"SquidBird" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 13. In this episode, Squidward gets left with a mess when SpongeBob and Patrick use carrier clams to send messages to each other.
Characters
- Squidward Tentacles
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Patrick Star
- Rube Goldfish (cameo)
- Scallops and clams
- Carrier clams (single appearance)
- Junior (plussed boards only)[2]
- Giant clam
- Incidentals
- Incidental 37B
- Incidental 41 (color palette only)
- Incidental 47
- Incidental 115
- Incidental 118 (41 colored)
- Incidental 151
- Incidental 167
- Helen the Felon
- Mr. What Zit Tooya
- Mailman
- Delivery man (single appearance)
Synopsis
Patrick sending a letter.
Squidward is making a statue of himself when a clam flies in and poops on him. He chases it away, but accidentally destroys his statue in the process. The clam flies out the window and to Patrick's house, revealing that SpongeBob had sent him a message. Patrick writes a response and the clam flies back through Squidward's house to deliver it. Squidward goes to SpongeBob and asks them not to send any more clams through his house, and he and Patrick agree.
When Squidward is bathing, he hears a knock at the door and puts on a towel to answer it. Two clams fly into his house and spit pearls at him, forcing him outside while being naked. Next, SpongeBob sends lunch to Patrick. Squidward blows a whistle and captures the clams in a box. He sends them on a truck to the chowder factory, but they quickly return as a can of clam chowder. Patrick opens it, and the clams attack Squidward.
SpongeBob training the clams.
Squidward goes to bed with an eye mask and headphones to ignore the clams. However, Patrick flies into his house while trying to have the clams deliver himself to SpongeBob. The clams again attack Squidward, leaving SpongeBob and Patrick to teach them how to avoid him so they can keep safely sending messages. Although the training works, the clams invade Squidward's house rather than going after him directly, locking him outside again.
Squidward orders a giant scallop in the mail to kill the clams in his house. However, the giant scallop befriends the clams and dances with them, angering Squidward. He throws a rock at the giant one, which enrages it. He, SpongeBob, and Patrick all hide in his house. As they plan to wait until the clams start migrating, the clams pick up Squidward's house and lift it away. SpongeBob and Patrick jump down and use SpongeBob as a mattress for Squidward to land on safely. However, Squidward realizes that he is now free to get away from them, and stays in his house. The clams fly over a volcano and drop the house inside, with Squidward commenting that he still prefers it than being with SpongeBob.
Production
The sequence of storyboards featuring SpongeBob and Patrick training the clams, as well as Squidward getting locked out of his house was plussed sometime between October and November 2022.[3]
This episode was confirmed on January 13, 2023.[4]
On August 5, 2023, Dave Cunningham tweeted the four new episodes that would premiere during the following week: "Gary's Playhouse, Swimming Fools, The Goobfather and Squidbird!"[5] Storyboard artist Simon Edwards replied "Squidbird already?!," which seemed to imply that they worked it. Edwards was an artist on Cunningham's team, meaning that the latter had directed the episode.[6]
Art
Background design
- Art direction by Peter Bennett, traditionally painted by Amy Lewis in gouache.[7]
Storyboards
Production notes
Ryan Kramer:
- Kramer said that the episode was "a super funny one written by Danny Giovannini and polished off by Dave Cunningham and his team of talent."[8]
Music
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
• Surf'N Sponge New Fast Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Title card.]
• Lopey Walk and Talk - Nicolas Carr, Daniel Stimac [Opening.]
• Busted Bust - Nicolas Carr [Squidward accidentally breaks his bust.]
• Skipping to School - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Clam delivers a message to Patrick.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 20C - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob answers his door.]
• An Underwater Conversation 1 - Barry Anthony [Squidward gets angry at SpongeBob's clams.]
• New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr [Clam flies onto Squidward's hand.]
• An Underwater Conversation 1 - Barry Anthony [Clam delivers Squidward a message.]
• Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
• Lounging and Fine Dining - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Squidward relaxing in his bath.]
• The Fruitcake Vendor 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [More clams fly into Squidward's house.]
• Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr [Squidward standing naked.]
• Fooling Around 2 w e gtr - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Squidward traps the clams in a crate.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield [Clams spit hot chowder at Squidward.]
‣ Happy As Larry - Van Phillips [Squidward tries to relax to ignore the clams.]
‣ Charlie's Bike E - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben [Clams helping Patrick fly.]
‣ Charlie's Bike G - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben [Clams attacking Squidward.]
‣ Sporting Triumph - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob and Patrick training the clams.]
• Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
• An Underwater Conversation 1 - Barry Anthony [Squidward grabs his newspaper.]
• Here They Come - Nicolas Carr [Clams fly over Squidward into his house.]
• An Underwater Conversation 1 - Barry Anthony [Squidward gets locked out by the clams.]
‣ King Conga - Dennis Farnon [Clams party in Squidward's house.]
‣ Charlie's Bike C - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben ["Well, at least I'm not naked this time."]
‣ King Conga - Dennis Farnon [Clams tear off Squidward's shirt.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19A - Jeremy Wakefield [Tour bus passes by Squidward's house.]
• Naked Horror - Nicolas Carr [Squidward runs away screaming.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 11D - Jeremy Wakefield ["I can't take it anymore!"]
• Silly Bob Conversation 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Squidward receives a large package.]
‣ Madman - Harry Lubin [Squidward opens the package, revealing a giant killer clam.]
‣ King Conga - Dennis Farnon ["Sic 'em, boy!"]
• Bad Clarinet 2 - Nicolas Carr, James King [Clam playing clarinet.]
‣ Bloodbath - Harry Lubin [Giant clam chasing the carrier clams.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 20A - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward taunts the clams.]
‣ Blue Danube - Julian Gallant, David Tobin, Jeff Meegan [Audio Network] [Clams playing with each other.]
‣ Horror-Scope - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer [Clams trying to attack Squidward.]
• Vibraphone Bits and Pieces - Nicolas Carr ["Hey, I think the clams left."]
• The Clams that Wouldnt Leave - Nicolas Carr [Clams waiting outside Squidward's house.]
‣ Brickbat (battle) - Laurie Johnson [Clams carrying Squidward's house.]
‣ Breakout - Syd Dale [SpongeBob and Patrick jump out of Squidward's house.]
• Got It - Nicolas Carr ["Wait a minute."]
‣ Blue Danube - Julian Gallant, David Tobin, Jeff Meegan [Audio Network] [Ending.]
Release
Broadcast
- This episode was paired up with a rerun of "The Goobfather" during the original American airing.[9]
Distribution
| Format | Title | Region |
|---|---|---|
| DVD | The Complete Thirteenth Season | United States |
| Box set | Another 100 Episodes | United States |
| The Best 300 Episodes Ever | United States | |
| Digital release | SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 23 | United States |
Trivia
General
- This episode was originally scheduled to premiere on August 9, 2023 at 1:10 PM, then 5:15 PM, and then the following day at 5:00 PM.
- This episode's title is a portmanteau of "Squidward" and "bird."
- SpongeBob and Patrick sending messages to each other bothering Squidward is similar to the beginning of "Naughty Nautical Neighbors," doing it with bubbles.
- Junior was intended to make a cameo in this episode, as indicated by the episode's plussed storyboards, as he wore sunglasses. However, his appearance was cut from the final episode.[2]
- This episodes marks the brief return of Ryan Kramer, this time as a storyboard director instead of a storyboard artist.
Episode references
- The carrier clams shoot pearls just like they did in "The Clam Whisperer."
- SpongeBob's peanut plant from "Something Smells" appears when he grabs a box of clam treats from the shelf.
- Patrick indirectly mentions the Empty Head Society when Squidward snarks about the "Idiot Parade," which appeared in "The Nitwitting" and "SpongeBob on Parade."
- When Squidward gets his newspaper, it's the same one that the orderly reads in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."
Cultural references
- The title card track is a soundalike of the 1963 hit song "Surfin' Bird" by the The Trashmen.
- In Squidward's gallery, a drawing resembling the Vitruvian Man with Squidward's head is hanging on the wall.
- The scene where Squidward peeks outside his door to see if the clams have left, only to see several dozens of them waiting outside his house, is similar to an iconic scene from Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds, where a flock of crows surrounds Melanie Daniels on a jungle gym.
Errors
Ian Vazquez credited by mistake.
- When this episode premiered on Nickelodeon USA's Western feed on August 10, 2023, the opening credits credited Ian Vazquez as the supervising director/storyboard supervisor instead of Dave Cunningham. Later reruns on the West feed, the East feed since the premiere, Nicktoons USA, digital versions, streaming releases, DVD releases,[10] and international non-US airings have the normal Dave Cunningham credit.[11]
Miscolored side.
- As SpongeBob pulls Squidward away from Patrick's rock, his side and pores are miscolored as his front colors.
Videos
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 French |
Attaque de palourdes | Clam Attack |
 German |
Die Muschelplage | The Scallop Plague |
 Italian |
Squiddy spicca il volo | Squidward Takes Flight |
 Russian |
Нашествие устриц Nashestviye ustrits |
Oyster Invasion |
 Spanish (Latin America) |
Almejas Mensajeras | Messenger Clams |
 Spanish (Spain) |
Calamardo palominal | Calamardo is Squidward's European Spanish name, and palomina refers to bird poop |
References
- ^ Nickelodeon UK - November 21, 2023
- ^ a b Evan Ross on Twitter - "Making this public"
- ^ (STORYBOARDS) Squidbird - Behance
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - LeakDB
- ^ Dave Cunningham on Twitter - "Gary's Playhouse, Swimming Fools..."
- ^ Simon Edwards on Twitter - "Squidbird already?!"
- ^ Amy Lewis on Instagram - "A few more SpongeBob..."
- ^ Ryan Kramer on Twitter - "a super funny one..."
- ^ Nickstory - August 10, 2023
- ^ SpongeBob SquidBird title card (Season 13 DVD version)
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - SquidBird Title Card (Nickelodeon West Version, Premiere)