Did you end up watching The Odyssey like everyone else, thanks to FOMO? Or is the three-hour runtime just too much to sit through?
Well, come to find out, you’ve probably experienced The Odyssey in some form or another. The storyline is hardly new to Greek mythology buffs and casual media lovers alike. The epic poem by the Greek poet Homer has been adapted into countless shows and movies for decades.
Some adaptations, like the 2026 film, follow the Greek king Odysseus as he tries to return home after the Trojan War, the journey itself being called the Odyssey, during which the king and his crew face many challenges before he finally reaches Ithaca. Others, however, have taken a more unique approach, making it less obvious that they’re based, even loosely, on the ancient epic.
You might think of Percy Jackson (from the books and the film/TV adaptations), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) starring George Clooney, or even Cold Mountain (2003) with Nicole Kidman.
But there’s one iconic film that many people didn’t realise was an adaptation, and it comes straight from Bikini Bottom.
Is it really true that SpongeBob SquarePants had its own adaptation of The Odyssey?
Verdict:
TRUE
Yes, SpongeBob did it before Christopher Nolan did.
If you’re a true SpongeBob fan, you’ve probably watched The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie from 2004. It follows SpongeBob and his best friend Patrick Star on a journey to find King Neptune’s missing crown.
The long trip is packed with obstacles, and as it turns out, those obstacles are all inspired by Odysseus’s journey.
If you really paid attention, you actually can’t miss it. There’s the big villain, a Cyclops dressed as an undersea diver; the Bag of Winds, given to the duo by King Neptune’s daughter Princess Mindy; and the ice-cream-serving Siren, who lures the duo toward death with her sweet treats.
Some might argue that King Neptune and Princess Mindy represent Poseidon (god of the sea) and Athena (goddess of wisdom and war), respectively. In this case, this would also mean Spongebob would be Odysseus in the movie.
Some connections are direct, others less so, but in the end, it’s all inspired by the most famous poem in Greek mythology itself.
References:
https://screenrant.com/the-odyssey-adaptations-you-didnt-know/
https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/gallery/spongebob-squarepants-movie-the-odyssey-1938688
