing up 10 since the Trojan War ending and about 15 or so by this part of the story.

[00:16:40]However, unfortunately, this attracts a bunch of men want to marry Penelopey dressed as a beautiful woman as a wife in the power of Ithaca as the 108 suitors just storming like they own the place and treat the palace in Ithaca pretty much like a bunch of frat boys.

[00:16:52]This is mostly led by the head suitor in a way, Antennius, who's basically the main villain of the Ithaca plot, being arrogant, selfless, and the overall worst guy ever. Calamachus is the only guy trying to protect his mom from them and has been doing so ever since they got here. Eventually, Antonius devises the plot to assassinate him and this builds up until the end of the journey.

[00:17:10]Now, there are parallels to the Spongebob movie as at this point Mindy does tell them what happened at home. If Mr. Krabs is Penelopey, then Plankton is Antinius. Plankinius, just like him, he sees crabs vulnerable and invades his home to his own gain, ransacking it and taking the formula for his own plans, eventually using it to sell Krabby Patties to the whole town and then using his buck as a turn to a hoorde of slaves. The chum bucket slaves represent the 108 suitors, following Antennius and doing their part of destroying Bikini Bottom, which is a standin for Ithaca until it's unrecognizable. The loose part is Squidward, who at best represents Telmachus. Like his counterpart, Squidward is the only one who can somewhat stop him as Planet is made aware of that and tries to get him out of the equation. However, unlike the myth, Plankton was very successful in ending him. The only thing that doesn't have a parallel to the epic is Dennis.

[00:17:58]There is no assassin to get Odysius by Ithaca, unless you count Poseidon himself, which already has a parallel in King Neptune, or possibly if you just want to count's actual assassination plot to Plankton hiring a bounty hunter to assassinate them. So, that was just added to give the movie extra stakes and make Plankton more proactive. However, this is the next part of the Odyssey, the journey through the underworld.

[00:18:18]Cersei helps Odysius in finding a way back to Ithaca in avoiding the threats of the ocean and Poseidon. However, he needs the help of the prophet Theresius, who's dead. Cersei, however, knows how to get to the underworld and how to get out as well and communicate with the spirits of the dead to get Theresius's help. There, Adysius meets many characters. A lot of them is former war allies who fell in battle like Achilles, Agamemon, and Ajax. And some of his crew died in the journey, though a lot of these are just depressing. Most of all being that he found out his mom died too of grief when he never made it back home from war. Harsh. However, he does find Teresus who gives them exactly what they need. How to avoid the wrath of Poseidon. How to avoid the sea monsters like the sirens in their path. What's going on in Ithaca? And most importantly, do not harm the sacred cattle of Helios on the way. This part is kind of the narrative retrospection and foreshadowing part as it moves along. And I believe in the Spongebob movie, the trench is the underworld. I mean, look at it. It's a deep chasm of darkness and fog filled with unknown danger where you literally have no hope of getting out alive. Even the story basically describes it the same way.

[00:19:19]Even before then, like the myth, Mindy tells it to what happened at Bikini Bottom. Now they need to finish their quest just like what Teresa said. And also, if the frog faces Cersei, it did lead them directly to the trench.

[00:19:30]However, thanks to Mindy, they're given the confidence they can survive and like the story manag to meet their friends.

[00:19:36]That being the horrible monsters in the trench that take a shiny to them and even verbally say that they have become their friends and assist them in their quest.

[00:19:42]>> WE CAN'T BO THEM AT THE MEN. THEY HAVE BECOME OUR FRIENDS >> and prove right.

[00:19:49]>> Tambony will say you're like someday.

[00:19:51]>> Just like the myth, the inhabitants ultimately are their allies who help them. However, just like the underworld, they cannot leave the trench. Granted, in the movie, they just left after Spongebob accidentally insulted them.

[00:20:01]Honestly, I feel it's another clear parallel. Now, at this point, the Cyclops and Spongebob would happen. But, as I said, the original myth had it the catalyst for the whole quest, so I've already covered it. However, it also intersects with the next part of the original story, the wrath of the sun god. With Teresius's advice, Odysius and his crew avoid the sirens and survive Sila. The only thing left is the island of Thrassacia, which has Helios, his sacred cattle. Odysius warns his men to not harm them at all. However, the supplies have gotten so low, his men are starving. So, one crewman, Urilicus, and yes, epic fans are probably surprised I haven't mentioned him so far since he's so important there, but he's literally irrelevant until now, defies Odysius's orders and kills one of the cattle to eat. This immediately enra the sun god, who demands Zeus take retribution on Odysius and his crewmen or the sun will never shine again. And as they flee his wrath on the ship, Zeus carries out the punishment, destroying Odysius's ship with a lightning bolt, killing everyone but Odysius, spared by fate and fulfilling Polyphimis' curse. And another epic change, Zeus did not give Vicious a choice. He just did it himself. He's the last man alive. And in the Spongebob movie, there's a similar case. The Cyclops, like Zeus, also puts them to death, but not by a thunderbolt, as the two are executed by the heat lamp to dehydrate them. The heat lamp is Helios, the entity that sentence Odysius and his crew to death. The heat lamp, while not called the sun, the lamp does have a ton of sun imagery with its circular shape and intense heat and dehydrating the two until they die. And like the myth, it is pretty much death.

