Christmas Who?

If you were looking for the article about the Russian DVD, then see Christmas Who? (DVD).

"Christmas Who?" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 2. In this episode, SpongeBob learns about the traditions of Christmas and spreads it around Bikini Bottom.

Characters[]

SpongeBob SquarePants
French Narrator
Patchy the Pirate ^(debut)
Potty the Parrot ^(debut)
Patrick Star
Hans
Children voices
Realistic Fish Head ^{(voice only)}
Potty's puppeteer ^(debut)
Sandy Cheeks
Santa's elves ^(mentioned)
Squidward Tentacles
Eugene H. Krabs
Santa Claus ^(debut)
Genie ^(mentioned)
Pony ^(mentioned)
Little girl
Cowboy fish ^(debut)
Incidentals
- Carol
- Incidental 85
- Incidental 37B
- Incidental 91
- Incidental 69
- Incidental 17
- Incidental 21
- Incidental 16
- Don the Whale
- Incidental 11
- Two Incidental 30s
- Incidental 37A
- Incidental 105
- Incidental 49
- Dale
- Incidental 82
- Incidental 7
- Incidental 15
- Incidental 3
- Incidental 25
- Incidental 70 ^(67-colored)
- Incidental 92
- Incidental 28
- Incidental 104
- Incidental 10
- Incidental 41
- Incidental 2
- Incidental 14
- Incidental 67
- Incidental 18
- Harold
- Incidental 48
- Incidental 13
- Incidental 93
- Incidental 60
- Incidental 9
- Charlie
- Incidental 29
- Incidental 81 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 66 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 71 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 62 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 35 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 61 ^{(Storyboard only)}
- Incidental 33 ^{(Storyboard only)}
- Incidental 27 ^(brown)
- Tom
- Steven
- John
- Incidental 12
- Incidental 31
- Incidental 68
- Incidental 39 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 103
- Incidental 64
- Harris
- Incidental 20
- Fred
- Incidental 45
- Incidental 63
- Incidental 8
- Putzy ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 47 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Incidental 150
- Incidental 106
- Incidental 107 ^{(storyboard only)}
- Sandals
- Billy
- Scooter
- Mary
- Incidental 42
- Old Man Walker
Gary the Snail
Sheldon J. Plankton
Jellyfish
Snowman ^(debut)
Donkey ^(debut)
Easter Bunny ^(mentioned)
Reindeer ^(debut)

Synopsis[]

Act 1[]

Patchy prologue[]

As the special opens, it is almost Christmas in Encino, California, and Patchy the Pirate, president of the SpongeBob SquarePants fan club, is deep in preparations for the holiday. With the help of his unenthusiastic assistant, Potty the Parrot, Patchy sets pictures of SpongeBob and Patrick on the mantelpiece, puts up his various SpongeBob-themed ornaments, and bakes Christmas cookies, the dough of which Potty eats. Patchy also takes time to open a letter from a fan, who asks if SpongeBob likes Christmas as much as he does. Patchy remarks that there was once a time when Christmas in Bikini Bottom was unheard of, and decides to tell the tale.

"Christmas Who?"[]

Outside Sandy's treedome, SpongeBob is dressed in his karate gear and preparing to give Sandy a surprise sneak attack. Inside, Sandy is putting up Christmas lights, which SpongeBob mistakes for fire and tries to put it out with sea water. After recovering from the drenching, Sandy is shocked to find out that SpongeBob has never heard of Christmas, and tells him all about it.

Later at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob passes the story of Christmas on to Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs. Everyone in Bikini Bottom, except Squidward, is excited at the idea of Santa Claus bearing gifts, and they all, except Squidward, put their Christmas letters into glass bottles, which are then shot up to the surface for Santa to receive as the act ends. The Bikini Bottomites decorate for Christmas as SpongeBob and Patrick sing a song. They even decorate Squidward's house, which Squidward does not agree with. After the song, Squidward closes his blinds.

Act 2[]

"Christmas Who?"[]

Act 2 begins as SpongeBob is sending the last of the letters to Santa, and finds out Squidward still has not written his letter yet. SpongeBob and a few citizens try to get him to write a letter and be in the Christmas spirit, but it fails. In the days leading up to Christmas, the people of Bikini Bottom heartily celebrate, and on Christmas Eve, they stand in front of the large decorated coral tree and sing, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa. Squidward, refusing to believe in Santa Claus, takes no part in any of the mirths.

