The Sponge Who Could Fly

"**The Sponge Who Could Fly**" is a *SpongeBob SquarePants* episode from season three. In this episode, SpongeBob wishes he could fly with the jellyfish.

This episode is known as the final episode in production order co-creator Paul Winchell worked on, as it ends by showing a dedication card writing "To our friend, Paul, who gave a wallaby courage, 10 girls a brother, and a sea sponge his bubbles. We will be forever grateful. Paul Winchell: 1922–2005"

## Synopsis

### Act 1

Potty flies onto the island, welcoming the viewer to the show. He then

fisnd various types of birds. Surprised, Potty goes tDream Garydy, who ilayingng on hihammockch in a confused state. He then explains to Potty and the viewers that he brought the birds in to help with the word of the day: "flight." Potty then asky why he's confused, to which he replies:

*"I didn't expect our house to become a bird sanctuary this fast!"*

The *SpongeBob* episode segment begins at Jellyfish Fields with SpongeBob wishing he could fly with the jellyfish. He makes several attempts to do so, including a biplane, bat wings, a garden chair with balloons, and a giant kite pulled by a bicycle. After his failed attempts are witnessed by others, he becomes known as "The Birdman of Bikini Bottom" and is ridiculed. He tells the people that he is sad to be ridiculed for trying to live up to his dreams. The Octopus in the Beaver Hat comes by, much to everyone's fear, informing the sponge that dreams are worthless and uses his magic to send him down Spike Slope. He then threatens to attack anyone who dares achieve their dreams and vanishes. The segment ends when SpongeBob falls into a truck of mud, then into a truck of feathers, much to his misfortune.

### Act 2

Later on, as the second act begins, SpongeBob is shown in his house, having given up on his dream. He begins to dry his hair, then he receives an insulting phone call from a "fan" of the "Birdman," namely, "Joe Momma." SpongeBob puts the hairdryer in his pants while he talks, and the dryer inflates his pants, giving him the ability to fly. He goes around helping people, earning their admiration, and becoming a superhero of sorts. With the deeds done, SpongeBob can finally fly to Jellyfish fields to fly with the jellyfish. However, the Octopus in the Beaver Hat tells Nazz-Mimi and Sadie that they're "lazy bums" and that when he said dreams are worthless, he meant not even worth a penny. He then transforms into a condor and flies after SpongeBob. Just as it seems SpongeBob is about to reach Jellyfish Fields, the Octopus take a final swoop and shreds the pants, sending the poor sponge plummeting to the ground. The people are mourning SpongeBob's severe injuries, with Nat stating "we need to preserve this brave hero's pants in the museum." Nazz and Sadie soon scold the Octopus for his evilness, only for the latter to fly away to the surface.

After the citizens take SpongeBob's pants and leave, SpongeBob is about to go home, but suddenly, the jellyfish and three scallops help him fly. They take him home as he sings a somehow heartwarming song about how all one needs to fly is friendship. As he says goodbye to the jellyfish and scallops, Patrick greets SpongeBob and offers him a trip to the Pizza House. SpongeBob declines and leaves it up to the jellyfish for flying. Patrick then flies off as a superhero does. A confused SpongeBob wonders if Patrick just flew, only for him to doubt it because of how silly and impossible that seems. The episode ends as he looks after Patrick out of curiosity.

After the episode, Dream Gary and Potty welcome the viewer back to their island, having sorted everything out with the birds and helping them find their way back home. Suddenly, a knock is at the door, and Potty opens it to find a giant Octopus in the Beaver Hat in his condor from asking for a sea sponge, a starfish fish, and Potty as his "main course". Fearless Freddy, in a frightened state, says goodbye to the viewers, and Potty takes a remote and pushes a button, ending the episode.

## Cast

* Rex Harrison as The Octopus in the Beaver Hat
* Paul Winchell as SpongeBob
* Bob Weighton as Patrick
* Wilfrid Hyde-White as Squidward/Dream Gary (the narrator)
* Peter Hawkins as Mr. Krabs/Potty the Parrot
* June Foray as Nazz-Mimi/Sadie/Bird 3 (voice)
* Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff
* Jill Talley as Birds 2, 4 and 9 (voice)
* Tom Kenny and Frank Welker as Gary and the jellyfish/additional voices
	+ Kenny also provides SpongeBob's singing voice.