[00:21:31]They even say when revived that they're alive, being the closest the two have to legitimately dying in the movie, just as the sun was the closest Odicius got to death. A smaller parallel, but it's still there. However, the next part is maybe the most surprising, the escape from the island. In the epic, Odysius drifting into the ocean on chunks of his ship, eventually lands on Oigia, the island of Calypso. The island is a paradise as Calypso, the immortal nymph, falls in love with Odysius and wants to make him live on the island forever as her husband. And despite having figuratively everything a man would want, Odysius can only think about his actual wife and son without him and to return home. And unfortunately, he was trapped on the island for several years until Athena actually petitioned to the Olympians for the sake of Odysius and his son Telamachis, who was in danger of the suda's plot. Eventually agreeing, Zeus sends Hermes to retrieve them and tell Calypso she has to let him go. Then with the raft and supplies, Odysius makes his way back to Ithaca kind of.

[00:22:26]First, he arrives to the land of the Phoenicians and for once is actually given proper hospitality and tells the king and queen his story, which is technically the framing device for the story, but I streamlined it for the video. They're so impressed and sympathetic with the gauntlet he's been through that they personally give Odysius a proper ship to make it back to Ithaca. And surprisingly, he makes it home, but it's not the home he knew.

[00:22:46]Now, in the Spongebob movie, it seems that there's not a parallel, but arguably there is. After escaping the Cyclops, the two are trapped on the shore of the beach with no way to get back home to Bikini Bottom, just as Odysius was trapped on the island of Calypso. They lost the bag of winds and have no possible way to escape until divine intervention. I can take you there.

[00:23:05]>> That's right. I believe David Hasselhoff is the god Hermes. Wow, that is the wildest thing I've ever said on this channel. But it makes sense. Just as Hermes saved Odysius from the island, David Hasseloff is a deosex machina.

[00:23:18]literally the term originating from divine intervention to save the two and take them back home quickly despite them not actively being involved in the plot.

[00:23:25]It makes perfect sense. However, they cut the Phoenetians probably for the sake of streamlining the story and just have David take them the bikini bottom personally. And to the last part of the Odyssey, trouble on the home front.

[00:23:36]Odysius finally makes it back home after a grueling [music] 20 years since he left, defying all odds. But he can't just go back to his palace and retake his throne. His home is now enemy territory. [music] and Antonius and the 100 day suitors have ravaged the land and taken it over. Luckily, Athena is here to help as with their magic, he disguises Odysius as an old beggar so he can walk around Ithaca without raising attention. There reaches out with his former friends, gets roughed up by the suitors to prove they're irredeemable, and finally unites with Helamachis, who is now a 20-year-old man. They work together to make a plan to get rid of all the intruders. as Penelopey gives in and give the suitors an impossible challenge using her husband's long bow to shoot an arrow through 12 ax heads.

[00:24:14]And none of the suitors are even capable of stringing the bow. But Odysius, still in disguise, asks to try which the suitors allow just to see him fail and probably make them feel better until he effortlessly does so as Athena takes the opportunity to let him or removes the disguise to show the true king of Ithaca has returned. And now it's time for vengeance. Odysius and Telmachus have previously hidden all the suitors weapons as Odysius with a long bow uses his arrow to slaughter all 18 of the suitors starting [music] with Antonyus and removes the invaders from his home one by one and at long last finally finally reunites with his love Penelope after so long as everything wraps up.

[00:24:53]Well, also after Athena goes through all the families of the suitors and tell them not to take revenge as it was divinely orchestrated because god this guy deserves a break after all he went through. And this is very similar to the way the Spongebob movie ends. Bikini Bottom was Ithaca as the two suddenly arrive at their home which is unrecognizable by the destruction of the invaders and luckily did just in time the foil plains assassination attempt just as Antineas did eventually having a confrontation in Odysius's palace which in this case is the Krusty Krab where they are surrounded by their enemies.

