In this article we will understand together about the character Lula Molusco, present in the animated film Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Talking about the animation known as Sponge Bob Square Pants, which is completing 22 years of existence, is a motivating challenge, especially since I am not a regular reader of this very successful cartoon that has invaded the movie screens and has become a series widely watched on Netflix and also on TV.

Understanding the character Lula Molusco

My interest here is based on the analysis of his characters and not on the centrality of SpongeBob himself, but specifically on Squid with his irreverent manner within a personality that is all his own.

His characteristics, temperament, fallacies, and mania for perfection are some of the important elements that make this famous character someone remarkable with behaviors and attitudes that, in the light of Psychoanalysis, are worth analyzing in detail, and this is the theme of this present article.

A brief history of animation

On May 1st, 1999 this irreverent animation was released, bringing a contagious joy with striking characters with their own characteristics, where in a short time it conquered many viewers, regardless of their generation. Talking about these 22 years of success shows us in a clear way that each character has something different to teach us within a story that takes place within a vast ocean.

SpongeBob, the central character was created by Stephen Hillenburg, a marine biologist and animator. Reportedly, in 1984 he started his first drafts in a class while teaching marine biology in California at the Ocean Institute. Years later that traits were inserted such as the square pants, so striking and significant that it is now part of his characteristic that it stands out on its own.

When we look at the cartoons, we see that they last an average of 15 minutes, have now been translated into more than 60 languages, and can be said to total almost 250 episodes. This great success resonated so positively that their characters began to gain fame until they reached the movie screen.

Lula Molusco and the premiere of the first film

The first film premiered in 2004 and was written, produced and directed by its creator himself, but in 2015 with the release of the film SpongeBob: A Hero Out of Water, Stephen served as screenwriter and executive producer. Stephen Hillenburg, dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2018.

Despite this, the Nickelodeon company continued producing and released in 2020 in the month of November another movie called: SpongeBob: The Amazing Rescue, in honor of its creator. At first the movie was supposed to be in theaters, but due to the pandemic it was canceled, and is available in the Netflix catalog.

The Characters

SpongeBob is an eccentric and very energetic figure, he is actually a funny sponge, who lives in a pineapple, has a neighbor known as the Grumpy Squid, a bad-tempered and grouchy fellow who lives in an Easter Island head.

Patrick Star is SpongeBob's other neighbor, who considers SpongeBob his best friend, who is actually a fat, pink starfish who lives under a huge rock.

These are the names of the characters that make up the animation: SpongeBob, Patrick the Star, Sandy the Cheek, Mr. Spongebob, Perola the Grouch, Squid Tentacles, Gary the Snail, Plankton, Mrs. Puff, Mermaid Man and Little Mussel, Larry the Lobster, Perch Perkins, Princess Mindy, and Patchy the Pirate.

Analysis of the main characters

• SpongeBob - Considered very nice and funny, he is a sponge who loves to hunt jellyfish. He is a cook and works at Siri Cascudo. Patrick Estrela is his best friend.
• Patrick Star - His best friend is Sponge Bob, and just like him he loves to hunt jellyfish and loves to have fun with him.
• Sandy Cheeks - She is a Texas squirrel who thinks she is smart, uses an oxygen tank to breathe underwater, wears a purple and green bikini with frills when she is home, and is called indecent by some fish.
• Seu Siriguejo - The owner of the restaurant called Siri Cascudo, where SpongeBob works, is a selfish, greedy crab who loves money above all else.
• Squid Mollusk Tentacles - He hates SpongeBob and Patrick and doesn't hide it from them, even though he is a neighbor and works at Siri Cascudo as a cashier. He calls himself a great clarinetist and believes he is a great artist.

Although there is no continuity in the episodes, everyone interacts in one way or another, but amid conflicts and confusion, they always strive in the end to make everything okay. The animation actually has to do with the childlike nature of SpongeBob and his best friend, Patrick Star, although adults, possess an innocence very common in children.

The Mollusk Squid

All the characters are plausible to admire, but particularly the Squid is my favorite, not only for his irreverence, but for his characteristics that make him one of the most talked about and known even more than Sponge Bob himself, who is the central element of this animation. Lula Molusco is a 40-year-old octopus who works as a cashier at Siri Cascudo.

He is negative in the extreme, his voice is raspy, he is always bored and has eccentric quirks. He believes that everyone around him is unbearable, especially his neighbor Sponge Bob who is always cheerful and his friend Patrick Star who considers him too slow. In addition, he is a centralizer, has a perfectionist's mania where he likes everything to be neat and tidy, and is bothered by things being out of place, especially in his home.

Impatient, intolerant, dissatisfied, and controlling are some of the characteristics present in this character that represents well our daily life. He is somewhat selfish, cynical, and bipolar, sometimes showing no concern for the people around him, always blaming someone for everything that goes wrong, and besides this notorious cynicism, he also presents a posture of superiority, especially towards SpongeBob himself, making a point of provoking him.

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The Mollusk Squid and ourselves

Making an analysis of these characters we can draw some conclusions that are important:

• He works at a job he doesn't like and always says in a clear way that he is there because he needs to pay his rent;
• He dreams of being a great musician, an artist, and although he has a keen taste for music and art, no one understands him;
• He considers his work to be average, doesn't give it much importance, and does it almost grudgingly;
• He always does whatever he likes in his house, where he is painting, watching TV or even playing his clarinet out of tune.

By being homely, he shows that adult life for him is tiring, where he prefers his home to knowing and glimpsing the rest of the world. In some ways, the Squid is us.

Conclusion

We are tired all the time, we live bored, we stay at home at will, we work to survive and it is hardly something pleasurable, we are closed to the things of the world and the people around us make us angry for no reason and without realizing it we become centralizers where we think we are perfect, untouchable and that the problem is in others and not in ourselves.

Finally, despite identifying Lula Molusco's bad mood and being a meme, it is clear that he has several problems in his personality, a very common fact in the society we live in.

References

//www.em.com.br -//wikiesponja.fandom.com/enbr/wiki - //medium.com/@bebedisco/na-vida-adulta-somos-o-lula-molusco - //jornerds.com

This article was written by Cláudio Néris B. Fernandes ( [email protected]), art educator, art therapist, student of Neuropsychopedagogy and Clinical Psychoanalysis.