Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture

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Characters

• Kelp Thing ^(debut)
• Mermaid Man
• TV Narrator
• Barnacle Boy
• The Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Fan Club ^(debut)
  • Dennis
  • Fred ^{(3 cameos)}
  • Harold
  • Lou
  • Nazz-Mimi
  • One of the Nerds
  • Patrick Star
  • Sheldon
  • SpongeBob SquarePants
  • Anchovy
  • Jimmy Gus
  • Harold Bill Reginald Scott
  • Peterson Nat Tucker
  • Nathiel Waters
  • Taylor Fishbowl
  • Tyler
  • Carl ^(debut)
• Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Actors ^(debut)
• Shady Shoals residents
  • Lonnie
  • Miss Shell
  • Old coot fish
• Shady Shoals caretaker
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Pearl Krabs
• Sandy Cheeks
• Squidward Tentacles
• Sheldon J. Plankton
• Man Ray ^(mentioned)
• Clapperboard operator
• Worms
• Gus
• John
• Wobbles
• Nancy Suzy Fish
• Paco
• Norma Rechid
• Thaddeus
• Vera Fishbowl

Synopsis

File:Mm and bb 6.jpg

SpongeBob and Patrick are at a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy fan club meeting, where they learn that a new movie will be made based on the heroes, and meet the actors who will be portraying them. SpongeBob is furious that the movie is using actors instead of the real Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. The actors state that this is an action movie and that the real Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are too old for action, resulting in SpongeBob telling the fan club that they must boycott the movie and insults the actors, but this gets him and Patrick thrown out of the building instead.

The two then go to Shady Shoals and tell Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy that Drippy Brothers Studios is making a movie about them and using actors. The heroes find the news horrible, with Mermaid Man crying as a result, and Patrick suggests they make their own movie, which they agree with. After brainstorming ideas at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob and the crew meet to make the movie. SpongeBob is the director. Squidward is the makeup artist. Sandy is in charge of using the dynamite for explosion scenes. Patrick is the camera operator. Mr. Krabs caters the crew Krabby Patties. Pearl is the leading lady and the Invisible Boatmobile. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are the stars of the movie. While they are filming, Plankton appears to audition for Man Ray, but SpongeBob tells him that Man Ray isn't in their movie, so he gives Plankton the job of working the microphone instead. Mermaid Man has trouble with one of his lines, which takes 5,003 takes to get it right. A scene is filmed where Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy ride Pearl up a steep mountain to Kelp-Thing's hideout. Pearl is too heavy to pull, and slides down the mountain, crashing into the sets. Everything is destroyed, and Patrick reveals that he had accidentally been filming with the lens cap on, meaning that they have no footage to work with. SpongeBob goes berserk with frustration and cries since all the work he did for the movie was ruined, but Mermaid Man convinces him to finish the movie.

Mr. Krabs holds the premiere of SpongeBob's production in his restaurant, hoping to make lots of money from the movie. The members of the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Fan Club attend, but only because the movie from Drippy Bros. Studios was sold out. The movie is then shown. SpongeBob plays with a car near a box with "Lox" on it. Then the patty vault is opened, and Kelp Thing comes down, wanting to steal the Krabby Patties. But then Mermaid Man (as Sandy) attacks him. He and Barnacle Boy unite, ending the film. The movie proves to be terrible, and the fans (except for SpongeBob and Patrick) are not pleased. However, Mermaid Man is glad that SpongeBob proved that he and Barnacle Boy still have some "action" left in their old bones. They then laugh happily due to their efforts.

Production

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ The Lineman - Sam Spence [Title card]
 ‣ Death Trap - Gregor F. Narholz [opening]
 ‣ Mermaid Man Sting - Nicolas Carr ["It's Mermaid Man!"]
 ‣ Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence ["And his young, fit servant Barnacle Boy!"]
 ‣ Caped Crusader - David Farnon [Kelp-Thing's car towed]
 ‣ Witty Fellow - Gerhard Trede [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Fan Club meeting]
 ‣ Showbiz Entrance [#65.04] - Harry Bluestone [surprise guests]
 ‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["Actors?"]
 ‣ Pomp and Ceremony - Frank Damico [SpongeBob's speech]
 ‣ Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob, Patrick kicked out]
 ‣ Alekoki - Kapono Beamer [bingo game]
 ‣ ? - "Are you aware Drippy Brothers Studio is making the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy movie?"
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy gasp]
 ‣ Kamakani (b) - Kapono Beamer [Mermaid Man cries]
 ‣ Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr ["Patrick, once again you have exposed your brilliance!"]
 ‣ Tomorrow the World - Cedric King-Palmer ["We'll make a real Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy movie!"/"Vindication is ours! Vindi...!"]
 ‣ Hello Blues - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob, Patrick writing the script]
 ‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band ["What are ye lads doing?"]
 ‣ Hollywood Heyday - Gareth Hughes [pan of the movie crew]
 ‣ Sergeant Jones - Larry Hochman [makeup session]
 ‣ Tympup A - Sammy Burdson, John Charles Fiddy [SpongeBob gasps]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill ["They're beautiful!"]
 ‣ Black Empire - Gregor F. Narholz [Plankton as Man Ray]
 ‣ Wooden Bear - Gil Flat, Tony Tape, Florian Voelxen [Plankton as the boom operator]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [Pearl crying]
 ‣ Ramblin' Man from Gramblin' - Sam Spence [Pearl as the Boatmobile]
 ‣ Steel Licks (d) - Jeremy Wakefield [set destroyed]
 ‣ Killer Birds [#36] - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob snaps]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["The movie's ruined!"]
 ‣ The Four Horseman - Ronald Hanmer [Mermaid Man starts ranting]
 ‣ ? - Nicolas Carr ["The rain in Spain stays mainly on the..."]
 ‣ Warlord - Wolfgang Kafer ["Space! The final countdown!"]
 ‣ Of Love and Destiny - Leighton Lucas ["Stick to the, stick to the... Lou, my darling!"]
 ‣ Botany Bay (b) - Robert Alexander White [Krabs crying]
 ‣ Steel Sting (c) - Jeremy Wakefield ["The Mermaid Man, Barnacle Boy Fan Club!"]
 ‣ Arizona Fanfare - Jack Shaindlin [movie opening titles]
 ‣ Into the Wilderness - Clive Richardson [played during the movie]
 ‣ Fighter Pilots - Charles Williams [played during the movie]
 ‣ Moloka'i Nui (a) - Kapono Beamer [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Lost in Time DVD and VHS, Complete Fourth Season, Season 4 Volume 1, The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, The Adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants, and the First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Reception

