I Was a Teenage Gary - Dark Toons 

What else would you like to see on a future episode of Dark Toons? Watch more Dark Toons here - bit.ly/DarkToons​​​​ Watch more Nostalgia Critic here - bit.ly/NCPlayList​​​​ Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome​​​​

"Oh, how touching! I'm gonna go home and throw up!" That's probably one of Squidward's most underrated lines!

As a kid this was genuinely terrifying. Seeing him slowly lose conscience and turning into a monster-ish being. The kid version of The Fly.

Best line and funniest part of the episode: “what’s a Gary?”

I really like how, even though you weren't exactly thrilled to be talking about this episode, you still put a lot of effort into analyzing it. That's dedication.

As a kid, seeing Patrick throw a shoe at a Squidward Snail and shouting “will you clam up?” was the peak of comedy

For me, it was absolutely the transformation. Having a character like Spongebob go from “I’m fine!” To “you’re right, Gary! Something is wrong with ME-ow!” was legitimately terrifying. The way his body bends during the transformation too, just ugh.

This really freaked me out as a kid. I felt there was a strong psychological torture element to Squidward being chased by Spongebob, because not only is he dealing with the guilt of both starving Gary and deforming Spongebob, but he also is being stalked by a brain dead Spongebob snail that apparently feels no pain, has no emotional fluctuation, and cannot be barricaded out. And then Squidward turns into a snail and it just ends. I got the impression that neither of them really had any sentience left in them since they were acting like cats/snails meowing on the fence. The two of them are basically dead, and all that’s left are their shells that are content with being snails, and Patrick doesn’t even recognize them.

When SpongeBob is looking in the window, I always took that as him begging for help and as a kid that scared me.

Oh great choice. Not only was this a spooky episode but this was after the Halloween special. Yes!

When I saw this as a kid (when I was like 8) I didn't find it "scary" but it was definitely disturbing and uncomfortable. Way stranger than the rest of the episodes, which is why I think it was so memorable. Plus when you're a child you can grow true empathy with cartoon characters and seeing such an optimistic character be in so much pain definitely left an impact.

The ending to the episode was hilarious to me with Patrick throwing a shoe at snail Squidward XD

The part that scared me the most as a kid was the window part, the fact that SpongeBob was just crying for help but lacking the ability to form words freaked me out.

Another Spongebob episode, that's kind of dark, is _Graveyard Shift_ . It's very atmospheric, and a lot of fun.

The part that freaked me out the most was definitely, like he said, that we didn’t we see him change back.

6:18 "That's okay, I'm a lefty anyway." Hasn't anyone ever noticed that SpongeBob's LEFT arm falls off when he says that?

As one who was subjected to this episode when i was young enough for it to leave an impact, it was scary. Not scary in the "scream your face off" sort of way, but psychologically. The idea that spongebob and squidward could be mutated into a different creature without consent mixed with the lack of resolution. There is no magic cure-all for the problem within the episode, you just have to assume it is temporary. The problem with that assumption is the extended transformation sequence and the "suggested" mental changes. It is much harder to accept that they could just magically regrow their limbs for the most part, and the desire to eat snail food and the degradation of language into only "meow"-s makes it much harder to believe they would actively seek treatment or get magically reversed if they did get treatment. The final factor has to do with the ending. MAYBE spongebob could be fixed without issue (we have seen him eat his arms in the late night shift episode for a joke), but look at the final fate of squidward. That is not a deformed squid body, that is a legitimate snail body and shell; that is far harder to explain away without direct conformation of the cure-all via its usage. It is an episode that just gets darker and scarier the more you think about it. Of course you dont see it: you havent thought about the episode enough for the true weight to sink in. The younger the audience, the more active the imagination, and the process of considering the implications begins during the transformation for younger audiences. Older audiences have to actively think about it. Since the episode is an example of psycological horror, the younger you see it, the longer you have to think about the implications. I also am not a huge fan of the horror genre to begin with (i wont actively seek them out unless it is october and i am in a halloween mood), so it is likely even worse for people who have grown up to learn more about the horrors of the mind though the genre.

People transforming into completely different creatures against their will has always really creeped me out. So seeing spongebob turn into a snail really disturbes me.

