Club SpongeBob

If you were looking for the article about the book, then see Camp SpongeBob (book).

If you were looking for the article about the puppet version of this episode, then see Club SpongeBob: Puppet Edition!.

Characters

• Squidward Tentacles
• Template:Data:Links
• Patrick Star
• Template:Data:Links
  • Incidental 7
  • Scooter
  • Incidental 42
  • Incidental 119
• Magic Conch shell voice Template:Debut
• Bug
• Ranger Template:Single appearance

Synopsis

The episode begins with Squidward leaving his house and riding his bicycle to work. He then rides past a tall tree, at the top of which is a treehouse where SpongeBob and Patrick are sitting and giggling profusely. They see Squidward below and talk to each other about him, beginning certain words with "w." Squidward approaches the base of the tree and asks in perturbation if this manner of speaking is some kind of secret code, and SpongeBob tells Squidward that he cannot tell him because he is not a member of their club. Squidward mocks them, saying that he is more than qualified to join their club. SpongeBob tells Squidward he could not fit in even if he tried. Squidward tells them that he is "a member of over 20 different exclusive clubs all across the sea bottom," but SpongeBob and Patrick continue to insist that he would not fit in (even mistaking his rant for "something about his nose"). Enraged, Squidward tells them they know nothing of "fitting in" before he proceeds to climb the tree. SpongeBob and Patrick frantically tell Squidward to stop, which he ignores.

Squidward crawls into their treehouse, only to see how cramped it is, leading to the realization that SpongeBob and Patrick were actually referring to their treehouse rather than their club when they said that he could not "fit in," and that they have been stuck up there for three days. SpongeBob and Patrick begin Squidward's initiation into their "club" by singing "Welcome to our Club", but Squidward, having changed his mind about joining, stops them by blocking their mouths, and attempts to get out by pulling on a smaller tree. He manages to make the tree double over and is about to crawl out when the second tree snaps, launching the tree house and its three occupants into the sky. They fly over the Kelp Forest, where a couple sees them, the man believing the treehouse to be a shooting star and telling his lover to "make a wish."

The trio crash in a small clearing in a distant section of the kelp forest. SpongeBob and Patrick begin to jump and joyfully shout about their stunt, while Squidward panics at his situation of being lost and stuck with SpongeBob and Patrick. SpongeBob and Patrick try to comfort Squidward by telling him it could be worse, and that they will survive as a club and as long as they have the "Magic Conch Shell," a Magic 8 ball-like device which SpongeBob and Patrick treat as prophetic and all-knowing. They believe the Magic Conch should never be questioned and should always be consulted before any action is taken. SpongeBob asks it what they must do to escape the kelp forest, to which the conch says, "Nothing." SpongeBob and Patrick sit still on the ground doing nothing, not even moving or saying anything, and Squidward is enraged at their stupidity. He announces that he intends to escape the forest and get back to sanity by himself instead of taking advice from such a thing and walks off. As Squidward tries to find an exit, he becomes lost and afraid but eventually comes back to where SpongeBob and Patrick are.

File:Club SpongeBob 065.png

The Magic Conch shell.

Even more time passes, and by now, Squidward has dismantled the box to build a shelter. He has a hat made out of some dried plant, has grown a five-o'clock shadow, and is sitting by a small campfire. A small bug scurries past, and Squidward catches it and proceeds to cook it. He taunts SpongeBob and Patrick with his "food," saying that they could have sided with him and survived, but instead listened to a talking shell. He proceeds to say while chuckling, "As if the answers to all your problems will fall right out of the sky!"

Above the forest, a damaged plane is serendipitously falling right out of the sky, and the pilots drop their load of picnic supplies and food to avoid crashing. The equipment lands around SpongeBob and Patrick, who emerge from their state of doing nothing to praise the magic conch. Squidward is extremely shocked, and he walks over to the two, who are devouring a table full of food. Squidward says he was only kidding earlier and asks if he is still a member of the club, and SpongeBob tells him that he is still a member. Squidward cannot decide what to choose, and begrudgingly follows SpongeBob's suggestion of asking the conch shell. Squidward asks the conch permission to eat certain specific food items, which it denies. He repeatedly asks it permission to eat anything, which it denies every time. Squidward becomes enraged when the conch denies permission in a mocking tone and is about to go insane when a Park Ranger enters the clearing.

File:Club SpongeBob 197.png

"All hail the Magic Conch!"

