Life of Crime

Life of Crime
General
Season №:	2
Episode №:	27b
Airdate:	May 5, 2001 July 13, 2001 See more... January 11, 2002 July 13, 2002 September 26, 2002 November 16, 2008 June 6, 2019 U.S. premiere time (ET): 8:15 pm Copyright year: 2000 U.S. viewers (millions): 2.13 Running time: 11 minutes Sister episode(s): "Prehibernation Week"
U.S. premiere time (ET):	8:15 pm
Copyright year:	2000
U.S. viewers (millions):	2.13
Running time:	11 minutes
Sister episode(s):	"Prehibernation Week"
Credits
Writer(s):	Jay Lender William Reiss Doug Lawrence
Storyboard Artist(s):	William Reiss
Storyboard:	Jay Lender
Animation:	Sean Dempsey
Creative:	Derek Drymon
Chronology
Previous	"Prehibernation Week"
Next	"Christmas Who?"

"Life of Crime" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 2. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick steal a balloon on free balloon day.

Characters

• Realistic Fish Head
• Shellnapping victim ^(debut)
• Sneaky Hermit ^{(possible debut)}
• TV officers
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Patrick Star
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Sandy Cheeks ^(mentioned)
• Sheldon J. Plankton ^(mentioned)
• Mrs. Puff ^(mentioned)
• Incidental 93
• Incidental 21
• Incidental 150
• Cara
• Incidental 39
• Squidward Tentacles ^(mentioned)
• Incidental 103
• Whale ^(mentioned)
• Incidental 27
• Anchovy
• Incidental 37A
• Incidental 41
• Incidental 8
• Incidental 42
• Incidental 6
• Sewage fish
• Incidental 7
• Incidental 107
• Incidental 46
• Incidental 45
• Incidental 106
• Incidental 64
• Incidental 47
• Incidental 13
• Incidental 105
• Incidental 92
• Incidental 49
• Incidental 63
• Incidental 20
• Incidental 41
• Incidental 14
• Incidental 108
• Gary the Snail ^(mentioned)
• Pearl Krabs ^(mentioned)
• Bodybuilder ^(debut)
  • Alan Smart ^(person)
  • Tom Kenny ^(voice)
• Incidental 118
• Officer Slugfish

Synopsis

File:Life of Crime 55.png

"Hi, there!"

The episode starts at the Krusty Krab, where SpongeBob and Patrick see Mr. Krabs watching a classic black and white crime movie. Mr. Krabs speaks out against thieves and stealing, but SpongeBob and Patrick remind him of all the stuff he has that isn't his: a barrel from Salty Sea Farms, a towel from the Sizzling Spring Sauna, a Bikini Bell phone, Sandy's hedge clippers, Plankton's lawnmower, and Mrs. Puff's hair curlers. Mr. Krabs claims that he "borrowed" all those things, telling them that it is okay to borrow something as long as they give it back before it is missed. 

Later that day, SpongeBob and Patrick spot a balloon stand. Since they do not have any money, they decide to follow Mr. Krabs' advice and "borrow" a balloon. They sneak away with it, and as they talk about all the fun things they plan to do with it, it suddenly pops. Realizing that they can no longer return the balloon, they concede that they stole it. When they panic and bump into Lou, the owner of the balloon stand, they run away before he reveals that it is National Free Balloon Day. They decide to leave Bikini Bottom after realizing that they were wanted criminals, not realizing that they never committed any crime.

That night, they camp in the middle of nowhere and lament that they will never see any of their friends or do any of the fun things they used to do again, causing Patrick and SpongeBob to be sad and miss their old lives. However, they then begin to look at the positives, such as not having to live by society's standards and not having to return anything they borrow, and so convince themselves that being criminals can be fun. Patrick sadly remarks that they still don't have anything to eat until SpongeBob reveals that he has two chocolate bars, which he hopes they can survive on for the rest of their lives. However, Patrick eats his in two quick bites, and upon trying to take a third bite of it, discovers that it is gone.

File:027b - Life of Crime (557).jpg

When he sees SpongeBob's candy bar, Patrick accuses him of stealing it. Although SpongeBob tries to remind Patrick that he already ate his, he refuses to believe him. SpongeBob offers half of his chocolate to him, but Patrick says he doesn't want it unless SpongeBob admits that he took it. Having enough of Patrick's behavior, SpongeBob eats the whole thing himself. Fed up, Patrick decides to report SpongeBob to the police. SpongeBob aims to tell on Patrick first and they race to the police station.