The Graveyard Shift is another episode of Spongebob that has creepy atmosphere.

It definitely disturbed me as kid with the fact that they don't turn back. There's just this nebulous substance in a needle that can horrifically alter your body and mind. They don't even get injected with it, nobody pulls the plunger, they just pricked and that's it. There's just a timeline that exists in which they turned into snails with no acknowledgement of going back.

The scariest part of the episode for me when I was a kid was when Spongebob was looking in the mirror and every time he talked, there was a creepy echo that followed. That creeped me out when I was a kid but the episode that scared me the most was “Graveyard Shift”

It's the body horror thing for me. When Spongebob is meowing at Squidward, my mind always goes to the idea that he's calling for help, but he physically can't speak anymore. That fucks me up...

The creep factor of this cartoon is very reminiscent of a TWILIGHT ZONE episode, in which Squidward must pay for his cruelty and flawed character with the same punishment as shared with his very own victims.

Is no one going to mention how he says "I'm a lefty anyway." WHEN HIS LEFT ARM GALLS OFF!?!?

Check out Graveyard Shift from SpongeBob if you want another dark episode.

So THAT'S why Gary hates Squidward so much. He almost died because of Squid's negligence, and Gary wants payback.

“Im a lefty anyway.” But the left arm fell off

This was the episode with the controversial wipe transition. (Kinda like the ones you'd see in Star Wars or Rugrats) Many people speculated and made theories about a deleted scene of Squidward turning into a snail. It brought a lot of questions because people wondered why this only scene had a wipe transitions instead of the traditional bubble transtion used in the rest of the other scenes from all Spongebob episodes.

“I usually don’t quote Batman Forever, but...that just raises too many questions” Yes, yes it does

"I'm a lefty anyway." He says as his left arm disappeared.

Gary: *Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow.* Spongebob: *Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow.* Squidward: *Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow.*

I was ten when this episode first aired, and it found it both hilarious and creepy. Uncontrollable transformations in TV or movies always leave an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Ah yes, I was a Teenage Gary: *SPONGEBOB'S ONE OF THE MOST FCKED UP EPISODES IN THE EARLY SEASON*

The thing about this episode that fucked me up as a kid was primarily the transformation shit. Spongebob does body horror? And they drag it out for several minutes? Nooooo thank you!

Can you actually do a Nostalgia Critic on The Spongebob Squarepants Movie when Terminator Month is over please?

Hey Doug, I have said this before, the way you talk about cartoons in such detail, it gives me a new found respect for cartoons, like going back and watching them and paying attention to the details like angle shorts, the backgrounds, knowing the back story of the cartoon is amazing, I have you to thank for it, you are an absolute credit to your craft and profession.

"Snail manipulation? It just raises too many questions."

I just realised. When SpongeBob said "I'm a lefty anyway.", that was his left hand.

I would also recommend "Have You Seen This Snail"

I think the scariest thing about this was the ending since you never see them turn back to normal and that's really horrifying

I'm kinda surprised the "Windmill Vandals" episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog hasn't been suggested yet.

This episode creeped me out as a kid. Especially the ending. I think it’s cause in these types of toons they usually show the characters going back to normal at the end, but at the end of this episode they don’t go back to normal, it just shows them as snails singing on the fence.

Watch the Courage the Cowardly Dog episode "Windmill Vandals." It's very good and very dark "Lucky for us, it's just a story"

(Legs and Shoes shrivel up inside of body and disappears) (Laughs nervously) Ha! Now I don’t have to buy those new shoes!

Sees notification. "I'm ready. I'm ready..."

The music that plays during the Squidward house scene was always the thing that made the scene freakier to me. It kind of had a similar effect on me as the donkey scene in Pinocchio, in the sense that these kids basically have to spend the rest of their lives as donkeys and there are even ones that can still talk.

When it comes to Spongebob, I once again suggest "Graveyard Shift", but if you want more animal cruelty, "Pet Sitter Pat".

Such a great Spongebob episode. My favorite part is after Spongebob gets injected, Gary goes to his water bowl, takes a drink and meows clearly and Squidward is like “He just needed WATER?” 😂😂

I loved this episode. It’s one they didn’t air too often too.

