Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?
"Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 15. In this episode, Squidward and Plankton come together to make their very own stage play... and SpongeBob is cast as the villain!
Characters
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Squidward Tentacles
- Artist (single appearance)
- Sheldon J. Plankton
- Shopkeeper (single appearance)
- Karen Plankton
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Mr. Snippers (single appearance)
- Plankton 2.0 (cameo)
- Incidentals
This list is incomplete, but you can help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by expanding it.
Synopsis
Plankton is in the Chum Bucket, eagerly waiting for a bubble to pop in his bowl of chum. Karen asks if he has anything better to do, and Plankton explains they haven't had a customer in months. Just then, someone wearing a trench coat and hat walks through the door. Plankton and Karen are shocked, and Plankton goes to sit down with the customer. The customer asks if they have any food besides chum, to which Plankton replies they do not. The customer settles for a cup of coffee instead, unaware there is chum in that as well. The customer takes off his hat, revealing he is Squidward. Plankton immediately suspects him of spying on him for Mr. Krabs, to which Squidward indignantly asks why he would want the "secret chum formula." Squidward then reveals he is here because he needs a quiet place devoid of life to finish writing his stage play. It is about a handsome man who struggles against his evil employer named Mr. Snippers. He tells Plankton he has the beginning figured out, but cannot figure out the ending. Plankton responds that he is also writing a play about an angry crab who torments an innocent shopkeeper, but he only has the ending.
The two sneeze simultaneously, and the papers fly up and perfectly combine to form a complete script. The two decide to work together on the play, and Plankton reveals he already has a stage. A stage quickly emerges from under the table. The two start arguing about the color of the curtain and begin insulting each other. Karen suggests a director, and the two quickly start arguing over which of them should be the director. Karen then decides to be the director herself. Squidward and Plankton both start rehearsing scenes involving Mr. Snippers, and they argue over who should play Mr. Snippers. Karen decides that they both have to audition for the part. The two both recite lines from famous plays and films. Karen decides the role of Mr. Snippers will go to neither of them and ends up casting SpongeBob. SpongeBob recites his lines, and Karen instructs him to be more aggressive and hit people with the drumsticks. Plankton and Squidward quickly start hitting each other with the drumsticks. SpongeBob thinks Mr. Snippers is too mean, to which Karen responds that actors must recite the lines properly to do a good job. This motivates SpongeBob to better play his role and he clobbers Squidward and Plankton.
On the opening night of the play, Squidward and Plankton are standing outside of the Chum Bucket accepting tickets. Plankton questions if Mr. Krabs will show up, to which Squidward replies that he sent him a free ticket. Immediately after, Mr. Krabs cuts to the front of the line holding his free ticket. Squidward then welcomes him in. Plankton looks at the poster, and notices Squidward's name is drastically bigger than his. He becomes angry at Squidward, and gets stepped on. Karen lowers the Mr. Snippers suit on to SpongeBob, and the play begins with Mr. Snippers, Plankton, and Squidward in a boat. Mr. Snippers starts banging on the heads of Plankton and Squidward, and the two begin to row the boat. Plankton tells Squidward that he saw the poster outside and the two start arguing as Mr. Snippers beats them with the drumsticks. Mr. Krabs, in the audience, grows to dislike Mr. Snippers.
Plankton and Squidward are now yelling at each other. Plankton jumps into Squidward's clothes and starts biting him. Squidward pulls him out by his antennae and throws him to the ceiling. The audience starts cheering as the two fight on the stage. Mr. Snippers stops the fight, to the audience's annoyance. He makes a heartfelt speech to Squidward and Plankton, which causes the audience to tear up and cheer his performance. Squidward and Plankton make a truce and decide to attack Mr. Snippers. Mr. Krabs starts cheering, and SpongeBob is happy the two are getting along. Mr. Krabs jumps on stage and asks the audience if they want to go to the cast party at the Krusty Krab, and the audience happily runs out. Mr. Krabs informs Squidward he's working the register, and tells him to get to work, much like Mr. Snippers would do. Squidward and Plankton bid goodbye to the audience as the curtain falls on them.
