"Whirly Brains" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 10. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick get hooked on the latest fad – flying your own brain like a tiny drone.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Patrick Star
- Squidward Tentacles
- Sandy Cheeks
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Mrs. Puff
- Gary the Snail
- Incidentals
- Incidental 152
- Incidental 60
- Incidental 17
- Incidental 14
- Incidental 16
- Fred
- Troutenheimer
- Incidental 46 (blonde hair)
- Incidental 118
- Incidental 23
- Harold
- Incidental 116 (brain only)
- Bubble Bass (cameo)
- Angry old timer (single appearance)
- Sheldon J. Plankton (cameo in a drawing)
- Mrs. Tentacles (cameo in a photo)
- Unnamed kid (single appearance)
Synopsis[]
The episode begins at SpongeBob's house, where SpongeBob and Patrick are bored playing with sticks, but an advertisement appears that attracts them to a new toy called the Whirly Brain, which involves one detaching their brain from their head and putting it on a propeller. Intrigued, they buy the toy and fly their brains around town to spy on citizens and pull pranks.
After getting eggs thrown at them, a kid tells SpongeBob and Patrick that everyone has Whirly Brains and not just them. Patrick, SpongeBob, and the unnamed kid race, but SpongeBob and Patrick's brains land into an old man's house and he takes them as his own. After literally losing their minds, SpongeBob and Patrick (the latter seemingly figuratively losing his) begin to panic, as they cannot find their brains. SpongeBob and Patrick soon see other people who have used Whirly Brains have also lost their minds. With an idea, SpongeBob calls Sandy on the phone and she uses a missing brain detector to find the brains.
Sandy's detector leads to the same old man who found their brains. She asks kindly, but the old man is snoring. However, Sandy just walks in and they try to look for the brains. The floor creaks and he wakes up, but Sandy puts a fight with the old man. SpongeBob accidentally trips onto the barrel, and all of the brains fly free, and all of them go back to their original beings.
Sandy is about to threaten the old man, who immediately cries out an apology before revealing he hoarded the toys because he cannot stand seeing everyone have fun while he stands there with his cane. However, Sandy and SpongeBob hook the latter's propeller onto the old man so he can fly in the air too.
It frightens the lady fishes, as they run around in circles at the Shady Shoals Rest Home building. Squidward then appears, going crazy thinking the Martians have landed. He ends the episode telling the viewer they are next.
Production[]
According to Vincent Waller, the production of season 10 began on October 12, 2015.[2] Vincent Waller also revealed that fans would see a "different flavor in the animation" of the series.[3]
On December 18, 2015, Vincent Waller tweeted some early production work of the first season 10 episode. As noted on a photo of the script, the first draft was dated November 30, 2015 and the board draft dated December 4, 2015.[4]
The episode name was confirmed in a tweet by Vincent Waller on July 16, 2016.[5]
On August 8, 2016, Vincent Waller tweeted that they had finished retakes on the episode.[6]
On August 10, 2016, Vincent Waller revealed that the first episode of season 10 was two 11-minute segments.[7]
Marco Cinello posted background designs from this episode on Flickr on September 3, 2016.[1]
Development[]
Art[]
![Drawn by Isaac Marzioli.[8]](/wiki/File:SB_1001_078_Eggs_clean.jpg "SB 1001 078 Eggs clean.jpg (7 KB)")
![Drawn by Isaac Marzioli.[8]](/wiki/File:SB_1001_016_SBTVBroken_with_skull_clean.jpg "SB 1001 016 SBTVBroken with skull clean.jpg (127 KB)")
Background design[]
- Designed by Marco Cinello.[1]
Storyboards[]
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
• Rip Tide - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
• Gator - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob and Patrick beat a cup with two sticks.]
‣ Fly by Night - Montague Ewing [Whirly Brain commercial]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 35 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob's TV gets ripped in half.]
‣ Fly by Night - Montague Ewing [End of commercial]
• Seaweed 1 - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob tries to open Patrick's head.]
‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob puts on a scary mask.]
• Seaweed 1 - Steve Belfer ["It's just me, Patrick."]
‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford [Patrick puts the mask on.]
• Seaweed 1 - Steve Belfer [The propeller is attached to SpongeBob's brain.]
‣ Weekend Break - Phil Green, Geoffrey Love, Ken Thorne ["It's time to free our minds."]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 37A - Jeremy Wakefield ["Patrick, no more eye bumps, okay?"]
• 12th St Rag w Bass - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Patrick fly their brains around the former's house.]
‣ Latin Lounge - Richard Myhill [Squidward taking a bath.]
• Fooling Around 2 w e gtr - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob and Patrick look for Squidward.]
‣ Alien Spacecraft A - Gregor Narholz [Squidward sees SpongeBob and Patrick's floating brains.]
‣ Long Distance Mission [#20] - Phil Green ["Aliens from Mars! It's an invasion!"]
• Seaweed 2 - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob and Patrick play with their brains near the jewelry store.]
‣ Parisienne Episodes [#13] - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob and Patrick's brains appear at Le Cafe.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Patrick laugh.]
‣ Bella Italia - Bruno Bertoli [Mr. Krabs and Mrs. Puff are on a date.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 31F - Jeremy Wakefield [Mrs. Puff inflates.]