Once there, they both confess their original crime together, and the officers confer with each other before locking them up. However, the two are immediately released, being informed that they stole the balloon on National Free Balloon Day, much to the officers' amusement. SpongeBob and Patrick, though shocked to learn of their innocence, vow that they will never borrow anything without permission again and the officers give them lollipops for the trip back home. Once again, Patrick eats his immediately and accuses SpongeBob and the officers of stealing it. They all laugh together until Patrick says he means it, with a shot of Bikini Atoll being seen.

Production of art

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Slick in the City - Kenny Graham [Title card]
 ‣ Villains and Vampires - Sam Fonteyn [Crustacean Crime Theater]
 ‣ Dirty Work at the Crossroads - Sam Fonteyn [Crustacean Crime Theater]
 ‣ The Rake Hornpipe - Robert Alexander White [Mr. Krabs watching TV]
 • Seaweed - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob, Patrick in the park]
 • Dreamy Harp - Nicolas Carr [Patrick sees balloons]
 ‣ Dance of the Lights - Buddy Baker [riding a rainbow]
 • Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Yeah, like Mr. Krabs!"]
 ‣ Sunny Samoa - George de Fretes, Jan Rap [saying all the things they are going do with the balloon]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (a) - Ronald Hanmer [they scream]
 ‣ Flight in Panic 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [putting the balloon back together]
 ‣ Life or Death - Jack Beaver ["We can't return it!"]
 ‣ Hit and Run - Ralph Dollimore [SpongeBob and Patrick running away]
 ‣ Hawaiian Farewell - George Elliott ["Take a last look, Patrick."]
 ‣ Lonely Violin - Dick Stephen Walter [SpongeBob lists all the things they will not see anymore]
 ‣ On the Beach - Kapono Beamer [upside of being a fugitive/"But at least we don't have to shave."]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill [SpongeBob and Patrick hug]
 • Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr [Close up of candy bars]
 • Gator - Steve Belfer [Patrick accuses SpongeBob of stealing his candy bar]
 ‣ House of Horror - W. Merrick Farran [SpongeBob teases Patrick with the candy bar/SpongeBob licks the candy bar]
 ‣ Catwalk - Kenny Graham ["Or did your criminal mind hypnotize me to steal it?"]
 ‣ The Hurry Up - Kenny Graham ["Not if I tell on you first!"]
 • Sponge Monger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [running to the police station]
 • Steel Licks 7 - Jeremy Wakefield ["We stole a balloon!"]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (e) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob and Patrick locked up]
 ‣ Nostalgic Hawaii - George de Fretes, Jan Rap [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Sea Stories, Complete 2nd Season, Christmas Who?, and First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Trivia

General

• There was a rumor that SpongeBob originally said "No more getting nailed" which was replaced by "No more getting mail!" and Patrick was shown nailing a plank to his head. It was debunked by Vincent Waller on Twitter.
• There is a book based on this episode called Sponge on the Run!

"You took my only food. Now I'm gonna starve".

• This scene when Patrick says "You took my only food. Now I'm gonna starve" has become a popular meme.
• This is the first of four episodes transcribed as a comic into the SpongeBob SquarePants/Tokyopop book Crime and Funishment. The other three were "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V," "No Free Rides," and "Nasty Patty."
• The episode's production number is referenced in this episode: the cell number, 1B, converted from hexadecimal to decimal is 27.
• Patrick breaks the fourth wall when he mentions that they are around a fire despite being underwater.
• Animation director Alan Smart played the "buns and thighs" man; however, his voice was done by Tom Kenny.
• In the Croatian dub, the episode's title is "Zločinci," which translates to "Criminals."
• In the Polish dub, the episode's title is "Zbrodnicze życie," which translates to "The Criminal Life."

Cultural references

• The episode shares the title of a 1990 album by the garage rock band Laughing Hyenas.
• When Mr. Krabs says "eel in the kelp," this is a reference to the common metaphor "snake in the grass."
• Bodybuilder is meant to be a parody of real-life bodybuilder, as well as actor and politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Errors

Chocolate error

• In one scene, the balloon is brown instead of red.
• When Patrick first looks at the balloons, there is a brown one, but when Patrick looks again, the brown balloon disappears.
• When SpongeBob and Patrick are seen around the fire at nighttime, they are seen in the middle of nowhere. However, when SpongeBob attempts to fly, they are standing next to a cliff.
• When Patrick says, "You took my only food! Now I'm gonna starve!" he appears to be lit by the fire. However, the fire was already extinguished.
• In some scenes, the red line under SpongeBob's mouth disappears.
• When SpongeBob says, "We can loosen our ties" and plays with his tie, it turns pink for less than a second.
• After SpongeBob finishes off his chocolate bar, the chocolate on Patrick's face disappears, then reappears after a few frames.
• On recent Nicktoons airings, this and its sister episode are low pitched.