[00:25:20]However, Spongebob as Odysius did manages to use his unique skill to save the day. The spirit of being a kid and the goofy goober rock manifesting as a guitar. And like Odysius uses his weapon to smite the enemies around him with energy bolts like his arrows to slay the suitors and free Bikini Bottom from the slave helmets, eliminating all of them and following Plankton's plan at the cusp of victory. As Spongebob proven his own determination, emotional maturity, and accomplishments to truly earn his happy ending, he passed the test and finished the quest for the crown.

[00:25:50]>> Manager, this is the greatest DAY OF MY [screaming] LIFE.

[00:25:54]>> NOW, before I go, if this was all intentional, I want to talk a bit on the movie's themes. So, the Odyssey has many themes: hospitality, loyalty, but I want to talk about determination and perseverance. Odysius was put through absolute hell to get his happy ending.

[00:26:07]He fought for 10 years in a brutal war he was drafted into and got stuck in a divine punishment for another 10, wandering across the ocean, fighting gods, monsters, and other threats and losing all of his companions and fought until the end to get home. A lesser man would have fallen by death or giving up, but Odysius fought back again and again and won. It's why the book has become an actual term being used for a long perilous journey that changes the man at the end of it. And Spongebob had to show his own determination and perseverance.

[00:26:34]He was publicly humiliated from his dream that he wasn't emotionally mature enough to have a responsibility to suddenly being thrusted to an unbeatable task to venture across a sea of danger that no one thinks he can handle. And though he struggles, though he's challenged and barely survives again and again, he keeps going by his own perseverance, help from his friends, and loyalty to those who had no faith in him. And in the end, he succeeded, not despite of who he is, but because of what he is and showed everyone he had what it took the entire time and also fully earned his happy ending. Cuz I did what everyone said a kid couldn't do. I made it to Shell City and I beat the Cyclops and I rode the Hasselhoff and I brought the crown back.

[00:27:15]>> Now, it does beg the question after everything I've said, was the movie intensely made to be a retelling of the Odyssey? And the answer is somewhat.

[00:27:24]Now, yeah, it feels weird after everything I've said, but the thing is there is no direct acknowledgement from the creators that the movie is supposed to be a retelling of the story. At least that's something I can find. You can argue some of these points or stretches are just coincidental and it wasn't intended to be a complete retelling. I even said they mess with the timeline of the story. After all, the Odyssey is a big influence on the archetypical hero's journey, which is what the Spunzo movie is doing. Though it is a stretch to say that this movie was 100% intentional to be a retelling or an adaptation.

[00:27:52]However, I do think it's undeniably influenced by the story. They do directly reference elements of the story with the Cyclops and Bag of Winds with the entire story being about avoidance across the ocean and back home by the wrath of the Greek gods. So, while I can't say it's intended to be a onetoone allegory, I do think for sure it was the primary inspiration, especially with how many things lined up. After all, for the big movie for Spongebob, the biggest narrative that needs weight and emotional substance to carry it, why not base it around one of the most famous epics of all time? You can apply so many of the trials of Adysius to Spongebob and see how they handle it. Include their own sea monsters takes on the Greek gods in a sea spinning adventure.

[00:28:28]It really fit perfectly. And I'm going to say it. I think the Odyssey influence is what makes this movie so great. Now we have what feels like too many Spongebob movies. They've lost the magic and impact of the first when it feels that most are just made to make more money. But the first Spunzo movie still stands out as a genuinely great movie that feels like the best thing the franchise gave us because it gave Spongebob importance. It took this silly comedy show with absurd characters and put them in a serious plot that tested their resolves and characters again and again and see how they emerge from it.

[00:28:58]It shows Spongebob's true character challenged by his perceived immaturity and prove that immaturity is a thing that makes him a hero. His friendship is put to the test with Patrick never abandoning him through the end. Planting gain to by far his best and most effective in bile plan and it resonated with audiences and is still remembered today. I can't imagine what this movie would be like without the Odyssey influence because the combination some managed to work perfectly and in a way makes it one of the most unorthodox and yet brilliant adaptations of the thousand-year-old epic. Christopher Nolan, good luck because you got some big shoes to fill. [music] And honestly, I hope this enlightened a lot of people on the depths of the Spongebob movies allegory and even just more of the Odyssey in general if you haven't read it and helps you to appreciate more of it. This video was a lot more experimental than I usually do. So, so I don't know how it's going to do, but tell me if you enjoyed it. So, before I go, just remember guys, stay goofy.

[00:29:47]Goodbye.