F.U.N.

If you were looking for the article about the song, then see F.U.N. Song.

F.U.N.
General
Production code:	2515-121
Season №:	1
Episode №:	10b
Airdate:	September 18, 1999 November 20, 1999 March 24, 2000 October 7, 2000 See more... January 30, 2000 July 11, 2000 January 6, 2001 March 24, 2001 July 13, 2001 (Novyi Kanal) August 2, 2001 (EBS) November 4, 2001 (Telétoon) December 28, 2001 February 2, 2002 September 6, 2002 (Super RTL) October 18, 2002 (SRF ZWEI) October 25, 2002 (JEI TV) October 23, 2003 January 23, 2004 (Orf 1) September 3, 2004 September 24, 2004 March 1, 2005 (ICTV) September 23, 2005 (Nickelodeon) November 21, 2005 (Nickelodeon) February 7, 2006 August 12, 2007 July 25, 2008 July 19, 2009 August 30, 2010 (QTV) March 24, 2014 September 23, 2016 February 12, 2017 February 10, 2018 (PLUS PLUS) March 5, 2018 (TET) May 3, 2019 July 13, 2020 June 14, 2021
U.S. premiere time (ET):	10:15 am
Copyright year:	1999
U.S. viewers (millions):	2.41
Running time:	11 minutes
Sister episode(s):	"Culture Shock"
Credits
Writer(s):	Sherm Cohen Aaron Springer Peter Burns
Storyboard Artist(s):	Aaron Springer
Storyboard:	Sherm Cohen
Animation:	Fred Miller
Creative:	Derek Drymon
Chronology
Previous	"Culture Shock"
Next	"MuscleBob BuffPants"

"F.U.N." is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 1. In this episode, SpongeBob befriends Plankton because he thinks he is lonely.

Characters

• French Narrator
• Eugene H. Krabs
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Squidward Tentacles
• Male cowfish ^(debut)
• Female cowfish ^{(single appearance)}
• Magician ^(mentioned)
• Sea urchins
• Karen Plankton
• Jellyfish
• Sheldon J. Plankton
• Scallops and clams
• Bubble Bass
• Unnamed male fish in movie
• Unnamed anchovy in movie
• Incidentals
  • John
  • Fred
  • Incidental 10
  • Incidental 6
  • Incidental 2
  • Incidental 4
  • Incidental 3
  • Incidental 22
  • Charlie
  • Incidental 8
  • Incidental 40
  • Incidental 13
  • Incidental 115 ^(debut)
  • Incidental 114 ^(debut)
  • Incidental city crowd 1 ^(debut)
  • Incidental city crowd 2 ^(debut)
  • Incidental city crowd 3 ^(debut)
  • City crowds ^{(single appearance)}
  • Incidental 118
  • Incidental 34
  • Incidental 48
  • Incidental 27
  • Incidental 7
  • Incidental 31
  • Incidental 12
  • Incidental 42
  • Incidental 45

Synopsis

The episode begins with business as usual at the Krusty Krab, until suddenly, an alarm begins to blare, signaling an attempt by Plankton to steal a Krabby Patty. Plankton, patty in tow, escapes outside by making a hole in the door with a laser.

SpongeBob chases after him. After a long chase across the cityscape, SpongeBob finally recovers the Krabby Patty and is congratulated by the townsfolk, while Plankton walks home downcast. SpongeBob, feeling sorry for Plankton, decides to befriend him.

SpongeBob invites Plankton to go jellyfishing with him. Realizing he can take advantage of SpongeBob, Plankton goes. At Jellyfish Fields, Plankton remains fixated on evil and destruction, while SpongeBob tries to explain fun to him by singing the "F.U.N. Song." Eventually, Plankton starts singing the song as well, first, he sings his own version with violent lyrics, but eventually, he sings SpongeBob's version and seems to finally be having fun. He seems to forget about stealing the formula and begins to develop a genuine sense of friendship.

When Mr. Krabs sees this, he refuses to believe that Plankton has changed, and sets up a trap for them when he goes to the Krusty Krab to meet SpongeBob the next day. He attempts to tempt Plankton with a Krabby Patty, but Plankton sits motionless and apathetic with the patty in front of him. After SpongeBob and Plankton leave to go to the movies, Mr. Krabs begins to suspect that Plankton really has gone straight and nice, until he realizes that he actually did take the patty.

SpongeBob and Plankton at the movie theater.

At the Reef Cinema, Mr. Krabs appears in front of the projector and demands everyone in the theater to reach into their friend or partner's pocket to see what they have got. SpongeBob reaches into Plankton's pocket and finds a Krabby Patty. SpongeBob realizes that Plankton used him to get a Krabby Patty. Plankton attempts to explain that he realizes now that he only ever wanted friendship, before admitting to everything and running off with the patty through the movie screen, tearing it in half in the process.

