Big Top Flop

"Big Top Flop" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 13. In this episode, when the circus comes to town and steals his customers away, Mr. Krabs tries to sabotage the show.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
  • Sponge-O the Incompetent ^{(single appearance)}
• Squidward Tentacles
  • Squid-O ^{(single appearance)}
• Patrick Star
  • Sea bear ^{(single appearance)}
• Eugene H. Krabs
  • Ringmaster Mudkrabs ^{(single appearance)}
• Incidentals
  • Incidental 34
  • Incidental 64
  • Cannonball Jenkins
  • Incidental 151
  • Incidental 152
  • Incidental 153
  • "Crowd" incidentals
    • Crowd 1
    • Crowd 1B ^(debut)
    • Crowd 2
    • Crowd 2B ^(debut)
    • Crowd 3
    • Crowd 3B ^(debut)
  • "C" incidentals
    • Bubbles McGuppy
• Ringmaster Mudkrab ^{(single appearance)}
• Balloon stand fish
• Kid
• Mom
• Dad
• Ms. Mayor ^(mentioned)
• Big fish four-eyes
• Motorcycle guy
• Fish cowboy
• Showgirl fish
• Ringmaster's assistant
• Sea bears
• Giraffes
• Sea urchins
• Football player
• Pearl's cyan friend

Synopsis

File:Big Top Flop 020.png

Mr. Krabs sees Mudkrab.

Mr. Krabs notices that the Krusty Krab is empty, and is unable to figure out why. He suddenly hears calliope music and realizes that the circus is in town. The leader, Ringmaster Mudkrab, shows up and tells Krabs that he has legal permission to build his circus in front of the Krusty Krab. He offers Krabs a free ticket to the circus and brags about stealing his business. Krabs takes SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick to the circus in order to sabotage it.

Mudkrab talks to his circus crew inside a trailer, but Krabs barricades it shut. He decides to put on intentionally bad circus acts to ruin its reputation. He announces the show and insults the audience, but they actually enjoy it. For the first act, he has SpongeBob use a unicycle on a tightrope. SpongeBob is surprisingly able to keep his balance, and when Krabs tries to sabotage it by throwing urchins on him, he bounces off the net and into the audience. Meanwhile, back in the trailer, the circus magician summons a small saw from his hat, which Mudkrab uses to saw open the trailer doors.

File:Big Top Flop 119.png

Squidward the sad clown's act.

Krabs' next act is Squidward as a sad clown, which unexpectedly manages to win the audience over with its emotion. For the last performance, Krabs lets the sea bears loose and has Patrick act as a circus animal instead. Krabs wants Patrick to balance on a ball, but gets impatient and tries to shove him over it. The audience gets mad at Krabs, and Patrick and the audience threaten Krabs into doing the ball performance instead, which they end up enjoying.

Mudkrab finally escapes the trailer and storms into the circus tent. Krabs uses the circus equipment to try to avoid him, but Mudkrab keeps chasing after him. When Krabs gets stuck on the tightrope, he throws urchins at Mudkrab, and he gets knocked off. The urchins then gnaw the rope and knock Krabs off. Krabs escapes on a unicycle, with Mudkrab riding a motorcycle. The two eventually hop into cannons and fire at each other. The resulting collision is unseen, but results in applause from the audience and circus staff.

A week later, SpongeBob and Squidward stand in the middle of a deserted Krusty Krab. SpongeBob asks if Mr. Krabs will ever want to come back from the circus. Squidward suspects he will not because of how much money he is making. A pan back to the circus shows Krabs and Mudkrab fused together as a new freak show attraction, with a cheering crowd around them.

Production

This episode was confirmed on January 13, 2023.

Promotional art

• Drawn by Ian Vazquez.

• File:431133547 1900575883694090 2272556814515698945 n.jpg

Art

Character design

• Designed by Ian Vazquez and Shakeh Hagnazarian.

• File:430881818 943078943862551 3757544694605486154 n.jpg
• File:430977797 972134147816520 961269157164436259 n.jpg

Background design

• Layouts designed by Sterling Richter and Ian Vazquez, painting by Ann Lee.

• Exterior of circus
  Exterior of circus
• Interior of circus
  Interior of circus
• Circus performer posters #1
  Circus performer posters #1
• Circus performer posters #2
  Circus performer posters #2
• Circus layout
  Circus layout
• Circus grounds layout
  Circus grounds layout

Storyboards

• Supervised and plussed by Ian Vazquez, Kyle Morrison, who also may have modeled Squidward's clown close-up, and Jeffrey Shea. Revised by Chris Tabares.

