Tea at the Treedome

If you were looking for the article about the chapter book, then see Tea at the Treedome (book).

If you were looking for the article about the Russian DVD, then see Tea at the Treedome (DVD).

Tea at the Treedome
General
Production code:	2515-101
Season №:	1
Episode №:	1c
Airdate:	May 1, 1999 September 18, 1999 January 3, 2000 March 6, 2000 August 1, 2006 See more... January 1, 2000 January 8, 2000 February 7, 2000 February 26, 2000 December 18, 2000 January 31, 2001 April 4, 2001 (SIC) April 7, 2001 July 2, 2001 (Novyi Kanal) July 4, 2001 (EBS) September 2, 2001 (Telétoon+) September 15, 2001 December 1, 2001 December 1, 2001 (Alpha Cinema 1) December 17, 2001 December 22, 2001 July 1, 2002 (TF1) August 23, 2002 (Super RTL) October 7, 2002 (SRF ZWEI) October 12, 2002 (JEI TV) June 1, 2003 (Nick India) July 1, 2003 August 21, 2003 (Nelonen) September 1, 2003 (TNT) September 20, 2003 (CNBC-e) January 12, 2004 (Orf 1) February 9, 2004 (Lativi) August 23, 2004 August 31, 2004 (Italia 1) October 1, 2004 (MTV) December 24, 2004 (Nickelodeon) 2005 (Nickelodeon) February 22, 2005 (ICTV) September 12, 2005 (Nickelodeon) November 16, 2005 (Nickelodeon) January 29, 2006 February 1, 2006 June 24, 2006 (ETV) July 14, 2007 (TOP Channel) September 3, 2007 (Diema Family, voice-over) June 15, 2008 (Boom Smarty) July 10, 2008 (Nickelodeon) July 24, 2008 August 30, 2010 (QTV) March 3, 2014 December 5, 2015 (Nick HD+) February 8, 2017 (Olloo TV) February 1, 2018 (PLUS PLUS) February 24, 2018 (TET) April 15, 2019 June 30, 2020 June 1, 2021 April 4, 2023
U.S. premiere time (ET):	9:45 pm
Copyright year:	1999
U.S. viewers (millions):	2.96
Running time:	11 minutes
Sister episode(s):	"Help Wanted" "Reef Blower"
Credits
Writer(s):	Peter Burns Doug Lawrence Paul Tibbitt
Storyboard Artist(s):	Mark O'Hare
Storyboard:	Paul Tibbitt
Animation:	Tom Yasumi
Creative:	Derek Drymon
Chronology
Previous	"Reef Blower"
Next	"Bubblestand"

"Tea at the Treedome" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 1. In this episode, SpongeBob meets Sandy Cheeks and struggles to breathe in her treedome.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Jellyfish ^(debut)
  • Lavender jellyfish ^(debut)
• Sandy Cheeks ^(debut)
• Giant clam ^(debut)
• Patrick Star
• Unnamed butterfly ^{(single appearance)}
• Sandy's orange bird ^{(single appearance)}

Synopsis

The episode starts with SpongeBob jellyfishing, only to stumble upon a land squirrel fighting a clam. He attempts to save her, but she saves herself just before the clam eats SpongeBob. After the squirrel, named Sandy, saves SpongeBob, the two greet each other and start bonding. When he notices the air helmet she uses to help her breathe, he convinces her that he likes air too, too embarrassed to admit he does not know what air is. Afterwards, Sandy tells SpongeBob to come over to her treedome for tea and cookies, and gives him a map of where her treedome is.

"Pinky out."

SpongeBob goes to Patrick to tell him about what he went through. When Patrick hears from SpongeBob that Sandy wears a "hat full of air," he misinterprets this as a statement that she "puts on airs," and that he needs to be fancy by putting his pinky out. The next day, SpongeBob arrives to Sandy's home, but when he goes inside, he realizes the treedome is entirely filled with air. SpongeBob starts having trouble breathing and begins to dehydrate as a result, but will not admit this to Sandy.

