While at work, SpongeBob daydreams about becoming a jellyfish and living in Jellyfish Fields; his inattention leads to a fire. SpongeBob explains his wish to Mr. Krabs, who laughs and says that SpongeBob would not last a day in the wild. Undeterred, SpongeBob quits his job and gives away all of his possessions to his friends. He even gives a tearful Patrick a large jar of mayonnaise, a stash of old phone books, and his prized jellyfish net, Ol' Reliable. Sandy is shocked to hear of SpongeBob's plans and tries to convince him otherwise, but SpongeBob declines and hopes that maybe one day they will end up like him. After saying goodbye to all his friends, SpongeBob removes his pants and runs away naked while acting like a jellyfish, leaving Sandy and Squidward somewhat confused as to why he took off his pants. They leave after betting on how long he will last, (Sandy gives him a week and Squidward gives him 11 minutes) while Patrick starts to cry because he is devastated at the departure of his best friend.
Once he arrives at Jellyfish Fields, SpongeBob is glad to be "home" and he tries to blend in with the other jellyfish. Patrick and Sandy have a picnic to try to trick SpongeBob into coming home, but he resists, still insisting that he belongs with the jellyfish. A crazed and heartbroken Patrick soon returns with SpongeBob's jellyfish net, Ol' Reliable, having decided that if SpongeBob refuses to come home, then he'll force him to come back by capturing him and making him his trophy (even going as far as to make a trophy jar (possibly out of the same mayonnaise jar from before) meant for SpongeBob). SpongeBob frantically tries to dissuade Patrick into moving on as his former friend chases him through Jellyfish Fields.
SpongeBob eventually jumps into a jellyfish hive out of Patrick's reach, finally forcing Patrick to give up. When the jellyfish return, they sting SpongeBob and chase him away. That night, SpongeBob tries to sleep in a cave, but feels very itchy. He finds poison sea urchins all over him, forcing him to run out of the cave scratching himself very fast.
Finally realizing that the wilderness is not as good as he thought, SpongeBob tearfully returns to Bikini Bottom, muttering to himself that he gave up his life and friends for nothing. Upon reaching the pineapple, he is greeted with a "Welcome Home" party by his friends. All is forgiven, SpongeBob puts his clothes back on, and Mr. Krabs gives him his Krusty Krab employee hat back. Everyone then piles in Squidward (who is unhappy) for a group hug. However, the poison ivy sea urchin bacteria spreads and everyone except SpongeBob becomes itchy. Therefore, he concludes by stating "It's great to be home!"
Production
This episode's recording script was completed on January 16, 1999.
Script
On November 14, 2016, recording scripts for every episode from season 1 were publicly released, found on one of the asset discs for the PlayStation video game, SuperSponge. This included the recording script for "Nature Pants."[3]
‣Migldi Magldi - Jennifer Jones [Title card.] ‣Where Dreams Come True (a) - Ron Goodwin [The opening.] ‣On Fire - Gregor F. Narholz [The grill is on fire.] ‣Variety Link (D) - Dick Stephen Walter ["Hooray!"] ‣The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band [SpongeBob is in Mr. Krabs' office.] ‣Captain Lenoe's - Michael Arthur, Colin Cater, Mick Graves, The Folk Players, Sarah Graves, Simon Ritchie [Mr. Krabs laughs.] ‣Salute to Caesar 2 [#20.02] - Gregor F. Narholz [Golden scepter.] ‣Hawaiian Holiday - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob quits his job.] ‣Queen's Aloha Oe C - Kapono Beamer, Queen Lili'uokalani [SpongeBob gives away all of his stuff.] ‣Wondrous Pastures - John Fox [SpongeBob is in Jellyfish Fields.] ‣Grass Skirts Blowing (Hilo March) - The Hawaiian Serenaders [SpongeBob follows the jellyfish.] ‣Sad Parting (a) - Paddy Kingsland [Patrick reads the script.] ‣Jungle Baby - Hans Ehrlinger [Squidward throws a party.] ‣Sad Parting (a) - Paddy Kingsland ["I'm happy here. This is my home now."] •Seaweed 1 - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob imitates the jellyfish.] ‣Lovely Scenery C - Mladen Franko [Patrick using Ol' Reliable to catch SpongeBob.] ‣Musical Box (A) - Dave Hewson ["I'm gonna make you a trophy!"] ‣Flight In Panic 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [Patrick chases SpongeBob/"I got you now, SpongeBob!"] ‣The Gypsy Violinist - Dick Stephen Walter [Patrick gives up.] ‣Stack of Leis - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob in a cave after being chased out by jellyfish.] ‣Killer Birds [#36] - Gregor F. Narholz [Poison sea urchins crawl on SpongeBob.] •Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob itches.] ‣Botany Bay (b) - Robert Alexander White [SpongeBob goes back home.] ‣Nostalgic Hawaii - George de Fretes, Jan Rap [The ending.]