• File:405196818 716169123458423 8078568724789504598.jpg

File:1351 Ian Vazquez boards 1.mp4

File:KyleMorrison boards.mp4

• File:Bigtipflip1.png
• File:Bigtipflip2.png
• File:Bigtipflip3.png

File:1351 Ian Vazquez boards 2.mp4

File:Jeff Shea 1351 revisions.mp4

Production notes

Ian Vazquez:

• Vazquez gave "thanks to the board team on this one, Kyle Morrison, Benji Williams, Jeff the Shea & Chris Tabares, and all the painters that brought this episode to life!"

Kyle Morrison:

• "My last Season 13 scene was Squidward's sad clown act. We thought it would be way funnier if it was an artsy performance Squid was deliberately putting his all into (and a subtle "take that" to Krabs for ridiculing him earlier in the episode). This wouldn't have been nearly as good had Ian Vazquez not choreographed the heck out of the silent acting, and it's probably my favorite Squid scene I've plussed so far!"

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Good Old Dixie - Peter Winslow [Title card.]
 • Cheap and Frozen Short - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [The opening.]
 • Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr [Krabs checks his watch.]
 • Humorous Conversation Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Krabs checks the calendar.]
 ‣ Broken Ride - Harry Bluestone [Krabs hears the circus.]
 ‣ Federico, Dahling! - Ann Klein [Ringmaster Mudkrab appears.]
 ‣ Comedy Cut 11 - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["Oh, boy! It's the circus!"]
 • Sponge Surf no guit mel. - Michael Gurley, Billy Lincoln [Couple goes to the circus.]
 • ? - Nicolas Carr [Krabs gets angry.]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks 27A - Jeremy Wakefield ["Well, since there's no work, I'll be going."]
 • Distroy the Circus - Nicolas Carr ["To destroy it..."]
 • record scratches SFX - Nicolas Carr ["To destroy it?"]
 ‣ Bridge 3 - Wilfred Burns ["We're going to enjoy the circus!"]
 • Oh My Neptune - Nicolas Carr ["And it'll be fun for all ages."]
 • Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
 ‣ Roll Up For The Show - David Graham Farnon [Circus performers in their trailer.]
 ‣ Circus Of Fools - Barry Schleifer, Thomas Jankins [Parry Music Library] [SpongeBob and Patrick in their outfits.]
 • More Percussion Embellishments - Nicolas Carr [Krabs gets into his ringmaster outfit.]
 ‣ Circus Of Fools - Barry Schleifer, Thomas Jankins [Parry Music Library] [Squidward in his outfit.]
 ‣ Show Fanfare 1 - David Lindup ["Oh, show's startin'."]
 ‣ Circus Rag - David Farnon [Krabs introduces the circus.]
 • Piati Crash - Nicolas Carr [Cymbal overlays "Circus Rag."]
 • Thats Funny - Nicolas Carr ["Dummies? Numbskulls?"]
 • Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["He's funny!"]
 ‣ Four Play Ons/Offs - Ronnie Hazlehurst [Audience laughing.]
 • Percussion Embellishments - Nicolas Carr [Drum roll.]
 ‣ Carnival At The Fair - William Merrick Farran [SpongeBob on the high wire.]
 ‣ The Whistler - Jack Parnell, Derek Scott [Circus performers trying to escape the trailer.]
 ‣ Fellini Circus - Eric Gemsa, Bernard Rabaud [Krabs presents the next act.]
 ‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward as a sad clown.]
 • Whoopee Whistle - Nicolas Carr [Baseballs fly at Squidward's face.]
 • Comical Shots - Nicolas Carr [Baseballs fly at Squidward's face.]
 ‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward sighs.]
 • More Percussion Embellishments 2 - Nicolas Carr [Pie thrown into Squidward's face.]
 ‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward wipes his face.]
 • Triangle - Nicolas Carr [Squidward's tear drop.]
 ‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Audience says "aww."]
 • Slide Whistle - Nicolas Carr [Squidward's flower droops down.]
 ‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward puts the flower in his hat.]
 ‣ Hippos And A Stranger - Dennis Farnon ["This idiot crowd is too easily entertained."]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [Circus performers still trying to escape.]
 • Secret Agent 00 SquarePants 2 - Nicolas Carr [Krabs replaces the sea bears with Patrick.]
 • ? - Nicolas Carr [Drumroll.]
 ‣ Fools Rush In - John Charles Fiddy, Grahame Roy Maclean [Patrick tries dancing on a ball.]
 • Piati Crash - Nicolas Carr [Krabs tries pushing Patrick onto the ball.]
 ‣ Fools Rush In - John Charles Fiddy, Grahame Roy Maclean [Audience boos.]
 ‣ I Say, I Say, I Say - David Lindup [Patrick forces Krabs to dance on the ball.]
 • Comic Drum Shots - Nicolas Carr [overlays "I Say, I Say, I Say."]
 ‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 4 - Fredric Bayco [Circus performers escape.]
 ‣ I Say, I Say, I Say - David Lindup [Krabs still dancing.]
 • Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ringmaster Mudkrab confronts Krabs.]
 ‣ Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [Ringmaster Mudkrab chases Krabs.]
 • Triangle - Nicolas Carr [Krabs winks.]
 ‣ Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [Krabs descends a ladder.]
 • Comic Drum Shots - Nicolas Carr [Krabs and Ringmaster Mudkrab collide.]
 ‣ Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [Audience cheers.]
 • Comic Drum Shots - Nicolas Carr ["One week later..."]
 • Cheap and Frozen Short - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Back at the Krusty Krab.]
 • Cirque Du Cliche No Perc FX - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [The ending.]

