Review: SpongeBob SquarePants- “Mustard O’ Mine”

Was this episode worth digging for?

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

When the Krusty Krab goes through a mustard shortage, Mr. Krabs sends out Spongebob, Patrick, and Squidward on a quest to dig up more within the “Mustard Mines” despite warnings about the location being “cursed”.

Our Take

So apparently in the bizarre universe of Spongebob, condiments for food aren’t made & purchased in factories but are found and dug-up in underground mines, much in the same way people dig for coal, diamonds, gold, etc. There were moments in the story where it felt like they were going to rip-off Scooby Doo at first with its plot-structure, but the most laughs I got involved a running joke with an escalator that must be seen to be believed.

There’s also a sense of urgency to get the mustard as it was in high-demand for the Krabby Patties, and given the randomness of the Cave and its scenery in combination with the dangers they somewhat encounter, everything in its own strange way works itself out despite things looking dangerous at one point.

The animation is very fluid and keeps things consistent during the proceedings, but the episode excels the most in terms of visual jokes and comedic setpieces in ways you wouldn’t expect even by Spongebob standards.

Overall, “Mustard O’ Mine” is a decent episode that slightly expands the Spongebob universe with the reveal of where they get their condiments from, with visual jokes that work in ways that play with viewers expectations and sometimes that’s a good thing.