‣ Buffoonery - Van Phillips [Other kids with Whirly Brains]
‣ Domestic Fun (C) - Ernest Tomlinson [Fred gets hit by a Whirly Brain.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 12C - Jeremy Wakefield ["Hooray!"]
• Monster Wave Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Fabian Fernandez, James King [Whirly Brains race to the end of the street.]
‣ Long Distance Mission [#20] - Phil Green [The old-timer captures SpongeBob and Patrick's brains.]
‣ Planet Surface - Gregor Narholz [SpongeBob says they have lost their minds.]
• A Simple Conversation 1 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob and Patrick look for their brains.]
‣ Space Horizons - Wolf Helling [Everyone calls out for their brains.]
• Humorous Conversation Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy enter the old timer's house.]
‣ Masked Crusader 2 [#21] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [The old-timer threatens to call the cops.]
• Clownfish Capers - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [All the brains are freed.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 40D - Jeremy Wakefield [The old-timer cries.]
• Rip Tide - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob and Patrick donate their propellers to the old-timer.]
‣ Straight From Hell [#83] - Gregor Narholz [The ending]
Release[]
- This episode is available on the SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 16, The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom (UK version only), The Complete Tenth Season, and SpongeBob is a Doctor DVDs.
Trivia[]
General[]
- The title card is similar to that of "The Inside Job," as both include brains as the background, although this one is in widescreen.
- SpongeBob's eyeless design in this episode is similar to his eyeless design in "Food Con Castaways."
- When SpongeBob and Patrick's Whirly Brains fly through a bush and make a SpongeBob and Patrick-shaped topiary, it resembles a piece of stock artwork that shows them standing with their arms around each other.
- This episode reveals that Mr. Krabs and Mrs. Puff have been secretly dating for the last 16 years, indicating that since the events of the episode "Krusty Love," they never stopped seeing each other.
- The fourth wall is broken at the end of this episode when Squidward runs and looks at the camera yelling "You're next!"
- This episode marks the first appearance of the Jewelry Store within an episode of the series. The store was previously seen in the tie-in video games SuperSponge and Employee of the Month.
- This location was originally made for a deleted scene in the season 1 episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II."
- This was Bob Jaques' first episode as an animation director.
- This episode and "Mermaid Pants" were the only season 10 episodes to premiere in 2016.
- This and its sister are the only episodes to have Kaz as the story editor.
Episode references[]
- In the back alley where Mr. Krabs and Mrs. Puff have a date, the walls of one of the buildings has the word "Sharks" and "Pods" written in graffiti, referencing the season 9 episode "Sharks vs. Pods."
Dub facts[]
- On airings of the German dub, the title card is mistakenly cut out.[9]
- As a result, this episode does not have an official title card in Germany.
Cultural references[]
- Whirly Brains are a take on remote-control helicopters and toy drones.
- Patrick's line "M-O-O-N! That spells moon!" references Stephen King's 1978 novel The Stand and its miniseries adaptation, which also featured Bill Fagerbakke in the role of Tom Cullen.
Errors[]
Bob Jaques' name misspelled in the original airing.
Bob Jaques' name spelled correctly.
- During the original United States premiere for this episode on October 15, 2016, Bob Jaques was misspelled as "Bob Jacques." This was corrected on the digital releases two weeks later on October 29, 2016, when the sister episode segment "Mermaid Pants" premiered. It is also corrected on all American reruns, all international non-US airings, streaming services, and on The Complete Tenth Season DVD.[10]
Ed Asner accidentally credited as executive producer in the French opening credits.
- In the French dub, Ed Asner was accidentally credited as executive producer.
The picture of the fish on the TV, despite it being unplugged.
- When SpongeBob and Patrick are fighting with the TV, a picture of a fish is shown, despite the television being unplugged.
- When Patrick starts up his Whirly Brain, he is holding the controller upside-down, but in the next shot, he is holding it correctly. In the next scene, the controller is once again upside-down, and for the rest of the episode, including the very next shot, it is being held correctly.
SpongeBob's missing eyelashes.
- In the SpongeBob and Patrick-shaped topiary, SpongeBob's eyelashes are missing.
Squidward is wearing a shirt when he is supposed to be naked.
- When Squidward sees Patrick's brain floating up and down, he screams out "Aliens from Mars!" while wearing a shirt, but in the next shot, he is naked and not wearing a shirt.
- When SpongeBob and Patrick shout "Whirly Brains are go!," their moving mouths freeze as a bubble transition comes up on the screen.
Overlapping tea.
- When the fish on the right drinks the tea, the tea begins to overlap.
"Trespassing" is misspelled.
- In a shot of the angry old timer's house right before Sandy comes in, there's a sign that reads "No Trespassing." However, the word "Trespassing" is misspelled as "Tresspassing" with an extra S added in.
Patrick's eyebrows are missing.
- There are few scenes when Patrick's eyebrows disappear.
Videos[]
Names in other languages[]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| German | Wirbelhirn | Whirly Brain |
References[]
- ^ a b c 1001.171 - Marco Cinello | Flickr
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter
- ^ Vincent Waller on Twitter
- ^ a b New Episode of Spongebob this Saturday - Isaac Marzioli
- ^ SpongeBob: Whirly Brains - Title card (German) (ERROR)
- ^ SpongeBob: Whirly Brains title card (Season 10 DVD version)