The Greatest Episode of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ Got an Incredible Makeover

The best episode of SpongeBob SquarePants is undeniably Season 3’s “Chocolate with Nuts.” This remains true, more than 21 years after its premiere; the 11-minute segment is a comedic tour de force. It’s also a prime example of how to take a simple premise and elevate it into something blissfully, unpredictably absurd. Such is the inimitable strength of SpongeBob, which has only become more off-the-wall over the course of its 24-year run. (Yes, I know, we’re all old; let’s move along.)

This episode finds SpongeBob and Patrick trying (and failing) to sell chocolate door-to-door, in the hopes of achieving “fancy living.” Thanks to hilariously escalating roadblocks—and their combined IQ of 40—the boys struggle to make back the money they spent on the chocolate in the first place.

The plot is really a means to an end, which is to give us great quips and weird character moments. “Chocolate with Nuts” has it all: It’s incredibly quotable (“Sweet, sweet chocolate—I always HATED IT;” “CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE!!!!!!”). It’s got Tom Kenny (SpongeBob) and Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick) giving top-notch vocal performances. There’s incredibly specific bit characters, like the guy whose intense love for chocolate sends him into a psychosis; an old woman and her even older, seemingly immortal mother; an incredibly talented scam artist, who cons SpongeBob and Patrick with incredibly obvious lies. And the sound design and animation are perfect, as is the case with all good SpongeBob episodes; the sound of the scammer’s “glass bones” (a lie!!!!) breaking, as he slowly slides down his stairs, is unforgettable.

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