SpongeBob believes Plankton won, but Mr. Krabs tells him he did not. He shows SpongeBob behind the screen, revealing Plankton to be badly squashed on a damaged concrete wall with the Patty. SpongeBob apologizes to Mr. Krabs and they decide to go back to the Krusty Krab and have a fresh Krabby Patty. Mr. Krabs flicks Plankton off the wall and onto Bubble Bass' hand, where he mistakes Plankton for a jelly bean. Bubble Bass chases Plankton around his hand with him screaming, concluding the episode.

Production

Art

The Krusty Krab in lockdown mode.

Another shot of the Krusty Krab in lockdown mode.

Bikini Bottom alleyway.

A rooftop.

Bikini Bottom alleyway, as viewed in Plankton's imagination.

Sketches

Pencil sketch of SpongeBob in a hula outfit.

Pencil sketch of various worker fish.

Cels

Storyboards

Plankton originally asks, "What happens after we shoot 'em?" then imitates a rifle. Since this was too violent, it was changed to "What happens after we eat 'em?"

Model sheets

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ◦ F.U.N. Song - Sherm Cohen, Brad Carow [Title card]
 ‣ When Daylight Shines Captain Lenoe's - Michael Arthur, Colin Cater, Mick Graves, The Folk Players, Sarah Graves, Simon Ritchie [The opening]
 ‣ Death Trap [#25] - Gregor F. Narholz [The alarms go off.]
 ‣ Heroes Win [#34] - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob chases Plankton.]
 ‣ Chase That Car - Laurie Johnson [SpongeBob inflates his Krusty Krab hat.]
 ‣ Vibe Link (A) - Richard Myhill ["Wow, a magic shop!"]
 ‣ In the Cradle (a) - Dick Stephen Walter [SpongeBob tells story about a magician.]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer ["Plankton, it's you!"]
 ‣ Kamakani B - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob tries to cheer Plankton up.]
 ‣ Vibe Link (B) - Richard Myhill ["I bet if he had just one friend..."]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (B) - Richard Myhill [Later]
 ‣ Queen's Aloha Oe C - Kapono Beamer, Queen Lili'uokalani [SpongeBob visits Plankton.]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (H) - Ronald Hanmer ["That naïve cube!"]
 ‣ Grass Skirts Blowing (Hilo March) - The Hawaiian Serenaders [SpongeBob and Plankton go jellyfishing.]
 ‣ Footsteps of Horror - W. Merrick Farran [Plankton's daydream]
 ◦ F.U.N. Song - Sherm Cohen, Brad Carow [SpongeBob and Plankton sing this song.]
 ‣ On The Beach - Kapono Beamer [That night]
 ‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band [At the Krusty Krab the next day]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer [photo of SpongeBob and Plankton are together.]
 ‣ Footsteps of Horror - W. Merrick Farran ["What's this all about, Mr. Krabs?"]
 ‣ Facing the Challenge [#14.02] - Gregor F. Narholz ["Hang on there, laddie, I'm a-coming!"]
 ‣ A Pirate's Life For Me (A) - Ron Goodwin [SpongeBob and Plankton are at the movies.]
 ‣ Curse of Evil 1 [#44] - Gregor F. Narholz ["He's decievin' ya! Reach into his pocket now and take what he's got!"]
 ‣ Fates [#61] - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob finds a Krabby Patty in Plankton's pocket.]
 ‣ Whisper from the Past [#63] - Gregor F. Narholz [Plankton cries.]
 ‣ Glamorous Affair A - John Fox, Otto Sieben ["Oh, darling, I knew nothing would ever tear us apart."]
 ‣ Oyster Girls - Robert Alexander White [The ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Nautical Nonsense and Sponge Buddies, Complete 1st Season, Sponge Buddies, Hall Monitor, Sponge Crazy, First 100 Episodes, SpongeBob SquarePants, iSponge Offer Pack, Really Big Box Set, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 1, The Complete First Season, The Best of SpongeBob SquarePants, From the Beginning, Part 1, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, Sheldon Plankton: Mean and Green, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, The First & Second Seasons, Movies & TV Collection, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs and on VideoNow.
• This episode is available on the Sponge Buddies and Undersea Antics Volume 1 VHS tapes.
• This episode is also available on the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Blu-ray.

Reception

• In fan-voted SpongeBob SquarePants marathons, "F.U.N." was ranked #14 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006 and #2 during The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash event from July 17–19, 2009.
• In "Top 100 Greatest Nicktoon Moments," this episode was ranked #4.
• "F.U.N." was ranked #3 during the SpongeBob's Top 100 event in the UK and Ireland from June 4-8, 2012.

Trivia

General

• This episode was originally titled "My Fair Plankton."
• The boot squeak sound effect from "Squeaky Boots" can be heard when the police fish puts the "Honorary Rookie" donut on SpongeBob.

Original storyboard of this episode that has Plankton doing a firearm reference.

• In the storyboard version, Plankton asks "So what happens after we shoot 'em?" and pretends to fire his jellyfish net like a rifle. SpongeBob responds "You don't shoot 'em!" In the finished episode, the firearm references were removed; in the final episode, Plankton does still hold his net like a rifle, but does not pretend to fire it. Instead, he asks "So what happens after we eat 'em?"
• SpongeBob can be heard singing the "F.U.N. Song" again in "C.H.U.M.S."

