Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, also known simply as Kamp Koral, is an American computer-animated television series created by Stephen Hillenburg and developed by Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Andrew Goodman, Kaz, Mr. Lawrence, and Vincent Waller that premiered on Paramount+ on March 4, 2021. The series is a prequel and spinoff of SpongeBob SquarePants, featuring the main cast as aged-down children attending a summer camp.
Premise[]
The series follows 10-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants as he spends his summer at a sleepaway camp called Kamp Koral. The camp is run by Mr. Krabs, a single father raising his baby daughter, Pearl the whale. The camp's activities are overseen by Mrs. Puff, who works as the scoutmaster and arts-and-crafts teacher. SpongeBob bunks in a cabin with his friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks. The cabin is run by Squidward Tentacles, a pessimistic camper who is slightly older than the others (almost a teenager) and is a junior counselor. Unbeknownst to the campers, the local chef Plankton runs a secret laboratory underneath the camp, where his computer assistant Karen helps him create elaborate inventions. Episodes focus on SpongeBob and his friends learning more about the campsite, exploring new places, and taking part in summertime activities.
Characters[]
- See also: List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters
- SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny)
- Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke)
- Squidward Tentacles (voiced by Rodger Bumpass)
- Mr. Krabs (voiced by Clancy Brown)
- Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence)
- Sheldon Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence)
- Mrs. Puff (voiced by Mary Jo Catlett)
- Karen Plankton (voiced by Jill Talley)
- Pearl Krabs (voiced by Lori Alan)
- Nobby and Narlene (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui and Kate Higgins respectively)
Release[]
The series was originally supposed to premiere on Nickelodeon in July 2020, but on July 30, 2020, it was announced that the series would instead be released on CBS All Access, the ViacomCBS streaming service, in early 2021. It was later announced that the series will be airing on Nickelodeon as well later in the year. On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the first six episodes would release along with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run on March 4, 2021. The series will also begin airing on Nickelodeon on April 2, 2021, and then aired on Paramount Kids (as part of the PlusTime block) and UltraToons the following day. On June 24, 2021, it was announced that new episodes will release on Paramount+ on July 22, 2021.
Production[]
Development[]
According to Vincent Waller, the idea for the show originated in a flashback scene from The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Having worked on the original show for years, Waller calculated the hierarchy of the camp and the ages of the characters (albeit, younger). Marc Ceccarelli helped develop the new characters and new locations. In October 2018, on one of Brian Robbins' first days as the president of Nickelodeon, he "decided to put a room together and really look at what the SpongeBob universe looks like." According to Robbins, "out of that came the Kamp Koral idea and actually a couple of other ideas."
Announcement[]
On February 14, 2019, it was announced that an unnamed spinoff of SpongeBob SquarePants was in the works at Nickelodeon. On June 4, 2019, it was announced that a CG-animated spinoff of SpongeBob SquarePants under the working title of Kamp Koral was officially green-lit with a 13-episode order.
On February 19, 2020, the show was officially titled as Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years. It was also announced that the voice cast from SpongeBob SquarePants would return for the spinoff series. A sneak peek of the series aired during the Bears-Saints NFL wildcard game on January 10, 2021 on Nickelodeon.
On March 4, 2021, it was announced that an additional 13 episodes had been ordered, bringing the series total to 26 episodes.