## Production

### Development

#### Story

On July 16, 2001, Paul Winchell came up with an idea on how to end SpongeBob's third season: a musical comedy. Stephen Hillenburg approved of the idea and began production on the project. Throughout the rest of the year and mid-2003, numerous of ideas were kept and scrapped (see deleted scenes for more details), including completely redesigning Old Man Jenkins. In September of 2003, the script had been fully finalized and production began on the songs and Fearless Freddy segments.

#### Songs

There are 3 music numbers that made it into the episode: "I Wish I Could Fly," "He's Flying," and "All You Need is Friends." When looking for who to write the songs, the creators decided on 4 people to take the job: Tom Kenny, Kent Osborne, and the Sherman brothers, the latter of the three working with the late Walt Disney himself for his films and attractions. Kenny and the Sherman's wrote "He's Flying" and "All You Need is Friends," while Osborne wrote "I Wish I Could Fly." Hillenburg requested that the songs be parodies of the songs they were supposed to represent, and Winchell requested that the tone be "over-the-top, but sophisticated." The songs were completed in June of 2004.

#### After Paul Winchell's Death

Unfortunately, Paul Winchell died on June 24, 2005, leaving the episode 90% completed. Carlos Alazraqui, a cast member who did the voice of Spunky and Leon Chameleon on *Rocko's Modern Life*, took over as the fourth director to complete the episode. The production, according to Tim Hill, was "depressing without Winchell's golden touch," has the first 5 minutes of the soundtrack and animation proved difficult for the crew. Thankfully, the episode was completed on October 25, 2005, and aired on Paul's eighty-third birthday the same year.

### Deleted Content

List of deleted elements in "The Sponge Who Could Fly"

### Music

**Disclaimer: this is only for the cartoon portion of the episode.**

**‣** Screen Heroes (a) - Simon David Chamberlain *["The Sponge Who Could Fly" title card]*

**‣** Galleon - Sam Fonteyn *[opening]*

**‣** Police Car - Sam Spence *[SpongeBob springs into action]*

**◦** I Wish I Could Fly - Kent Osborne

**•** Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr *["I'm gonna follow his advice."]*

**•** Earl's Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield *[SpongeBob building a plane]*

**•** Steel Licks 8 - Jeremy Wakefield *[SpongeBob and Patrick run away]*

**•** Steel Licks 9 - Jeremy Wakefield *[Transition to next scene]*

**‣** Wild Panic - Gregor F. Narholz *[bat costume]*

**‣** Ulkereien - Gerhard Trede *[lawn chair with balloons]*

**‣** The Adventure Begins - Jonathan Neal *[SpongeBob tied to a kite]*

**‣** Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill *[SpongeBob returning the kite]*

**•** Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr *["You'll see."]*

**‣** Lonely Heart's Club A - David Bell, Otto Sieben *[everyone ridiculing SpongeBob]*

**•** Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield *[SpongeBob falls off a cliff]*

**•** Solo Steel 2 - Jeremy Wakefield *["There they go again, Gary."]*

**‣** Dramatic Climax - Mike Sunderland *[SpongeBob's pants inflating]*

**•** Question Sting - Nicolas Carr *["Huh?"]*

**◦** He's Flying - Tom Kenny, the Sherman brothers

**•** Bikini Bottom News Theme - Nicolas Carr *[news on TV]*

**‣** Licence to Thrill - Robert Cornford *[lighthouse light goes out]*

**‣** Screen Heroes (a) - Simon David Chamberlain *[SpongeBob replaces it]*

**‣** Sword Fight - Sam Fonteyn *["Let's roll."]*

**•** Steel Licks 6 - Jeremy Wakefield *[SpongeBob cleaning Krabs' garage]*

**‣** The Silver Blade - Ilona Sekacz *["Finally! Jellyfish Fields, here I come!"]*

**•** You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield *[SpongeBob doing favors for everyone]*

**‣** Danger Zone - Mike Sunderland *[SpongeBob tries to escape/The Octopus chases SpongeBob]*

**‣** Lonely Violin - Dick Stephen Walter *["What have we done?"]*

**◦** All You Need is Friends - Tom Kenny, the Sherman brothers

**•** Steel Licks 14 - Jeremy Wakefield *["Did Patrick just...?"]*

### Release

* This episode is available on the Lost at Sea, Complete 3rd Season, First 100 Episodes, The Great Outdoors, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 5, Beach Bob, Exposed!: The Ultimate Box Set, 2-Season TV Pack, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Complete Third Season, Orange Collection, From the Beginning, Pt.2, The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and The Paul Winchell Collection DVDs.
* This episode is also available on the Lost at Sea and The Sponge Who Could Fly VHS tapes.

