"Spatula of the Heavens" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 13. In this episode, SpongeBob embarks on an epic journey to have his beloved spatula reforged by the legendary Guru Greasetrap.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Creepy SpongeBob[5] (cut)
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Squidward Tentacles
- Rube Goldfish
- Guru Greasetrap (single appearance)
- SpongeTom
- Incidentals
- Incidental 3
- Incidental 20
- Carol
- Incidental 23
- Incidental 39 (green)
- Incidental 48[1]
- Incidental 152
- Judge 2 (normal variant)
- Eel
- Jody Ann Chovy
- Jellyfish (cameo)
Synopsis[]
SpongeBob's spatula broken.
At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob is enthusiastically cooking Krabby Patties when he mistakenly leaves his spatula on the grill, causing it to heat up. When he picks it up with tongs, it crumbles into pieces. Krabs tells him to keep cooking with one of the dirty, greasy replacement spatulas in the kitchen, but SpongeBob wants to use his own spatula instead. Threatened with SpongeTom taking over his job if he does not find another way to cook, SpongeBob heads off to the Mystical Misty Mountains to find Guru Greasetrap and repair his spatula.
SpongeBob starts climbing the mountain, and loses his backpack when he sets it down and it causes the rock to collapse. He meets Rube, who is giving tours. Rube helps SpongeBob cross a rickety bridge, but then leaves when his shift is over. SpongeBob continues climbing to meet the guru on the mountaintop. Greasetrap knows why he is here, and goes to get his hammer and anvil to reforge the spatula. When SpongeBob tries to help him, he accidentally drops anvils on Greasetrap's hands, severely injuring them. After being told that the true spatula is "inside him," which he does not understand, SpongeBob is left to learn how to reforge it himself.
Greasetrap gives SpongeBob a few training exercises, which he cannot get right. However, his determination leads Greasetrap to let him try it. SpongeBob melts his spatula's parts into metal, pours it into a template, hammers it flat, and cools it down with snow, restoring it completely. So he will not be late, Greasetrap kicks him down the mountain, making him roll into a snowball and crash into the Krusty Krab.
SpongeBob crashes on top of SpongeTom, who was almost taking his job. However, when he tries flipping a patty, his spatula immediately breaks. He remembers Greasetrap's words that the spatula is inside him, and uses his hands to prepare the patties instead. In the process, he injures them and has them wrapped in casts, like Greasetrap. When Greasetrap visits, he realizes that SpongeBob had misunderstood his advice: lifting up his body reveals the spatula literally contained inside of him. Before SpongeBob goes back to work, Mr. Krabs suggests that he wash his new spatula first.
Production[]
This episode was confirmed on January 13, 2023.[6]
Vincent Waller confirmed that Rube, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward were a part of the episode on June 22, 2023.[7]
Model sheets[]
- Designed by Kendall Hale.[3]
Art[]
Background design[]
- Layouts by Sterling Ritcher.[2] Traditionally painted by Amy Lewis in gouache,[8][9] with art direction by Peter Bennett and layouts by Rebekie Bennington and others.[10]
Storyboards[]
Deleted scene[]
In the original storyboards, there was a scene where SpongeBob almost freezes to death while climbing up the Mystical Misty Mountains, but is rejuvenated after realizing how SpongeTom could ruin the good name of Krabby Patties.[12] There was also dialogue recorded for this sequence:
"-Krabs to SpongeTom: "And here's the grill! It's all yours now!" -Creepy SpongeBob to SB: "Turn around, you're never going to make it!" -SpongeTom: <STUPID LAUGH> while ruining the Krabby Patties"[5]
Production notes[]
Vincent Waller:
- Waller said this was "a fun episode."[13]
Kyle Morrison:
- Morrison said that "Rube is always a delight to watch AND plus."[1]
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Joust - Fredric Bayco [Title card.]
• A Pinapple Luau W-bongos - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Opening.]
‣ House Of Horror [#10.5] - William Farran [SpongeBob's spatula burning/SpongeBob's spatula breaks.]
• Jovial Pirate's Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Squidward trying to take orders.]
‣ Agonized - Harry Lubin ["SpongeBob, where are my orders?!"]
• In a Minor Mood Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["You better explain yourself, boy-o!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 4A - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, I can't cook with those, Mr. Krabs."]
‣ Le Chant Magique - Romolo Grano [SpongeBob gives Mr. Krabs the backstory of his spatula.]
• In a Minor Mood Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["Listen up, boy-o! I'm losing money by the second here!"]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 37C - Jeremy Wakefield [Krabs pulls SpongeTom from a barrel.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 37D - Jeremy Wakefield ["I'm prepared!"]
‣ Fearless Assault - Harry Lubin [SpongeBob running to the Mystical Misty Mountains.]
• Patchys Parched Blues - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob walking through the desert.]
• Popcycles and Ice Cream - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob gets ice cream from a vendor.]
‣ Fearless Assault - Harry Lubin [SpongeBob uses his ice cream to move faster.]
‣ Near East Unrest - Clive Richardson [SpongeBob climbs up the Mystical Misty Mountains.]
‣ Ballet Shoes [#58] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Rube introduces himself as SpongeBob's mountain guide.]
• Oh My Neptune! - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob looks at the rickety bridge.]
‣ Imminent Danger - Frederick Charrosin ["Don't worry. This is way easier than it looks."]
