A Cabin in the Kelp

Characters

• Template:Data:Links
• Gal Pals
  • Karen Plankton
  • Sandy Cheeks
  • Mrs. Puff
  • Pearl Krabs
• Wolfworm Template:Single appearance
• Moose snail Template:Debut
• Flibberty Gibbet Template:Debut
• Saleslady Template:Single appearance
• Pictured Template:Data:Links
  • Incidental 115 ^{(pictured on brochure)}
  • Incidental 2 ^{(pictured on brochure)}
• Jellyfish Template:Cameo
• King Neptune ^(mentioned)

Synopsis

Pearl joins the Gal Pals.

The episode begins with the outside of Mrs. Puff's Boating School. The Gal Pals - Karen, Sandy, and Mrs. Puff - are preparing for a camping trip. They load their trailer and afterwards attach it to the boat. Pearl, the newest member, plans to prank them by having SpongeBob scare them. When Pearl arrives, Sandy puts her backpack, which has SpongeBob in it, in the trailer. The Gal Pals start driving and sing a song. They run over a pothole and the trailer disconnects from the boat, crashing in a pit of mud. SpongeBob is able to get out before the trailer sinks, and he finds a lucky peanut.

At the cabin, Sandy notices that the trailer has disconnected. Pearl is sad about losing her backpack, but Karen says that they can buy a new one. The Gal Pals quickly redecorate the abandoned cabin, and Pearl leaves to call SpongeBob. She advises him to "follow the trees" to find the cabin, and he runs into the woods. At night, the Gal Pals are sitting around a campfire. Sandy gives Pearl a necklace, and she, Karen, and Mrs. Puff tell her a scary story about the former fourth Gal Pal to whom the necklace belongs, Flibberty Gibbet, who is still roaming around in the woods for revenge after an argument. Pearl is scared and throws away the necklace, and the other Gal Pals start laughing at her, having successfully pranked her. Pearl laughs as a hand grabs the necklace from the floor.

After a noise, Mrs. Puff and Sandy explain that the story of Flibberty Gibbet was actually true. Pearl thinks the noise is SpongeBob, who is still lost. Karen plans for all four of them to jump out and scare SpongeBob. A monster then appears, and they run into the cabin and plan to escape.

File:A Cabin in the Kelp 181.png

The Gal Pals try to warn SpongeBob not to go in the cabin.

SpongeBob appears at the cabin and is grabbed by the monster. The Gal Pals run in to save him, only to find that the monster is actually a saleslady selling pinecones on sticks. Flibberty Gibbet appears, not intending any harm to the Gal Pals, and they get scared and run away. SpongeBob chases after them with his lucky peanut. The episode ends with a fourth wall break as the four girls crash into the screen. They slide down, and then a "The End" sign shows up.

Production

The episode was confirmed by Vincent Waller on June 29, 2019.

Storyboards

• Plussed by Kurt Snyder and April "Pinkie" Davis, who "drew a lot of trees and spooky foliage."

File:SpongeBob SquarePants Storyboard - Cabin in the Kelp

• File:SB1242 plussed 001.jpg
• File:SB1242 plussed 002.jpg
• File:SB1242 plussed 003.jpg
• File:SB1242 plussed 004.jpg
• File:SB1242 plussed 005.jpg
• File:SB1242 plussed 006.jpg

Release

Format	Title	Region
DVD	The Complete Twelfth Season	United States
Box set	Another 100 Episodes	United States
	The Best 300 Episodes Ever	United States
Digital release	SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 20	Global

Trivia

General

• This is the first episode in the series when sorted in alphabetical order.
• SpongeBob is the only male main character present in this episode. All four female main characters are also present.
• This episode was paired up with "The Ghost of Plankton" during the episode's original American airing, but has since been re-airing with its sister "The Hankering."
  • Additionally, it was paired with "Krusty Katering" during the SpongeBob Code-Catcher Challenge.
• This is the second episode in which Karen, Sandy, and Mrs. Puff form their friend group after "Girls' Night Out."
  • Pearl becomes the newest Gal Pal, making her the only non-adult member.
• In one scene, Pearl looks at the audience and says, "She must be psychic," breaking the fourth wall.
• This episode reveals that Pearl actually wears mascara.
• This is the third season 12 episode (after "The Nitwitting" and "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout") to not use the storyboard director credit, with Kristen Morrison being credited as a storyboard artist in the opening credits.
  • This is also her last episode before she went to work on the Disney animated series The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.
  • She also briefly worked on Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years as a storyboard director on two episodes.
  • This is the first episode to use the storyboard artist credit on the opening credits since "Shell of a Man."
• This episode marks Sandy's last major role in the main series until "Arbor Day Disarray" in season 13, which aired over three years later.

Dub facts

• In the Russian dub, the title card text is not translated or narrated, while it usually gets narrated.
  • However, this mistake was fixed when the episode re-ran on Nick HD on March 25, 2020.
• This episode was originally going to air in Irish on May 8, 2023, but was pulled for unknown reasons.

Cultural references

• The episode's title references the film The Cabin in the Woods.
• SpongeBob's line "I am SpongeZan, of the brine apes!" references Tarzan, lord of the apes.

Videos

File:SpongeBob SquarePants - "SpongeBob ScarePants" Official Promo (October 2019)

File:Pearl's Scary Gal Pals Camping Trip 😱 - "A Cabin in the Kelp" Full Scene - SpongeBob

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
German	Die Hütte im Seetang	The Hut in the Seaweed
Russian	Хижина в водорослях Khizhina v vodoroslyakh	A Hut in the Seaweed
Spanish (American)	La cabaña en las algas	A Cabin in the Seaweed
Spanish (European)	Una cabaña en el quelpo	A Cabin in the Kelp