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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
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Pranks a Lot

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"Pranks a Lot" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 3. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick use invisibility spray to pretend to be ghosts and play pranks on the citizens of Bikini Bottom.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

Pranks a Lot 001

The Palace of Pranks

The episode begins with SpongeBob introducing Patrick to the Palace of Pranks. SpongeBob tells Patrick that he bought a gag can of Seanut Brittle from there, which Patrick gets pranked and is sad that there is no actual snack.

SpongeBob and Patrick then enter the store in search of the ultimate prank. Patrick falls for the Seanut Brittle prank again, much to SpongeBob's amusement, before SpongeBob introduces Patrick to the store owner, Frank, who then suggests numerous gags in stock to prank all of Bikini Bottom with, though none of them interest the pair until they are offered a rare can of Invisible Spray for just one dollar.

SpongeBob and Patrick then proceed to purchase it and are warned that it stains clothes. Before they use the spray, Patrick remembers it will stain clothes, so he and SpongeBob take their clothes off in order to prevent the spray from staining their clothes. They decide to spray a park bench and sit on it but get in an argument over who gets to spray the bench. During the fight, they are embarrassed by a passing tour bus before they spray each other while making various puns. "Several bad puns later," they are completely invisible, and the Invisible Spray can is empty. SpongeBob throws it out of sight and blames Patrick since their chances at pulling off the ultimate prank are now ruined.

After asking a man for the time and accidentally scaring him away, SpongeBob realizes that he and Patrick can pretend to be ghosts and prank the whole town. They pretend to be ghosts and go around frightening everyone - moving things around in Sandy's treedome, eating a cake Mrs. Puff was going to eat, painting a mustache on Squidward's face, etc. - until Mr. Krabs, who is confirmed not to be afraid of ghosts, is the last person in Bikini Bottom who has yet to be haunted.

Pranks a Lot 146

Mr. Krabs' anti-ghost outfit

They attempt to frighten him and succeed until they attempt to burn a dollar bill. Mr. Krabs' fear is overcome by his love of money, and he attempts to extinguish the match with a bucket of water. The invisible spray is washed off of Patrick and SpongeBob, exposing their identities, and their nudity.

Though embarrassed, Mr. Krabs comforts SpongeBob and Patrick by saying he forgives them and was fond of pulling pranks in his youth. However, when they attempt to leave to find new clothes to wear, the Krusty Krab now contains nearly everyone in Bikini Bottom, showcasing the "Live, nude pranksters! Starring the Bikini Bottom Ghosts!" SpongeBob and Patrick, now extremely embarrassed, try to cover themselves while everyone looks, cheers, and laughs at them. Before the episode ends, SpongeBob mentions to Patrick how they should have bought the whoopie cushion instead.

Production[]

This episode was in production in 2001 and 2002.

The finished master was delivered to Nickelodeon Animation Studio on August 2, 2002.

SB 060 SLATE

Art[]

Comic ads[]

The title card background uses real comic book ads from the 1970s.

Music[]

( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Flop and Go A - John Fox [Title card]
 • Prankster SpongeBob - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob introduces Patrick to the Palace of Pranks.]
 ‣ Witty Fellow - Gerhard Trede ["Good to see you, SpongeBob!"]
 • Vibe & Harp Hits - Nicolas Carr ["They're floating in midair!"]
 ‣ Tomfoolery - David Snell [SpongeBob and Patrick spray each other.]
 ‣ Glissando Up [#1.16] - Eric Allen ["...half past invisible."]
 ‣ Tomfoolery - David Snell ["Gee, it's getting late."]
 ‣ Hercule Poirot - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob and Patrick are at Sandy's treedome.]
 ‣ Alien Spacecraft C - Gregor F. Narholz ["It is ghosts!"]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer [Sandy screams.]
 • Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Sandy escapes to Texas.]
 ‣ Horlepiep - Jan Rap [SpongeBob and Patrick scare everyone.]
 • Steel Licks 40 - Jeremy Wakefield [Mr. Krabs has yet to be haunted.]
 ‣ The Tip Top Polka/The Cliff Polka - Chelmsford Folk Band [Mr. Krabs' anti-ghost armor]
 ‣ Captain Lenoe's - The Folk Players ["Bring it on!"]
 ‣ House Of Horror [#10.4] - W. Merrick Farran ["Krabs, we've come to haunt you!"]
 ‣ House Of Horror [#10.5] - W. Merrick Farran [Mr. Krabs screams.]
 • Spongemonger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Mr. Krabs tries to escape.]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (B) - Ronald Hanmer ["No! Don't burn me dollar!"]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch [SpongeBob and Patrick become visible again.]
 ‣ Strip Tease - David Farnon [Ending]

Release[]

Trivia[]

General[]

The Seascape Capers DVD sealed stickers

A sticker that is on sealed copies of The Seascape Capers DVD.

SeascapeCaperswithstickers

A sticker that is on sealed copies of The Seascape Capers VHS tape.

