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"Are You Afraid of the Dork?" is a Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years episode from season 1. In this episode, the counselors tell scary stories around the campfire, but things get truly spooky when a real ghost appears.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

The camp counselors gather by the campfire along with a few campers for Kamp Koral's annual spooky story night. The Flying Dutchman's ship soon emerges from the lake, with the Dutchman interested in scary stories.

Bubble Bass begins his story, in which he plays "Lizards, Wizards, and Gizzards," a solo board game. He rolls a one on the die, which takes his game piece on a "Go Back 1" space, taking him back to the start. He ends up rolling a one on the die repeatedly, in which the cycle of him making no progress in the game repeats, causing him to lose his mind. SpongeBob and Patrick briefly enter Bubble Bass's story, as they cause the power to go out and a creature to show up at the cabin door. Bubble Bass is angered by SpongeBob and Patrick's interruption and continues his story, thinking his game die is possessed. The campers scream after Bubble Bass finishes his story, but laugh afterwards.

Are You Afraid of the Dork 097

Lady Upturn surrounded by sharp kitchen utensils.

The Flying Dutchman, observing from his ship, is unamused by Bubble Bass's story. Lady Upturn tells her story next, in which she gets up hungry in the middle of the night. She rings for the butler, but he does not answer. Lady Upturn nervously walks towards the kitchen, as SpongeBob and Patrick enter her story, wanting to walk with her. Lady Upturn notices them interrupting her story and she continues, being scared of the sharp objects in the kitchen, including sporks, which she has never seen before.

Are You Afraid of the Dork 162

Larry being sent into the transmission cloud.

The Flying Dutchman gets frustrated after finding Lady Upturn's story lame, and decides that he needs to help in providing the scares. Larry is about to begin his story, but the Dutchman approaches the campers, scaring them off. He uses his green thumb to release vines that tie up the campers to the campfire. The Dutchman correctly predicts Larry's story, in which used gym equipment was not wiped down. The Dutchman creates a green fog, featuring a transmission of the characters who end up in his stories. He first features Larry, who finds a birthday present in his cabin. The present is revealed to be gym equipment. Larry immediately works out on it, increasing his muscles, but he ends up cracking his shell. He takes a soak in a tub, but the tub is made of butter, softening him. The Dutchman eats Larry's shell, and as the story finishes, Larry ends up as a patch on the Dutchman's demerit badge.

Are You Afraid of the Dork 243

The campers tease Bubble Bass.

The campers are not scared by the story, so the Dutchman tells his next story, featuring Bubble Bass. A meteor emerges from the sky and lands near Bubble Bass while he's at the camp. The meteor cracks, and Bubble Bass is affected by it, gaining superpowers. Bubble Bass goes to his cabin and makes his Captain Counselor costume. He is prepared to gloat at the other campers, but he finds out that they have superpowers as well. Bubble Bass realizes that the meteor affected all the campers, who laugh at his costume. The campers reveal that they are supervillains and approach Bubble Bass, who screams in horror.

Bubble Bass ends up as a patch as well as the story finishes. The Dutchman next plans to feature Lady Upturn, who offers him "ghost money" in the form of credit to upgrade the Dutchman's ship, so as not to be included in a story. Lady Upturn's credit upgrades the ship and the Dutchman lets her off out of a story, but still includes her on a patch. The Dutchman next wants to tell Squidward's story, but Squidward is gone, leaving the Dutchman in disappointment. SpongeBob and Patrick, meanwhile, enter the Dutchman's transmission, so the Dutchman decides to feature them in a story instead.

Are You Afraid of the Dork 348

The Flying Dutchman as a camper.

SpongeBob and Patrick are shown in Mr. Krabs' office, due to them being in trouble. Mr. Krabs walks down towards them, shown as a clown. Mr. Krabs tries to scare them, but SpongeBob and Patrick manage to scare him instead. Patrick cracks Mr. Krabs' shell, revealing the Dutchman, while SpongeBob's reef blower affects him as well. SpongeBob and Patrick's finger snapping turn the Dutchman into a child camper. He is unable to snap his fingers, so he is stuck in this form. SpongeBob and Patrick do various camp activities with the Dutchman, such as jellyfishing, ziplining, and roasting marshmellows at the campfire. At the campfire, the Dutchman manages to finger snap successfully, turning him back to normal.

The Dutchman tries to exact his revenge on SpongeBob and Patrick, but they exit the transmission while the Dutchman is still shown inside it. SpongeBob and Patrick leave for their cabin, but SpongeBob goes back to douse the fire with sand, leaving the Dutchman inside the transmission cloud, as the counselors are rescued. Patrick notices SpongeBob's shirt, which now features a Flying Dutchman patch, as the Dutchman cries in agony.