The people continue to sing until morning, when they realize that Santa has not come. Everyone leaves in disappointment, and they call SpongeBob out on his lying. Patrick tries to tell the people that Santa had stopped for a snack and so SpongeBob and Patrick are waiting for Santa, until they realize that he really does not exist, SpongeBob becomes heartbroken. In realty, Santa didn't come because they were supposed to be asleep. Squidward wakes and comes out, at last, laughing at SpongeBob's humiliation, and even takes a photo to commemorate the occasion.

Christmas Who 250 — The embarrassing snapshot.

As SpongeBob sadly trudges away, he hands Squidward a present. Squidward, still skeptical, opens it to find a hand-carved driftwood clarinet. Squidward sees how SpongeBob has only been trying to spread joy, he feels very remorseful for what he did, and decides to make up for his rudeness. He dresses up as Santa and surprises SpongeBob, who thanks him for bringing Christmas to Bikini Bottom.

Squidward prepares to go back inside his house but is approached by a little girl, asking him for a present. Out of desperation, Squidward gives the child a large wrench, which pleases her greatly. A large crowd arrives asking for presents, and he ends up giving away everything he owns. Squidward realizes the lengths he has gone to in preserving SpongeBob's dream, and after shooing away an excited SpongeBob, he discovers a note on his doorstep, which turns out to be a message from Santa thanking him for his help. He looks up in time to see the real Santa Claus soaring overhead in his sleigh, as he is shocked that he was wrong about his existence. At a loss at seeing Santa, he dismisses himself as being insane and plays his new clarinet before going back inside.

Patchy epilogue[]

Christmas Who 364 — Welcome to Christmas Island.

After finishing his story, Patchy has to deal with Potty perching on his head. However, it turns out the parrot merely lays him a gift of goodwill, which touches Patchy's heart. Patchy then proceeds to step under the mistletoe, inviting the ladies to come by for a smooch, only for Potty to start swooping after him. With Patchy preoccupied, the narrator rounds things off by wishing a "Good night, and Happy Holidays," to end the special.

Production[]

Art[]

Model sheets[]

Storyboards and sketches[]

Animatic[]

Deleted scenes[]

Four scenes were deleted. They all can be found on the Christmas DVD in the special features on the Christmas Who? storyboard.

Squidward gave the first girl an antique of himself instead of a wrench.
While waiting in line for Santa (as Squidward), Mr. Krabs had a deleted line in this episode. He said, "And don't forget about me pony!" This was cut for unknown reasons.
After Squidward gives the first girl the gift, SpongeBob says "I told ya he was real!" enthusiastically.
When they sing "This Christmas Feels Like The Very First Christmas To Me," instead of Plankton and Mr. Krabs singing together, two Bikini Bottomites sing together.
SpongeBob says "Lookey who's next!" in one scene. It was cut for unknown reasons.

Music[]

( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

◦ Christmas Special - Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Eban Schletter [Intro]
‣ Happy Christmas Medley - David Snell ["And now, direct from Encino..."]
‣ Santa's on His Way - David Snell [Patchy wrapping presents]
• Harp Zing - Nicolas Carr ["I sure am!"]
‣ Santa's on His Way - David Snell [SpongeBob welcomes Santa]
‣ Festive Medley - David Snell [Fan mail]
• Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
‣ Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer ["Fire!"]
‣ Dramatic Cue (C) - Ronald Hanmer ["Don't worry, Sandy, I'm coming!"]
‣ Jingle Bells (d) - Simon Benson [Sandy's homemade Christmas tree]
‣ Sugar Plum Fairy 59 - Richard A. Harvey [Sandy telling SpongeBob about Christmas]
• Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [At the Krusty Krab]
‣ In Dulci Jubilo - Ib Glindemann [SpongeBob contacts Santa]
‣ Sleigh-Ride - David Snell [Shooting bottles to the surface]
◦ The Very First Christmas - Paul Tibbitt, Peter Strauss
‣ Christmas Morning - David Snell ["Is Squidward right? Can there be a Christmas under the sea?"/Patchy continues his story]
‣ Hawaiian Link (A) - Richard Myhill [Sending the last letter]
‣ Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob realizes Squidward hasn't written a letter yet]
• Squids Clarinet - Brad Carow [Clarinet music]
‣ Deck the Halls - Ib Glindemann [SpongeBob tries to write a letter for Squidward/"All you have to do is write a letter. What have you got to lose?"]
• Christmas Special - Eban Schletter ["Santa's coming tonight, tonight..."]
• Sleigh Bells - Nicolas Carr [Sleigh Bells overlays "Christmas Special"]
• Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Uh... he should be here any minute."]
• Steel Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield [Everyone leaves]
• Sad Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Never trust a genie."]
‣ Tomfoolery - David Snell [Squidward making fun of SpongeBob]
• Drowsey Reef - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["You were right, Squidward."]
‣ Yuletide Medley - David Snell [SpongeBob made Squidward a clarinet]
‣ The Nutcracker - Ballet Suite Op 71A - Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy - Peter Tchaikovsky [Squidward pushes the button on clarinet]
‣ Yuletide Medley - David Snell ["This is the greatest gift I have ever gotten."]
‣ Kamakani B - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob taking decorations off his house]
• Sleigh Bells - Nicolas Carr [Sleigh bells overlays "Kamakani B"]
• Squid's Santa - Nicolas Carr ["Huh? Hello? Who's there?"]
• Jingle - Nicolas Carr [Overlays "Squid's Santa"]
• Thats It ! - Nicolas Carr [Squidward dressed as Santa Claus]
‣ Joy to the World - Alec Gould [Squidward dressed as Santa Claus]
• Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Up here, you dunce!"]
• Sleigh Bells - Nicolas Carr [Sleigh bells]
• Thats It ! - Nicolas Carr ["Could it be?"]
‣ Joy to the World - Alec Gould ["Yes, it is I, Santa Claus!"]
‣ Christmas Party - David Snell [SpongeBob stammering]
• Deck the Halls (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Little girl asks for a present/Squidward deciding what to give her]
‣ The Nutcracker - Ballet Suite Op 71A - Russian Dance - Peter Tchaikovsky, Jindrich Rohan [Squidward giving away his stuff]
‣ Hawaiian Link (A) - Richard Myhill [Squidward takes off the Santa costume]
• Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob at the door]
• Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Huh? What's this?"]
‣ Jingle Bell Swing - Ib Glindemann [Letter from Santa]
• Squid Clarinet 1 - Brad Carow [Squidward playing clarinet]
‣ Happy Christmas Medley - David Snell [Ending]
• We Wish You A Merry Christmas (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Closing credits]