Squidward tells him he has been stranded with SpongeBob, Patrick, and the magic conch shell for weeks, and his mention of the "magic conch shell" prompts the ranger to pull out an identical conch, revealing himself to also be cultishly obedient to the conch, much to Squidward's exasperated dismay. SpongeBob and Patrick are delighted to meet a "club member," and the ranger tells them that his conch advised him to look for them. The three club members praise the magic conch before asking it how to get out of the kelp forest. It again tells them, "Nothing." Following the conch's advice, they do nothing and assume sitting positions on the ground (until someone else comes and rescues them). Before the episode ends, Squidward, at the end of his sanity, praises the magic conch and sits down as well.

Production

Storyboards

• By Heather Martinez. Originally drawn on a separate sheet, later pasted onto a storyboard.
  By Heather Martinez. Originally drawn on a separate sheet, later pasted onto a storyboard.
• File:Hungry sb csb.png
• File:Nose sb csb.png
• File:Shake sb cs.png

Paintings

• File:SB.BG.192.005.jpg
• File:SB.BG.192.007.png
• File:SB.BG.192.021.png
• File:SB.BG.192.026.png
• File:Make a wish honey.jpg
• File:SB.BG.192.042.jpg
• File:SB.BG.192.072.png
• File:SB.BG.192.089.png
• File:SB.BG.192.093.png
• File:SB.BG.192.108.png
• An unused close-up of Squidward.
  An unused close-up of Squidward.
• Ditto, but up close.
  Ditto, but up close.
• File:GPgDIpqX0AAe9f3.jpg
• "Nothing."
  "Nothing."
• File:Sign bg cs.jpeg

Promotional art

• File:Club SpongeBob promo art.png

Release

Broadcast

• The episode and its sister premiered during Friday Night Nicktoons.
• This episode was originally going to premiere on July 5, 2002 at 8:00pm, however, it would be moved a week ahead.

Distribution

• This episode is available on the Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies, Sponge Buddies, Absorbing Favorites, Complete 3rd Season, Sponge Crazy, Sponge in Service, First 100 Episodes, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, The Best of SpongeBob SquarePants: Part 2, Really Big Box Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, SpongeBob on DVD, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 4, SpongeGuard on Duty (Russian), Complete Third Season, Orange Collection, From the Beginning, Part 1, The Seahorse, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, 2-Season TV Pack, The Third & Fourth Seasons, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs.
• This episode is available on the Sponge Buddies and Undersea Antics Volume 1 VHS tapes.
• This episode is also available on the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Blu-ray.
• It is also a bonus feature on the Fanboy & Chum Chum Brain Freeze DVD in Australia and Europe.

Trivia

General

• According to the first half of the production code of this episode, (5571-192) it was originally meant to be a part of season 2. However, it was later moved to the third season, later being given the code of 5572-192.
• This episode and "Graveyard Shift" were the first to be released on home video before airing on American television. It was available on the Sponge Buddies VHS tape and the Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies DVD, which were released on March 12, 2002, four months before this episode aired on American television.
  • Additionally, this episode was available on the Undersea Antics Volume 1 VHS tape which was released on May 7, 2002, two months before it aired on American television.
• The title card background is similar to that of "Shanghaied," though it is gray instead of green and has a different font.
• A painting of disheveled Squidward, as seen in the production art gallery, was initially going to be in the episode, but ultimately went unused.
• This is the last episode for two things:
  • The last episode to credit Walt Dohrn as a writer for the show since he served as a storyboard director for "Party Pooper Pants" before his departure.
  • Erik Wiese's last episode as a storyboard artist until the season 4 episode "Selling Out."
• This is the only episode for a few things:
  • Mark O'Hare's only episode as a storyboard director.
  • The only season 3 episode to date to have been released on a Blu-Ray disc.
  • The only episode where the first half of "Grass Skirts Blowing (Hilo March)" is played in the title card. In other episodes that use it in the title card, an abridged version of the second half plays. Also, the episode begins and ends with the song, bookending the episode.
• Phrases that the Conch Shell says:
  • "Maybe someday."
  • "Nothing." (twice)
  • "Neither."
  • "I don't think so."
  • "Yes."
  • "No." (most commonly)
  • "Try asking again."
  • [in a mocking tone] "No."
• This is the second episode for a few things:
  • The second episode to break the fourth wall by referencing the average 11-minute runtime of an episode, when Squidward says, "Why must every 11 minutes of my life be filled with misery?" The first is "Nature Pants."
    • SpongeBob also breaks the fourth wall by saying "This copyrighted conch is the cornerstone of our organization" as a reference to the fact that the Magic Conch was copyrighted by Stephen Hillenburg.
  • The second episode where Patrick uses his mouth like a vacuum cleaner to take in food. The first is "Grandma's Kisses."
  • The second episode with SpongeBob's name in the title. The first is "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm."
• The episode is dubbed in Spanish and French on the North American release of the Absorbing Favorites and the Complete Third Season DVDs.
• There is an online game based on this episode called Spitwad Showdown.
• The victory screech from "The Algae's Always Greener" is used again.
• The Cephalopod Lodge is likely one of the more than 20 exclusive clubs Squidward claims to be a member of.
• The Magic Conch shell was made into a mobile app.
• A clip of this episode was used in a Walmart+ advertisement.
• During the Summer Camp Adventure Marathon, this episode was paired with "The Camping Episode."