## Trivia

### General

* Going by production order this is the last episode for 4 things:
	+ The last episode of season 3.
	+ The last episode to be directed by the Key Directors.
	+ The last episode to have songs written by Tom Kenny until "Best Day Ever."
	+ The final *SpongeBob SquarePants* production to involve Paul Winchell.
* This is the third episode to have absolutely no animation errors. This first episode was "The Box of Imagination," and the second was "Ugh."
* This episode is the third and last half-hour special of season 3. The first is "Ugh" and the second is "Party Pooper Pants."
* This episode is often dubbed "The Lost Episode" because of the 4-year production it went through.
* This is the first double-length episode to play The track "Earl's Revenge."
* When this episode premiered, it was viewed by 8.5 million Americans, beating "Help Wanted," "Reef Blower," and "Tea at the Treedome" with 6.90 million U.S. viewers.
* Lou is shown in his younger version in this episode when he was older in "Party Pooper Pants," which predates this episode.
* SpongeBob does the following things to help the Bikini Bottomites:
	+ Saves Mrs. Puff's snail from a tree
	+ Helped Mr. Krabs reclaim his dime
	+ Saves Patrick from a mime
	+ Saves Plankton from kelp
	+ Relights the lighthouse
	+ Cleans out Mr. Krabs' garage
	+ Scratches Patrick's tummy
	+ Helps Larry pick a tie
	+ Cleans Squidward's bath
	+ Balances Mrs. Puff's checkbook
	+ Helps Plankton spread the sign of evil
	+ Untangles a hat fish's phone cords
	+ Does the purple cap fish's geometry
	+ Talks to Nancy's plants
	+ Rubs Dennis' scalp
* To date, this episode marks the last usage of the APM track "Dramatic Climax."
* Monroe Timmy wears a red and green propeller cap in this episode. He also wears a propeller hat in "Krabby Land," except that it is blue and yellow instead.
	+ Monroe Timmy is shorter in this episode than in most episodes.
* In the Hebrew version of this episode, "Joe Momma" is called "מר נוצה-מוח," which means "Mr. Feather-Brain."
* SpongeBob's underwear looks a little bit different in this episode.
* Mrs. Puff's snail is similar to Squidward's snail, Snellie, from "The Great Snail Race."
* Excluding the Fearless segments, this episode is only about 18 minutes long.
* This episode was used as the basis for the plot of *SpongeBob SquarePants: The Sponge Who Could Fly Live Musical*, which toured in Britain in 2009.
* "As Seen on TV" is the only season 3 episode to have clips used from it in the "Remembering SpongeBob" segment.

* The credits on the Lost at Sea DVD and the Absorbing Favorites DVD simply call it "Lost Episode," despite it being called "The Sponge Who Could Fly" everywhere else on the DVD.
* In this episode, Larry has black stripes on his back, while in other episodes, he doesn't. He also has white stripes on his back in "Neptune's Spatula."
* In the UK, this episode is titled "Lost Episode/The Sponge Who Could Fly" in the TV guide episode synopsis.

### Cultural references

* The dedication card at the end of the episode is a reference to the dedication card for Howard Ashman seen in the 1991 feature film *Beauty and the Beast*.
* The title is a pun on *The Boy Who Could Fly*.
* During the scene when SpongeBob uses one of the ways to fly for real, the balloons hanging from the lawn chair resemble Timmy's Fairly GodParents; The Green Balloon resembles Cosmo & the Pink Balloon resembles Wanda.

* The title card is similar to *The Simpsons* opening screen.
* SpongeBob's ideas for his flying machine allude to many other flying machines, such as the plane at Kitty Hawk, the bat suit from *Batman*, and a lawn chair with balloons.
	+ The lawn chair tied to the balloons is based on a true story. Larry Walters, later given the nickname "Lawnchair Larry," was a truck driver who made a makeshift aircraft out of 45 helium balloons and a lawn chair.
* SpongeBob is colloquially called the "Bird-Man of Bikini Bottom," a nickname also bestowed upon Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz."