Bubblestand

"**Bubblestand**" is the first episode of *SpongeBob SquarePants* from season one and the series premiere of the show. In this episode, SpongeBob opens up a stand where people can blow bubbles.

## Synopsis

SpongeBob walks outside to breathe in the peacefulness of the neighborhood in the morning. Suddenly, he loudly begins to build a bubble stand, much to the annoyance of his new neighbor and future boss, Squidward, who demands SpongeBob to be quiet while he is conducting his orchestra of clarinets. SpongeBob stops for a time, takes a few tentative taps of his hammer, and then quickly finishes construction before Squidward has a chance to complain again.

At the newly built stand, SpongeBob offers customers to blow a bubble for free, but a regular-sized bottle costs a quarter pound (£0.25) each, complete with the complementary manual on bubble art. Patrick comes by and asks to try it out; unfortunately, Patrick’s blowing fails to produce a bubble. SpongeBob offers to teach him for free, which Patrick agrees to learn from the master. SpongeBob then demonstrates his somewhat peculiar, yet effective, bubble blowing technique. After blowing a few bubbles, Patrick then does the technique exactly as SpongeBob did, then blows a huge elephant bubble thinking he blew a giraffe. Unfortunately, it gets caught in Squidward's house and pops, causing a lot of bubbles to blow out of both windows.

The fuming Squidward comes out and approaches the now-closed bubble stand. He demands to know how they can cause so much disruption just by blowing bubbles. Patrick explains that he and SpongeBob are creating art and utilizing the technique to its fullest potential. Squidward scoffs at the ideas of art and marketing, sending SpongeBob and Patrick back to their homes in shame. Still snickering, Squidward begins to examine the bubble wand out of growing curiosity. As he tries to blow a bubble himself, a group of angry scallops come by and peck Squidward repeatedly, causing his head to ache. Six months later, he tries again, but SpongeBob quickly comes out and tells Squidward to pay a quarter, shocking him. Squidward reluctantly lays down a quarter for the bubble.

Squidward attempts to impress the two with his skill, to no avail. All the while, SpongeBob and Patrick try to convince him to use the technique. Fed up, Squidward furiously and mockingly copies their technique, finally screaming into the wand in anger. His screams end up producing a giant dragon bubble, thoroughly impressing SpongeBob and Patrick.

Squidward heads back inside his house and begins to play his clarinet once more, with SpongeBob and Patrick chanting his name. However, the dragon bubble floats down and grasps Squidward's house with its claws, unearthing it and flying away with it up in the air.

When at last Squidward looks outside to greet his "fans", he sees himself high above the ground with SpongeBob and Patrick little more than specks. The dragon bubble then pops with explosive force, prompting SpongeBob and Patrick to look at each other nervously and retreat to their houses.

Once the moat floats back down to earth, Squidward grabs a drink of water and goes to bed, never again messing with bubble art.

## Cast (in order of appearance)

* Tom Kenny as Gary/Jellyfish
* Paul Winchell as SpongeBob
* Wilfrid Hyde-White as Squidward
* Bob Weighton as Patrick
* Frank Welker as additional voices

Additionally, Rob Paulsen provides the voices of younger versions of SpongeBob and Patrick in the flashback sequence.

## Production

### Development

The idea for “Bubblestand” goes back to around 1990, when Stephen Hillenburg alongside Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Ennio Torresan, Jr. and Erik Wiese were finding their place in entertainment after being hired by Paul Winchell to work at the newly-established Nickelodeon. There, they thought of an idea that their boss would surely enjoy: a sponge selling specially-crafted bubbles to the underwater world! For the character of the sponge, Hillenburg thought back to his old comic book *The Intertidal Zone* and realized that Bob the Sponge, now renamed SpongeBob SquarePants, would fit the salesman with a good heart” archetype; the only problem was that the comic was property of the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California, and they refused to send the five even the concept art for that particular issue. At the meantime, Paul was working with Britt Allcroft and Kathy Waugh to create an animated series for British television, since he received a personal letter from Queen Elizabeth II asking if he could do one; it was at that moment he saw some of the quintet’s sketches and decided to create the groundwork for this project.

The first main goal was to take the ideas Hillenburg, Drymon, Hill, Torresan Jr. and Wiese came up with and combine them into one main script; in his version, SpongeBob is a salesponge who along with his pet snail Gary moved to Bikini Bottom, which has been badly affected by the wrath of the Octopus in the Beaver Hat disguised as the grouchy neighbor Squidward Q. Tentacles IV (originally named Edward Babbleton) and if anything resembles a “D+” graded school project. However, since the pineapple they grew into a house is next to the sponge’s best friend Patrick Star’s rock, the trio do what they must to bring the artistic joy back to the populous town. Winchell along with Allcroft, Waugh and Terry Jones of Monty Python completed the script and accompanying storyboards in roughly six weeks, since the original concepts for the Octopus in the Beaver Hat proved too frightening, even by 90’s standards. So to fix this, they made the Octopus and Squidward two completely different characters, with the latter being a greedy business owner in disguise with about 25% of a heart inside him; however, the connection between the two would still be there, just now in more of a grandfather/grandson dynamic. Outside of that, the biggest change from the original sketches to the script was that instead of paying 25¢ to blow bubbles, the blowing would be free while a bottle to keep would be 25 pence (p) and come with a bubble art manual.

On the voice acting side, Winchell himself provided the voice of SpongeBob; Bob Weighton, who had begun a strong-bonding friendship with Winchell after meeting him years prior, voiced Patrick; Wilfrid Hyde-White voiced both Squidward and the narrator; and Tom Kenny, Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker did additional voice work. The performances were given direction from longtime Winchell Productions performance director Sebastian Shaw, who was described by Hillenburg and Drymon as “not the kind of person you would expect to do *this* job well, yet he was the perfect choice”. Animating proved to be a bit of a challenge for Ralph Bakshi and his team of animators; not for the characters themselves, since they had mastered that, but instead the bubbles that would come to life. To counter this, the team would do the 2D sketches of the bubbles along with their pencil tests, and then let the computers they got from Steve Jobs and Apple do the final touches and make the bubbles look “in place” compared to the rest of the episode.

### Differences from the rest of the series

The pilot episode was made and recorded in 1997, so it has many differences to the rest of the series. However, the original version of the episode had many other minor differences corrected later. For example, this and a few other early episodes have SpongeBob's bed on the right, while the rest of series proper has it on the left; this is also the only episode where his blanket is solid blue, as opposed to purple with flowers.

Differences in voices are another example. SpongeBob's voice is slightly lower, and Patrick's voice is even deeper than the one he would have going forward. The designs and colors for characters are also different:

* Squidward has purple skin, a red shirt with black stripes, and a green fedora with a red stripe. However, in the early colored pencil pilot, he had a patch on his nose and stitching on his right arm. These details were added by his artists, Steve Krantz and Richard Williams, without the approval of Paul Winchell. When he saw this, Winchell told them to redo those frames and not have the unnecessary details, to which Krantz and Williams told him "No!" Winchell then replied "Okay then. If we can't agree, THEN YOU'RE OUT!!!!!" However, his mustache was kept until "Home Sweet Pineapple," for TV and International brodcasts and remained for home media and digital releases despite the fact that Hillenburg requested that Squidward have more freedom showing his mouth. Eventually, the episodes afterward until "Culture Shock" did not contain Squidward because they had to hide the fact that his mustache was gone.
* Scallops are more pale in color and have a different shape.
* In the early colored pencil test, SpongeBob had fewer holes than he does in other episodes. He also looked slightly fatter, and his shoes were slightly larger. SpongeBob's walking was also not accompanied by any sound effects.
* Patrick's pants are a slightly different shade of green, not to mention he looks slightly chubbier.
	+ This was corrected for TV airings, which, along with The First 100 Episodes, made his shorts the right shade of green and him his normal shape.
* The characters' tongues have a black outline instead of red.

Miscellaneous:

* Music from the claymation children's television series *Pingu* is used three times. This is because Paul Winchell, one of the two creators and the main director, got permission from The Pygos Group to use the music composed by Antonio Conde for this episode and Tea at the Treedome.
* The narrator has more dialogue than he normally would. Also, his accent is more noticeable.
	+ In "Reef Blower," "Dumped," and "The Sponge Who Could Fly," he has more dialogue than the characters.
* The animation used for bubble transitions are much choppier.
* Squidward appears to have rows of bamboo poles behind his house, as in the concept art.
* There is only one window in the front of SpongeBob's house. This was a feature of some other early episodes, such as "Boating School," but after 1999, it is almost always depicted with multiple windows on the front.
* Patrick's rock is more curved and is a bit taller than in the rest of the series.
* The original 1997 version, along with the rest of season one and the first four episodes of season two, use a different intro with SpongeBob Action Theme. The more familiar intro was used when the fifth episode of the second season, "Wormy/Patty Hype," aired.