Dub facts

• This is the fourth episode where the German dub version has the exact same title card as the English version. The first is "Plankton!," the second is "F.U.N.," and the third is "Texas."
• In the Indonesian dub, at the beginning of the episode, every time Squidward says "stupid" and "moron" were all muted. This was most likely done due to both translations considered as profanity in Indonesia.

Cultural references

• The Magic Conch Shell is a parody of the real-world toy the Magic 8 Ball. It is used to answer yes/no questions, so it is peculiar that the Magic Conch Shell uses specific responses such as "nothing" and "neither."
• This episode also contains many references to the 1954 book Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The book is about a group of British schoolboys stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash, and their eventual descent into madness. One of the main symbols of the book is a conch shell, and whoever possesses the conch is able to have speaking power in discussions.

Errors

• At the beginning of the episode, the tree and the clubhouse are facing the road, and there are many trees seen. But after SpongeBob and Patrick insult Squidward, the tree and clubhouse are turned 90º to the right, and there are barely any trees shown. When Squidward climbs the tree, it is facing back to the road, but when he tries to get out of the clubhouse, it rotated 90º to the right again.
  • Also, when Squidward tries to get out of the clubhouse, there is another skinny, tall tree that he grabs on. It does not appear in any scene before Squidward climbs into the clubhouse.

• File:Eyelidscs.png

  Squidward's miscolored eyelids.

  When Squidward rides on his bike, he left his door open, but as soon as he tries to get back down, the door is shut.
• When the trio first land in the forest, Squidward's eyelids are colored the same color as his skin.

File:Club SpongeBob 177.png

His hand is colored yellow.

File:Clubspongeboberrorfixhd.png

Corrected version.

• When the camera zooms in to the Magic Conch Shell during its last "no" in response to Squidward's last question, his arm is accidentally colored yellow, matching the color of SpongeBob.
  • This error was later corrected in 2019 when the episode was remastered for digital and streaming releases. Although, this error remains intact on the Sponge Buddies and Undersea Antics Volume 1 VHS tape releases, DVD releases, the Paramount+ version and international non-US airings of this episode.

File:Club SpongeBob 122.png

Patrick's eyelids are white.

File:Club SpongeBob 135.png

Patrick's eyelids are pink.

• When Patrick pours ketchup into his mouth, his eyelids are white instead of purple. Also, when Patrick eats a bone, the bottom of his eyelids are pink instead of purple.
  • In the same scene, three burgers appear on the table, and the sandwich disappears.
• When SpongeBob is shown drinking a glass of orange juice, the juice in the glass stays at the same level instead of going down.
• The clubhouse is facing to the left while it is in the air after the tree breaks at the time Squidward is about to get out of it, but it is facing to the right when it lands in the kelp forest, and to the left again when Squidward returns to SpongeBob and Patrick when he finds out that there is no way out of Kelp Forest.
• When the ranger arrives and Squidward expresses relief, his neck is seen overlapping his head.
  • In the following scenes where the ranger shows his magic conch shell, SpongeBob and Patrick's conch disappears.

File:Erik Weise error in Club SpongeBob.png

Erik Weise.

• During the opening credits, Erik Wiese's surname is misspelled as "Erik Weise."

Videos

File:The Magic Conch in 5 Minutes! 🐚 "Club SpongeBob" 5 Minute Episode - SpongeBob

File:Season Premiere - SpongeBob & The Magical Conch 🐚 - Pineapple Playhouse - SpongeBob

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Finnish	Paavon oma klubi/Paavon oma kerho	Spongebob’s Own Club
French	Le coqui-magique	The Magic Shell
German	Club SpongeBob	-
Hungarian	SpongyaBob klub	SpongeBob Club
Italian	Il club della conchiglia	The Conch Club
Japanese	スポンジ・ボブクラブ Suponji bobukurabu	SpongeBob Club
Russian	Клуб «Спанч Боб» Klub «Spanch Bob»	Club SpongeBob
Spanish (American)	El club de Bob Esponja	SpongeBob Club
Spanish (European)	El club Bob Esponja	SpongeBob Club