This episode spawned several internet memes, including:
As of February 2018, the face Patrick makes during his chase with SpongeBob when he says "I've got you now, SpongeBob!" has become a popular internet meme known as "Savage Patrick." or "Evil Patrick."
In late March 2018, the scene where SpongeBob takes a deep breath during the chase of Patrick also became a meme.
The shot of Patrick struggling to "take bite" has become a popular reaction image.
The first episode where the 11-minute runtime of an average episode is referenced. After SpongeBob leaves, Sandy says she will give him a week to come back, but Squidward says he will give him 11 minutes.
The background of Jellyfish Fields when SpongeBob cheers, "I'm home!" is used multiple times in various merchandise.
This episode features some slight censorship. While SpongeBob is naked throughout most of the episode uncensored, he is standing behind a bush when taking his pants off, and has a bush and rock covering his crotch when arriving at Jellyfish Fields. Later when encountering Patrick and Sandy, his crotch is partially covered by a patch of grass.
This also occurred in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II" when Mermaid Man shows up at SpongeBob's house in just a pair of slippers and Gary's shell covered his crotch; Gary moves out of the way after Barnacle Boy puts a towel on him.
This episode, along with "Opposite Day", "Arrgh!" and "Rock Bottom" have noticeably lower video quality on remastered prints than other season 1 episodes, with blurry lines and visible dot-crawling. this is likely due to them being restored from videotapes rather than rescanned film reels.
This and its paired episode "Opposite Day" both premiered on Nickelodeon the same day Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon had its final run on the network.[7]
Frames from this episode are later used in "Friendiversary" when SpongeBob remembers Squidward.
Dub facts
In the Croatian dub, the episode title is "Povratak Prirodi," which translates to "Back to the Nature." This is a reference to the 1985 science fiction film Back to the Future.
Additionally in this dub Squidward gives SpongeBob 7 minutes, which is roughly the time left until the end of the episode.
In the Latin American dub of this episode, Patrick still calls Sandy by her American name, despite the fact that Sandy is called "Arenita."
Cultural references
Patrick holding the net high with both hands is a reference to Tusken Raiders from Star Wars.
When SpongeBob flies out of the kitchen in the beginning scene, the Chum Bucket is missing.
In the first shot of Mr. Krabs, he says, "Wake up, boy! You're burning me money!" However, his mouth syncs only with, "You're burning me money!"
File:Nature Pants 028.pngA patty floating in the air.When the fire extinguisher hits the grill, the patties are shifted significantly to the left, with one floating in mid-air in front of the cabinet. This is corrected in the next scene, right before the grill bursts into flames.
The side view of the Krusty Krab when SpongeBob walks to it is wrong; it is a long-length version of the restaurant with the logo at the end of it, and the restaurant should have been shorter.
When SpongeBob stands in front of the Krusty Krab door, a part of his pants can be seen, even though he is still naked in the next shot.
When SpongeBob goes to his house, he appears in the back of it instead of the front door.
File:Nature Pants 177.pngSpongeBob appears to be in the back door.Sandy's head is smaller than it usually is.
When SpongeBob's friends celebrate that SpongeBob came home, Patrick's mouth is missing for a frame.
File:Nature Pants 183.pngSquidward's incorrectly-colored eyelidsWhen SpongeBob expresses regret during his surprise party about his earlier adventure, Squidward's eyelids are the same color as his skin instead of darker.
After SpongeBob's Krusty Krab employee hat falls off of his head when he is hugging Squidward, the hat cannot be seen laying on the ground of SpongeBob's pineapple in the next scene.
When Sandy says, "There he is, Patrick. Say your line," her neck is the same color as her cheeks.
When SpongeBob says, "I've been thinking," one of his pores disappear for a frame.
On a version of this episode available on demand in the UK and Ireland, during the scene where Sandy offers Patrick a Krabby Patty, an unrelated audio clip plays, saying, "Congratulations, my name is Peter Mile."[16]
Before Patrick says, "Patrick itchy," his mouth is red instead of black.
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