Walking Small

Walking Small
General
Production code:	133
Season №:	1
Episode №:	18b
Airdate:	March 22, 2000 December 23, 2000 See more... August 29, 2000 January 24, 2001 April 8, 2001 September 18, 2002 January 2, 2005 July 21, 2008 May 19, 2019 U.S. premiere time (ET): 8:15 pm Copyright year: 2000 U.S. viewers (millions): 3.10 Running time: 11 minutes Sister episode(s): "Texas"
U.S. premiere time (ET):	8:15 pm
Copyright year:	2000
U.S. viewers (millions):	3.10
Running time:	11 minutes
Sister episode(s):	"Texas"
Credits
Writer(s):	Aaron Springer Erik Wiese Doug Lawrence
Storyboard Artist(s):	Erik Wiese
Storyboard:	Aaron Springer
Animation:	Sean Dempsey
Creative:	Derek Drymon
Chronology
Previous	"Texas"
Next	"Fools in April"

"Walking Small" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 1. In this episode, Plankton tricks SpongeBob into becoming assertive so he can build his Mega Bucket.

Characters

• Sheldon J. Plankton
• Incidental 41
• Incidental 8
• Incidental 37A
• Incidental 155
• Incidental 65
• Incidental 14
• Incidental 37B
• Scooter
• Incidental 17
• Incidental 12
• Incidental 31
• Incidental 22
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Incidental 103
• Incidental 39
• Electric eel ^(debut)
• Incidental 23
• Incidental 45
• Incidental 5
• Incidental 71
• Incidental 40
• Incidental 46
• Incidental 6
• Incidental 2
• Incidental 48
• Octopus vendor ^(debut)
• Incidental 107
• Larry the Lobster
• Incidental 60
• Incidental 114
• Sadie
• Incidental 10
• Incidental 16
• Incidental 18
• Incidental 3
• Incidental 49
• Incidental 36
• Incidental 69
• Incidental 68 ^{(looks different)}
• Fred
• Incidental 106
• Incidental 32
• Incidental 62
• Incidental 61
• Incidental 85
• Incidental 73
• Incidental 92
• Unnamed light-green fish ^(debut)
• Other Goo Lagoon beachgoers

Synopsis

At Goo Lagoon, Plankton arrives in his bulldozer to turn the beach into the future site of the "Chum Bucket Mega Bucket," and demands everyone to leave. However, due to his tiny size and small voice nobody pays attention to him. He concludes that he needs someone big to assist him, and encounters SpongeBob. Plankton decides to trick SpongeBob into being "assertive" in order to get what he wants.

SpongeBob tries to buy ice cream, but gets cut off once and then has his ice cream stolen before the vendor runs out. However, he manages to get one offered by Plankton on the bench. As SpongeBob happily eats an extra ice cream cone for Plankton that he did not want, Plankton offers to teach SpongeBob how to be assertive. He tries to get SpongeBob to take his ice cream back from the person who stole it, but SpongeBob's kindly nature prevents him from being able to take it. Plankton, unhappy with SpongeBob's performance, climbs into SpongeBob's mouth and uses his words to forcefully take the ice cream. Afterward, the guy who stole SpongeBob's ice cream runs off crying. When SpongeBob points this out, Plankton lies and says those were the 'tears of joy', saying that the guy was happy that SpongeBob was assertive.

Next, Plankton attempts to have SpongeBob forcefully take back his metal detector that he lent to another beach-goer, yet SpongeBob misinterprets Plankton's instructions and the person he lent the detector to is pointed out buried treasure by SpongeBob.

"You used me... for land development!"

By this point, Plankton decides to give up, but SpongeBob promises to prove to him his ability to be assertive. Therefore, Plankton allows SpongeBob another chance. SpongeBob commits a series of both assertive and antagonistic acts to the beach-goers, including stealing the hot dogs of people waiting in line to buy them and cutting the strings of people's kites, and even worse, popping a volleyball that the beachgoers wanted to play with, resulting in everyone leaving the beach.

Plankton then reveals his true intentions to SpongeBob, making him very upset. SpongeBob defeats Plankton by becoming "aggressively nice," and he undoes the actions that led everyone to leave Goo Lagoon. Plankton leaves the beach due to the overwhelmingly generous acts of kindness that SpongeBob executed. Lastly, everyone plays Volleyball using SpongeBob as their ball.

