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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
This is the page about the episode. For other uses, see It's a SpongeBob Christmas! (disambiguation).

"It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 8. In this episode, Plankton turns everybody in Bikini Bottom naughty by feeding them his special Jerktonium fruitcakes, all in an effort to get his Christmas wish.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

Patchy Segments[]

Spongebob-and-friends-Christmas-characters

The character models from the episode.

As the special begins, Patchy the Pirate (parodying the role of S.D. Kluger from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town) drives a mail truck through a snowy mountain range. He stops to wish the viewers a Merry Christmas and tells them he wanted to make sure Santa Claus got his letter. He then lies saying he gave the mailman the day off, but it is revealed that he stole the truck and said mailman is tied up in the back.

Potty the Parrot doubts they will make it to the North Pole, then argues with Patchy about which Christmas carol the directions to the North Pole are in. The truck is driven madly until Potty notices there is literally a fork in the road, which gets stuck in one of the tires and causes the truck to spin madly. Patchy then suggests that they see what SpongeBob is doing for the holidays.

Patchy drives the truck off a cliff and the mailman escapes. He and Potty get lost in the woods (since the fork got stuck in one of the truck's tires and caused it to go flat, preventing them from being able to drive it any further) and are trying to warm up by a fire. Out of a sense of hunger, Patchy hallucinates and imagines Potty as a platter of buffalo wings. Patchy nearly eats his pet, only to snap out of it. Potty then also hallucinates and imagines Patchy's head as a suet cake topped with birdseed and pecks at it.

At the end of the episode, Patchy and Potty make it to the North Pole, believing they finally made it to Santa's workshop. Patchy apparently meets Santa in a cave and tells him his Christmas wish is to meet SpongeBob. However, it turns out he was, once again, hallucinating and really encountered a hungry polar bear, which started chasing him. Watching nearby, the real Santa puts Patchy on the naughty list for stealing a mail truck. He and Potty then end the episode wishing the viewers a Merry Christmas.

SpongeBob Segments[]

It's a SpongeBob Christmas! 146

SpongeBob passing out fruitcake.

Set to December 23, SpongeBob is really excited that Christmas is almost here. SpongeBob sees his friends are preparing for Christmas as well. Squidward is stringing lights so Santa knows to "go away." Patrick has set a trap for Santa to make him stop the clocks so they will have Christmas all year long (but he gets trapped in his own trap). Sandy is conducting a Christmas scientific experiment. Mr. Krabs is ready for the season of "getting." Meanwhile, Plankton is not happy, as he gets nothing but coal in his stocking every year, so he comes up with a new plan to ruin the holidays which involves the new element he recently discovered: a large green glowing chunk of what he dubs Jerktonium (Jt). His plan is to give out fruitcakes to everyone in town, each piece spiked with Jerktonium so that anyone who eats it will become a jerk. With everyone except him acting like a jerk, Santa will have no other choice but to put him on his nice list and give what he always wanted to get for Christmas: the Krabby Patty secret formula.

Driving a fruitcake dispenser car called the "Jerkmaker-9000," Plankton wonders who will be his first victim when SpongeBob shows up. After feeding him a piece of fruitcake and seeing that he did not become a jerk, Plankton thinks he got a piece that did not have Jerktonium, so he feeds SpongeBob more slices, then whole loaves, and even a baker's dozen, but there is still no effect. His plan having seemingly failed yet again, Plankton tosses SpongeBob the keys to the cake dispenser before kicking it and heading back into the Chum Bucket irritatedly. Driving the fruitcake dispenser up to a trio of Christmas carolers, SpongeBob gives them each a piece of fruitcake. Upon consuming it, they get enveloped in a green aura, grow five o'clock shadows and burly eyebrows, and begin arguing about which song to sing. Thinking they are just being passionate about the holidays, SpongeBob drives off to find more people to pass the fruitcake out to. Plankton, hearing the racket, comes out of the Chum Bucket and sees the carolers arguing, much to his delight. The Jerktonium works after all! Getting on a unicycle, Plankton follows after SpongeBob to see him unwittingly carry out his scheme.

Coming up to a Christmas parade in town, SpongeBob starts tossing fruitcake to everyone present: the spectators, the parade Santa, and even the driver of the parade float, totally unaware of the transformation everyone is undergoing. Plankton is pleased that soon, everyone in town will be jerks, except SpongeBob.

Consulting Karen, Plankton discovers that SpongeBob's extreme purity-of-heart and innocent love of the Christmas holidays shields his heart from the effects of the Jerktonium, thereby making him immune. Knowing that SpongeBob still being on the nice list would likely ruin his plan, Plankton is forced to unleash "Plan B": an evil wind-up robot clone of SpongeBob, named "ToyBob," to destroy Bikini Bottom and ruin SpongeBob's good name. The robot begins its campaign of naughtiness by throwing a boat into a building and trapping Mr. Krabs inside the Krusty Krab by burning down its sign.

