The episode begins at the Krusty Krab, where SpongeBob and Squidward are cleaning Mr. Krabs' office. Mr. Krabs tells them to clean the safe. SpongeBob has the combination to the safe. Meanwhile, Plankton is outside the Krusty Krab, planning on stealing the formula. He makes himself invisible and walks over the Krusty Krab. Inside the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob is holding the formula like a baby. SpongeBob uses the trash can to lay the formula on. Squidward dumps the trash outside with the formula in it. Plankton now has the formula and takes it back to the Chum Bucket. Back at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob notices that the formula is missing and Squidward has to tell him that the item he placed it in was a trash can before they realize the situation. They look all over the office. Squidward says that it's gone. SpongeBob went into tears. They check the security cameras to see what happened to the formula. They found out that it was Plankton who took it. Meanwhile, at the Chum Bucket, Plankton is trying to open the formula, but fails as there is a lock on the bottle cap that will only unlock after about 12 hours. Plankton then locks the formula in his own safe and celebrates his victory as he is prepared to finally open the formula the next day.
SpongeBob and Squidward decide to sneak into the Chum Bucket after Mr. Krabs closes and finds that Plankton is preparing for bedtime. The duo then starts to navigate to the safe, despite facing many impediments such as Spot, a sleepwalking Karen, and an electric eye that only detects and allows Plankton in. After SpongeBob uses a picture of Plankton to bypass the electric eye, they find the safe at the end of a hallway. Squidward tries to reach the safe, but he steps on a trap tile and gets smashed by a boot. SpongeBob tries to walk throughout the hallway but he activates more traps that only hurts Squidward. SpongeBob then takes the brutalized Squidward to the end of the hallway and opens the safe. However, as SpongeBob touches the bottle, an alarm goes off and sends him and Squidward into a rocket that sends them back into the back of the Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs drives into the Krusty Krab to start a new day but finds SpongeBob and Squidward in a lot of pain from trying to get back the formula. Mr. Krabs finds out that Plankton stole the formula, but instead of getting very angry at SpongeBob and Squidward, he just breaks
"Plankton stole me formuler?!"
through the wall of the Chum Bucket and gets the formula back before Plankton can get back to the safe.
Plankton opens the safe, but finds out that the formula has been stolen back. Spot is in the safe with a nuclear rod and proceeds to lick Plankton. Back at the Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs decides to lock SpongeBob and Squidward into the safe so they can't keep their eyes off the formula again.
‣Discovery - Benny Carter [Title card] ‣Daily Chores Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob and Squidward clean Mr. Krabs' office.] ‣Zelle 501 - Gerhard Trede [Plankton puts on invisibility helmet.] ‣Toy Piano - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob puts the secret formula bottle in a trash can.] ‣Unknown Track 33 - Squidward drops trash on the trash can and dumps outside. ‣Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["The secret formula!"] ‣Tricks and Traps - James McConnel [Plankton takes the formula/Plankton enters the Chum Bucket with the formula.] ‣Sailor's Sting 24 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob cleaning Mr. Krabs' desk.] ‣Sailor's Sting 15 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob notices the formula's gone.] ‣Drama Link (d) - Hubert Clifford ["The formula?!"] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (r) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Squidward searching for the formula in the trash outside.] ‣M'Wanna - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob cries.] ‣Fooling Around - Barry Anthony [Patrick and Bubble Bass are seen on the security footage.] ‣Cartoon Sting 4 - The formula is seen in movement on the security footage. ‣Zelle 501 - Gerhard Trede [Plankton is seen with the formula on the security footage.] ‣Noodly Shenanigans - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Plankton trying to remove the cork from the bottle.] ‣ ? ["Open sesame!"] ‣Noodly Shenanigans - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Plankton uses flamethrower and dynamite to remove the cork.