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Character

Shelley,[1] originally known as the singing clam in a cage,[2] is SpongeBob's pet clam/scallop. They live in a small birdcage that hangs from the ceiling of SpongeBob's bedroom. They first appeared in the SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible and make many background appearances throughout the series.

In the pitch bible, Stephen Hillenburg outlined Shelley as one of SpongeBob's two pets, along with Gary the Snail. In "The Bikini Bottom's Up Tour," Patchy the Pirate talks about Shelley and confirms they are SpongeBob's pet. He says "That there is SpongeBob's pet scallop, Shelley! She doesn't do much. Just kinda sits there, like a pet rock."

Description[]

Shelley night palette

Shelley's night palette.

SpongeBob SquarePants pitch bible - second draft page 20

Shelley in the pitch bible.

Shelley is a small, lavender-colored clam and/or scallop with a dark purple outline. They normally rest on a brown perch in a black birdcage hanging from SpongeBob's bedroom ceiling. In some episodes, they are white with a blue outline and their perch is an orange-yellow color. In nighttime settings, their color palette is a much darker shade of purple and their cage has a dark blue hue.

Role in series[]

Shelley's cage destroyed

Shelley's cage destroyed.

Shelley frequently appears in SpongeBob's room, but they have never been addressed directly in an episode. Their name is revealed in "The Bikini Bottom's Up Tour," a special feature on Disc 3 of The Complete 1st Season DVD. When the viewer selects their cage, Patchy talks about them and says that their name is Shelley. He explains that they do not do much but are still a great pet.

Shelley and their cage are both normally part of the background, but they have been animated or moved on several occasions. In "Help Wanted," Shelley's cage moves back and forth when SpongeBob's alarm clock goes off. In "New Digs," SpongeBob puts Shelley in Mr. Krabs' office when he moves into the Krusty Krab. In "Don't Look Now," SpongeBob and Patrick put Shelley on SpongeBob's bed. In "Unreal Estate," SpongeBob gets stuck in Shelley's cage after sneezing. In "Ain't That the Tooth," Dorsal Dan gets stuck in Shelley's cage.

When SpongeBob visits his destroyed house during the Great Krabby Patty Famine in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Shelley is shown to have escaped. They are not in their cage, and it appears with a gaping hole in it. In the PC version of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game, during "Chapter 1: Love Thy Neighbor," they also get out of their cage. SpongeBob remarks, "I had a pet clam in there, but he got out!"

SpongeBob's living room has a framed photo of Shelley on one wall and a photo of Gary on the opposite wall. This can be seen in "Banned in Bikini Bottom" and the online games Spring Cleaning and Bikini Bottom Mysteries Search.

Trivia[]

Unreal Estate 068

SpongeBob in Shelley's cage.

  • So far, there are only three episodes and one video game in which Shelley and their cage are animated apart from the background: "Help Wanted," Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, "Unreal Estate," and "Ain't That the Tooth."
  • In "SpongeBob's Place," Shelley's cage appears to be filled with dollar bills.
  • Shelley is never shown injured or dead, let alone seen, in episodes that feature SpongeBob's house destroyed or abandoned.
  • In 2023, Paul Tibbitt stated that he believed Shelley to be a singing bird box decoration rather than a living character.[3] However, this contradicts how both SpongeBob and Patchy have referred to Shelley as a living pet in previous media (the 2004 movie video game and "The Bikini Bottom's Up Tour").
  • SpongeBob wants a pet to keep Gary company in "A Pal for Gary," despite the fact that he has Shelley. Shelley is even seen in the background in one scene of the episode.
  • They are the first female character to appear in the series.

References[]

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