Later that day, as he returns from feeding fruitcake to everyone in Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob crosses paths with the carolers, who bad-mouth him. As SpongeBob passes the Krusty Krab, where Mr. Krabs is (cheaply) fixing the sign, Mr. Krabs says that the repairs are coming out of his salary, thinking SpongeBob had destroyed the sign. Then he sees Patrick, who also became a jerk by setting another trap for Santa and tells SpongeBob to leave before falling in it again. The next morning, Christmas Eve, SpongeBob finally notices that everyone is being mean. Afraid that Santa might fly by Bikini Bottom, he asks Squidward for help, but Squidward (the only one in town who did not eat Jerktonium) claims he is not home, which SpongeBob immediately falls for and decides to go see Sandy on Squidward's suggestion. Right after SpongeBob leaves, ToyBob knocks (or more specifically, bumps) Squidward's door, and when he (still angrily) refuses to let ToyBob in, he grabs the door and smashes it on Squidward's head after he furiously demands ToyBob the door back.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob goes to Sandy's treedome to explain, but she is also a jerk. SpongeBob accidentally drops some fruitcake Sandy had been eating into her Christmas Magic Analyzer, which shows that it is contaminated with Jerktonium. Sandy asks where SpongeBob got it from, and he answers Plankton. Sandy asks again in disbelief that he would take the fruit cake from the known-to-be evil Plankton and just hand it out to people without suspicion, to which SpongeBob stupidly says "uh-huh." Sandy then calls him an idiot and explains to him that his foolish actions have caused the whole town to act mean; this causes SpongeBob to understand and get worried since he ate tons of Jerktonium. After discovering from a scan that SpongeBob is immune to Jerktonium, Sandy notes everyone else needs an antidote, Sandy sets her analyzer to come up with one. However, she cannot make sense of the formula notes. SpongeBob realizes that it is actually a music sheet. After SpongeBob recites some of the notes, Sandy instantly returns to normal, making SpongeBob realize the song is the antidote.

Getting to the center of town, where everyone is having a riot, SpongeBob begins singing the song "Don't Be a Jerk." One by one, all the Bikini Bottomites become good and respectful again as they sing along (with Squidward later joining in despite still being a jerk himself).

With everyone else back to normal in not a moment too soon, SpongeBob happily says to Sandy that Santa should be there any minute, which Mr. Krabs verifies as, at that minute, Santa comes down from the sky on his sleigh. SpongeBob excitedly greets Santa, however, he is afraid to say that he is the bearer of bad tidings: everyone in town is on the naughty list this year (with no buts about it). He ignores SpongeBob's attempt to explain the situation by declaring that everyone will get coal, except Plankton, much to everyone else's shock. Santa states that he is just as surprised as them, but compared to everyone else, Plankton has been a saint. Much to Mr. Krabs' astonishment, Santa gives Plankton the Krabby Patty formula as his present (before telling Mr. Krabs that he has his ways). Pearl then directs Mr. Krabs' attention to the elves who are in the process of picking his wallet from his pocket, making Mr. Krabs swat them away.

Stunned to see that his attempt to save Christmas has failed, SpongeBob stutters "But-" several times until Patrick slaps him to get him to talk clearly. SpongeBob tries to explain to Santa that he has it all wrong, but he refuses to listen by saying that SpongeBob (on the contrary) is the worst of all, believing that he is still wreaking havoc in Bikini Bottom.

At that moment, ToyBob arrives (with Plankton realizing he made a huge mistake) and, upon spotting Santa, carries out his programming to destroy Christmas by morphing into a larger form and eliminating him. SpongeBob tries to protect Santa, but is easily defeated when the robot throws him far away. Santa tries to hide in the Krusty Krab, but ToyBob captures him. SpongeBob saves Santa by using the fruitcake-dispenser to shoot fruitcake at it, clogging its vent holes and causing it to short circuit. SpongeBob manages to get Santa to safety just before ToyBob explodes into pieces. Santa thanks SpongeBob for saving him and tells him that he has been indeed a very good lad, unlike the "owner of ToyBob." One of the elves gives Santa ToyBob's key, which is inscribed with "If found, please return to the Chum Bucket," revealing to Santa that Plankton was responsible for all the trouble, enraging him. With that, Plankton attempts to escape with the Krabby Patty formula, only be stopped by Mr. Krabs, who calmly tells him to hand over his secret formula without making the situation become more worse. Mr. Krabs takes back the formula, tosses Plankton to Santa's Sleigh and Santa has the elves dump coals on Plankton as punishment for his actions, much to Plankton's dismay. Santa then leaves everyone to celebrate the rest of the holidays (except Squidward). SpongeBob, looking around, asks if anyone has seen Patrick. The special then ends by showing Patrick on the back of Santa's sleigh and netting him, throwing him and the reindeer off course.