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (h) - Jeremy Wakefield ["It's no use, Karen. It won't budge."] ‣Noodly Shenanigans - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Cork has a time lock.] ‣Sailor's Sting 6 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Closing time at the Krusty Krab.] ‣Slinky Panther Pants - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob and Squidward sneak into the Chum Bucket.] ‣New Threat - Roger Roger [Plankton watching a scary movie.] ‣ ? - unknown public domain movie soundtrack samples [Plankton watching a scary movie] ‣Cartoon Sting 7 - Plankton preparing for bed. ‣Happy Links 6-9 - Paul Fenoulhet [Plankton arrives at his bedroom.] ‣Mission Improbable - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob makes sure that Plankton is slept.] ‣Dramatic Cue (a) - Ronald Hanmer [Spot growls at SpongeBob and Squidward.] ‣Droopy - Arthur Wilkinson [Spot licking Squidward.] ‣Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob gets an idea.] ‣Hot Steel and Slide Licks (z) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob takes a spent fuel rod.] ‣Eight Comical Cuts - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob plays fetch with Spot.] ‣Dirty Dick - Ralph Dollimore [Karen appears in sleep mode.] ‣Dramatic Episode 2 - Kurt Rehfeld [SpongeBob and Squidward arrive at another part of Chum Bucket.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob takes a Plankton's prison photo.] ‣Space Horizons - Wolf Helling [Retina scans Plankton's photo.] ‣Discovery - Benny Carter [Traps fall on Squidward while trying to approach to the safe.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (c) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob takes Squidward's remains into the bucket.] ‣Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr [Safe opens.] ‣Crime and Danger Sign #3 - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch [Alarm goes off and Squidward and SpongeBob get into a rocket.] ‣Sailor's Sting 24 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Krabs arrives at the Krusty Krab at the morning.] ‣Hot Steel and Slide Licks - Jeremy Wakefield ["Why are you two smoldering?"] ‣Deeply Moving Experience - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob confesses Mr. Krabs that the secret formula is on the Chum Bucket.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (l) - Jeremy Wakefield [Krabs steals the formula back from the Chum Bucket.] •Hot Steel and Slide Licks (e) - Jeremy Wakefield [Spot in Plankton's safe.] ‣Sailor's Sting 30 - "Ah... I'm sure glad the formula is back in the safe where it belongs, Mr. Krabs." ‣ ? [Ending]
Reception
As of September 6, 2018, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 8.6/10 based on 58 ratings by users.[2] TV.com users give this episode a rating of 0.0/10 based on 0 votes.[3]
Karen's "kissy face" screensaver from "Grandmum's the Word" reappears when she kisses Plankton.
When Squidward turns on the Krusty Krab's security footage, a drawing of DoodleBob can be seen on the bottom of the table, referencing both "Frankendoodle" and "Doodle Dimension."
SpongeBob mimicking Plankton is a reference to "Mimic Madness."
Plankton turning into a genie when he is trying to open the Krabby Patty formula, which is a reference to "Spin the Bottle."
Squidward's claustrophobia from "Wishing You Well" is brought up again in the ending.
Squidward getting burnt by fire is similar to the deleted scene from "Just One Bite."
The piano that fell on Squidward is similar to SpongeBob dropping a piano on Plankton (as Dr. Peter Lankton) twice in "Fear of a Krabby Patty."
When Squidward turns on the Krusty Krab's security footage, the date 05-01-99 (May 1, 1999) can be seen on the bottom of the table. This is a reference to the airdate of "Help Wanted," the first episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.
A majority of this episode's production music tracks are composed of "Sailor's Stings," "Cartoon Stings," and "Hot Steel and Slide Licks."
There are 62 formulas on the title card.
Cultural references
When Spot chases after the fuel rod, the lightsaber activation sound from Star Wars is heard.
The boat that falls on top of Squidward is the RMS Titanic, a British passenger liner that sank in the Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg on April 15, 1912.
When this episode is shown in Canada, the description for the episode is mistakenly shown as the description for "Sanitation Insanity" and "Bunny Hunt.
Squidward's nose is behind his mouth
When SpongeBob takes off the cat burglar suit, Squidward's nose is behind his mouth.