Production
This episode was confirmed by Cartoonlounge.de on August 5, 2024.[1]
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.[2]
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Chum Bucket with theater marquee and posters
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Stage with boat and drum
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Process photo
Music
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Roman March - Robert Sharples [Title card.]
‣ Zoo Doings - Jack Shaindlin [Opening.]
• Sneaky Panther Pants Faster Longer - Nicolas Carr [Squidward walks into the Chum Bucket.]
‣ A Cute Angle 59 - John Fiddy [Squidward takes out a typewriter/"To finish writing… my stage play."]
‣ Avalanche - Len Stevens [Squidward explains the story.]
‣ Roman Legion - Fabrizio Fornaci [Squidward's visualization.]
‣ A Cute Angle 59 - John Fiddy [Squidward can't figure out the ending.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr [Plankton's visualization.]
‣ A Cute Angle 59 - John Fiddy [Squidward and Plankton sneeze.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr [Squidward and Plankton's scripts combine.]
‣ Box Office - Wilfred Burns [Plankton unveils his stage.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 13D - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward wants to change the curtain color.]
‣ Forty Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 27-40 - Remastered - Fredric Bayco ["To this lovely shade of scarlet, for instance."]
‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["Pee-yew! It should be crimson, not scarlet."]
• Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
‣ Twenty Fanfares 1-14 - Remastered - Fredric Bayco [Squidward playing Mr. Snippers.]
‣ Wooden Bear - Tony Tape, Gil Flat, Florian Voelxen [Plankton playing Mr. Snippers.]
‣ ? [Squidward quoting Romeo and Juliet.]
‣ Salute To Caesar [#18.02] - Gregor F. Narholz [Plankton quoting Julius Caesar.]
‣ The Ogre - Ralph Dollimore [Squidward quoting A Streetcar Named Desire.]
‣ Melodrama [#95] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Plankton quoting On the Waterfront.]
‣ Forty Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 27-40 - Remastered - Fredric Bayco [Squidward and Plankton growl at each other.]
‣ Five More Comical Cuts - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer ["We'll cast someone else to play Mr. Snippers."]
• 12th St Rag Slo - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob appears.]
‣ Cinnamon Stick - Frank Sterling [Karen directing SpongeBob.]
‣ Six Ten-Second Bridges - Remastered - Fredric Bayco [SpongeBob playing Mr. Snippers.]
‣ Five More Comical Cuts - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer ["Get-eth to work, or I'll clobber-eth thou!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 8D - Jeremy Wakefield ["SpongeBob, what's the matter?"]
‣ Wooden Bear - Tony Tape, Gil Flat, Florian Voelxen [Karen motivates SpongeBob.]
‣ Six Ten-Second Bridges - Remastered - Fredric Bayco ["Get-eth to work-eth, or I'll clobber-eth thee!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 31F - Jeremy Wakefield ["By Neptune, I think he's got it!"]
‣ Broadway Bustle - Sam Fonteyn [Opening night.]
• Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr [Plankton notices something.]
‣ Forty Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 27-40 - Remastered - Fredric Bayco [Plankton jumps/Plankton reads the play poster/"Written by Squidward Tentacles?!"]
‣ Five More Comical Cuts - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer ["...and also Sheldon J. Plankton?!"]
• Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
‣ The Industrious Apprentice - Remastered - Jack Bawcomb [SpongeBob gets into costume.]
‣ Incidental Pieces 17 - Remastered - Dennis Wilson [Play begins.]
‣ Five More Comical Cuts - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer ["Get-eth to work-eth!"]
• Lopey Walk and Talk - Nicolas Carr, Daniel Stimac [Squidward and Plankton arguing.]
• Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward and Plankton fighting.]