‣ Ambush - Harry Lubin [SpongeBob crosses the rickety bridge.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19C - Jeremy Wakefield [Rube clocks out.]
‣ Call Of The Sea - Cedric Palmer ["Nothing will stop us from flipping delicious Krabby Patties!"]
• Choir Bounce - Nicolas Carr [Shot of Guru Greasetrap/Second shot of Guru Greasetrap.]
• More Transcending - Nicolas Carr [Guru Greasetrap wakes up.]
• Shop O Rama - Nicolas Carr, Fabian Fernandez [Guru Greasetrap advertising different utensils to SpongeBob.]
‣ Charlie's Bike F - Peter Balding, Otto Sieben ["I just need to get my beloved spatula fixed."]
• Clowning Around Again short - Barry Anthony ["Oh, is that all? Sure, it'll just take a few minutes."]
• Barnicles - Nicolas Carr [Anvils crushing Guru Greasetrap's hands.]
• Hawaiian Steel Stings - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob tries pulling the anvils off Guru Greasetrap's hands.]
• More Transcending - Nicolas Carr ["Greasetrap cannot reforge your spatula until my hands have healed up."]
• The Garbage Patrol Part 2 New Mix - Nicolas Carr [Guru Greasetrap trains SpongeBob to reforge his spatula.]
• Hawaiian Steel Stings - Jeremy Wakefield ["Um, master, is it time yet?"]
‣ Olympus (a) - Richard Harvey [SpongeBob reforges his spatula.]
• Hawaiian Steel Stings - Jeremy Wakefield ["I have to find a way back to the Krusty Krab before it's too late!"]
• Even More Transcending - Nicolas Carr ["Don't worry. Guru Greasetrap knows a shortcut."]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 30B - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob falls off the side of the mountain.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 31D - Jeremy Wakefield [Guru Greasetrap sits back in his lounge chair.]
‣ Joust - Fredric Bayco [SpongeBob rolls in a snowball back to Bikini Bottom.]
• SpongeTango - Steve Marston, Nicolas Carr ["Time's up. The job's yours SpongeTom."]
• Salty Squid Jig 2 - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton [SpongeBob returns to work.]
• On Fire - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob's spatula breaks again.]
• The Spatula Inside - Nicolas Carr ["Remember, your true spatula is inside of you."]
‣ Age Of Discovery - Sam Spence [SpongeBob using his hands as spatulas.]
• Pirate's Opus - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["SpongeBob, that was amazing!"]
• Sanatized w-Choir - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob finds a spatula in his heart.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 25D - Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]
Release[]
- This episode is available on the SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 23 digital collection and The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD.
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode was originally scheduled to premiere at 1:00 pm, but was later moved to 5:00 pm.
- This episode is one of the few episodes from past the second half of season 9 to be storyboard-driven, as it was originally outlined by Luke Brookshier[4] and written and storyboarded by Benjamin Arcand.
- It is the third episode of the season to be storyboard-driven, following "Lockdown for Love" and "Delivery to Monster Island."
- Benjamin Arcand himself also confirmed the episode was storyboard driven.[14]
- This marks the first appearance of Judge 2's normal variant since her debut in "Something Smells."
- This episode marks the return of SpongeTom since his debut in "Broken Alarm."
- This marks the first usage of the Hawaiian Steel Stings in the main series.
- This episode was paired up with a rerun of "FUN-Believable" during the original American airing.[15]
- SpongeBob being revealed to have a spare spatula inside him is similar to "Goodbye, Krabby Patty?" when he keeps the secret formula inside him.
- SpongeBob also keeps a carton of extra milk and a pie inside him like a fridge in "Plankton's Good Eye."
Episode references[]
- SpongeBob making Krabby Patties in the beginning of the episode was inspired by a similar sequence in "Help Wanted."[4]
- SpongeBob also runs around shouting "I'm ready!" while making a face very similar to one of his faces in the pilot.
Cultural references[]
- A sketch of Leonardo da Vinci appears when SpongeBob explains the backstory of his spatula to Mr. Krabs.
Errors[]
The Chum Bucket is missing.
- When SpongeBob rolls into the Krusty Krab as a snowball, the Chum Bucket and the road leading to it is missing.
Video[]
Names in other languages[]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| German | Pfannenwender des Himmels | Spatula of the Heavens |
References[]
- ^ a b c d Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "Spatula of the Heavens" Supercut!..."
- ^ a b Sterling Ritcher on Twitter - "Mystical Mountain BG..."
- ^ a b Kendall Hale on Instagram - "SURPRISE! I've been..."
- ^ a b c d Benjamin Arcand on Twitter - "Some storyboards/montage sequence..."
- ^ a b Benjamin Arcand on Twitter - "DIALOG:..."
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - LeakDB
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter - "Will you settle for..."
- ^ Amy Lewis Art - Backgrounds/Concept Art
- ^ Amy Lewis on Twitter - "Couple more SpongeBob..."
- ^ Amy Lewis on Twitter - "Art Direction by..."
- ^ Jeff Shea on Twitter - "a bit late for the premiere..."
- ^ Benjamin Arcand on Twitter - "More stuf from..."
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter - "It is a..."
- ^ Benjamin Arcand on Twitter - "Yes it was"
- ^ July 20, 2023 - Nickstory