The Box of Imagination

"**The Box of Imagination**" ("**Idiot Box**" in non-European countries) is a *SpongeBob SquarePants* episode from season three. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick use their imaginations to play with a box.

This episode also has special guest appearances by Frank Zappa (in his posthumous role), who voices the mailman, and Christopher Plummer, who voices the old professor on Squidward's television.

## Synopsis

SpongeBob and Patrick are waiting outside, looking for the mail truck just as Squidward comes outside his house to see a box delivered to them. He is shocked that they ordered a large TV, only for them to use the box rather than the TV. He asks the two why they are playing in the box instead of using the TV, and they say that with imagination, they can do anything they want to do. Squidward takes the TV, while the other two play Mountain Climbing Adventure in the box.

When Squidward gets annoyed by the two playing with each other, he kicks the box, only to cause an avalanche inside. He opens the box to see if the two are alright, only for them to have just been imagining themselves mountain climbing. Squidward goes back to his house and tries to find a box, but he can't find one big enough. After kicking the box, he hears the police and thinks he got in trouble for kicking the box, but it turns out to just be coming from SpongeBob and Patrick in their box.

Angry, Squidward kicks the box away and SpongeBob and Patrick take it. He watches TV to get his mind off of boxes, only for all the channels to be about boxes. He thinks the two are using a tape recorder to make all the noises, so he goes inside to find out. When he finds out they don't, he asks them to play "Ice Cream Van" with the box. Much to his surprise, an ice cream van needs extra imagination put into it, so SpongeBob and Patrick use materials from their houses to make one. Afterwards, Squidward finds out that the sounds aren't coming from the box, so he goes back inside the house as SpongeBob and Patrick deliver actual ice cream to the people of Bikini Bottom.

At night, when the two get out of the box and go to bed, Squidward goes inside the box to find the button but he doesn't find it. When he starts pretending to drive a race boat, a garbage truck picks up the box and dumps it off into The Dump, making Squidward think he's actually driving a boat. The next morning, SpongeBob and Patrick find out that their box is gone and then go see Squidward, unaware that he is gone.

## Cast

* Paul Winchell as SpongeBob/Police Officer
* Bob Weighton as Patrick/Television Documentary Narrator
* Wilfrid Hyde-White as Squidward
* June Foray as Nazz-Mimi/Sadie
* Jill Talley, Frank Welker and Rob Paulsen as additional voices
* Frank Zappa as the Mailfish
* Christopher Plummer as the Old Professor

## Production

### Deleted Content

* The box was originally going to be the same size as the television, but it was made smaller because Ralph Bakshi asked, "how will they get out of that box when needed?"
* According to Ralph Bakshi, Squidward was actually supposed to get arrested not for kicking his box, but for kicking it and hurting Patrick on the head along with committing littering.