Release

Format	Title	Region
DVD	The Complete Thirteenth Season	United States
Box set	Another 100 Episodes	United States
	The Best 300 Episodes Ever	United States
Digital release	SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 23	United States

Trivia

General

File:SB1351-293b OGtitle.jpeg

• This episode was originally called "Everybody Loves a Circus."
• This is the third episode to have a circus play a major role in its plot after "Don't Feed the Clowns" and "Under the Small Top."
• This is the first episode for the opening credits to credit Ian Vazquez as a supervising director instead of a storyboard supervisor.
• The ending of characters being conjoined is similar to "SquidBob TentaclePants" and "Teacher's Pests," although Mr. Krabs and Mudkrab take advantage of their position, racking up money at the circus.
• This episode was originally going to premiere at 5:00pm, but it was moved to 4:00pm.

File:NickVsNicktoonsBTF.png

Simulcasting. By the time Nick had started the episode, Nicktoons was already airing it.

• This episode's premiere, alongside the other three in its premiere week, have been simulcast on Nicktoons. It aired early on Nicktoons compared to Nickelodeon, which aired the episode after a 5-minute commercial break. This is due to Nicktoons positioning commercial breaks after the show ends, rather than before it.
• This episode was paired up with a rerun of "Allergy Attack!" during the original American airing.
• Various production assets from "Don't Feed the Clowns" were used to help build this episode's atmosphere during visual development.
• On October 8, 2023, "Mr. Fox" confirmed he was present for this episode's ADR records: "ADR means Automated Dialogue Replacement. So when they didn't get everything they needed in the original records made before the animation, they bring the actors back in after the episode is animated to fix timings or get efforts or other little things." He told viewers to go watch and support the episode.

Dub facts

• In the Latin American Spanish dub, this episode marks the last definitive participation of Luis Pérez Pons as the voice of Mr. Krabs in the main SpongeBob series, before his death on October 24, 2023. However, he would voice President Krabs in The Patrick Star Show episode, "Super Stars," which premiered in Latin America 4 months after this episode premiered in the region.

Episode references

File:Big Top Flop 150.png

File:Big Top Flop 158.png

• The work calendar reads "Septebuary," which was previously mentioned as a gag month in "SquidBird." However, in that episode, Patrick called it "Septembuary."
• The dances Mr. Krabs does on the ball references his birthday dance from "Squeaky Boots" and his robot dance from "Krab Borg."
• The audience of the circus includes characters from "Scaredy Pants" and "MuscleBob BuffPants."
• The cowboy kid's outfit reuses the colors of the cowboy's outfit from "Boating Buddies."
• The group of sea bear circus performers are the same group of sea bears from "The Clam Whisperer."

Cultural references

• The ferris wheel has the 2023 Nickelodeon logo splat.
• Patrick's stance when he falls from the sky and later when he is called by Mr. Krabs to get into the Sea Bear cage bears resemblance to the infamous "Family Guy Death Pose," in which a character lays facing away from the viewer with an arm laid behind their back after getting injured.
  • This previously occurred in "Slappy Daze."
• During the sad clown performance, Squidward does an impression of Jimmy Durante while even mimicking his famous catchphrase, "Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha-chaaaaa!"

Errors

File:Big Top Flop 055.png

The tag on Patrick's costume is brown like his fins

• When Squidward in his clown outfit is revealed, the white tag on Patrick's sea bear costume is colored the same brown as his fins.
• The balloon stand fish's mouth is not shown to be moving while he acts as a sideshow barker at the end of the episode.

Videos

• File:SpongeBob SquarePants - Season 13 and 14 Official Promo (Starting October 30, 2023)
• File:Catch Up Now on Your DVR or Nick OnDemand Promo (November 3, 2023)
• File:SpongeBob Performs In A Circus! - "Big Top Flop" Full Scene - SpongeBob

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
French	Un cirque catastrophique	A Catastrophic Circus
German	Manege frei	Clear the Ring
Russian	Под куполом цирка Pod kupolom tsirka	Under the Circus Dome
Spanish (Latin America)	El regreso del circo	The Return of the Circus
Spanish (Spain)	Somanta de palos en el circo	A Beating at the Circus