Release[]

This episode is available on the Christmas, Nicktoons Christmas, Complete 2nd Season, Nick For the Holidays!, The Party, Nick Picks Holiday, Christmas Who?, Aaarg!, Bundled Up in Bikini Bottom, Nick X-Mas Special, Holly Jolly Holiday Specials, 10 Happiest Moments, First 100 Episodes, Let's Party at Christmas!, Nickelodeon Holly Jolly Holiday Specials, Special Christmas box, Really Big Box Set, The SpongeBob Birthday Box, Holidays with SpongeBob 3-DVD Gift Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, Treasure Chest: Double Pack, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 2, Jolly Saint Nick, Christmas DVD Double Pack, Complete Second Season, Nickelodeon's Happy Holiday Pack, From the Beginning, Part 1, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, Nickelodeon Christmas, Triple Pack 3, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, The First & Second Seasons, Collection Triple, Big Hits: Volume 2, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs.
This episode is also available on the Christmas VHS tape.

Trivia[]

General[]

This episode marks the first of several things:
- The first appearances of Patchy the Pirate and Potty the Parrot.
- The first double-length episode of the series.
  - However, it was one of the few double-length episodes to have one animation director, rather than two. This also happens in "Party Pooper Pants."
- The first Christmas-themed episode in the series.
- The first episode to show Patrick with just one tooth; it can be seen when he says, "Just like a genie!" Patrick's single tooth would later appear in more episodes.
- The first episode where Sandy does not wear her air helmet in any scenes whatsoever.
- The first usage of the track, "Drowsey Reef."
- The first episode from the series to have two non-consecutive production codes, with the Patchy segments having the production code of 5571-153, and the SpongeBob segments having the production code of 5571-155.
- In airing order, the first appearance of Sandy and Plankton in season 2. However, in packaging and production order, their first appearances in the season were "Wormy" and "Imitation Krabs" respectively.
This is the last episode for two things:
- The last appearance of Incidental 70, until The Patrick Star Show episode "The Yard Sale."
- The last episode to premiere in the 2nd millennium and the 20th century.
This marks the third time the arrow on top of Patrick's rock falls off, after "Home Sweet Pineapple" and "Big Pink Loser."
The title card for this episode is similar to that of "Employee of the Month."
Squidward’s growling during the scene where SpongeBob asks him what his wish is, it’s reused from “Naughty Nautical Neighbors”.
Patchy's line "you, I'm ignoring" to Potty the Parrot is Tom Kenny's favorite line and a line he wishes was more popular.^[5]
At the beginning of this episode, in the opening theme song, the captain has a wreath around him and instead of saying the usual line, "Are you ready, kids?," he says, "Ready for Christmas, kids?"
- He also has a wreath around him and says the same line in "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"
- Instead of him singing the opening, a female chorus sings the intro. Additionally, the logo card was changed to a Christmas title card.
Despite the introduction of Christmas to Bikini Bottom in this episode, the holiday or its related elements are mentioned in previous episodes:
- "Jellyfishing": Patrick says, "Merry Christmas!" to Squidward.
- "Sandy's Rocket": SpongeBob wears a Santa hat to bed.
- "Scaredy Pants": Patrick finds a Christmas tree in SpongeBob's closet.
- "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II": SpongeBob, Mermaid Man, and Barnacle Boy sing a variation of Jingle Bells.
- "Your Shoe's Untied": A Christmas bow is mentioned in the song "Loop de Loop."
This is the only episode for two things:
- The only double-length episode of season 2, unless the extended version of "Shanghaied" is counted.
- The only episode where Mike Bell voices Santa Claus and portrays Santa in addition.
This episode was originally titled "Patchy The Pirate Presents: The SpongeBob SquarePants Christmas Special."^[6] This alternate title is used by various cable TV providers and the Nickelodeon website.^[7] Amazon Prime Video shortens this title to "The SpongeBob Christmas Special."^[8]
There are two books based on this episode called SpongeBob's Christmas Wish and Jingle Smells.
