A Fish Called Sandy

Characters

• French Narrator
• Jellyfish
• Dolphin
• Clams
• Sandy Cheeks
• Template:Data:Links
• Patrick Star
• Squidward Tentacles Template:Cameo
• Seahorse
• Rock snail
• Chef
• Fisherman
• Worm
• Gary the Snail
• Template:Data:Links
  • Fred
  • Incidental city crowd 2

Synopsis

The French narrator introduces the wonders of ocean life with great admiration when suddenly an out-of-place creature appears, Sandy the squirrel. She interrupts SpongeBob, who is busy playing with a piece of paper, to ask for feedback on a scientific paper she is writing about marine life. However, the paper is so technical and hard to digest that SpongeBob curls up on the floor, disheartened, explaining that the essay doesn't capture the true feelings and experiences he has under the sea. He mentions the simple joy of feeling soft kelp between his toes as an example, something Sandy can’t experience while wearing her suit, making her feel uncomfortable. SpongeBob wishes she could experience the ocean like he does before continuing to play with his paper.

Later, Sandy invites SpongeBob to her treedome to show him her latest invention, the Fish-U-Up machine. Using this device, she manages to replace her squirrel DNA with the fish genes of Fred, who volunteered for the procedure after being misled into thinking he was just getting a haircut. During the transformation, Sandy’s lungs shrink and she grows gills, allowing her to breathe underwater like a real sea creature.

SpongeBob is amazed and takes Sandy out into the ocean to test her new gills, but at first, she insecurely holds her breath, unsure if her gills actually work. Patrick then appears and slaps her on the back, causing Sandy to take a deep breath and realize that she can breathe perfectly well. Filled with excitement, she decides to fully explore the underwater world together with SpongeBob, experiencing everything she had been missing while wearing her suit.

They visit Jellyfish Fields, where Sandy walks barefoot through the seagrass for the first time until she gets stung by a jellyfish, but surprisingly likes the sensation. She even corners two jellyfish, urging them to sting her again, but instead, they panic and hand over all their money. SpongeBob then calls Sandy over to a hilltop so she can enjoy the breathtaking view over Jellyfish Fields. However, as SpongeBob attempts to breath in the fresh ocean current, he swallows some hair, realizing that Sandy is shedding her fur and scales are growing in its place. Sandy is thrilled by this change and believes she is becoming even more fish-like, so they head to Goo Lagoon to swim.

When she jumps into the briny water, all of Sandy’s fur falls off, leaving her body fully covered in scales. Sandy gets hungry while swimming, so SpongeBob takes her to a beach vendor where they eat fish flakes. Patrick appears again and eats his dandruff flakes, causing Sandy and SpongeBob to walk away. As they continue wandering, they come across a dangerous area full of fishing hooks. Alarmed, SpongeBob tries to lead Sandy away, but she bumps into a hook and is tempted by the bait. She bites it and is pulled out of the water, but the fisherman is so horrified by her monstrous appearance that he throws her back into the ocean.

Sandy completely transforms into a giant, monstrous fish and swims away instinctively, with SpongeBob following. She finds Gary meowing on a fence and attacks him, but Gary escapes by coming out of his shell. It turns out Sandy was only after the pudding cups inside Gary's shell which gives SpongeBob an idea, luring her into a pet carrier using the pudding cups. SpongeBob rushes back to the treedome and places her in a bathtub filled with water. SpongeBob finds a serum and pours it into the tub which successfully turns Sandy back to her normal squirrel self.

Suddenly Sandy remembers that they forgot about something and see Fred, who has now transformed into a huge mammal-like creature. He starts to rampage wildly, and Sandy declares that she gets the pet carrier as the episode comes to an end.

Production

This episode was confirmed by Cartoonlounge.de on August 5, 2024.

Art

Background design

• Art direction by Shane Richardson, layouts designed by Hena Hong, George Nachev, and Sterling Richter, traditionally painted with gouache by Amy Lewis. Scanned in and edited digitally.

• Close-up of Sandy's eye
  Close-up of Sandy's eye
• Sandy and SpongeBob's sand angels
  Sandy and SpongeBob's sand angels
• Fish Hooks Park at night #1
  Fish Hooks Park at night #1
• Fish Hooks Park at night #2
  Fish Hooks Park at night #2
• Process photo #1
  Process photo #1
• Process photo #2
  Process photo #2
• Process photo #3
  Process photo #3
• Process photo #4
  Process photo #4
• Process photo #5
  Process photo #5
• Process photo #6
  Process photo #6

Release

• This episode premiered as part of the 2025 event "SpongeBob's Summer of F.U.N."

Trivia

General

• This episode's alternative plot is "To experience the ocean firsthand, Sandy swaps genes with a fish."
• The title card background is similar to the unused title card from "Tea at the Treedome."
• This is the third episode of season 15 to premiere on Friday the 13th, the others being "Biscuit Ballyhoo" and "Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?"
• The fish Sandy turned into is a Dunkleosteus, an extinct prehistoric fish that has been the Earth's top apex predator during the Late Devonian era.

File:Vincent Waller on A Fish Called Sandy's classic aesthetic.jpg

• On April 29, 2025, executive producer and showrunner Vincent Waller explained on his Bluesky that the season 1 aesthetic that this episode makes was a choice done by supervising director Ian Vazquez to "flex his art skills."

Episode references

• This episode's visuals are a homage to visuals seen in the series' first and second seasons. Because of this, there are several references to those seasons:
  • SpongeBob playing with a gum wrapper from "The Paper."
  • The flower bed scene from "F.U.N.," where SpongeBob and Sandy sniff flowers.
  • The Fish Hooks Park scene from "Hooky."
  • Sandy struggling to blow a bubble, similar to "Bubblestand."
  • SpongeBob and Sandy playing karate with their respective red and green karate gear, from "Karate Choppers."
  • Gary on the fence meowing from "I Was a Teenage Gary."
  • SpongeBob jumping as the air blows his head upwards separate from his pants, from "Valentine's Day."
  • Sandy's lungs shrinking from "Pressure."

Cultural references

• The title is a reference to the 1988 film, A Fish Called Wanda.
• The episode is referenced from the 1986 science fiction body horror film from 20th Century Studios, The Fly.
• In the episode's credits, the place where SpongeBob and Sandy get food is called McFlakeys. This is a reference to popular fast food chain McDonald's.

Video

File:Summer of F.U.N - Fridays at 7-6c - Spongebob - Nickleodeon