Bubble Bass sitting on Plankton.

• The scene where Bubble Bass sits on Plankton has become popular for YouTube Poop parody videos.
• This is the first episode for several things:
  • This is the first episode to have a designable text in the title card words and have a solid black background.
  • This is the first episode title to be in acronym form. The second is "C.H.U.M.S."
  • This is the first episode in which Plankton is confused for a jelly bean. The second is "Frozen Face-Off."
  • This is the first episode to use the APM tracks "A Pirate's Life For Me (A)" and "Kamakani B."
• This is one of four episodes transcribed as a comic into the SpongeBob SquarePants/Tokyopop book Tales from Bikini Bottom. The other three were "Home Sweet Pineapple," "Prehibernation Week," and "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic."
• This is the second episode where the German dub version has the exact same title card as the English version. The first is "Plankton!"
• This is one of seven episodes in which the 1986 Paramount logo is plastered with the 2002 Paramount logo. The others are "Help Wanted," "Squeaky Boots," "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost," "Employee of the Month," "Karate Choppers," and "Rock Bottom."
• This episode was paired up with different episodes in different marathons:
  • This episode was paired up with "Band Geeks" during the Nickelodeon Lie-a-Thon marathon.
  • This episode was paired up with "The Algae's Always Greener" during the Plankton's Revenge marathon.
  • This episode was paired up with "Krusty Krab Training Video" during the Best Day Ever marathon.
  • This episode was paired up with "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III" during the Best Buddies Week.

• This episode was referenced in Nickverse as Plankton's Krabby Patty in this episode appears.

Cultural references

• The original title for this episode ("My Fair Plankton") is a reference to the Broadway musical and 1964 film, My Fair Lady.
• The Chum Bucket's special of the day is Chumbalaya, a parody of the Creole dish Jambalaya.

Errors

• When SpongeBob is looking for the Krabby Patty with binoculars, the fish citizens are walking slowly in lines, but when he spots the patty, they begin walking faster.

SpongeBob's miscolored belt.

• While SpongeBob uses his Krusty Krab employee hat as a bouncing ball, the outline on his belt is on top of his shirt for a frame.
• When SpongeBob chases the Krabby Patty off a building, he uses his blown-up Krusty Krab employee hat as a bouncing ball. However, when he catches the Krabby Patty at the Magic Shop, his hat is back on his head and deflated.
• During the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Rookie," a female voice is heard singing along, but everyone singing is male.
• When SpongeBob is thrown in the air, the sky is green. When he lands seconds later, it is blue.
• The Chum Bucket is across the city instead of across the street from the Krusty Krab in this episode.
• When Plankton is leaning against the door of the Chum Bucket, he appears to be about half as tall as the door.
• When SpongeBob and Plankton are at Jellyfish Fields, SpongeBob gives Plankton a jellyfish net, but in the next scene, Plankton is not seen with the net and it is not seen on the ground.
• SpongeBob says "U is for you and me." and "N is for anywhere and anytime at all." This is incorrect as the word "you" starts with the letter Y, while the word "anywhere" starts with the letter A.
• The clams' mouths are out of sync with the animation during the "F.U.N. Song."

SpongeBob's visible eyelashes mistake.

• As Mr. Krabs looks through a telescope at SpongeBob and Plankton, in the reflection, SpongeBob blinks his eyes, but his eyelashes are still seen for a split second.
• When Plankton is at the Krusty Krab, he replaces a real Krabby Patty with a cardboard cutout version of a Krabby Patty. However, we see the Krabby Patty the entire time on the table, and Plankton does not even touch it.

The image on the left shows 18 people in the theater, but the image on the right shows fewer people.

• When the movie theater is first shown, there are 18 people sitting inside, but in later scenes, there are fewer.

Plankton's missing legs.

• While Plankton says he took the Krabby Patty, his bottom and legs keep disappearing and reappearing.
• Plankton hits the wall on the very bottom of the movie screen, but he is at Mr. Krabs' eye level when Mr. Krabs reveals the wall.
• Mr. Krabs shows SpongeBob a wrinkled Krabby Patty, but in the next scene, it is normal.

No green jelly bean.

The next scene shows that there is a green jelly bean.

• Bubble Bass eats jelly beans with no green one, but in the next scene, a green one suddenly appears.

Videos

"F" is for FEAR! 🔴 - New SpongeBob Show - The Bikini Bottom Inquirer Ep 7

'F.U.N. Song' ReadAlong ft. SpongeBob SquarePants

Sing Along w the F.U.N. Song!! TuesdayTunes SpongeBob

The F.U.N. Song REMIX! 🎶 SpongeBob

SpongeBob SquarePants - F.U.N. Song - Nickelodeon UK

F.U.N Song Music Video IRL 🎵 - SpongeBob-2

SpongeBob & Plankton Sing the F.U.N. Song! - SpongeBob Plush Toys - Toymation

SpongeBob SquarePants - F U N Song (Instrumental version)

SpongeBob's 'F.U.N.' Song with Puppets! - Nickelodeon Cartoon Universe