SpongeBob and Gary are shopping at Barg'N-Mart and SpongeBob sees a Kelpo cereal box that says there is a "free prize inside." SpongeBob then rushes home and eats the cereal, but sees that there is no toy inside the box. SpongeBob looks at the cereal box more closely and sees that it actually says "free prize offer inside" (the word "offer" is printed in very small text between "prize" and "inside") and that he must send in 99 box tops in order to get the prize. SpongeBob goes and buys even more boxes of cereal, and he and Gary begin going through it very quickly. When SpongeBob puts more cereal in Gary's food bowl, Gary suggests he send in the box tops before eating all the cereal. SpongeBob then puts all the box tops into an envelope and sends it.
SpongeBob and Patrick waiting
Now, SpongeBob must wait patiently for the toy to arrive. Patrick also comes nearby and waits with him. Patrick asks what they are waiting for, and SpongeBob explains that he is getting a free toy. The mailfish comes by and gives SpongeBob three envelopes but no toy. SpongeBob and Patrick must wait even longer now, much to their disappointment, and soon become hungry. Patrick suggests that he and SpongeBob go to the Krusty Krab for a Krabby Patty, but SpongeBob is afraid of the mailman coming with the toy while he's gone. So Patrick instead goes to the Krusty Krab by himself.
Sometime later, Sandy walks by and starts to ask SpongeBob if he wants to do karate with her, but SpongeBob grabs Sandy by the arm and easily slams her into the ground before telling her in a very rude tone that he is busy and she leaves upset. After that, Gary shows SpongeBob his bowl because he is hungry, causing his owner to angrily shout his frustration that no one understands that he is busy waiting for the mailman, causing a scared Gary to go away.
After calming down, Patrick comes back and SpongeBob lashes out at him for no reason. Patrick tells SpongeBob he missed his surprise birthday party at the Krusty Krab, so he had to bring back a present and some cake for him, making SpongeBob upset again. While trying to find the fork, Patrick accidentally eats SpongeBob's piece of cake, and the present, which SpongeBob is visibly excited about, turns out to be the fork that Patrick was trying to find earlier, which is now useless.
SpongeBob loses it and starts bawling about how he is wasting his whole life waiting for his toy, and how Patrick apparently hates him now because he is a "big jerk." Patrick says he doesn't hate him, but SpongeBob doesn't listen. The mailman arrives and asks for SpongeBob's signature. It takes a while after SpongeBob signs before he realizes that his toy has finally arrived! He and Patrick become so happy that they do a jig before falling over and dancing on the ground. Upon opening it, they call the toy beautiful before Patrick pushes the button on the toy and springs come out.
SpongeBob thinks Patrick "ruined" the toy and is furious with Patrick tries to fix it, but makes it worse. Squidward comes home to see them rolling around crying. He tries to play his clarinet, but cannot because of all the noise. He asks what is wrong with them.
Squidward "fixes" the toy.
SpongeBob explains to Squidward how he sent in box tops, waited for the mailman, and then how Patrick broke the toy. Squidward snatches the toy, "fixes" it, then shows him that the toy's head, arms, and legs are supposed to spring off, and reattaches them. SpongeBob and Patrick then hug Squidward, asking if there is anything they could do for him, and Squidward replies that they should move to another neighborhood.
Production
Music
( ‣ ) Production music
( • ) Original music
( ◦ ) SpongeBob music
‣Puka A - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [title card] ‣Gay Time - Alan Perry [SpongeBob shopping] ‣Earl's Revenge - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob eating cereal] ‣Dramatic Impact 5 - Ivor Slaney ["Free prize... offer inside?"] ‣Dancing the Hula - Kapono Beamer [eating more cereal] ‣Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr ["Gary, you are a genius!"] ‣Hilo Rag - Guy Fletcher [SpongeBob and Patrick waiting for the mailman] ‣ ? [Patrick getting hungry] ‣On the Beach - Kapono Beamer [Patrick decides to go the Krusty Krab] ‣Drama Link (h) - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob thinks the mailman will come when he goes away] ‣Steel Licks (a) - Jeremy Wakefield [Patrick's stomach bites his arm] ‣Steel Licks - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob opens the mailbox] ‣Steel Licks (b) - Jeremy Wakefield [Sandy walks away] ‣The Pollywog Strut - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Gary wants to be fed] ‣Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob missed his birthday party] ‣Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill ["My birthday party?"] ‣Goofy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick accidentally eats SpongeBob's cake] ‣Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["The fork!"] ‣Steel Licks (c) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob crying] ‣Of Love and Destiny - Leighton Lucas ["I've been mean to Gary, and I flipped Sandy!"] ‣Pua Paoakalani B - Kapono Beamer, Queen Lili'uokalani [SpongeBob says he doesn't deserve moments] ‣Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["My toy!"] ‣Tell Her I Am - Brian Douglas Gulland, Robert Alexander White [Irish jig] ‣Parting of the Clouds - Nicolas Carr [toy revealed] ‣Romeo & Juliet Overture - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Fiachra Trench ["It's beautiful!"] ‣Island Romance - Jan Rap [Patrick breaks the toy] ‣Cellar Search - Philippe Pares [SpongeBob scolds Patrick] ‣Against the Law (c) - Wilfred William Burns [SpongeBob screams] ‣Steel Licks (d) - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob, Patrick crying] ‣Esta Noche A - Hans Ehrlinger ["Now to soothe my frayed nerves."] ‣Comic Walk - Sidney Torch ["All right, what's going on?"] ‣Puka A - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [ending]
As of August 17, 2016, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 6.6/10 based on 250 ratings by users.[1] TV.com users give this episode a rating of 8.1/10 based on 161 votes.[2]
Trivia
Template:Trivia
General
Although this episode premiered in early 2007, it was made in 2006 according to the credits.
This is the second episode where SpongeBob expects to find a toy in his cereal box and is disappointed, the first being "Shanghaied." However, this episode explains the lack of a toy in the box: the label reads "Free prize offer inside," meaning that one would need to send in box tops to actually get the toy.
This is the second short of season 5, the first being "Rise and Shine."
This is a rare time SpongeBob overpowers Sandy.
Cultural references
The box saying "Free prize offer inside" is a parody of cereal boxes that frequently make that claim. Since one must actually send in several box tops (and shipping fees) to get the toy it is not actually "free" and "inside," one has to buy the cereal to get it and not actually inside. It should not say it should be inside if it's not really inside the box.
On Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and TV guides, when this episode segment is paired with "Rise and Shine," they make an error by listing the episode as "Rise and Shine & Waiting."
The mark that said "Free prize inside" before SpongeBob took it was orange when he read it, it turned pinkish-red.
During the scene where Sandy asks SpongeBob to do some karate and he refuses, Sandy is wearing red karate gloves, which are supposed to be SpongeBob's, instead of her usual green or pink karate gloves. Her outline is also black when she first appears and when she gets pinned down by SpongeBob.
Right after SpongeBob is given the toy, SpongeBob and Patrick dance. During this scene, the mailbox is gone. It then reappears at the end of their dance.
When Squidward opens his window, the background is a window-like substance.