On the Complete 2nd Season DVD, at the beginning of the second half of the episode when Patchy says, "It's about time you got back! Now I can finish me story!" is cut because there are no commercials on the DVD.
On the Nick Picks Holiday DVD, Patchy's appearance before and after the commercial break is cut entirely.
According to the audio commentary for this episode, the cookie dough Patchy made was actually mashed potatoes.
The fan letter's envelope lists its sender as "Mike Miller," but this can only be seen for a split-second.
According to the audio commentary for this episode, they used a dummy for the puppeteer instead of an actual person.
During the song "The Very First Christmas," Mr. Krabs' falsetto voice was done by Dee Bradley Baker, because Clancy Brown could not hit the high notes.
After Sandy tells SpongeBob about Christmas, she is not seen for the rest of the episode.
In the Brazilian dub of this episode, the line "I hope [Santa] can read Portuguese" was changed to "I hope he can understand my calligraphy," because Portuguese is already Brazil's official language.^[9]
The music on the phonograph that Squidward has played while he pretends to play with his clarinet is the same song he plays in "Bubblestand."
When Squidward feels guilty for bullying SpongeBob, he says "I feel like a..." and a picture of a donkey appears. A similar joke is made in "Fools in April."
Patchy pretends that SpongeBob and Patrick go to Christmas Island, a real territory of Australia.
Sandy's wintertime activities are not set in stone, because in this episode, she is clearly present in Bikini Bottom and wide awake during regular hours. However, in "Bubble Buddy," she migrates for the winter. Furthermore, the episodes "Prehibernation Week" and "Survival of the Idiots" center around Sandy preparing to hibernate and SpongeBob and Patrick breaking and entering into her house while she hibernates respectively.

Santa Squidward in Nickverse — Squidward's Santa costume in *Nickverse*.

In the game SpongeBob's Truth or Square, a reference to this episode appears in level 4, where Squidward is seen dressed as Santa.
- In Nickverse, two references to this episode appear in Winter Wonderland. Squidward is seen dressed as Santa and Conch Street is very similar to its Christmas version in the episode.
In this episode, Potty is portrayed more realistically to an actual parrot, by simply mimicking words and saying short phrases. In later episodes, Potty is more sentient.
For unknown reasons, this episode was rated 13+ on Amazon Prime Video in August 2020.^{[citation needed]}
- This has since been corrected as of October 2020, and the episode is back to being rated its original TV-Y7 rating on Amazon Prime Video.
This episode re-aired on Nicktoons on August 14, 2020, instead of airing it on December.^[10]
This and "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" were re-aired on July 25, 2020, as part of the "Nickmas in July" event.^[11]^[12]
SpongeBob is shown to be ambidextrous in this episode. When he writes his letter at the Krusty Krab, he uses his right hand, while later when he tries to write a letter for Squidward, he uses his left hand.
- SpongeBob says he is ambidextrous in "The Splinter" and "You Don't Know Sponge."
- However, SpongeBob says he is left-handed in "I Was a Teenage Gary," and in "Neptune's Spatula," he had two left hands.
SpongeBob mentions the episode's title when he says, "Christmas Who?"
It is said Santa Claus only comes when everyone is asleep, and probably the reason Santa did not show up is because SpongeBob and the Bikini Bottomites never went to sleep.
- Sandy apparently did not tell SpongeBob that they needed to be asleep on Christmas Eve night for Santa to show up.
Nickelodeon only airs this episode, "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," and "SpongeBob's Road to Christmas" in the month of December, making all three episodes extremely rare to find on American TV, since they are Christmas-themed episodes. This also occurred for "Scaredy Pants," "I Was a Teenage Gary," and "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom," since they are Halloween-themed episodes and only air during the month of October.
- This also occurred with "Valentine's Day" and "The Paper" as they air only in the month of early February and "Fools in April" and "Neptune's Spatula" as they only air in the start of April, and as of to date all four episodes air on a regular rotation.