Production

Art

Non-HQ Version

HQ Version

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Chill Out - The Surfdusters [Title card]
 ‣ Gruesome - The Surfdusters [Plankton talking on megaphone/"Okay, have it your way. I don't mind bulldozing over each and every one..."]
 ‣ Static Time - John Scott ["You'll see! You'll all see!"/"I need someone big to clear the beach for me."]
 ‣ Hilo March - The Hawaiian Serenaders [stepping on the beach]
 ‣ Hawaiian Breeze - Jon Jelmer [Plankton crying/Plankton continues crying]
 • Gator - Steve Belfer ["Isn't it great to get the things you desire?"]
 ‣ The Nightmare Begins (a) - John Devereaux [Plankton laughs evilly]
 • Seaweed - Steve Belfer ["Um, excuse me, sir."]
 ‣ The Beast Within - Paddy Kingsland ["There's the guy who took your ice cream."]
 ‣ Zelle 506 - Gerhard Trede ["Hey, pencil neck!"]
 ‣ The Beast Within - Paddy Kingsland ["...when you're maniacal?!"]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill [later...]
 ‣ Italian Summer - Hendric Haydegg [metal detector]
 ‣ Hawaiian Flower - Jon Jelmer ["Oh, nothing, SpongeBob."]
 ‣ Showtime Fill (i) - Gary Kettel [rimshot]
 ‣ Showtime Fill (j) - Gary Kettel [rimshot]
 ‣ Cravin' the Big Wave - Vince Caputo, Tom Hedden, David Robidoux [SpongeBob shakes sand off his towel]
 ‣ Brave and Bold - Chris Payne, Paul Rogers [hot dog stand]
 ‣ Arnold is Back 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [kite flyers]
 ‣ Unpreventable - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob pops the volleyball]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["Plankton?"]
 ‣ House of Horror - W. Merrick Farran ["Mega Bucket?!"]
 ‣ Fates [#62.02] - Gregor F. Narholz ["You used me... for land development!"]
 ‣ Missile Disaster - John Fox ["Only aggressive people conquer the world!"]
 ‣ Orchestral Effect (f) - Dick Stephen Walter ["What about aggressively nice people?"]
 ‣ Vergnügungspark - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob being aggressively nice]
 ‣ Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [Plankton crying]
 ‣ Surfing Crazy - Warren Bennett [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the SpongeGuard on Duty, Complete 1st Season, Fools in April, First 100 Episodes, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 2, The Complete First Season, From the Beginning, Pt.1, Sheldon Plankton: Mean and Green, The First & Second Seasons, Movies & TV Collection, and The Best 200 Episodes Ever DVDs and SpongeBob SquarePants Volume 3 on GBA Video.
• This episode is also available on the SpongeGuard on Duty VHS tape.

Trivia

General

• This is the first episode where Plankton plays a major role but has no involvement with stealing the Krabby Patty secret formula.
• The United Plankton Pictures, Inc. logo for this episode credits has the sound of cows mooing due to being paired with "Texas."
• The part where SpongeBob sings "Steppin' on the Beach" has become a sensation on the internet, being used for memes and Sparta remixes.
• The title card design is similar to that of "Ripped Pants," only that the title card is slightly zoomed in and there is a light.
  • Coincidentally, both episodes take place primarily at Goo Lagoon.
• This is the first episode to use the APM track "Arnold is Back."
• This is the second episode in which, at no point, SpongeBob wears his normal clothes. The first is "Ripped Pants."
• This is the only episode of Season 1 to use the APM track "Zelle 506."
  • However, it is the first episode to use this APM track.
• "My leg!:" SpongeBob blows sand around with a towel.
• A production image from this episode appears on the opposite page of the introduction page in The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience: A Deep Dive into the World of Bikini Bottom.
• In the Polish dub, the episode's title is "Niskie pobudki," which translates to "Base Motives."
• In the Croatian dub, the episode title is "Malen sam" or "I'm small."
• "Walking small" literally means to walk a short distance.
• On the old Nickelodeon website, this episode was falsely listed as "Walking Tall."
• In the European Spanish dub, this episode was titled "Insignificante," which translates to "Insignificant."
• Innuendo: When the fish is sitting on SpongeBob's face, Plankton tells SpongeBob to be "assertive, not insertive."

Cultural references

• The title is a parody of the film Walking Tall.
• SpongeBob's stand-up routine is patterned after Jerry Seinfeld's "What's the deal with...?"

Errors

• After Scooter rides with SpongeBob, his pants are green. Later, when Plankton is seen moping away in public, his pants are purple.
• SpongeBob's tan permanently disappears after just one shot with it.
• There are six fish lined up at the snack bar when first seen, and the vendor gives out six hot dogs. When SpongeBob extends his tongue, there are only four kids and four hot dogs. When the fish are seen leaving, there are five of them.
• When SpongeBob returns the hot dogs he took, four different fish come to eat them, despite more being seen earlier.
• In the French dub, the bubble wipe after the opening credits goes to a blank transition for a full second before the episode starts.