### Deleted Content

* In concept art, the dragon bubble was pink, while in the final cut, it was toxic green.
	+ In an interview with Stephen Hillenburg and Tom Kenny, Hillenburg stated that the reason for the color change was that pink would've looked too girly for an animated dragon that's heavily detailed, so Winchell decided to turn it green like the slime used at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

* In the audio commentary, Paul Winchell reveals that there was to be an actual orchestra of clarinets like Squidward told SpongeBob, but because he believed that an orchestra would be too much for the animators to handle, it was cut in favor of Squidward playing the clarinet himself.
* The audio commentary also reveals that the scallops that caused Squidward's head to ache for six months were originally going to be jellyfish. However, because of the fact that jellyfish could damage human severely with their stingers, they were replaced with the aforementioned scallops.
	+ However, it was later revealed in a 2017 convention that the scallops were a last minute decision that were added in shortly before production on this episode ended.

* Originally, SpongeBob was supposed to blow the elephant and butterfly bubbles, but they were blown by Patrick in the final cut because of Winchell wanting Patrick to give the technique a go.
	+ However, these scenes can still be found on the Sea Stories DVD and Blu-ray menus.

### Music

**‣** Aloha Oe - George K, Hans Haider, Queen Lili'uokalani *[Opening]*

**•** ? - Brad Carow *[Squidward plays his clarinet.]*

**P** ? - Antonio Conde *[Patrick wakes up.]*

**‣** Entry of the Gladiators - Dick Stephen WalterMerlins *[Harp music is heard as SpongeBob blows bubbles.]*

**‣** Baby Elephant - Dick Stephen Walter *[Patrick blows an elephant-shaped bubble.]*

**‣** Hill - Jennifer Jones *[Squidward comes outside.]*

**‣** Honolulu March - George K, J Dounfrey, Hans Haider *["Don't give me any of that!"]*

**‣** Watch Out! - Dick Stephen Walter *[Patrick shows Squidward the technique.]*

**‣** Merlins Hill - Jennifer Jones *[Patrick blows a butterfly-shaped bubble.]*

**‣** Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill *["You should be ashamed of yourselves."]*

**P** ? - Antonio Conde *[Squidward pays 25 cents.]*

**‣** Side Drum [#52] - Mark Nolan *[Drum rolls as Squidward tries to blow bubbles.]*

**‣** Honolulu March - George K, J Dounfrey, Hans Haider *["Hey, Squidward, remember the technique."]*

**•** 12th Street Rag Revisited - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield *[Squidward does the technique.]*

**‣** Moloka'i Nui (a) - Kapono Beamer *["I really did it, didn't I?"]*

**•** ? - Brad Carow *[Squidward plays his clarinet once more.]*

**‣** Menace from the Deep - Robert Cornford *[The giant dragon bubble steals Squidward's house.]*

**‣** Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill *[The dragon bubble explodes.]*

**P** ? - Antonio Conde *[Ending.]*

### Release

* This episode is available on Sea Stories, The Complete 1st Season, The 1st Season: Volume 1, Tea at the Treedome, First 100 Episodes, SpongeBob SquarePants, iSponge Offer Pack, The Complete First Season, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 1, From the Beginning, Pt.1, The First & Second Seasons, Movies & TV Collection, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs along with Sea Stories, and Movies & TV Collection Blu-rays, and *SpongeBob SquarePants* Volume 1 on GBA Video and on VideoNow.
* This episode is also available on the Sea Stories and Undersea Antics Volume 1 VHS tapes.

### Reception

* "Bubblestand" was ranked #8 during the Best Day Ever event on November 9–10, 2006.
* The episode was in 3rd place as of the "Top 100 Greatest Nicktoon Episodes".

