Appearances
Gary was not originally a main character. Stephen Hillenburg created Gary as a background joke; he thought it would be funny if SpongeBob's "pets" were a singing clam named Shelley and a meowing snail named Gary. He included these ideas in his series bible, not as major characters, but as "things in SpongeBob's house." As the first season went into production, the writing team found much more use for Gary than they did for Shelley. Nickelodeon's marketing team also found that Gary "emerged as an unsung hero" in terms of popularity with kids.
For season 2, Gary was promoted to the show's main character sheet.[1] He was the first new main character to be promoted, but he would not be the last; Plankton and Karen were added later. Since his promotion, Gary has appeared in numerous episodes. The vast majority of his roles are background cameos, but he has had a number of significant roles, such as "Have You Seen This Snail?" The third theatrical movie is set to feature him as a major plot element.
Episodes
Shorts
| Title | Role(s) in episode | |
| "Pie" (tr) | Cameo | |
| "What if SpongeBob Was Gone? (Gary)" (tr) | Major | |
| "Balloons" (tr) | Cameo | |
| "The Outfit" (tr) | Supporting | |
| "Bike Safety Tips" (tr) | Cameo |
Movies
| Title | Role(s) in episode | |
| "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (tr) | Minor | |
| "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" (tr) | Minor | |
| "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run" (tr) | Major |
Video games
| Image | # | Title | Role in episode |
| PC and console games | |||
| N/A | "Legend of the Lost Spatula" (tr) | Appears on Conch Street | |
| N/A | "Operation Krabby Patty" (tr) | Supporting; player must rescue him from Plankton | |
| N/A | "SuperSponge" (tr) | Cameo | |
| N/A | "Employee of the Month (video game)" (tr) | Appears at SpongeBob's house | |
| N/A | "Revenge of the Flying Dutchman" (tr) | Appears in opening cutscenes and story | |
| "Battle for Bikini Bottom" (tr) | Appears in various levels Playable on the PC version for some minigames | |
| N/A | "SpongeBob SquarePants Typing" (tr) | Appears in menus and on box art | |
| N/A | "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (video game)" (tr) | Mentioned | |
| N/A | "Lights, Camera, Pants!" (tr) | Appears as an actor | |
| N/A | "The Yellow Avenger" (tr) | Appears at SpongeBob's house | |
| N/A | "Nighty Nightmare" (tr) | Appears in SpongeBob's dream and nightmare levels | |
| N/A | "Creature from the Krusty Krab" (tr) | Appears in Diesel Dreaming and all three endings | |
| N/A | "Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition" (tr) | Cameo in SpongeBob's house | |
| N/A | "SpongeBob's Truth or Square" (tr) | Appears in SpongeBob's house | |
| N/A | "SpongeBob SquigglePants" (tr) | Appears in various nanogames | |
| N/A | "SpongeBob SquarePants Tooncast Studio" (tr) | Appears as a sprite | |
| "Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated" (tr) | Appears in various levels Playable in horde mode | |
| Mobile apps | |||
| N/A | "SpongeBob Moves In!" (tr) | Appears in several quests | |
| N/A | "SpongeBob's Game Frenzy" (tr) | Playable in minigames | |
| N/A | "SpongeBob Game Station" (tr) | Appears in Sponge Run minigame | |
References
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