As Sandy is showing her house, SpongeBob attempts to use a birdbath to absorb water, only for the bird to angrily kick him out. Patrick reminds him to put his pinky out, and SpongeBob also brings flowers for Sandy. SpongeBob asks Sandy for water when she asks if he needs anything, but misinterprets this as needing a vase with water inside for the flowers. When Sandy leaves, SpongeBob desperately wants to get out of the treedome, but before he gets out, he remembers Patrick's advice, "When in doubt, pinky out," and remains in the treedome despite being severely dehydrated.

"What kind of place is this?!"

Sandy comes back with the water vase for the flowers, and attempts to start talking to SpongeBob again. When an oven timer inside her treedome goes off, Sandy leaves again. SpongeBob starts wondering if he needs the water in the vase, repeatedly telling himself he doesn't need it, but eventually relents. SpongeBob drinks all the water in the vase and bolts for the door, only for Patrick to come inside and prevent him from leaving. Patrick says that everything will be fine, but as he walks and stays inside the treedome, he starts choking due to the lack of water as well.

The two attempt to get out, and when Sandy comes to them with some tea and cookies, she is shocked when she sees the two have dried up. Sandy quickly brings water helmets for them so they can survive in the treedome and tells them if they needed water, then they should've asked for it. The trio happily drink some tea while the episode ends.

Production

Creation of Sandy

Stephen Hillenburg stated in the "Everybody's Talking: The Voices Behind SpongeBob SquarePants" special feature on The Complete 1st Season DVD and a 2014 interview that he created Sandy as "a strong female character that could be a friend to SpongeBob but not a love interest." However, when Tim Hill helped Hillenburg create a pitch bible for SpongeBob in 1996, it was suggested that a hint of romance should be added between SpongeBob and Sandy. This idea was included in the bible, but Hillenburg eventually decided against Sandy being a love interest in the show.

Storyboards

Cels

Sketches

Paintings

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Moloka'i Nui A - Kapono Beamer [Title card]
 • Closing Theme 2 - Steve Belfer [Opening]
 ‣ On Fire - Gregor F. Narholz [Sandy fights a giant clam]
 ‣ Death Trap [#27.2] - Gregor F. Narholz [The clam attacks Sandy]
 ‣ The Adventure Begins - Jonathan Neal ["You have fought well, giant clam."/SpongeBob continues trying to open the clam]
 ‣ Wild Panic [#39] - Gregor F. Narholz ["Your shell is mine!"]
 ‣ Return Of The Surfin' Headhunters - The Mel-Tones ["Hold on there, little square dude."]
 ‣ Moloka'i Nui A - Kapono Beamer [Sandy introduces herself to SpongeBob]
 ‣ Heroes Win [#34] - Gregor F. Narholz ["Oh, yeah? Watch this!"]
 • 12th St Rag Slo - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Sandy invites SpongeBob over to her treedome for tea and cookies]
 ‣ Cocktail Lounge - Dick Stephen Walter ["That's just fancy talk."]
 ‣ Armed Attack 3 - Mladen Franko [SpongeBob bangs on Sandy's door]
 ‣ Merlins Hill - Jennifer Jones [Harp music is heard]
 ‣ Aloha - Dick Stephen Walter ["Course there's no water."]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [Sandy gives SpongeBob a tour]
 ‣ Hippo's In My Bath - Richard Myhill ["Pinky, pinky!"]
 ‣ Dead March 2 - Frederic Chopin, Alfred Kluten ["I brought you some flowers."]
 ‣ Encirclement - Jean Clero ["I gotta get out of here!"]
 ‣ Merlins Hill - Jennifer Jones ["I like you, SpongeBob."]
 ‣ Encirclement - Jean Clero [SpongeBob struggles to open the door]
 ‣ Cocktail Lounge - Dick Stephen Walter ["When in doubt, pinky out."]
 ‣ Tribute To The King - Gregor F. Narholz ["I don't need water! Water's for quitters!"]
 ‣ Action Cut A - Gregor F. Narholz ["I don't need it... I don't need it..."]
 ‣ Kung Fu Saturdays - The Mel-Tones ["I need it!"/"What kind of place is this?!"]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (H) - Ronald Hanmer [Sandy sees that SpongeBob and Patrick are dried up]
 • You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Tales from the Deep, SpongeBob Schwammkopf Folge 1, Complete 1st Season, The 1st Season: Volume 1, Tea Under The Tree, Tea at the Treedome, Jellyfishing, Sportingly Sandy, The Tom Kenny Collection, 10 Happiest Moments, First 100 Episodes, SpongeBob SquarePants, iSponge Offer Pack, Best of SpongeBob, Exposed!: The Ultimate Box Set, Really Big Box Set, The SpongeBob Birthday Box, The Underwater Stories, The Ultimate SpongeBob Box Set, Treasure Chest: Double Pack, Double Feature Volume 3, Holiday Cruise Collection, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 1, Home Sweet Pineapple (Polish only), The Complete First Season, From the Beginning, Part 1, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Favorite Episodes, The First & Second Seasons, Movies & TV Collection, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs.
• This episode is also available on the Deep Sea Sillies and Tales from the Deep VHS tapes.

