User blog:AustinDR/PG Removal: SpongeBob SquarePants

Why Doesn't SpongeBob qualify?
For the most part I will admit that SpongeBob is truly good-natured and always has the best intentions at heart. Even if he were to make things worse for others around him, it is typically portrayed as being a result of his ignorance rather than actual malice. Looking at the criteria for the PG category, SpongeBob does meet some of the qualifications such as being selfless in how he often helps people, even those that do not want his assistance. He is pleasant and forgiving. But here's the thing.

Incorruptible. While true SpongeBob has found himself in situations where he could not be turned such as in that one Christmas special about the evil fruitcakes, in other episodes, SpongeBob does fall victim to it. In one of the early episodes of the shows' run, Plankton manipulates SpongeBob into acting aggressive so that he could build the Mega Chum Bucket over Goo Lagoon. Granted SpongeBob does learn the error of his ways, but that goes to show that because of SpongeBob's naivety, he can be easily led astray.

But maybe this isn't really an issue. Aside from that, SpongeBob has moments of being angry. In one episode when Squidward became a new person because of accidentally getting electrocuted by his electric fence, SpongeBob is at first happy with the change but later began to resent Squidward because...he was basically becoming like him. Eventually, Squidward was chosen as employee of the month at the Krusty Krab, and Patrick throws him a party. SpongeBob is invited of course but he drops his lid when he saw Patrick pogo-dancing with Squidward and he yells at him making Squidward cry. In another episode the infamous "A Pal for Gary," SpongeBob decides to buy a new pet to give Gary company while he was at work. Naturally, the new pet turns out to be a horrible monster who tries to kill Gary. Instead of getting rid of the pet as you'd expect, SpongeBob instead blames Gary for the misdeeds that the new pet was doing. Even when he was about to get eaten, he still acts like a jerk to Gary. Yet another episode sees Squidward living with SpongeBob after he quit his job as cashier, and then takes advantage of SpongeBob's kindness to the point that he strangles Mr. Krabs as a means to force him to give Squidward his job back. There are many other instances of SpongeBob getting enraged but I think you'd get the point.

This kind of goes back to the incorruptible side I mentioned earlier, but for all the talk about his good nature, SpongeBob finds himself often assisting in things that he would otherwise know would be wrong. He follows Mr. Krabs' plan of poisoning the Health Inspector from "Nasty Patty" and even though the Health Inspector wasn't actually dead, it goes to show that if an actual murder did take place, SpongeBob would assist in hiding the body. Or the infamous "One Coarse Meal" where he goes along with Mr. Krabs scaring Plankton by dressing up as a whale to scare him. Even when he found Plankton lying down on the road waiting to be put out of his memory, SpongeBob uses a projection of whales to scare Plankton when he was in the middle of giving Mr. Krabs his just desserts for tormenting him. SpongeBob would willingly assist in situations that'd otherwise be morally gray which destroys his earlier claim of having a "good nature."