Production[]

Production[]

"It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" was based on the 2008 Christmas song "Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas)" written by SpongeBob's voice actor, Tom Kenny and his writing partner, Andy Paley. The story of the song was conceived with the help of Doug Lawrence. They wrote it as "...just sort of a little sample calling card of what we were thinking about." Kenny explained, "...Eventually somebody at Nickelodeon found it [the song] on their desk and decided to make it into a holiday special."
Tis' the Season to be Jerky was planned to be the name of the episode, but the title was later changed for an unknown reason. [2] "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" was the first full-length episode in the series that was produced in stop-motion animation. Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, and Christopher Finnegan of Screen Novelties animated it, and Caballero and Walsh also served as its directors.[3] Production on the episode began in October 2011 at Los Angeles, California.[3] According to Chris Finnegan, it took about five months to shoot, with a couple of months on either end for research, development, and post. Six sets were constructed on which sixty pounds of baking soda was used as snow, 42 pounds of glitter for the background, 22 pounds of wood chips were used to create Sandy's treedome floor and 20 boxes of cereal covered the coral rocks.[3] Caballero and Walsh had conflicts on making sure the stop-motion version of Bikini Bottom will resemble the 2D world of the series. There was also the issue of making SpongeBob resemble his 2D self.

Series creator Stephen Hillenburg and executive producer Paul Tibbitt provided hands-on feedback on the production on a weekly basis. "They'd check out the weeklies and go back and forth with us on the various gags [...] It was really a pleasurable experience when they came to visit because we come from the same planet. It all felt very easy and natural," Walsh said.[3]

Production for this episode was finished on May 18, 2012.

It's a SpongeBob Christmas! production credits

On June 1, 2012, this episode would be added to the United States Copyright Catalog.[4]

On November 5, 2012, Vincent Waller provided a digital tour on his "Incoherent-Thought" blog featuring production work from this episode. He also informed the audience of the CBS and Nickelodeon broadcasts, telling viewers to catch to Nickelodeon version for "bonus footage"[5] (the Patchy wraparound segments.)

Animation[]

This was the first time that an entire episode used stop-motion animation in series which was implemented by Screen Novelties.

Stop-motion work[]

Storyboards[]

  • Rough boarded by Luke Brookshier and March Ceccarelli.

Storyboard vs. final version[]