When I was little, a friend of mine had a spongebob season 1 dvd that we’d watch together. As soon as the title card for this one came up, he shrieked and turned off the TV. I hadn’t seen it before so I was like “what the hell, dude?” He said, and I quote: “It’s the one where Gary gets sick and spongebob turns into a caterpillar.”

"It's A Wishful Life" from the Fairly OddParents

this was my first spongebob episode and that kind of explains a lot

'Over the Garden Wall'! (Esp. the part with 'Potter's Town) SUCH a good mini-series!!!

This was my first experience with body horror, which is the reason why it scared me so much.

The part where Sponge bob is peeked through squidwards window going “ Meow Meow Meow “ was creepy to me as a kid. The way he stared at squidward & kept poking his head up everytime he said meow. It was weird lol

Hey Arnold! - "Ghost Bride"

Imo, this is nowhere near as dark as the thought of AN ENTIRE FRICKING TOWN ABANDONING SOMEONE TO GO CELEBRATE DESPISING HIM!!!

Darkwing Duck “Time and Punishment” My Little Pony “28 Pranks Later”

The shoe hitting him at the end still kills me the "uhhh" sound 😂

A few Rugrats episodes come to mind; a couple Chuckie-centric ones like the "It's a Wonderful life" parody or him getting paranoid about germs, and then there's one where Angelica's parents might be having another baby and her anxiety dream about it is kinda freaky.

I was Teenage Gary was rarely re-ran on Nickelodeon when I was a kid, so watching I was always something special, and you should check out the Spongbob episodes Ghost Host and Grave Yard Shift, Ghost Host in particular has some crazy visuals

Do avatar the last airbender episode “the puppet master”

The moment Squidward got hit with the shoe was a lot more hilarious to me than it should've been. I remember in high school, my friend and I were laughing so hard after playing that clip on the phone during lunch. We could not stop laughing. It's just Squidward was so happy in that moment singing and he suddenly gets a shoe to the face. I'm laughing while typing this.

Dark Toon review request: Gargoyles: Deadly Force Also please review Glitch Techs and Kid Cosmic on Netflix, Doug!

I was worried about Gary and SpugeBob well His Transformation into a Snail was funny and The Sounds His Body was making is like a upset Tummy

This is great! If you wanna react to more dark Spongebob episodes, "Graveyard Shift" and "Rock Bottom" are the ones I'd most highly recommend, especially "Graveyard Shift", which has the iconic "Hash slinging slasher" story! "Spongebob meets the Strangler" is another really good one that as an adult you realize is way more messed up than you thought it was when you were a kid, haha.

I actually remember this episode. One of the early episodes.

Yeah, this episode was really unsettling for me as a kid. Looking back on it now, it's even darker than I remember.

Yeah haven't eaten in three days and looks dehydrated even though he lives underwater.

I didn't see this episode often, being that it was paired with the Halloween episode, but I do remember it being a little strange, but not like "scarred for life" levels of creepy. Now, "Nightmare in Retroville" from Jimmy Neutron, THAT episode I remember being really creepy!

I recommend watching “Graveyard Shift”. While Spongebob never really had a scary episode (it’s all about the humor), “Graveyard Shift” implement more horror tropes than any other episode. Also, it has a random Nosferatu cameo that no kid would ever get.

Oh yeah. This episode had a HUGE impact for me as a kid. I think this was the episode that both challenged my fear and fully made me a hardcore spongebob fan. When I first saw this episode, it TERRIFIED me. so much so that I always tried to avoid watching this scene as a kid. However, short time passes and I realized that if I kept on staying terrified with the episode it would be humiliating to show in front of my friends (yeah, I was starting to begin that "trying to act like a mature adult phase", and I wasn't even close to my preteen time yet. So I forced myself to watch the tranformation scene over and over again until I began to show enjoyment for the scary yet strangeness of the entire episode itself. And thus, it is my most favorite spongebob episode to this day. Spongebob was also the first fandom I join, except that my fanfiction was....basically for myself, as I didn't that existed at the time. I would just play out the aftermath of that episode in my head and all the adventures Spongebob has to go on in order to change back to his original self. Yeah, that's how unsatisfied I really was about the ending. XD Im still pretty much waiting for the sequel of that episode.