Production[]

In an interview with the Encyclopedia SpongeBobia Discord server on December 13, 2020, Dave Cunningham stated that there would be "more than one" holiday special coming up for the franchise. This episode ended up being one of them, alongside the Christmas specials "Just in Time for Christmas," "The Ho! Ho! Horror" and "SpongeBob's Road to Christmas," as well as the other Halloween special "Terror at 20,000 Leagues."[1]

On January 10, 2021, Dave Cunningham mentioned that there would be two half-hour specials in the series' first season. Brian Morante would be storyboarding at least one of them, and Jared Morgan "did some great work punching up Brian's roughs" for it.[2] Morante would end up roughing both "The Jellyfish Kid" and this episode.

Kaz would later confirm this episode on July 20, 2021, referring to it as the first "Flying Dutchman Campfire Scary Stories."[3]

Promotional art[]

  • Created by the SpongeBob social media accounts[4] and Yeardley Wells.[5]
KK107-113 promo
Kamp new batch art

Art[]

Character design[]

  • Texture painting and shader development on the Flying Dutchman by Brian Ratchford,[6] spooked Sandy design by April "Pinkie" Davis.[7]

Prop design[]

  • Larry's charts were designed by Joann Chang,[8] but it is unknown who designed Ship Dutchman. However, its look development was done by Erica Liu Kwon.[9]

Environmental design[]

  • Environment modeling and rigging by Julio Vega.[10]

Renders[]

  • Erica Liu Kwon was the look dev artist for the Dutchman's ship.[11]

Storyboards[]

  • Rough boarded by Brian Morante.