  • According to the advertisement sticker on The Seascape Capers DVD and VHS tape, this episode along with "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler" were originally supposed to premiere in January 2005, but got pushed up to October 2004 instead.[1]
  • This episode uses the same title card track as "I'm with Stupid," "Flop and Go A," albeit both episodes use entirely different part of the track.
  • This is the last episode for several things:
    • The last episode to be aired during the Double Up event.
    • The last episode to be completed (as shown by its packaging code, 60b) during Stephen Hillenburg's time as showrunner. Stephen Hillenburg appointed Paul Tibbitt to replace him as showrunner after the first movie from 2005 to 2015.[2] Hillenburg maintained an executive producer role and an advisory role after season 3, and returned to the show in season 9 after working on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
    • The last episode to have Derek Drymon, Caleb Meurer, Carson Kugler, Kent Osborne, and Merriwether Williams' names seen in the opening credits.
    • The last episode to have Lolee Aries as an executive in charge of production before her death on July 10, 2018.[3]
    • The last episode where the cast list in the credits list the characters from all episode segments all together; starting with season 4, the cast list shows each cast for each episode segment separately.
    • The last episode to be copyrighted in 2002.
    • The last pitch-corrected PAL-dubbed episode to have a slightly warped (as in a few cents higher but not 70.67 cents higher) pitch.
  • Somehow, no one seems to notice that the voices of the "ghosts" sound like SpongeBob and Patrick, except for Sandy, though she later thinks they are ghosts (that sound like SpongeBob and Patrick) as well once she takes off the sheets.
Pranks a Lot 134
  • Fourth wall break: Mr. Krabs talks to and shows the audience his items of defense against ghosts.
  • Mr. Krabs' ghost prevention good-luck charms include having his underwear tied in a Melvit knot. A Melvit knot is used to hold a sail to a sailboat.
  • The novelty items Frank offers to SpongeBob are:
  • SpongeBob says he only has one dollar to spend, yet when he purchases the can of Invisible Spray, he gives Frank multiple dollar bills.
Pranks a Lot (A.K.A

Naked Pants

Naked Pants Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video calls this episode "Naked Pants" as well

  • This episode was originally going to be called "Naked Pants" according to The Seascape Capers DVD episode selection screen and "Ghost Jokers" according to Zap2it.[4]
  • The Krusty Krab's layout differs from other episodes. Notably, the restroom is located where Mr. Krabs' office usually is.
  • Gary, Plankton, Pearl, Larry, and Karen were the only main characters who were not haunted.
  • The puns that SpongeBob and Patrick tell each other while spraying each other with the Invisible Spray are the following:
    • "I gotta hand it to you!" (Patrick sprays SpongeBob's right hand.)
    • "Kind of gives you an empty feeling, huh?" (SpongeBob sprays Patrick's chest.)
    • "I see what you mean!" (Patrick sprays SpongeBob's left eye.)
    • "No guts, no glory!" (SpongeBob sprays Patrick's gut.)
  • The toys that are featured in the title card:
    • X-Ray glasses ($1.00)
    • U-Control 7-Foot Life-Size Ghost (95 cents)
    • Joy buzzer (25 cents)
    • Secret Spy Scope (Unknown price)
    • Greedy Fingers Bank ($2.45)
    • Secret Pocket Pen (Unknown price)
    • Phony Cast ($4.81)
    • Joke Gum (Unknown price)
    • Worm Trick (Unknown price)
    • Miniature Secret Camera (Unknown price)
    • Various amount of unknown toys.
Pranks a Lot - Mrs

Mrs. Puff deflates

  • This is the first episode for two things:
    • The first episode where "real" vomit is seen.
    • The first episode where Mrs. Puff deflates entirely.
  • This is the only episode for two things:
  • "No ghost will come near a fella as long as he, the fella, is:"
    • Wearing a spotted handkerchief
    • carrying a dried-up sea leprechaun
    • Wearing a gold necklace (at least it wouldn't hurt)
    • Wearing his pants in a "melvin" knot (his underwear strung up with rope)
    • Wearing his "shivering timber brace" (a chain around both his ankles)
    • Wearing a piece of duct tape on the back of his neck to cover the hairs
    • Wearing a "suit of anti-ghost armor" (a barrel and a silly headpiece holding lanterns)
    • Most importantly: Equipped with a specter deflector (a paddle ball)
  • Mr. Krabs' gold necklace reads "Foxy."
  • This episode was paired up with different episodes in different marathons:

Dub facts[]