Reception

• "Tea at the Treedome" was ranked #97 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.
• In "Super Stuffed Nicksgiving Weekend," which shows the "Top 100 Greatest Moments in Nicktoon History," it was ranked #46 in the countdown.
• This episode is number 17 on The Tom Kenny Collection on iTunes and Amazon.com. His description says:

"This one introduced Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence). Nick Jennings' painting of crusty, dried out SpongeBob is classic. Also, Patrick's exhorting SpongeBob to keep his "pinky up," oblivious to the fact that SpongeBob is freaking out."

Trivia

General

• According to concept art, this episode was in production by September 3, 1998.

Original title card.

• An original title card with a different background and font colors can be found on the SuperSponge asset discs. It is the only title card on the discs that does not match its final version. It has never been used in any broadcast, home video release, or streaming release of the episode.
  • The old title card had a version excluding "Tea at" that was used in The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!

Edgar Larrazabal version.

Tom Yasumi version.

Tom Yasumi credited in the original airing.

• In early American reruns, the Tales from the Deep DVD, and the Deep Sea Sillies VHS releases of this episode, Edgar Larrazábal was incorrectly credited as the animation director instead of Tom Yasumi. In the original American airing on May 1, 1999, The Complete 1st Season DVD, 10 Happiest Moments DVD, The First 100 Episodes DVD, subsequent American reruns, all international non-US airings, digital releases, and streaming services, Tom Yasumi has been credited correctly as the animation director.
  • This is also Yasumi's first episode credited as an animation director.
• In this episode, SpongeBob and Sandy meet as adults; however, in the Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years spinoff, they meet as children, which is not canon to the original series. This inconsistency was explained in the episode "Kitchen Sponge."
• Sandy's tail isn't shown throughout the first season when she is in her water protection suit, but every season onward has her tail shown even with her suit on, starting with "Wormy."
• SpongeBob's dehydrated appearance and dry voice from this episode are later used in the console version of Battle for Bikini Bottom and all versions of Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated if SpongeBob is in Sandy's treedome.
• The scene that shows SpongeBob completely dehydrated and attempting to not take the water from the flower vase and the part where he says, "I need it!" have become popular internet memes.
  • The scene where Patrick carries dehydrated SpongeBob and gets dehydrated himself while yelling, "What kind of place is this?!" has also become a popular internet meme.
• The water helmets have two openings in this episode.
  • In episodes following this one, there is only one opening.
  • The second opening reappears in "Chimps Ahoy" and "Squidtastic Voyage," the former so that SpongeBob can put on Sandy's nut helmet.
  • The second opening reappears again in "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?," so that SpongeBob can have water come out of his helmet and damage Sandy's robot.
  • The second opening appears once more in "SpongeBob's Road to Christmas."
• The cells of the characters in this episode have thinner outlines than the rest of the season 1 episodes.
• This is the first episode for many things:
  • This was the first segment produced for the series after the pilot, which was produced before a season was ordered.
  • This is the first episode where Squidward does not appear. However, he does appear in the novelization of the episode.
  • This is the first episode that Peter Burns, Doug Lawrence, and Paul Tibbitt wrote.
  • This is the first episode to have Derek Drymon as the creative director.
  • This is the first episode in production order with no bubble transitions after the opening credits.
  • This is the first episode that SpongeBob's glasses for jellyfishing/reading glasses are used.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of a female main character.
  • This is the first episode to be exactly 11 minutes.
  • This is the first episode to feature music composed by Sage Guyton and Jeremy Wakefield.
  • This is the first episode to be music edited by Nicolas Carr.
• This is one of the few episodes to have the second door in Sandy's treedome be used.
  • In most of the rest of the series, it is just the door that is on the outside of the dome that is used, even though both doors still exist.
• An image of SpongeBob starting to dry out is shown on the protective case of The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom.
  • A storyboard image also appears on the chapter 1 title page of the book.
• During the Best Day Ever marathon, this episode was paired up with "Clams."