## Trivia

### General

* This isn't the only episode to be directed only by Paul Winchell. He would do the same for the first episode he wrote, "Jellyfishing."
* This episode, along with Help Wanted and Reef Blower, were the only episodes produced in 1997. All other episodes of season one would be produced around 1998 to 1999.
	+ Coincidentally, since these were the test pilots, these were also the only episodes done in colored pencil animation, a form of animation done for the pilots of *Rocko's Modern Life* and *The Loud House*, also created by Paul Winchell.

* When this episode aired on Nick Jr. and Noggin, the scenes where Squidward yells at SpongeBob and Patrick were cut, possibly due to there context.

* A clip from this episode is used in a 2001 Burger King commercial promoting *SpongeBob* toys at the time.
* The Waikikis, Prince Paul, and Wordsworth made a song based this episode called "Prince Paul's Bubble Party," which can be heard on *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* soundtrack, although the song was not used in the first movie itself.
* A scene of this episode is shown in the 2005 movie *Zathura* before Walter switches it to *SportsCenter.*
* SpongeBob's quote "Bring it around town" is used in the online game *Delivery Dilemma*.
	+ It is also used as a celebration dance when SpongeBob completes a tile puzzle in the video game *Revenge of the Flying Dutchman*.
* SpongeBob's bubble-blowing technique part of this episode appeared in a 2012 Yosicle commercial.
* The ship bubble has the same foghorn as SpongeBob's alarm clock.
	+ It is also the only bubble, as well as only minor character in this episode (not counting the jellyfish), not to be voiced by Frank Welker.
* Patrick's line "It's a giraffe!" became a popular internet meme. It would later be used again in the video game *Battle for Bikini Bottom*.
* The scene when SpongeBob started doing the bubble blowing technique and started double taking 3 times became an internet meme called "Hold it," in which the scene was slowed down for a few frames.
* In "Wormy," SpongeBob doesn't know what a butterfly is and thinks that Wormy (who transformed into a butterfly dragon) is a monster, but in this episode, Patrick blows a butterfly bubble, confirming that he has a better understanding of butterflies than SpongeBob despite the fact that he is dumber than he is.
* This is the first episode to play "The Rake Hornpipe" outside of a scene involving the Krusty Krab or Mr. Krabs. This would be the case until "Help Wanted," where Mr. Krabs and the Krusty Krab were introduced.
* This is the first episode to show the inside of Squidward's house.
* There is an online game based on this episode called *SpongeBob's Bubblegram Game*.
* In the Polish dub, the episode's title is "Bańki mydlane," which translates to "Soap Bubbles."
* In the Croatian dub, this episode is called "Mjehurići," which means "Bubbles."
* In the Japanese dub, the episode is called "バブルトラブル," which means "Bubble Trouble."

### Errors

**[Please note that all of these errors were fixed on home media and digital releases as well as international airings unless otherwise noted.]**

* At the very beginning, on the long shot, SpongeBob's walkway looks like the road instead of a rocky walkway.
* When Squidward says, "Can we lower the volume, please? I can't work with all that racket going on!" to SpongeBob in the beginning, there is not any glass in his windows.
	+ According to Paul Winchell, Squidward was not supposed to have any glass in his windows, and the only reason this was changed was because of the dangers of being intruded and/or falling out.
	+ This error, unlike most of the others, was not fixed in later releases.
* When Patrick's rock opens, SpongeBob's pineapple is missing its door.
	+ A similar thing happens. In a scene, Squidward's door is missing.
* When Patrick yells "It's a giraffe!," he is on the left side of SpongeBob, but when the bubble goes into Squidward's house, he is on the right side of him.
* When Squidward leaves his house, the interior of his doorway has a similar appearance to the red wall found on the second floor. Later, when he enters his house, the interior of the first floor has its normal green wall appearance.
* When SpongeBob repeats the bubble-blowing technique to Squidward again as he is trying to blow bubbles, he looks three times to the left instead of right.

* After SpongeBob spins while Squidward tries to blow a bubble, right before it cuts back to Squidward, there is a transparent picture of a person's hand holding a clapboard, which only appears for about a frame. This occurs again right after SpongeBob says, "Don't forget the woo!," right before it cuts back to Squidward.
* When SpongeBob and Patrick chant Squidward's name, SpongeBob's house is nowhere to be seen.
* SpongeBob collects quarters in this episode, but the amount continues to change throughout the episode.
	+ Like the error with Squidward's windows, this was not fixed in later releases.

## Transcript

You can view the script for this episode here!