SpongeBob really knows how to throw a great party!
Party Pooper Pants
Original air date: 5/17/2002 (produced in 2001)
The third SpongeBob SquarePants special following "Christmas Who?" and "Shanghaied" (in original airings). It centers on SpongeBob throwing a House Party for his friends, but thankfully things don't go according to plan. In the Live Action segments, Patchy tries to throw a House Party as well, but is brought down by Potty and a rock band of parrots.
"Party Pooper Pants" contains examples of:
- Ahem: SpongeBob gives one to Squidward and Mr. Krabs when he catches them making "mild conversation" which, according to his schedule, doesn't happen until later in the night.
- Alliterative Title: "Party Pooper Pants".
- Art Shift: The "Underwater Sun" sequence opts for a looser, more expressive and Off-Model type of animation (which would be akin to later seasons art styles)
- Big "NO!": SpongeBob screams this to Sandy and Larry dancing out of schedule according to him.
- Black Comedy Burst: Patchy briefly speaks to Minnie Mermaid, who is sitting in a tiny paddling pool. She tells him that if she was not, she would die. Patchy laughs it off, then accidentally and unknowingly causes a leak with his hook hand. Minnie frantically tries to cover up the leak as Patchy walks off. Though, ultimately subverted in that Minnie can still be seen among Patchy's guests at the end of the episode, still holding the pool, despite what she said earlier.
- Blah, Blah, Blah: In the disclaimer for the "Patchy's Dance Tips" plug:IT IS UNLAWFUL TO BLAH BLAH BLAH. IN EVENT OF BLAH BLAH BLAH THE SAID PERSON BLAH BLAH BLAH, WILL WHO THERE FOR BLAH WILL BLAH AND IT SHALL BE THE SOUL RESPONSIBILITY TO BLAH BLAH WHEN IN THE CASE OF BLAH BLAH BLAH. IN SO THERE TO, HENCEFORTH BLAH WILL BE BLAH.
- Closeup on Head: When SpongeBob is knocked back outside after attempting to tunnel in, the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of his face before zooming out to reveal he's suddenly changed into a bunny outfit. For bonus points, you can see the sides of the bunny hood during his rant before the zoom-out.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: SpongeBob's choice in snacks to stuff his piñata with is... unique, to say the least.SpongeBob: The Plan Your Own Party Kit encourages creativity when stuffing your piñata. That's why I'm using deviled eggs!
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: SpongeBob could have gotten back in sooner if he remembered the spare key under his mat before spending the night in prison.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The police arrested SpongeBob because he didn't invite them to his party.
- The Door Slams You: After Patrick opens the front door calling for SpongeBob, he frantically rushes toward it, but right before he can get inside, Patrick slams it right in his face.
- Dramatic Irony: SpongeBob thinks his party is falling apart when he sees his guests not following his list and doing their own things, unaware they're having a good time now that all the boredom is out of the way.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Despite going through a Humiliation Conga and spending the night in jail, when SpongeBob returns home thinking the party was a disaster, Patrick tells him it was the best party ever and everyone had a blast, saying SpongeBob should do it again next week. This pleases SpongeBob, glad his party turned out great after-all.
- Either/Or Title: The episode is also known as "SpongeBob's House Party".
- Felony Misdemeanor: SpongeBob gets arrested for not inviting police officers to his party. Unsurprisingly, he’s released in the morning.
- Fingore: A very mild case. When SpongeBob hears Larry rummaging through his medicine cabinet, he tries climbing up the side of his house to get in through the window. Larry then slams the window, breaking SpongeBob's fingers in the process.SpongeBob: Oh, I hope this doesn't interfere with finger puppet theater at 9:20!
- Freak Out: SpongeBob whenever he sees his friends dancing and having fun and not following what's on his schedule.
- Gilligan Cut: When SpongeBob is reading the instructions for the party-planning kit:SpongeBob: You heard the man, Gary, only our closest friends.
(cut to a random guy who was apparently in SpongeBob's kindergarten class)
Guy: Who the barnacles is SpongeBob SquarePants? - Hope Spot: SpongeBob is caught by the police trying to break into his home, and he desperately tries to explain to them he lives there and is throwing a party but was accidentally locked outside. They believe him no problem and apologize for the misunderstanding and start to leave, while SpongeBob notes he thought he was in trouble for a second, only for the police to then come back mad that he didn't invite them to his party and arrest him.
- Hypocritical Humor: Patchy sends an invitation to SpongeBob, and in a brief aside, he tries to read the invitation but can't, as the ink got all runny when it went underwater. He then states that whoever sent it to him doesn't understand the physical limitations of the underwater world... after which, he and Patrick proceed to throw it into a fire.
- Impact Silhouette: SpongeBob leaves a himself-shaped dent in the door after it is slammed on him while trying to run back inside.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: In addition to being on an impractically rigid schedule, SpongeBob's party plans include a cracker-eating/tongue-twister contest, a finger puppet theater, and telling knock-knock jokes. When he tries to get his party back on track by reading aloud from newspaper comics, the guests react with a mostly-awkward silence.
- Instant Costume Change: When SpongeBob tries to tunnel in and is knocked back out by the guests doing the Bunny Hop, he suddenly changes into a bunny costume midway through his sentence.
- Irony: Prior to being arrested as Disproportionate Retribution, SpongeBob notes he almost got arrested for trying to break into his own house.
- It's the Best Whatever, Ever!: The day after the party, Patrick declares SpongeBob the "best party thrower ever!"