Shower-In-A-Can
Shower in a Can!
This section is in need of cleanup in order to comply with Encyclopedia SpongeBobia's manual of style. Please help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by making this section specific and short.
  • In the storyboard, the road at the beginning of the episode is just a road with some mountains in the background. In the final version, the road is on the side of a mountain, then the turn.
  • In the storyboard, when Patchy stops and introduces his situation, the shot is through the windshield and he is wearing a mailman's hat. In the final version, he looks out of the truck, leaves the truck, and goes to the back of the truck. He is also wearing his normal pirate hat.
  • In the storyboard, since Patchy does not leave the truck, the mailman is shown in the back of the truck. He looks different than in the final version. In the final version, since Patchy does not have the mailman hat right away, he switches his and the mailman's hat when he shows the mailman.
  • In the storyboard, Potty looks to be standing on the top part of the seat. In the final version, Potty is sitting down.
  • In the storyboard, Patchy looks at Potty. In the final version, he gets back in the truck at looks at the camera when he talks to Potty.
  • In the storyboard, Potty looks angry at Patchy for getting the directions wrong. In the final version, Potty just looks surprised.
  • In the final version, it shows the outside of the truck when Patchy sings the directions. In the storyboard, it shows Patchy.
  • In the storyboard, it shows Potty jumping when singing the directions. In the final version, Potty is sitting and then the exterior of the truck is shown again.
  • In the storyboard, when the scene stops spinning, the truck is tilted to the left. In the final version, it is tilted to the right.
  • In the storyboard, the Bikini Bottom sign-in on the right and does not have any writing on it. In the final version, the sign is on the left and does have writing on it.
  • When Conch Street is shown, it is at a different angle in the storyboard and the final version.
  • When SpongeBob is in bed, he is at a different angle in the storyboard and the final version. Gary and the Christmas decorations are also not in the scene in the storyboard, but are in the final version.
  • In the storyboard, when SpongeBob wakes up, he stands up on the bed. In the final version, he does not.
  • In the storyboard, when SpongeBob takes out the lights, he is upside down. In the final version, he is right-side up.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob lassos the lights on his house. In the final version, he runs on the house and then lassos the lights on his house.
  • In the storyboard, when SpongeBob is done stringing the lights, he is on the right side of his house. In the final version, he is on the left side.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob runs on his house to get to the left side. In the final version, he just floats down.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob had to plug the lights in. In the final version, they just turn on when he is done.
  • Squidward had more major movements in the storyboard of the scene where he is hanging up lights than in the final version.
  • In the final version of the scene with the first Santa trap, Patrick is wearing a scarf. In the storyboard, he is not.
  • In the storyboard of the part where Santa shows up at Patrick's rock, only his head is shown. In the final version, his upper body is shown.
  • In the storyboard, the cookie in Patrick's trap does not have a string on it. In the final version, it does.
  • In the storyboard, after the cookie is shown, Patrick is holding a string. In the final version, he is not.
  • In the storyboard, when Sandy is first shown, the Christmas Analyzer is smaller than in the final version and she is wearing a lab coat. In the final version, she is not wearing a lab coat.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob's entrance into the treedome is shown. In the final version, it is not.
  • In the storyboard, Mr. Krabs is next to a tree when he is first shown. In the final version, he near a table.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob spins around the front of the tree and ends up in front of Mr. Krabs on the left of the tree. In the final version, he does not do this.
  • In the storyboard, when Mr. Krabs explains why he loves Christmas, his whole body is shown. In the final version, only the upper half of his body is shown.
  • In the storyboard, after Mr. Krabs says, "The more you give, the more I get," presents appear. In the final version, they do not.
  • In the storyboard, the Chum Bucket's frozen dining area is shown before the lab. In the final version, just the lab is shown.
  • In the storyboard, when Plankton says, "...his eye on me," he is shown alone on the stool. In the final version, he is next to a machine.
  • In the storyboard, when Plankton shows the list of naughty deeds, he is leaning to the right. The list is also less detailed than in the final version. In the final version, he is leaning to the left.
  • In the storyboard, Plankton's stocking has his name on it. In the final version, it does not.
  • In the storyboard, the paper with Jerktonium on it is already on the periodic table. It is on the left side of the slide and it is nailed on it. Plankton uses a pointer to point it out. In the final version, he sticks the post-it notepaper on the right side of the slide.
  • In the storyboard, Jerktonium looks like a floating rock. In the final version, it looks like a crystal.
  • When Plankton says, "The Fruitcake," in the final version, an image of a fruitcake appears. In the storyboard, it does not.
  • When Plankton says, "Once ingested no one can help turning into the biggest, creepiest, meanest jerk ever," in the final version, he is walking around. In the storyboard, he is looking at the Jerktonium.
  • In the storyboard, when Plankton is about to remove the Jerktonium, Karen gives Plankton the pliers. In the final version, he just has the pliers.
  • The Jerkmaker-9000 looks different in the storyboard and final version.
  • In the storyboard, the first piece of fruit cake is square-shaped. In the final version, it is bread-shaped.
  • In the storyboard, when Plankton asks how SpongeBob's dander is and SpongeBob replies, he still has some of the second pieces of fruit cake left. In the final version, he has eaten it all and gets the third piece.
  • In the storyboard, there is only one key to the Jerkmaker-9000. In the final version, there are two.
  • In the storyboard, the carolers look different than in the final version.
  • In the storyboard, the Jerkmaker-9000 is leaning away from the carolers. In the final version, it is leaning towards them.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob is behind the parade. In the final version, he is on a hill, watching it.
  • The parade is different in the storyboard than it is in the final version.
  • In the storyboard, SpongeBob's parents were planned to appear during the song Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas) when SpongeBob sings "It's the time for family and holly and turkey." However, in the final version, they are replaced with SpongeBob's friends.
It's_a_SpongeBob_SquarePants_Stop-motion_Christmas