Dub facts

• In the Bahasa Indonesia dub, instead of saying, "I need it!" SpongeBob says, "I need water!"

Errors

• When SpongeBob puts his binoculars away, his teeth turn yellow for one frame.
• When SpongeBob says, "That little squirrel is in trouble," the left part of his belt is missing.
• When Sandy says, "No kidding?," her neck is white instead of brown for a couple frames.
• When Patrick tells SpongeBob how to be fancy, he lifts his right-hand pinky finger up. From the front view, the pinky is shown on the left side. From the back view, it is shown on the left side instead of the right and looks like SpongeBob is holding up one of his middle fingers instead of his pinky.
  • Also, in the next scene where SpongeBob and Patrick approach the treedome, SpongeBob then has his left hand up and it looks like is holding up his index finger rather than his pinky.
• The red light on Sandy's front door where the water gets drained is not there when SpongeBob and Patrick first walk up to the treedome.
• When SpongeBob tries to sneak away to Sandy's birdbath, his sunken-in eyes return to normal until after Sandy leaves.
• When SpongeBob rockets into the air and bounces off the top of the treedome, what appear to be grid lines meet where SpongeBob ricochets. These lines are never seen on Sandy's treedome any other time in the episode or the series.
• When Patrick tries to open the door to get out, and SpongeBob jumps on his back, his eyes are small dots, but when he falls underneath Patrick, his eyes are back to their original color.
• In the scene where Sandy finds SpongeBob and Patrick dehydrated, if one goes frame by frame, she lifts up the plate to drop it before a shocked expression is seen on her face.
• SpongeBob and Patrick completely dehydrate at the same time and are brought to normal at the same time, even though Patrick was only there for about a minute.
  • This could possibly be explained by their different biology, given that they are different species.

SpongeBob's yellow teeth.

The left part of his belt is missing.

Sandy's miscolored neck.

The index finger is pointed instead of the pinky finger. The red light on Sandy's front door where the water gets drained is not there.

Normal eyes.

The ice cubes in the vase should not be floating and sinking up and down.

The grid that disappears in the following frames.

Normal eyes of SpongeBob, even though they were small dots.

Sandy should have broken the plates earlier when she came out of the tree.

SpongeBob and Patrick dry out at the same time, and they don't lie as they should.

SpongeBob is seen re-hydrated, despite the fact there is not yet any water in his air helmet.

Videos

SpongeBob SquarePants Series Premiere - "Help Wanted," "Reef Blower," and "Tea at the Treedome" Official Promo (1999)

SpongeBob SquarePants Series Premiere - "Help Wanted," "Reef Blower," and "Tea at the Treedome" Next Saturday Morning Official Promo (May 1, 1999)

SpongeBob Needs Water! 💧 "I Don't Need It...I Need It" Full Scene