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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
If you were looking for the article about the DVD, then see Karate Island (DVD).
If you were looking for the article about the place, then see Condo Island.

"Karate Island" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 4. In this episode, SpongeBob becomes "king of karate" and travels to Karate Island with Sandy, only to discover it's a scam.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

In the beginning of the episode, SpongeBob is waxing Gary, when the local mailman shows up at SpongeBob's house, and he hands him a videotape delivery. SpongeBob plays the tape on his TV, which states that he has been crowned "King of Karate," and tells him to attend to Karate Island to be crowned.

Karate Island 071

SpongeBob meets Master Udon.

SpongeBob is about to leave when he encounters Sandy, to whom he happily explains that he is the King of Karate. Sandy is suspicious of this, so she accompanies SpongeBob on the boat ride. The boat stops at Karate Island, where the sensei, Master Udon, greets SpongeBob but ignores Sandy. SpongeBob, to prove his Karate skills, asks to fight Master Udon's best guards. Three guards arrive, and when they fight SpongeBob, they seem to be easily vanquished despite not even being touched by SpongeBob. Sandy notices this, adding to her suspicion. SpongeBob is officially crowned "King of Karate," and he sits on his throne and requests Sandy to sit beside him in a lounge chair. Sandy tries to warn SpongeBob, but then leaves when SpongeBob becomes arrogantly proud and accuses her of being jealous of him. After she leaves, SpongeBob is suddenly locked into his "throne," and Udon takes a pen out of his robe. Sandy then hears SpongeBob's cries for help, and goes back to save him, now wearing a yellow jumpsuit.

Sandy fights through Master Udon's tower, fighting an opponent on each of the Four Floors of Fear with an unusual "power." She avoids being tickled, kissed, and overwhelmed with stench by the use of jelly-filled donuts, a hair dryer, and her impenetrable air helmet, then crashes through the top floor's entry way, the trapdoor where SpongeBob is being held hostage by Master Udon. Udon then drops a bamboo cage on Sandy and reveals that the pronouncement of SpongeBob as King of Karate is just a scam to lure him to the island. Udon is actually a real estate agent and the island is really Condo Island and also stated that if there was a real Karate Island, he would be a millionaire. He refuses to let SpongeBob go until he agrees to buy a time-share condo on the island, and allow his equity increase until he becomes "King of Condos." SpongeBob shouts in horror and Sandy quickly breaks out of her cage with meditation, strange hand movements, and weird muttering. Master Udon rips off his robes to expose a highly muscular build while Sandy rips off her jumpsuit to expose a similar build. They begin fighting by charging at each other but they miss and Sandy defeats Udon by kicking him out of the room into the water below and frees SpongeBob.

Karate Island 215

SpongeBob apologizes to Sandy for acting like a jerk at Karate Island and she forgives him.

As they leave the island, SpongeBob apologizes to Sandy for acting like a jerk to her, and he thanks her for saving him from buying a condo, for which she forgives him and tells him that is what friends are for. SpongeBob then asks if he is not the king of karate after all, but Sandy tells him that he is in her book. Then she explains to him about real estate as the boat leaves shore. After they leave, Squidward arrives on "Clarinet Island" to be crowned "King of Clarinets," implying he was scammed as well, and is looked down upon by Master Udon, still alive.

Production[]

This episode was confirmed on March 6, 2006 as "Karate-Island."[2]

Deleted scene[]

Karate Island 222

The "dedication to Pat Morita" scene.

The episode originally ended with a dedication to Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (19322005), who voiced Master Udon in this episode and died on November 24, 2005 due to kidney failure, about six months before the episode premiered in the United States. He was best known as Mitsumo "Arnold" Takahashi from the TV show Happy Days, Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid, and the Emperor of China in the Walt Disney Animation Studios 36th animated feature film, Mulan. The dedication card at the end of this episode was removed in American television airings after the Best Day Ever marathon and has also been removed from the Paramount+ streaming release. However, this episode has the dedication left intact on the Polish, Canadian, Australian, Belgian, French, Turkish, Spanish, German, Greek, Russian, Asian, Filipino, Latin American, Malaysian, European, all DVD releases including this episode, and the Netflix version (albeit cut short). The dedication used to be left in the UK and Ireland airings, but has since been removed.[3]