It's a SpongeBob SquarePants Stop-motion Christmas

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Holiday Seasonings 1 - Eban Schletter [Patchy driving a mail truck]
  Holiday Seasonings Schmedley - Eban Schletter ["Dashing through the snow" / "There goes Santa Claus"]
  Out of Control - Eban Schletter [fork in the road]
  SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song - Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Eban Schletter [intro]
  Magical Holiday Morning - Hiram Titus, Nicolas Carr [Title card]
  Santa Has His Eye on Me - Luke Brookshier, Eban Schletter [SpongeBob sings this]
  Universal Monsters - Eban Schletter ["I'm way ahead of you, Karen."]
  ? - Nicolas Carr [Shot of fruitcake.]
  A Mean and Creepy Plan - Eban Schletter [Plankton explains his plan]
  Evil Plans 1 - Steve Marston [Fruitcake comes out of the oven.]
  A Mean and Creepy Plan - Eban Schletter [Plankton adds jerktonium to the fruitcake]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  The Fruitcake Vendor 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob eating Plankton's fruitcake]
  Carolers Doo-Wop - Nicolas Carr [Carolers vocalize in front of the Chum Bucket]
  Happy Holiday Cheer - Hiram Titus, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob gives fruitcake to carolers]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19B - Jeremy Wakefield ["It's great to see people so passionate about the holidays."]
  Down in Davie Jones Locker - Nicolas Carr ["The jerktonium seems to work on these jerks."]
  Super Highway March - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [parade]
  Hot Fruitcake - Marc Ceccarelli, Eban Schletter [SpongeBob giving everyone fruitcake]
  A Mean and Creepy Plan - Eban Schletter [people fighting]
  Super Highway March - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Santa parade float]
  Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["I want a trampoline!"]
  Drama Sting 5 - Steve Marston ["Success!"]
  Lonely Stranger - Laurie Johnson [Karen explaining how Plankton's plan is flawed]
  Evil Plans 2 - Steve Marston [ToyBob revealed]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Huh?"]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [Plankton turns ToyBob's wind-up key]
  Attack of the Giant Robots - Cris Velasco ["I am ready... to destroy Christmas!"]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  Holiday Seasonings 2 - Eban Schletter [Patchy's mail truck crashes]
  Holiday Seasonings 3 - Eban Schletter [Patchy and Potty huddled around a fire.]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  Bikini Bottom Bound - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Merry Christmas, fellas!"]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 22B - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick gets mauled]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  Holiday Seasonings 4 - Eban Schletter ["Ah, Christmas Eve."]
  Deck the Halls (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Frankie and Johnny greet each other]
  A Mean and Creepy Plan - Eban Schletter [Frankie throws a snowball at Johnny]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 25A - Jeremy Wakefield ["I'm gonna need some help."]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  A Mean and Creepy Plan - Eban Schletter [SpongeBob knocks on Squidward's door]
  Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Good idea, Squidward!"]
  Monster Bug [#33] - Gregor F. Narholz [ToyBob comes by]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 35 - Jeremy Wakefield [ToyBob smashes Squidward's door over his head]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  A Mean and Creepy Plan - Eban Schletter [SpongeBob goes to Sandy's treedome]
  The Donut Dilema - Nicolas Carr [Sandy complains that she's out of fruitcake]
  Hot Steel and Slide Licks 35 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob slips on an acorn]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Well, I'll be hornswoggled."]
  Unsettled Menace - Phil Green ["This is terrible!"]
  You're An Idiot - Eban Schletter [Sandy calls SpongeBob an idiot]
  Danger Sign - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["I've eaten tons of that fruitcake!"]
  Alien Spacecraft A - Gregor F. Narholz [x-ray of SpongeBob]
  Adventure Fanfare 1 - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Sandy calculates an antidote]
  The Antidote - Nicolas Carr [The antidote works on Sandy]
  Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas) - Tom Kenny, Andy Paley [SpongeBob sings this]
  Magical Holiday Morning - Hiram Titus, Nicolas Carr [Everyone is outside the Krusty Krab]
  Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Santa arrives]
  Sad Jingle Bells (ukulele & steel) - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Santa tells bad news.]
  Straight from Hell - Gregor F. Narholz [ToyBob wreaking havoc]
  Mr. Swashbuckle - James McConnel [SpongeBob shoots fruitcake at ToyBob]
  It's a Hula Holiday - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [coal dumped on Plankton]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  Magical Holiday Morning - Hiram Titus, Nicolas Carr [Santa leaves]
  Sleighbell Wipe - Nicolas Carr [Transition]
  Holiday Seasonings 4 - Eban Schletter [Patchy finds Santa's workshop/Polar bear chases Patchy.]
  Orchestral Button Ending - Nicolas Carr [Ending]

Release[]

Reception[]

  • Nancy Basile of MediaMedusa called this special "a treat, though I disagree with a few of the animator’s choices."[6]
  • The stop-motion Santa in "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" has also received criticism due to the fact that he looked like a pig. The animators responded to this comment about their interpretation of Santa Claus, saying "[They] definitely wanted to keep an element of strangeness, almost scary aspects in the story." Mark Caballero explained that the idea of making Santa Claus look tired and strange came when they saw a drawing of him by Marc Ceccarelli or Luke Brookshier. Caballero said, "We thought that was a great idea. So we came up with our own little back story where Bikini Bottom is the last stop for Santa. He's tired, he wants to get home, take his shoes off... We honed in on the old descriptions of Santa being a jolly old elf. We pictured him as humanoid, but not necessarily directly human."[7]

Trivia[]

General[]

  • The original title card had the title in red and white with SpongeBob's name inside a white oval.
    • This turned out to be the logo for promotions of the special.
ItsASpongeBobChristmas OriginalLogoDesigns

Original logo designs.

  • Designs for the promotional logo and merchandising were done by Alisa Blanter and Lab Partners SF, with the creative direction of Chris Groll.[8]
TV-PG rating during It's a SpongeBob Christmas! original CBS airing

Accidental PG rating.

  • This episode premiered on CBS in the USA, becoming the first SpongeBob episode to premiere on an American network outside of Nickelodeon and Nicktoons. This was before the special aired on Nick and was rated TV-PG instead of the usual TV-Y7 rating.
    • The Patchy segments were removed in the CBS broadcast to save time.[5]
    • This is the first episode to have a rating other than TV-Y7 or TV-Y, the latter of which is what the show was rated from 1999 to 2007.
    • CBS does not normally air children's shows, so it may be possible that CBS did not have a TV-Y7 rating bug at their disposal.
    • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run are also rated TV-PG when they air on Nickelodeon.
    • This episode marks the first time SpongeBob has aired on terrestrial television.
    • According to Caballero, the decision to make the episode a CBS prime time special may be because most of the classic Rankin/Bass Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, which this episode parodies, air on that channel.[7]
  • In the Korean version, the first part of the Patchy subplot is cut.[citation needed]
  • The opening sequence gains a Christmas makeover, like in "Christmas Who?," even retaining the unique 'Ready for Christmas, kids?' opening line by Painty the Pirate.
Spongebobthemesongimage94

