Do all our favorite characters from animated TV shows and movies suffer from mental illnesses?
A TikTok user recently posted a strange theory that all the cartoon characters we grew up with openly represent mental disorders.
One of her videos, which has garnered tens of millions of views, applies this theory to the characters in Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants series.
In the video, which also received a follow-up, the TikTok user explained that SpongeBob himself represents attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while neighbor Squidward represents depression. She further stated that Patrick Star, SpongeBob's best friend and sidekick, has Down Syndrome; Mr. Krabs, the owner of the Krusty Krab restaurant, has narcissistic personality disorder; Plankton, Mr. Krabs' sworn enemy, may represent bipolar disorder.
"It took me 10 years to realize that SpongeBob characters represent disorders," she wrote in the text above the video.
@asheleyspam How did we not notice these things sooner? #sponegbobsquarepants #spongebob #conspiracy #fypシ ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
And there was a follow-up video:
@asheleyspam How did we not notice these things sooner? #spongebobsquarepants #spongebob #conspiracy #fypシ #screammovie ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
The New York Post reached out to Nickelodeon representatives about the sensational theory but received no response.
Several longtime SpongeBob viewers responded to the video.
"Now the whole series makes more sense," one wrote.
"I'll never be able to watch SpongeBob the same way again," another said.
"You really shouldn't have updated us on that," a third said.
Some, however, didn't buy the theory.
"It's just a TV show," one wrote.
"You're taking it too far," another said.
@asheleyspam No because WHY are these so accurate… #findingnemo #conspiracy #fypシ #screammovie ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
@asheleyspam Why did it take so long for us to figure this out? part 2 #findingnemo #conspiracy #fypシ #screammovie ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
@asheleyspam How did we not notice these things sooner? ✨ #disneyprincess #disneyconspiracy #conspiracy #fypシ ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
@asheleyspam How did we not notice these things sooner? #disneyprincess #disneyconspiracy #conspiracy #fypシ ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
@asheleyspam How did we not notice these things sooner? #disneyprincess #disneyconspiracy #conspiracy #fypシ part 3#screammovie ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
@asheleyspam How did we not notice the sooner? #conspiracy #winniethepooh #disneyconspiracytheory #fypシ #screammovie ♬ never slowed - slowedaudios
The truth about Winnie the Pooh
The TikTok user shared similar videos about Disney princesses, Regular Show, Finding Nemo, The Wonderful World of Gumball and Winnie the Pooh.
Interestingly, when it comes to the last one, it turns out she wasn't too far off from the truth.
A few years back, a study found that all Winnie the Pooh characters represent mental disorders. The diagnosis says Winnie the Pooh himself has inattention and hyperactivity, with his obsession with honey and his habit of counting being diagnosed as a possible obsessive compulsion. The researchers further diagnosed Piglet with anxiety disorder, Tigger with ADHD, Rabbit with OCD, Owl with narcissism, Eyore with depression and Christopher Robin with schizophrenia.