• This episode is number 14 in Tom Kenny's Top 20 on iTunes. His description says:
• When SpongeBob's heroes are considered too "old" to portray themselves in a Hollywood-type movie, he decides to make his own. As a comic book fan, I've sat through horrible movies based on classic comics, wishing I could 'do it right!'.
• "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture" was ranked #53 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.

Trivia

General

• This episode has the longest title of any episode of the series along with "Super Evil Aquatic Villain Team Up is Go!"
  • Coincidentally, both of these are Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes.
• This was Casey Alexander's first episode working on the show.
• This was the first episode Chris Mitchell worked on since "I Was a Teenage Gary" from season 1, and his first episode as a storyboard director.
  • This was also the first of a total of ten episodes that Casey Alexander and Chris Mitchell worked on together.
• This is the second appearance of Kelp Thing. His first is a cameo appearance as one of the villains in The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy TV show in the heroes' first episode.
• On Nickelodeon, this episode is shown after "Enemy In-Law," but the television listings say the opposite.
• This is the second episode that Mermaid Man's belt is purple with a blue "M." The first is "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV."
• The leader of the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Fan Club asks for 200 tickets, suggesting that there are 200 members of the fan club. 
• In SpongeBob's movie, the Patty Vault from "Just One Bite" is seen again.
• Some people believe that this episode, along with "Good Neighbors," "Whale of a Birthday," "The Lost Mattress," and "Patrick SmartPants" were allegedly originally written in Season 3, but Vincent Waller has confirmed that these were written in Season 4.
• During a tribute to Ernest Borgnine, this episode was skipped. However, it was paired with "Mermaid Man Begins."
• This is the only episode out of the six original Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes to not have the black and purple fish scale background on the title card.
  • It is also the first one to have a subtitle.
• The close-up where SpongeBob says "Actors" has become a meme on YouTube.
• Sandy saying "Did somebody say boom?" has become a popular YouTube meme.
• The leader of the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy fan club is one of the nerd fish from Weenie Hut Juniors in "No Weenies Allowed."
• This is the last episode of the "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" sub-series with the episodes being titled with the Roman numeral numbers.
• This episode, "Dunces and Dragons," "Selling Out," and "Funny Pants" were the last episodes to have a VHS release.
• According to YouTube, SpongeBob’s Tantrum has become a meme.
• In SpongeBob's movie, the part where Mermaid Man goes, "Mermaid Man -- icle Boy unite!" has become an internet meme.

Cultural references

• Drippy Brothers Studios is a parody of Warner Bros. Pictures, which produces films based on DC Comics superheroes. As Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are largely parodies of DC characters such as Aquaman and Batman, this is fitting.

Errors

• In Polish and Latin American Spanish versions, the narrator mistakenly reads the title as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV: The Motion Picture instead of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture.
• In the French dub, the title is Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV.
• During almost all of the filming, the lens cap is not on the camera.
• When the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy fan club was coming to the Krusty Krab and before the movie, the fan club kids were the same. After the whole movie, most of the Bikini Bottomites are in the seats.
• When Mermaid Man says "Now our dreams of being big screen heroes will never come true" he was already in movies such as "The Dark Tide Rises." However, The Dark Tide Rises came out in a more recent episode.
• When SpongeBob and Patrick start eating popcorn, Patrick's eyebrows are missing.

Running gags

• When someone says "boom" in a sentence, the scene changes to Sandy preparing to use a detonator, with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in the background. She asks "Did somebody say boom?" and pushes the detonator. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy blow up.
• A close-up of SpongeBob's mouth saying "actors" is using a live-action human mouth.