Spongebob was pretty great when I watched it growing up. Haven't really seen many episodes past the first film release though, so I can only assume its grown stale since the original creator passed away. Mr. Krabs is probably the best representation of a greedy, parasitic, small-business owner you could ask for. Along with this it's fairly obvious to even kids that Spongebob is incredibly naive and how he gets taken advantage of, such as when he tells Patrick how lucky he is for only having to pay Mr.Krabs $50/hr to work for him, as when he started he had to pay Mr.Krabs $100/hr. Or how ridiculous it is for Spongebob to be forced to take a vacation by Mr. Krabs, ironically due to the Fry Cook Union threatening to fine the Krusty Krab a nickel due to Spongebob accumulating too much vacation time. Then of course there are simpler episodes like the reef-blower episode in which Squidward builds up existential dread having gone to live in the suburbs with people who live just like him, only to find the ceaseless monotony and conformity as even worse than dealing with the chaos induced by Spongebob and Patrick.
Spongebob was pretty great when I watched it growing up. Haven't really seen many episodes past the first film release though, so I can only assume its grown stale since the original creator passed away. Mr. Krabs is probably the best representation of a greedy, parasitic, small-business owner you could ask for. Along with this it's fairly obvious to even kids that Spongebob is incredibly naive and how he gets taken advantage of, such as when he tells Patrick how lucky he is for only having to pay Mr.Krabs $50/hr to work for him, as when he started he had to pay Mr.Krabs $100/hr. Or how ridiculous it is for Spongebob to be forced to take a vacation by Mr. Krabs, ironically due to the Fry Cook Union threatening to fine the Krusty Krab a nickel due to Spongebob accumulating too much vacation time. Then of course there are simpler episodes like the reef-blower episode in which Squidward builds up existential dread having gone to live in the suburbs with people who live just like him, only to find the ceaseless monotony and conformity as even worse than dealing with the chaos induced by Spongebob and Patrick.