### Music

**•** You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield *[title card]*

**‣** Vergnügungspark - Gerhard Trede *[SpongeBob and Patrick hopping]*

**‣** Awakening Memories - Paul Fenoulhet *["Squidward, we don't need television."]*

**‣** Full of Beans - Robert Schreier *[mountain climbing adventure]*

**‣** Dramatic Climax - Mike Sunderland *["Hang in there, buddy. The chopper's on the way."]*

**‣** Joust - Fredric Bayco *["Attention, climbers! Please hold on!"]*

**‣** Death in the City - Jack Beaver *[police sirens]*

**‣** City Desk - Ronald Hanmer *[show about boxes being made]*

**‣** Once Upon a Dream - Clive Richardson *["I couldn't afford a present this year..."]*

**‣** Parallel Dimension - Gregor F. Narholz *[rocket launch]*

**•** Steel Sting - Jeremy Wakefield *["Laugh at me, will they?"]*

**‣** Journey to the Magic Island - Gregor F. Narholz *["Welcome aboard, Squidward!"]*

**‣** Comic Walk - Sidney Torch *["Why won't this thing turn on?"]*

**•** Steel Licks 3 - Jeremy Wakefield *[that night]*

**‣** Hawaiian Happiness - Jon Jelmer *[SpongeBob and Patrick go home]*

**‣** Finders Creepers - Paddy Kingsland *[Squidward sneaks into the box]*

**•** Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr *["Hello, what's this?"]*

**•** Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr *["What the...?"]*

**•** You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield *[box taken to dump]*

**‣** Tympup A - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy *[ending]*

### Release

* This episode is available on the Halloween, Complete 3rd Season, First 100 Episodes, SpongeBob ScaryPants Collection, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, From the Beginning, Pt.1, The Paul Winchell Collection, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 4, Holidays with SpongeBob 3-DVD Gift Set, Complete Third Season, The Third & Fourth Seasons, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs.

### Reception

* "Idiot Box" was ranked #62 during the Best Day Ever event on November 9–10, 2006.
* This episode is number 5 on The Paul Winchell Collection on iTunes and Amazon. Noel MacNeal's description says:

"SpongeBob and Patrick turn an empty box into a fantasy play land using only their "imaginations." Since Squidward lacks any imagination, it makes sense for him to be the main character of the episode! The ultra-dramatic and over-the-top action movie fantasy scenarios that our boys playact in the box are really funny (we only hear them). By the way, me and Tim Lagasse wrote this episode, and Paul managed to get of all people, Frank Zappa to appear in this."
## Trivia

### General

* Going by production order, this is the second episode of the third season.
* This episode was nominated for 2 awards; a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television Animation, and a Daytime Emmy Award for Frank Zappa's performance.
* The reason why SpongeBob's rainbow used to represent "imagination" is upside down is because of a bug that was hacked into one of Nickelodeon's computers, so it doesn't count as an error from the animators.
	+ Because of this, this is the first episode to have absolutely no animation errors.
* The title card is an animated television transition. This is mostly seen on vintage televisions when one changes the channel.
* "Idiot box" is a slang term for TV.
* Plots of this episode were later used in the first part of the LeapPad Interactive Book and Cartridge *SpongeBob SquarePants: Salty Sea Stories*, which was released in 2003 by LeapFrog Enterprises, exactly 1 year after this episode aired on television. The music was composed by Jay Cloidt in the Interactive Book and Cartridge.
* Music from "Count Duckula" and "Danger Mouse" is used in this episode.
* On September 27, 2017, there was a National EAS alert that appeared about 5 minutes into the episode (2:20 PM EDT).
* The sombrero Squidward finds in the hatbox is later worn in "The Camping Episode."
* This is a list of things SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward thought of in the box:
	+ Mountain Climbing
	+ Police Chase
	+ Space Shuttle Launch
	+ Ice Cream Delivery (actual ice cream was sold, while the van was imaginary)
	+ Race Car Driving
* During the "space shuttle launch" portion, a brief bit of audio from STS-51-L, on which the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster occurred, could be heard.
* SpongeBob's imagination sequence has become a popular internet meme.
* When SpongeBob is reading in bed, his pillow is nowhere to be seen.
	+ It could be possible all his pillows are in the laundry.
* This is the third episode where its title card is animated. The first being "SB-129" and the second being "Prehibernation Week."
* When Squidward went inside the box, SpongeBob and Patrick were using their imaginations, but they were not making noises. It is probably because Squidward left the box open.
* In *Battle for Bikini Bottom*, *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game*, *SpongeBob's Truth or Square*, and *Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated*, boxes can be used to teleport around the levels which resembles the box from this episode.
* In Indonesia, instead of saying, "Boxing Championship." the narrator says "Box Boxing Championship," because "box" and "boxing" have different meanings.
* This episode was reenacted in a live table read during the San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, and was the most voted for the episode to be reenacted.
* Because "Nasty Patty" was banned from the Hebrew dub in Israel due to its dark content, this episode has been paired with random episodes from seasons 1, 4, and 12 whenever it airs.