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Clownfish Capers - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
  Earls Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Gary's shell waxing]
  Romeo & Juliet Overture - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Fiachra Trench ["Special delivery, just for me?"]
  Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["A videotape?"]
  TV Logo [#11.01] - Terry Day [SpongeBob puts tape in VCR]
  Karate Gong - Nicolas Carr [Beginning of Karate Island video]
  Target - Hans Ehrlinger [Karate Island video]
  Karate Gong - Nicolas Carr ["You've won an all-expense paid trip to Karate Island!"]
  Marlin March - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Did you hear that, Gary?"]
  Goofy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["There's something rotten in the Alamo."]
  The Jovial Buccaneers [#33.02] - John Fox [SpongeBob and Sandy in a boat]
  Welcome to Karate Island - Nicolas Carr [they arrive at Karate Island]
  Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, brother."]
  Welcome to Karate Island - Nicolas Carr ["Please show me some of your moves, Master SpongeBob."]
  Wacky Gongs - Nicolas Carr [Fighters appear]
  Eastern Journey - Jack Beaver, Ronald Hanmer [Udon's best fighters]
  Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [SpongeBob "defeats" them]
  Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Something smells like rancid rodeo around here."]
  Welcome to Karate Island - Nicolas Carr ["Excellent."]
  Vivat Regina - Laurie Johnson ["We must make ready for your coronation."]
  Karate Gong - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob's throne is revealed]
  Dunces & Dragons Cue 4A - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob's throne]
  Parting of the Clouds Sting - Nicolas Carr ["My throne..."]
  Its Good to be King - Nicolas Carr ["Come, Sandy."]
  Welcome to Karate Island - Nicolas Carr ["Master, don't worry about her."]
  Reinstating the King - Laurie Johnson ["Let the coronation begin!"]
  Entrapped - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob chained to his throne]
  Hawaiian Link (B) - Richard Myhill [Sandy leaving]
  Towerstreet 17 [#16] - Gerhard Narholz ["SpongeBob's in trouble!"]
  The 3 Challenges - Nicolas Carr ["She will never reach you. She must first pass through the 'Four Floors of Fear'."]
  Crime Squad - John Cameron [The Tickler]
  Towerstreet 17 [#15] - Gerhard Narholz [Lip Service]
  Towerstreet 17 [#4] - Gerhard Narholz [Filthy Phil]
  Crime Squad - John Cameron [Sandy bursts through the floor]
  Sandys Threat - Nicolas Carr ["Release SpongeBob!"]
  Welcome to Karate Island - Nicolas Carr ["He is forbidden to leave until he signs this contract."]
  Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield ["You mean this whole thing was a scam to get us to buy real estate?"]
  Steel Licks 41 - Jeremy Wakefield ["If there was a real Karate Island, I'd be a millionaire."]
  Spring Cleaning [#5] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Udon explains]
  Dramatic Impact (2) - Ivor Slaney ["Don't do it, Sandy!"]
  Summoning the Power - Nicolas Carr [Sandy chanting]
  Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [Sandy destroys the cage]
  The Two Ronnies - Alan Stanley Tew ["I won't give in to your timeshare vacation scam!"]
  Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [Sandy rips off her yellow jumpsuit]
  Whats This Sting - Nicolas Carr [Sandy and Udon run past each other]
  The Two Ronnies - Alan Stanley Tew [Sandy and Udon fight]
  Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [Sandy bounces off the wall]
  Udons Demise - Nicolas Carr [Udon falls]
  Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman ["You're in the soup now, Udon!"]
  Alekoki - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob and Sandy leave the island]
  To Pat Morrita From NC - Nicolas Carr [ending]

Release[]

Reception[]

  • "Karate Island" was ranked #1 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.
  • "Karate Island" was ranked #73 during the SpongeBob's Top 100 event in the UK and Ireland from June 4-8, 2012.

Trivia[]

General[]