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Blanket of Fog - Stuart Crombie [Opening.]
  Beware the Ripper (C) - Richard Myhill [Campers gasp.]
  Beefy Bass Clarinet - Gilbert Vinter ["They're already scared, what babies."]
  Blanket of Fog - Stuart Crombie [SpongeBob and Patrick roar at each other.]
  Pirate Salute [#13] - Con Van Ardt [The Flying Dutchman's ship emerges from the lake.]
  Up She Rises - Sam Spence ["Did I hear someone say scary stories?"]
  More Hawaiian Steel Stings 9 - Jeremy Wakefield [The Flying Dutchman spits out his popcorn.]
  Mini Prelude (3) - Johnny Pearson [Bubble Bass begins his story.]
  Killer Birds [#36] - Gregor F. Narholz [Bubble Bass rolling 1 over and over.]
  Caught Out - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [SpongeBob and Patrick enter Bubble Bass's story.]
  The Creature (b) - Gregor F. Narholz, Ego Plum [An escaped fiend pounds on the door.]
  Caught Out - Tommy Reilly, James Moody ["Excuse me. This is my story."]
  Killer Birds [#36] - Gregor F. Narholz [Bubble Bass still rolling 1.]
  Dramatic Impact (5) - Ivor Slaney [Game dice pop out of Bubble Bass's eyes.]
  The Dreadnought Tea Clipper (B) - Tim Laycock, Robert Alexander White ["1-1-1? Lame lame lame!"]
  Rule Britannia (A) - Thomas Arne, James Thomson, Alexander Rudd, Alex James ["You might think that a person of means, such as myself, wouldn't have a horror story."]
  Short Drama Cue 8 B - Gregor F. Narholz ["Hungry!"]
  Blanket of Fog - Stuart Crombie [Patrick is scared.]
  More Hawaiian Steel Stings 3 - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick eats the teddybear.]
  The Great White - Gregor F. Narholz [Missy Upturn begins her story.]
  Cricket on the Spree - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [SpongeBob and Patrick Interrupt Missy's story.]
  The Great White - Gregor F. Narholz [Missy goes into the kitchen and sees sporks.]
  Caught Out - Tommy Reilly, James Moody ["I thought a fork and spoon was a foon."]
  Horror Escape - Francis Chagrin [The Flying Dutchman decides to visit the campfire.]
  Wooden Bear - Tony Tape, Gil Flat, Florian Voelxen [Larry starts to begin his story.]
  Pirate Salute [#13] - Con Van Ardt [Harvey sees the Dutchman's ship.]
  Horror Escape - Francis Chagrin [The Flying Dutchman's vines drags the campers back to the campfire.]
  Finger of Suspicion - Max Saunders ["Looks like we're a captive audience."/"And what was your scary story, lobster roll? Someone not wiping down the gym equipment after using it?"]
  ? - Ego Plum [The Dutchman turns the campfire green.]
  Approaching Danger - Ronald Hanmer ["I hope you find my stories scary, the first one stars a lobster named Larry!"]
  Vibraphone, "I've Been Hypnotized!" - Sound Ideas [Larry floats into the Dutchman's cloud.]
  Blanket of Fog - Stuart Crombie [Larry finds himself outside his cabin.]
  Olympia Fanfare 2 - Gregor F. Narholz [Larry opens his present.]
  Drum Rolls (A) - Dick Walter [Larry runs to use his new workout machine.]
  American Military Parade - Gerhard Trede [Larry gets jacked using his new workout machine.]
  Suspense And Tension B - Alan Wynn [Larry's shell falls off.]
  Shock - Cornelus Joh Bolten [Larry realizes he's soaking in butter.]
  Finger of Suspicion - Max Saunders [The Flying Dutchman eats Larry's shell.]
  Tales From The Swamp (A) - Ron Goodwin [Ending of Larry's horror story.]
  Cellar Search - Philippe Parès ["It's Larry. Larry's on the patch."/"How's that for a scary story!?"]
  Wooden Bear - Tony Tape, Gil Flat, Florian Voelxen ["I've read scarier stories in third-rate comic books."]
  King of the Giants C - John Fox, Otto Sieben ["Well, here's a tale that has no class. It's about your counselor, Bubble Bass!"]
  Cellar Search - Philippe Parès [Flying Dutchman puts Bubble Bass into his story.]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr [?]
  Hgliss & Bell - Nicolas Carr ["That's better!"]
  Blanket of Fog - Stuart Crombie [Flying Dutchman begins his story.]
  Horror Cue 5 C - Gregor F. Narholz
  Alien Spacecraft A - Gregor F. Narholz [Bubble Bass sees the meteor.]
  Comic Capers C - Charlie Brissette, Norman Mamey [Bubble Bass gets befouled.]
  Heroes Win [#34] - Gregor F. Narholz [Bubble Bass is a superhero.]
  Queen's Aloha Oe - Kapono Beamer, Queen Lili'uokalani ["The meteor affected everyone in camp, not just me!"]
  Shock - Cornelus Joh Bolten [Everybody laughing at Bubble Bass.]
  Tales From The Swamp (A) - Ron Goodwin [Ending of Bubble Bass' horror story.]
  King of the Giants C - John Fox, Otto Sieben ["It's Bubble Bass! Bubble Bass is on the patch!"]
  Finger of Suspicion - Max Saunders [?]
  Rule Britannia (A) - Thomas Arne, James Thomson, Alexander Rudd, Alex James [Lady Upturn offers The Flying Dutchman 1 billion dollars to let her go.]
  Death Clock G - Dick De Benedictis ["Ghost money? I like that."]
  What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor? - Okko Bekker [The Flying Dutchman's ship changes.]
  Tales From The Swamp (A) - Ron Goodwin ["But you still can be... a patch."]
  Short Drama Cue 8 B - Gregor F. Narholz [?]
  Finger of Suspicion - Max Saunders [?]
  Witty Fellow - Gerhard Trede, Ego Plum [The Flying Dutchman can't tell a story without Squidward here.]
  King of the Giants C - John Fox, Otto Sieben ["But what I've seen tonight is totally messed up!"]
  The Dreadnought Tea Clipper (B) - Tim Laycock, Robert Alexander White ["And I was saving my scariest story for last."]
  Jaunty Joe - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [SpongeBob and Patrick go into Dutchman's story.]
  Be Alert - Tommy Reilly ["Kid stuff? Jaded?"]
  Blanket of Fog - Stuart Crombie [SpongeBob and Patrick are in Camp Master Krabs office.]
  Graveyard - Johnny Pearson [SpongeBob and Patrick wonder why they are in Krabs' office.]
  ? - Ego Plum
  Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [SpongeBob and Patrick pull clown tricks on Mr. Krabs.]
  The Dreadnought Tea Clipper (B) - Tim Laycock, Robert Alexander White ["They say dead men tell no tales, but I'm gonna have a whopper to tell after tonight."]
  Alpine Echoes - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [Dutchman is ten years old and back in summer camp.]
  Another Spring - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [Dutchman wants his mommy.]
  Closing Tab 1 - Tommy Reilly, James Moody ["We're gonna have so much fun!"]
  Conjuring Trick - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [Montage of SpongeBob, Patrick and the Dutchman having fun.]
  Evening Stroll - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [SpongeBob, Patrick and the Dutchman at a campfire.]
  ? - Ego Plum [?]
  Sea Story - Ronald Hanmer [?]
  Horror Cue 5 C - Gregor F. Narholz [?]
  Horror Escape - Francis Chagrin [?]
  Caught Out - Tommy Reilly, James Moody ["Sorry Dutch, it's past our bedtimes."]
  Evening Stroll - Tommy Reilly, James Moody [SpongeBob sees Dutchman patched.]
  Tales From The Swamp (A) - Ron Goodwin [Flying Dutchman is now on SpongeBob's pants as a badge.]

Release[]

Trivia[]

General[]

  • In the United States, this episode was:
  • In Canada, this episode was originally going to air on Saturday, June 10, 2023, but was later postponed, and got replaced with a rerun of "Sugar Squeeze" and "Tag, You're It."
  • The "o" in "Dork" in the title card has Bubble Bass' face on it.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of the Flying Dutchman in Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years.
    • This also marks the Flying Dutchman's first appearance in CGI-animation.
  • This is the first Halloween special of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years.
  • In airing order, this is the last episode of any SpongeBob-related media that Brian Morante worked on.
  • This is the second double-length episode of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years. The first is "The Jellyfish Kid."
  • This is currently the Kamp Koral episode with the longest interval between debuts on Paramount+ and on Nickelodeon, taking 1 year and 353 days to premiere on linear television.

Cultural references[]

Episode references[]

  • Patrick is fond of Squidward's ink excrement, just like he was in "Ink Lemonade."

Videos[]

References[]

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