This was my introduction to the character transforming into something else. I may not seem like much to those who know the trope but to a kid who was 6 at the time of this coming out, this was frightening. Didn't help that we never saw them change back and I remember getting worried and wondering what happened to SpongeBob and Squidward. And then being super confused when the next episode came out and everyone was fine. Really introduced me to the idea that each episode sort of existed in its own cannon outside of the pilot. (At least it did during the first several seasons.)

Chris Wedge's Bunny (1998): In regards to Disney closing Blue Sky Studios this year, I felt this to be a worthy candidate for a Dark Toons episode.

There's this episode of samurai Jack where he goes to a haunted house and the people projectile vomit straight up.

I would like to see his take on the mickey short "Just the four of us", it cracked the hell up and it was all doing creepy movies tropes.

The scariest cartoon episodes I remember as a kid was from Hey Arnold “The Haunted Train”, “The Headless Cabbie”, and “The Ghost Bride”

What made it stick with me was just the implication they never turned back. We never see them turn back to normal, so it freaked me out. That is until I saw the next episode where they were fine and I got over it.

Please take a look at Tom & Jerry "The Year of the Mouse" 1965 In which Jerry and some unknown rat friend of his get their kicks from psychologically tormenting Tom by making him think he's trying to harm himself in his sleep.

I recommend looking at Veggietales. Its inagural episode was about handeling fear, and had a gothic horror movie feel, and even for other episodes they weren't afraid to get a bit creepy. Such as showing casualties in a pie war and "the island of perpetual tickeling" (it's scarier in context)

What I like about Doug's reviews of dark cartoons is that I'm finding out that a lot of people thought that certain episodes were surprising dark. Like growing up I couldn't watch episodes certain episodes like this without getting uncomfortable, and I didn't know why. It's cool to know other people were affected in the same I was.

I can tell you why it left an impression. Because when you're a kid, you don't know what the title's referencing and the werewolf-esque transformation come out of nowhere and leaves a mark.

how about "Courage the cowardly dog: The great Fusilli"? that was a pretty dark episode

6:05 SpongeBob lets out a softer scream as his eyes double in size scaring him.

I remember this now this made me scared of Garry for a bit. I was a scared little kid.

His left arm disappears wouldn’t that make him a righty?? And snail Bob meowing through the window almost looking like he’s sad and wants attention the way he’s meowing short quick meows.

The eye stalk thing creeped me the hell out as a kid. Had to stop watching so I'm only now seeing how it ends 20 years later.

As a kid when I saw this episode I personally loved it and never really was scared or even slightly creeped out by it, this is actually the thing that made me love slow transformations of humans or animals to monsters or something horrifying, glad you reviewed this even with it not being your type of cartoon

I love how scared Squidward gets after seeing what Spongebob becomes. Plus that ending is amazing.

I hated this episode when I was little. It freaked me out seeing spongebob and squidward being disfigured forever

Hey Arnold! - "The Haunted Train"

I really lol'ed when Squidward just forced the living hell out of the food to Gary as a kid even now. S1 and Early Seasons are Gold

Do:The Cat Came Back The Very Next Day! By: The National film board of Canada

One episode you gotta check out is "The Flood" by "Hey Arnold." It was an episode that was so crazy that it was banned. Long story short, is the whole town is flooded and Arnold and friends get trapped in the school. The reason I think it'd work....besides the obvious....is because of just how insane the students go...it almost reminds me a little of "Lord Of The Flies."

"Why does he still have that?" That's exactly what I said.

The scariest cartoon for me in my childhood was an episode of Rugrats called "Angelica's Worst Nightmare", Season 3 Episode 21A. God...that little brother was freaky. This is on Paramount +. Also, I hated Garfield's Halloween Adventure from 1985. The old man in the chair was probably my first "jump scare" moment. EUGH. This is on youtube. Keep up the amazing work, Doug!

He say's it's ok, he's a leftie, as his LEFT ARM disappears... did someone miss that in the script?

It would be great if you'd review the Darkwing Duck "Twin Beaks" episode. It really freaked me out when I watched it as a kid, and yet it had something to it, I could not help but watch it again and again on a VHS tape.

Yes! I've been waiting for this one. Traumatic!

Transformations always freaked me out, and this episodes was definitely one of the first one I saw as a kid