  • This episode originally had the packaging number of 71a and was paired with "All That Glitters," but it was eventually rearranged.[2]
  • This episode has an animated title card.
  • The title card background is similar to those of "Nature Pants," "MuscleBob BuffPants" and "The Lost Mattress," though this one is green and there are a lack of flowers on it.
  • This is the first episode for two things:
    • The first episode where "Clownfish Capers" plays.
    • The first episode to use sound effects on a title card along with the title card music. The sound effect that played was karate chops.
  • This is the second episode for a few things:
    • The second episode to have the title card shown in the actual episode, in this case during the tape announcing SpongeBob's impending "coronation." The first is "Krabby Land."
    • The second episode where Sandy wears her bikini and air helmet without the rest of her diving gear outside the treedome. The first is in "Procrastination."
    • The second episode to have a dedication for another person (Pat Morita in this case), after "Graveyard Shift" (which was in dedication to Max Schreck, who played Nosferatu); the third and fourth would be "Snooze You Lose" and "Krusty Katering," (dedicated to Barry Anthony) respectively.
  • The stock footage of the trains crashing was also used in "Two Thumbs Down" as part of the segment when SpongeBob breaks his thumbs.
  • Gary breaks the fourth wall by looking directly at the audience during a scene.
  • The yellow jumpsuit that Sandy was wearing later appears in the video game The Cosmic Shake and the crossover app game Super Brawl Universe.
  • In the scenes where Sandy fights the French Tickler on the first floor of the Four Floors of Fear building, his dialogue and lip movements are clearly mismatched, likely an intentional gag based on the mismatched dialogue and lip movement caused by poor dubbing processes of English versions of older martial arts films.
  • It’s revealed that Sandy is ticklish, but no other episode before or since has shown Sandy to be tickled.
  • Sandy's air helmet protects her from Filthy Phil's body odor, but in other episodes, it doesn't protect her from any smell at all.
  • Near the end of the episode, when Master Udon falls into some water, Sandy says, "You're in the soup now, Udon!" Udon is actually named after a type of noodle soup commonly served in Japan.
  • It’s unknown how SpongeBob manages to get out of the chair that he was cuffed to.
  • At the end of the episode, Squidward arrives at Karate Island to be "king of clarinets." He will most likely be the victim of a scam like how SpongeBob was almost scammed.
  • For years, there were rumors that in the original airing of this episode, there was a small amount of blood on Master Udon's face after getting beaten up by Sandy. Vincent Waller eventually debunked this on Twitter in 2018.[4]
  • Although this episode was copyrighted in 2006, Pat Morita completed almost all of Udon's dialogue before his death.
    • Pat Morita voiced Master Udon for the most part, however his line, "I am Master Udon" was provided by Tom Kenny. Kenny also provided Udon's screams and grunts during his fight against Sandy. Morita died before he was able to record these.[citation needed]
  • In the video game SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis, during the SpongeBob's Director's Commentary for the level "Squidward Super Shooter!," SpongeBob mentions Sandy fighting against Master Udon. Specifically, the first exercise Sandy performed in her exercise program was traveling back to Karate Island and sparring with Master Udon.
  • There is a video game based on this episode from the LeapFrog Didj and LeapFrog Leapster Explorer named Fists of Foam.
  • According to The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash marathon's Celebrity Favorites, Jennette McCurdy rated this episode as her favorite.
  • In the German dub, this episode is called "Der König des Karate," which translates to "The King of Karate."
  • On the November 22, 2006 airing, this episode was paired up with "Wishing You Well."[5]

Cultural references[]

  • The painting of a boat inside Gary's shell is a replica of the painting over the Simpson family's couch.
  • This episode contains many references to the films Game of Death, Enter the Dragon, and Kill Bill. Sandy's yellow jumpsuit is a reference to the jumpsuit that both Bruce Lee and Uma Thurman wore in their respective films. Also, the concept of fighting an opponent on each floor is also present in both of these films. SpongeBob and Sandy being invited to an island is also a similar plot to the one in Enter the Dragon.
  • Sandy's and Udon's muscle growth is loosely based on Toguro's 100% muscle growth in the manga and anime series Yu Yu Hakusho.
  • Two hand signal parodies are seen in this episode:
    • When Sandy is getting out of the cage, she uses a series of hand signals, which refer to the popular anime/manga Naruto.
    • Her last hand signal is an Aura Hand, a reference to the Japanese TV series Hikari Sentai Maskman.

Errors[]

The Tickler white pants mistake in Karate Island
  • In one scene, The Tickler has white pants instead of brown pants.
  • When Sandy throws jelly-filled donuts at The Tickler, the first shot of the plate shows that there are barely any left, but the second shot shows the plate full of donuts again.
  • When Sandy slaps Master Udon's face and kicks him in the face, she is shown with four toes, but she usually only has three.
  • In the Greek dub, Squidward says, "Είμαι εδώ! Είμαι ο βασιλιάς του Καράτε και είμαι εδώ!" which means "I'm here! I'm the king of Karate and I'm here!" but he should say, "Κλαρινέτου" (Clarinet) instead of "Καράτε" (Karate)


Videos[]

Nickelodeon_Split_Screen_Credits_(May_7,_2006)

Nickelodeon Split Screen Credits (May 7, 2006)

Promo

If_SpongeBob_Was_An_Action_Cartoon!_🥋🏝_-_SpongeBob-_Reimagined

If SpongeBob Was An Action Cartoon! 🥋🏝 - SpongeBob- Reimagined

References[]

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