SpongeBob's house decorated

Spongebobthemesongimage96
  • The differences between the theme song of this episode and "Christmas Who?" include:
    • Urchins are added to the purple rocks.
    • The flowers in the sky are in different positions.
    • The green stones on the pathway to SpongeBob's house are different.
    • SpongeBob's pineapple house is decorated and Squidward's house is covered in snow.
    • Hans putting on SpongeBob's pants is replaced with Santa Claus' hand.
    • The women's choir is replaced with a children's choir.
    • The Realistic Fish Head appears wearing a Santa hat.
    • During the sequence where the chorus says "SpongeBob SquarePants" three times in the fifth verse, it was replaced with "Fa la la la la la la."
    • The word "Christmas" is added as the last word of the opening theme song.
    • There is no "SpongeBob Christmas Special" card like there was in the former.
  • Gary only makes a cameo in this episode with his eyes closed at the beginning in SpongeBob's bedroom. However, Gary's full stop-motion form can be seen in "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom."
  • Some of the things on Plankton's naughty deeds list include littering, world destruction, evil, misspell words, practical jokes, larceny, puppy taunting, and neglect grooming.
  • The Jerkmaker-9000 is also seen in SpongeBob Moves In!
  • Plankton calls SpongeBob "SpongeBoy," which was his original name.
  • The stop-motion form of Plankton does not exist during the scene where ToyBob is lowered from the ceiling, as it can be seen that the Plankton puppet is being shaken while the SpongeBob is lowered from the ceiling. This, however, has not been confirmed.
  • The sheet music that appears on Sandy's machine is not the music for "Don't Be a Jerk," but is instead essentially gibberish.
  • John Goodman previously voiced Santa Claus in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie. He is one of the only four actors to play Santa Claus in more Christmas productions than just one; the other three being Mickey Rooney, who played Kris Kringle/Santa Claus in four Rankin/Bass productions (all of which are Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, and A Miser Brothers' Christmas), Tim Allen, who played Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in The Santa Clause trilogy and Ed Asner, who played him in Elf, Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas, and Santa Stole Our Dog: A Merry Doggone Christmas!
  • It appears that SpongeBob and Squidward were the only ones who are not affected by Jerktonium.
  • The bubble transitions are replaced with snowflakes and one transitioning scene with coal.
    • However, there was one bubble transition after the title card.
  • This is the first episode to play "The Fruitcake Vendor."
  • The original background characters in SpongeBob SquarePants (ex. Harold, Fred, Nancy Suzy Fish, etc.) were not made in stop-motion.
    • Except one of the three Christmas Carolers looks and sounds just like Fred, which might mean he IS Fred.
  • This is the first episode to not use the show's regular animation. The second is "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom."
  • This episode was presented in widescreen format (16:9 or 1:78:1), making it the second and last non-season 9 episode in widescreen. The first one was the season 6 episode "Truth or Square."
  • This is the first time an episode aired in Canada on the same exact day as the American airdate.
  • This is the second time that SpongeBob creates a rainbow. The first time was in "Idiot Box."
  • This is the second Christmas special of the series. The first was the season 2 episode "Christmas Who?"
  • This is the second time that SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and Plankton are seen in stop-motion form. The first was in the Merry Nickmas short "Holiday Party."
  • This is the second time Plankton is seen on a unicycle. The first time was in "Squidward's School for Grown-Ups."
  • This is the third episode where a character's name was not said in the episode but was revealed in the credits. In this episode, it is ToyBob. The first time was Squidette from "Squidville," and the second time was Lord Poltergeist in "Ghoul Fools."
  • This is the fourth episode to have an alternate theme song. The first was in "Christmas Who?," the second was in "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?," and the third was in "Truth or Square."
    • The intro is very similar to that of "Christmas Who?"
  • This is the fourth double-length episode of season 8. The first was "Frozen Face-Off," the second was "A SquarePants Family Vacation" and the third was "Ghoul Fools."
  • In airing order, this is the fifth and final episode of season 8 to have a 22-minute episode. The first is "Frozen Face-Off," the second is "Ghoul Fools," the third is "A SquarePants Family Vacation" and the fourth is "Hello Bikini Bottom."
  • This episode is not available in the iTunes and Amazon versions of season 8. Instead, it is purchasable as a stand-alone feature.
  • This is the first episode since "Truth or Square" to have Patchy segments.
    • This is also the first half-hour special to feature Patchy since "Friend or Foe."
  • This is the last episode where Paul Tibbitt performs the voice of Potty. Doug Lawrence would take over as Potty starting with "Feral Friends."
UnitedPlanktonPicturesNEW

United Plankton Pictures, Inc. logo in high-definition.