Episodes[]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Nickelodeon air date | Paramount Kids/UltraToons air date | Prod.code | U.S. linear viewers
(millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Jellyfish Kid" | Supervising by : Sherm Cohen and Dave Cunningham
Storyboard by : Brian Morante |
Kaz | March 4, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 101 | N/A |
| On the first day of jellyfish season, SpongeBob fails to catch a jellyfish. To help him, Sandy and Patrick disguise Squidward as a "jellyfish" to lure in SpongeBob, but suddenly a monster attacks. The monster eats Squidward and rampages across Kamp Koral. SpongeBob escapes the monster and saves the day, gaining the "Save the Camp from a Monster" badge. | ||||||||
| 2 | "Sugar Squeeze"
"Tag, You're It" |
Supervising by : Dave Cunningham
Storyboard by : Brian Morante Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Mike Dougherty and John Sanford |
Mr. Lawrence
Kaz |
March 4, 2021 | April 2, 2021 | TBA | 102 | 0.71 |
| "Sugar Squeeze": SpongeBob and the other campers discover their candy has been stolen by two con-artist backwood narwhals named Narlene and Nobby for their "Sugar Squeeze". SpongeBob and the campers glow yellow after tasting it, which Mr. Krabs notices, and works alongside Narlene to get the campers back to normal.
"Tag, You're It": SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy prepare to play tag, but they have to play inside after it starts to rain. They cause trouble, leading Squidward to throw them outside. Mr. Krabs eventually takes them in to play with baby Pearl, but Pearl's way of playing leads Mr. Krabs to demand Squidward to play with them. Later, the rain stops and Mr. Krabs is tagged forever. | ||||||||
| 3 | "Quest for Tire"
"Cabin of Curiosities" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Kenny Pittenger Supervising by : Sherm Cohen Storyboard by : John Trabbic |
Mr. Lawrence
Kaz |
March 4, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 103 | N/A |
| 4 | "In Search of Camp Noodist"
"Kitchen Sponge" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Fred Osmond Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Brian Morante |
Andrew Goodman | March 4, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 104 | N/A |
| 5 | "The Treasure of Kamp Koral"
"Camper Gary" |
Supervising by : Dave Cunningham
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen Storyboard by : Brian Morante |
Andrew Goodman | March 4, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 105 | N/A |
| 6 | "Midnight Snack Attack"
"Hot Pearl-tato" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Fred Osmond Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Fred Osmond |
Luke Brookshier | March 4, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 106 | N/A |
| 7 | "What About Meep?"
"Hard Time Out" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Fred Osmond Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : John Trabbic |
Kaz | July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 107 | TBD |
| 8 | "Pat's A Li'l Sinker"
"Camp SpongeBob" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Kristen Morrison Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Brian Morante |
Luke Brookshier
Kaz |
July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 108 | TBD |
| 9 | "Squisery"
"Game Night" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Fred Osmond Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Fred Osmond |
Andrew Goodman | July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 109 | TBD |
| 10 | "My Fair Nobby"
"Gimme a News Break" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Piero Piluso Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Kenny Pittenger |
Andrew Goodman
Mr. Lawrence |
July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 110 | TBD |
| 11 | "Wise Kraken"
"Squatch Swap" |
Supervising by : Sherm Cohen
Storyboard by : Fred Osmond Supervising by : Dave Cunningham Storyboard by : Mike Dougherty |
Mr. Lawrence
Luke Brookshier |
July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 111 | TBD |
| 12 | "The Ho! Ho! Horror!"
"Outhouse Outrage" |
Supervising by : Dave Cunningham
Storyboard by : Brian Morante Supervising by : Sherm Cohen Storyboard by : Kristen Morrison |
Mr. Lawrence
Luke Brookshier |
July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 112 | TBD |
| 13 | "Are You Afraid of the Dork?" | Supervising by : Sherm Cohen & Dave Cunningham
Storyboard by : Brian Morante |
Kaz | July 22, 2021 | TBA | TBA | 113 | TBD |
Reception[]
Allie Leatherman of Legacy Press argues that the series is overplaying the slapstick for comedy purposes that children wouldn't even find funny. She also argues that, "The shadows are extremely harsh, the color palette is ugly, and the backgrounds are boring and lifeless. The animation makes it unclear if it even takes place underwater. The character design is alright other than Patrick, who just looks like pink mush in the shape of a star." Jessica Curney of The Michigan Daily said that the series isn't needed and unnecessary for the franchise and that it doesn't have the same "spark" as the first three seasons of the original show.