Grandma's Kisses 173 — "Sad SpongeBob" in "Grandma's Kisses."

The snapshot of SpongeBob being heartbroken has since become an internet meme, where either the meme is used for sad events, or the meme is usually spammed by sound effects and calls SpongeBob "Spunch Bop."
- SpongeBob does a similar face prior in "Grandma's Kisses."
Frames from this episode are later used in "Friendiversary" when SpongeBob remembers Squidward.
Excluding the opening theme song intro and end credits, this episode is bookended by the soundtrack "Happy Christmas Melody."

Dub facts[]

In the Romanian dub, Squidward says "Mă simt ca un măgar!", which means "I feel like a donkey!"

Cultural references[]

A little girl tells SpongeBob that she wants front teeth for Christmas. This is a reference to the 1944 song "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."
Patchy says "That SpongeBob makes me as jolly as a Roger," an allusion to the pirate flag called the Jolly Roger.
The painting of Santa Claus that SpongeBob shows is Haddon Sundblom's painting of the character originally made for the Coca-Cola company.
The title of this episode is a reference to the long-running BBC television series, Doctor Who.

Errors[]

Floating water helmet — SpongeBob's water helmet floating.

When Patchy blows into his pipe, there are some bubbles that don't come out of the pipe, but instead, they come on the bottom of the screen.
As SpongeBob runs to Sandy's treedome to show off his new karate move, his water helmet is floating and is separated from his head for one frame.
Despite Squidward being unenthusiastic about Christmas, he is heard singing along to the final line of "The Very First Christmas," which was meant to be joyous. The camera also cuts to him at this time and he is not even physically singing.

Christmas Who 187 — Incidental 69 with his original design.

At one point during "The Very First Christmas," Incidental 69 has his Season 1 design instead of his current one.

Christmas Who 089 — Bubbles appearing despite Sandy not being in the water.

Towards the end of the sequence where Sandy tells SpongeBob about Christmas, bubbles are shown when she moves, even though they are both in the air-filled treedome.
A few seconds after Patrick says "Like a genie," his eyebrows turn red for a split second as he blinks.
The strings roping on the window side of the Krusty Krab windows are gone.

When SpongeBob gives Patrick his second sheet of paper, his black shoes are transparent.

The girl who asked for front teeth is crossed-eyed in one scene.
During the song, when SpongeBob and Patrick are showing Squidward the decorations they have put on his house, SpongeBob's house next-door is missing.
When Mr. Krabs gives Plankton the fruitcake, it is sunset in the evening. However, when the fruitcake lands in the trash, it is instantly night.

Christmas Who 330 — Squidward's incorrectly colored eyelids.

When Squidward as Santa talks to SpongeBob, his eyelids briefly change color for a split second to a lighter teal.

Christmas Who 299 — Squidward with only two legs.

When SpongeBob says "Where's your reindeer, and your flying machine?," Squidward has two legs instead of four.

Harold's white shirt and shorts turn black in a few scenes.
SpongeBob's tie is invisible in the sequence leading up to the picture being taken, and in the physical picture.
The photograph that Squidward took when SpongeBob was crying has multiple errors:
- When Squidward holds the photo, the background around it is sand instead of snow.
- In the photo, the background is not the winter sky or snow; it is the typical sky that is seen in the other episodes, even though the coral tree is still visible.
Before SpongeBob gives Patrick his paper to write to Santa Claus, numbers appear on the bottom of the screen for a split second.
When the fish sing "Santa's coming tonight, tonight":
- Incidental 103's pants seems to disappear and reappear.
- SpongeBob's mouth, as well as Incidental 48's eyes, disappear on the word "Santa's."
When it is going from Squidward's house to Bikini Atoll, one of Santa's reindeers appears in ocean when Santa is going past Bikini Atoll.
When SpongeBob walks over to Squidward's house to take down his decorations, the string of candy canes is not there until the scene switches to a close-up shot.

SantaDeerError — Santa's reindeer error.

In the Filipino dub, the original audio is replaced with the Tagalog voice actors redubbing the song into English.^[13] In Squidward's line "Go away before I harm you bodily," the word bodily is replaced with badly.