  • Starting with this episode, the characters on the United Plankton Pictures, Inc. logo are in a brighter shade of yellow and the water ripples are enhanced to HD.
Nicktoons_HD_US_Christmas_Eve_Advert_2019_SpongeBob_Christmas_24_Hours

Nicktoons HD US Christmas Eve Advert 2019 SpongeBob Christmas 24 Hours

promo

  • From December 24-25, 2019, Nicktoons held a marathon in which the special was aired for 24 consecutive hours.
  • Nickelodeon only airs this episode, "Christmas Who?," 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 are only air during the month of October.
  • This is the only episode where John Goodman voices Santa Claus, as Lewis Black voices him in the following episodes.
  • This episode aired for the first time in Israel on Tuesday, September 4, 2012.[9] This is the first time a SpongeBob SquarePants episode first aired in Israel before the United States.

Episode references[]

  • During the song "Don't Be a Jerk," SpongeBob makes the rainbow sign from the episode "Idiot Box."

Cultural references[]

Errors[]

  • Potty claims that the lyrics in the song There Goes Santa Claus are "left on Santa Claus Drive," but it is actually "down on Santa Claus Lane."
  • When SpongeBob finishes decorating his house, the lights on the door disappear.
It's a SpongeBob Christmas! 270

SpongeBob with no helmet.

  • SpongeBob does not wear a helmet in Sandy's treedome.
    • In an interview with Screen Novelties, it was revealed that this is because it would have been very expensive to have a helmet on SpongeBob, and because of the time frame that they had to animate in stop-motion.
It's a SpongeBob Christmas! 074

Plankton's wrong periodic table.

  • The periodic table that Plankton has is not accurate. The following erroneous elements are shown:
    • Titanium (Ti) is written as T.
    • Rubidium (Rb) is written as Li, below the correct potassium (K).
    • Strontium (Sr) is written as Be, below the correct calcium (Ca).
    • Technetium (Tc) is written as To.
    • Indium (In) is written as Ln.
    • Iodine (I) is written as L.
    • Gadolinium (Gd) is written as Co, the same symbol for cobalt.
    • Rhenium (Re) is written as F, the same symbol as fluorine.
    • Platinum (Pt) is written as O, the same symbol as oxygen.
    • Thallium (Tl) is written as Ti, the same symbol as titanium.
    • Rutherfordium and the rest of the superactinides are written in the IUPAC default format (albeit incorrectly).
  • When Plankton picks up the fruitcake from the oven, he stood on the plate, which should have burned him.
  • When Plankton says "Have a baker's dozen!," there are 15 loaves of jerktonium bread. However, a baker's dozen is 13.
  • At first, Pearl ate the fruitcake and then became a jerk, but after the scene where she fills a fish's head with water, SpongeBob passes by her and she is normal again.
  • Mr. Krabs is not a jerk when ToyBob is walking around town and SpongeBob drives around town during Christmas; however, when SpongeBob sings "Don't be a Jerk, It's Christmas," he is a jerk. The same goes for Mrs. Puff.
  • Santa Claus has always been said to visit when everyone is asleep, yet he visits Bikini Bottom while everyone is awake.
  • Santa is able to see everyone, so he should have seen Plankton making jerktonium fruitcakes and him making ToyBob.
  • SpongeBob's craters are yellow throughout the entire episode. This was because it would be hard to stick them in as they could fall off.
  • On the first shot of the fork, it has four prongs, but during the next shot of it and in the rest of the episode, it has three.
  • On airings of this episode between late December 2017[10] and 2018, the screenbug is placed on the 4:3 safe area.
  • During an airing on July 25, 2020, the scene where ToyBob explodes was cut out.[citation needed]

Videos[]

Trailer[]

A trailer for It's a SpongeBob Christmas! was released in June 2012 as a sneak-peek of the episode.

It's_a_SpongeBob_Christmas!_Trailer

It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Trailer

Promos[]

Clips[]

Songs[]

References[]

Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants VE

Annie AwardsAnnie Award

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production

Voice actors: Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff (in "No Free Rides," 2001)

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production

Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (in "Wormy," 2001)

Outstanding Individual Achievement for a Song in an Animated Production

Songwriters: Peter Straus and Paul Tibbitt for "The Very First Christmas" (in "Christmas Who?," 2001)

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Directors: Stephen Hillenburg (for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 2004)

Music in an Animated Feature Production

Composers: Gregor F. Narholz (for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 2004)

Best Writing in an Animated Television Production

Writers: C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell, and Tim Hill (for "Fear of a Krabby Patty," 2005)Dani Michaeli, Sean Charmatz, Nate Cash, Luke Brookshier, and Paul Tibbitt (for "Patrick's Staycation," 2011)

Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production

Voice actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (in "Spy Buddies," 2007)Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (in "Truth or Square," 2009)

Direction in an Animated Television Production

Directors: Alan Smart (for "Penny Foolish," 2008)Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," 2012)

Best Home Entertainment Production

DVDs: SpongeBob vs. The Big One (2009)

Music in a Television Production

Composers: Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, Nicolas Carr, and Tuck Tucker (2010)