  • In the Brazilian dubbing, the line "Fake vomit? Real vomit?" is changed to "Gosta disso? Coisas sem forma?" ("Do you like this? Shapeless things?")
  • In Sweden, "Invisible Spray" is "Spöke Färg" ("Ghost Color").
  • In Dutch, this episode is titled "Top van de fops" (when translated: "Top of the pranks/fops") ("fop" means prank in Dutch), which is a pun on the title of a British music program called Top of The Pops.
  • In Indonesian, Spanish (Castilian and Latin American), and Greek, the fish who says "Toast" says "Ghost;" (In Indonesian, Toast means "Roti Panggang" and "Ghost" means "Hantu").
    • In the Filipino dub he says "Want some?" (In Filipino, "Want some?" means "Gusto niyo?" and "Ghost" means "Multo")[citation needed]
    • In the Hebrew version, he says "Sandwich."
    • In Korean, he says "What's that?"
    • In Polish, he says "Crunchy."
    • In Malay, he says "Burnt!" (In Malay, "burnt" is "hangus," which sounds nearly the same as the Malay word for "ghost," which is "hantu.")
  • In the Latin Spanish dub, this is the last episode to feature Paul Gillman as the voice of Patrick due to his focus on his music career.
    • Interestingly, Alfonso Soto who would later voice Patrick, voiced Nat Peterson in this episode.
  • In the Japanese dub, this is the last episode to feature Hiroyuki Tsuru as the voice of SpongeBob before he quit his voice acting career in 2004.

Cultural references[]

  • This episode's title is a pun on the saying, "thanks a lot."
  • The title card design is a spoof of old-fashioned newspaper ads for pranks.
  • SpongeBob's gag Seanut Brittle can is a parody of the snake nut can.
  • Mr. Krabs says "I ain't afraid of no ghosts." This is a reference to the 1984 film, Ghostbusters.

Errors[]

  • When Sandy is frightened by the "ghosts," her escape pod breaks a large opening in the treedome. The dome does not flood with water and is back to normal in the next shot.
  • SpongeBob and Patrick are not wearing their water helmets when they are in Sandy's treedome. Additionally, bubbles appear when Sandy removes their sheets, and when she opens and closes the door to her escape pod.
  • When Mr. Krabs is inside the Krusty Krab, the windows have blinds. In subsequent scenes, the blinds are gone.
Pranks a Lot 031

Exploding Chewing Gum is spelled as Explpding Chewing Gum

  • The Exploding Chewing Gum box has a typo that reads the product as "Explpding Gum" instead of "Exploding Gum."
  • When the Invisible Spray washes off Patrick, his navel reappears and disappears.
Pranks a Lot 044

The danger sign is missing

  • When Frank is holding the Invisible Spray, at the bottom of it reads "danger." However, in every other shot of the Invisible Spray, the "danger" label is missing.
  • After Mr. Krabs throws water on SpongeBob and Patrick, SpongeBob's shoes and socks are visible, despite the fact that the Invisible Spray stains clothes. When SpongeBob explains that fact, he says "paint" instead of "spray."
    • Also, the Invisible Spray is occasionally referred to as "paint."
  • When Mr. Krabs grabs SpongeBob and Patrick, the dollar in Patrick's hand disappears.
  • Mr. Krabs says that he has taped the hairs on the back of his neck down. When he is fleeing from the "ghosts," there is no tape on his neck.
Pranks a Lot 071

He already sprayed invisible spray in his guts

  • The toilet in the Krusty Krab restroom through which Mr. Krabs tries to swim is out in plain sight and not hidden by a stall.
Pranks a Lot 110

A mouth can be seen, but they are invisible

  • The Invisible Spray makes SpongeBob and Patrick completely invisible, but when Patrick belches after finishing Mrs. Puff's cake, his mouth is clearly seen, being wiped with a napkin.
Pranks a Lot 197

Sandy's whistling through her helmet

  • When SpongeBob and Patrick take their clothes off, SpongeBob has more holes on the bottom of his head that remain for the rest of the episode.
  • During the exterior shots of the Krusty Krab, and when the door opens so SpongeBob and Patrick can haunt Mr. Krabs, the Chum Bucket and its pathway across from the restaurant are missing.


Videos[]

Names in other languages[]

Language Name Meaning
Russian Море приколов
More prikolov		 Tons of Pranks
Spanish (American) Bromista Prankster
Spanish (European) Bromistas desnudos Naked Pranksters

References[]

  1. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20040427091430/http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/GuidePageServlet/showid-3428/epid-168715
  2. ^ https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a312387/paul-tibbitt-spongebob-squarepants/
  3. ^ https://www.facebook.com/HomePlateEntertainment/posts/about-lolee-aries-death-doesnt-have-to-be-so-sad-gone-but-not-forgotten-is-not-g/1706417449436791/
  4. ^ https://tvlistings.zap2it.com/overview.html?programSeriesId=SH00307766&tmsId=SH003077660000&from=TVGrid&aid=gapzap
  5. ^ https://www.amazon.com/Algaes-Always-Greener-Sponge-Guard/dp/B001JJFQ8W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406331266&sr=8-1&keywords=spongebob+season+3/
  6. ^ Nickstory - August 9, 2010
  7. ^ Nickstory - April 1, 2017
Awards and nominations for SpongeBob SquarePants V • E

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)

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