• Skedaddle - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Crowd cheers on the fight.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr ["Stop this madness!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 35 - Jeremy Wakefield [Crowd boos SpongeBob.]
‣ Might And Majesty - Will Hesling ["Let us not fight."]
• ? - Nicolas Carr [Overlays "Might And Majesty."]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Why, that little scene-stealer."]
‣ Where's the Fire? - John Fiddy, Otto Sieben [Squidward and Plankton hitting SpongeBob.]
‣ Moloka'i Nui A - Kapono Beamer ["Hey, who wants to go to the after party at the Krusty Krab?"]
‣ In Ancient Times - Francis Shaw [Ending.]
Release
- This episode alongside "Delivery of Doom," "My Father the Boat," its sister episode, "Making Waves," Captain Quasar: The Next Iteration," and "SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up" premiered as part of the 2025 event "SpongeBob's Summer of F.U.N."
- The premiere of this episode on Nicktoons received 0.08 million viewers.[3]
Trivia
General
- This episode was originally titled "The Play's Not the Thing."[1] The title was at first "Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers?" to begin with, but the episode was renamed to its original title once more.[4]
- This is the third episode where Squidward and Plankton work together. The first two are season 8's "Sweet and Sour Squid" and "Chum Fricassee."
- This episode originally had the packaging number of 317b, but it was swapped with "My Father the Boat."
- The title card background is similar to that of "Culture Shock," except it is dark blue and yellow.
- This is the second episode of season 15 to premiere on Friday the 13th in the United States, the other being "Biscuit Ballyhoo."
- This episode's alternative plot is "Squidward and Plankton take to the stage to take down a common adversary."
- The opening credits from this episode are the same from "Squidness Protection."
- This episode's airdate is mistakenly listed as April 8, 2025 on the U.S. Copyright Office Public Records system.[5]
Episode references
- This episode's original title was similar to that of season 7's "The Play's the Thing."
- Karen reads a magazine that has Plankton's future self from "PL-1413" on the cover.
Cultural references
- This episode's title is a reference to the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee.
- The title of the play itself is a reference to the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" from the 1933 Silly Symphony short Three Little Pigs.
- Karen shows to Plankton a photo of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue. This photo was taken during Einstein's 72nd birthday on March 14, 1951.
- While auditioning for the role of Mr. Snippers:
- Squidward saying, "Clameo, Clameo, wherefore art thou, Clameo?" is a reference to a line from the William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
- Plankton saying, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" references another Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar.
- Squidward saying, "I have always relied on the idiocy of strangers" references a line from the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."
- Plankton saying, "I coulda had Krabby Patties. I coulda had the formula, instead of chum, which is all I have" references a line from Elia Kazan's 1954 film On the Waterfront, "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."
- SpongeBob asks if the Chum Bucket is where he catches the bus to Clam Francisco. This is a reference to San Francisco, a city in California. Coincidentally, California is also where Nickelodeon Animation Studios are located, which is where SpongeBob SquarePants is produced at.
- During the play, after Plankton crashes face down on the stage, he says, "To maim or not to maim, that is the question!" This is a reference to a line from another Shakespeare play Hamlet, "To be, or not to be, that is the question."
- At the end of the episode, Squidward and Plankton respectively say, "Good night, good night" and "Parting is such sweet sorrow," phrases from another line referenced in Romeo and Juliet.
Errors
- Squidward's eyes are weirdly drawn when he says "We must put on our play, together!"
Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Who's Afraid of Mr. Snippers? - Episode 318a (SpongeBob SquarePants) - Cartoonlounge
- ↑ Amy Lewis on Instagram - "A few backgrounds from a couple new SpongeBob eps..."
- ↑ Friday Ratings: Oklahoma City Thunder-Indiana Pacers NBA Finals on ABC Inches Up - Programming Insider (archived)
- ↑ Nick Press Schedules
- ↑ Spongebob Squarepants - Eps. 318. | U.S. Copyright Office Public Records