Character Animation in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production

Animators: Dan Driscoll and Savelen Forrest (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!," 2012)

Animated Effects in an Animated Production

Animators: Brice Mallier, Paul Buckley, Brent Droog, Alex Whyte, and Jonathan Freisler (for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, 2015)

Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production

Voice Actors: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants (for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, 2015)

Best Animated Special Production

Episodes: "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout" (2019)


Golden Reel Awards StatueStraight

Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Music

Nominees: Stephen Hillenburg, Donna Castricone, Nicholas R. Jennings, Alan Smart, Peter Burns, Doug Lawrence, Derek Drymon, Alex Gordon, Donna Grillo, Jennie Monica, Krandal Crews, Jim Leber, Justin Brinsfield, Tony Ostyn, Nicolas Carr (for "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy"/"Pickles;" 2000)Nicolas Carr (for "Fools in April"/"Neptune's Spatula" in 2001; for "Jellyfish Hunter"/"The Fry Cook Games" in 2002; for "Wet Painters"/"Krusty Krab Training Video" in 2003; for "The Great Snail Race"/"Mid-Life Crustacean" in 2004) • Jimmy Lifton, D.J. Lynch, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn and Paulette Lifton (for "Mid-Life Crustacean;" 2004)

Best Sound Editing in Television Animation – Sound

Nominees: Nicolas Carr (for "Karate Choppers;" 2000) • Andrea Anderson, Jimmy Lifton, Monette Holderer, D.J. Lynch, Vincent Gutisetti, Jeff Hutchins and Gabriel Rosas (for "Rock Bottom"/"Arrgh!;" 2001)

Best Sound Editing in Television – Animation

Nominees: Timothy J. Borquez, Jeff Hutchins and Daisuke Sawa (for "The Secret Box"/"Band Geeks;" 2002)

Best Sound Editing in Television Animation

Nominees: Jimmy Lifton, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn and Chris Gresham (for "Nasty Patty"/"Idiot Box;" 2003)

Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated

Nominees: Jimmy Lifton, Nicolas Carr, D.J. Lynch, Jeff Hutchins, Tony Ostyn, Chris Gresham and Paulette Lifton (for "Pranks a Lot"/"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler;" 2005) • Vincent Gutisetti, Jimmy Lifton, Nicolas Carr, Monique Reymond, D.J. Lynch, Mark Howlett, Jeff Hutchins, Aran Tanchum, Mishelle Smith and Paulette Lifton (for "Have You Seen This Snail?;" 2006)Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Jason Stiff, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "SpongeHenge;" 2008)

Best Sound Editing: Television Animation

Nominees: : Chiho Oyamada Carr, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Daisuke Sawa, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Eric Freeman, Dan Cubert, Lawrence Reyes, Jason Stiff, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "Suction Cup Symphony;" 2009) • Chino Oyamada Carr, Nicolas Carr, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Eric Freeman, Tom Syslo, Keith Dickens, Jason Stiff, Sergio Silva, Tony Orozco and Kimberlee Vanek (for "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One;" 2010)

Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR Animation in Television

Nominees: Devon Bowman, Justin Brinsfield, Nicolas Carr, Andrea Anderson, Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Eric Freeman, Tony Orozco and Danny Tchibinda (for "Gary's New Toy;" 2013) • Mishelle Fordham, Monette Becktold, Jeff Hutchins, Timothy J. Borquez, Tom Syslo, Eric Freeman, Bobby Crew, Keith Dickens, Gabriel Rossas and Tony Orozco (for "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!;" 2013)


Miscellaneous

British Academy Children's Awards Logo master

International Category

Recipients: Stephen Hillenburg and Alan Smart (2007)Paul Tibbitt, Casey Alexander and Zeus Cervas (2012)Marc Ceccarelli, Luke Brookshier and Vincent Waller (2014)


Annecy International Animated Film FestivalAnnecy International Animated Film Festival logo.svg

Special Award

Episodes: "Fear of a Krabby Patty" (2005)

Special Award for a TV Series

Episodes: "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" (2013)


Artios Awards

Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Animation TV Programming

Nominees: Sarah Noonan (2010)

Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Animation

Nominees: Sarah Noonan (2011; 2013)


ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Film tv invite 2a

Top Television Series

Nominees: Steve Belfer, Nicolas Carr, Derek Drymon, Mark Harrison, Stephen Hillenburg, Pat Irwin, Stephen Marston, Blaise Smith, Barry Anthony Trop and Ron Wasserman (2011-2013)


BMI Film & TV Awards Logo bmi

BMI Cable Award

Nominees: Michael Bolger, Sage Guyton, Eban Schletter and Jeremy Wakefield (2013)


Satellite Awards 79d5dec3b358448c8a5c20fbd09816b5

Best Youth DVD

DVDs: The Complete 2nd Season (2005)


THEA Awards Bigtheatranslogocolor(1)

Outstanding Achivement - Attraction

Rides: SpongeBob SubPants Adventure (2016)


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