The Spongebob Popsicles Are Changing and Fans Are Not Happy

Say goodbye to those hilarious Spongebob Popsicle memes.

To all the kids who used to chase down the ice cream truck or enjoy a Popsicle from the concession stand at your siblings’ sporting events, you might want to sit down because we have some bad news. The Spongebob Squarepants Popsicle is losing its iconic gumball eyes.

You might remember a lot of character Popsicles that were colorful renditions of our favorite animated childhood characters. Whether it was Tweety Bird, the Ninja Turtles, Dora, or Spongebob, the Popsicles were known for their bright colors and ridiculously mismatched gumball eyes—that were always hard as a rock and turned your mouth funky colors, ah, memories.

Over the years, Spongebob is the only character Popsicle that has withstood the test of time—and the Popsicle’s gumball eyes have become a meme for just how silly they always look. Some people have been on a mission to find the perfect Spongebob Popsicle with perfectly set eyes, while others just like to share the funniest-looking Spongebob Popsicle with only one eye or an eye at the top of its face and an eye at the bottom. For a good laugh, scroll through some of the review photos on Popsicle’s site.

However, the joke is apparently up because Popsicle, a Unilever brand (who made headlines last summer when it discontinued the Choco Taco), has confirmed that the gumball eyes are no more on the cotton candy and fruit-punch flavored treat. Which by the way, did we all know that the Spongebob Squarepants Popsicle was cotton candy and fruit punch flavored? Because I didn't.

“The Popsicle brand is always looking for ways to improve their products and made the decision to remove the gumballs. Gumballs will be replaced with a thin chocolatey layer for the eyes instead,” a Popsicle spokesperson told Allrecipes.

We could speculate all day about why Popsicle is doing away with the gumballs—maybe it’s because frozen gumballs are really hard to eat and could even be dangerous, or maybe it’s just because they’re rarely placed on the character correctly. Whatever the reason, we’ll now see small round chocolates that act as Spongebob’s eyes instead of black gumballs.

In fact, fans have already been finding the newly designed Popsicle at stores, and a Popsicle spokesperson confirmed that the new Spongebob Squarepants Popsicles have been rolled out nationwide.

“Bro @Popsicle why did you change the eyes to the SpongeBob Popsicle,” one user tweeted with a photo of the new chocolate-eyed treat.

For what it’s worth, the eyes still don’t look to be set totally correctly. So, if you like buying Spongebob Popsicles to see how whacky they look, you still might be in luck.

“We know that this product is beloved by many, and we hope our fans will enjoy the new and improved design,” a Popsicle spokesperson said.

But, it seems like fans are already unhappy with the change, with one Twitter user posting “BRING BACK THE SPONGEBOB POPSICLES GUMBALL EYES” mere days after customers noticed them missing.

I know the Popsicles are nostalgic—and no wonky gumball eyes does change the experience—but I think we’d all agree that it’ll be a nice change not feeling like you’re going to break your teeth on a hard, frozen gumball, right?