- Jerkass Ball: SpongeBob is known to be an Extreme Doormat ("The Abrasive Side", "Appointment TV", "Overbooked"), but in this one, he forces everyone to follow his terrible, strict schedule and do boring activities. For instance, when Patrick and Mr. Krabs have a brief conversation, SpongeBob tells Patrick that he should go throw his own party rather than breaking the schedule (which he never told Patrick or Krabs about beforehand, so they wouldn't even know it existed). Following this is him cutting Squidward's cable, controlling what people eat and talk about, and then forcing them to stop having fun so he can read newspaper comics.
- Key Under the Doormat: SpongeBob remembers that he has a spare key under his mat, but only after he's been arrested for trespassing and spent the night in jail.
- Lampshade Wearing: SpongeBob finds Gary doing it upon returning home the day after the party.SpongeBob: Gary! Well, it looks like you had a good time!
- Literal-Minded: SpongeBob reads "unsupervised parties can lead to disaster" on the party kit manual. SpongeBob misinterprets the message by needing to keep orders.
- Losing Your Head: Befalls Patchy after the stick of dynamite he's holding explodes.
- Missing the Good Stuff: SpongeBob gets locked out of his own party.
- Oh, Crap!: SpongeBob is shocked when he comes out of the closet to see nobody following his party schedule, meaning in his book, the party will fall apart.
- Out-of-Character Moment: For both SpongeBob and Squidward:
- SpongeBob is revealed to have destroyed Squidward's television in order to make Squidward come to the party. This suggests that SpongeBob knows that Squidward doesn't like him enough to go to his party unless it was the only thing to do that evening. In any other episode of the show, SpongeBob is completely oblivious to the fact that Squidward doesn't love him, so the thought that Squidward would rather watch TV than go to SpongeBob's party wouldn't even occur to SpongeBob.
- Squidward actually chooses to go to SpongeBob's party just because his TV is broken. In other episodes, Squidward generally avoids SpongeBob's company at all costs, and would probably much rather just sit at home and stare at the wall than go to any event hosted by SpongeBob.
- Pain Mistaken for Sex: When SpongeBob gets his fingers chopped off and starts screaming, Larry hears his screams and interprets it as something else.Larry: Hey, this party's finally starting to pick up!
- Pals with Jesus: Among his party guests, Patchy managed to successfully invite Neptune, God of the Seas.
- Rage Breaking Point: SpongeBob reaches his limit when he gets knocked back outside by a dance line jumping on him.SpongeBob: (Close up on his face) I can take losing the topic cards and the phone in the punch bowl...(Zoom out to reveal he's wearing a rabbit suit) But I WAS SUPPOSED TO LEAD THE BUNNY HOP! THIS IS A BUNCH OF BARNACLES! (picks up a pickaxe and rushes to his front door) I'M BREAKING IN!!!
(The police arrive right before he could do so.) - Remembered Too Late: SpongeBob only remembers his hidden spare key after the party is over and he's spent the night in jail.
- Schedule Fanatic: SpongeBob takes the "plan" aspect of his new "Plan Your Own Party Kit" way too seriously, mainly the rule to not leave a party unsupervised, making a strict schedule to keep it from going out of control. Naturally, nobody follows it, and the party only starts getting fun when SpongeBob gets locked out and everyone just does whatever they want. Below is the full list of SpongeBob's schedule.8:00 - 8:05 — Guests arrive
8:05 - 8:15 — Opening remarks and general discussion
8:15 - 8:27 — Craft corner and nametag distribution
8:27 — Cracker-eating/tongue-twister contest
8:37 — Read aloud from the newspaper comics
8:52 — Cake eating
9:03 — Laughter
9:07 — Running charades
9:20 — Finger puppet theater
9:38 — Charity apple bob
9:57 — Electric jitterbug dance marathon (Ladies' choice)
10:00 — Dance your pants off
10:09 — Knock-knock jokes
10:41 - 10:47 — Light conversation between Mr. Krabs and Squidward - Sdrawkcab Speech: When Patrick gets his nametag, he reads what is listed, "Hello, my name is Patrick," upside down: "Kcirtap si eman ym o77eh."
- "Sesame Street" Cred: "Underwater Sun" was sung by the late, great Lux Interior. The frontman for The Birdbrains even somewhat resembles him.
- Shoddy Shindig: SpongeBob's party ends up becoming this thanks to his strict schedule. He basically controls what the guests have to do like forcing them to read topic cards, decides when they should eat, dance, or even talk, and reads from newspaper comics. It's only when SpongeBob gets locked out does the party finally become a proper one.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Potty gives Patchy an exploding flute, leading to a Delayed "Oh, Crap!" from Patchy, who survives the explosion but loses his body. However, by his next appearance he's all in one piece again.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: On SpongeBob's end, he realizes his party was indeed a success without following his boring list when Patrick tells him such the next day.
- Took a Level in Cynic: Lou the cashier at the Barg'N-Mart.SpongeBob: (looking at a picture of the cashier) Look at you, so young and happy. Where did the years go?
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The only reason SpongeBob's party ends up boring due to a strict schedule is because of how he took one of the notes in the party kit: "Unsupervised parties can lead to disaster."
- Visual Pun: A couple of them during the "Underwater Sun" music video:
- During the lyric "Down, down, down to the bottom of the sea", SpongeBob lands at the bottom of a bigger, letter C-shaped SpongeBob.
- The line "We'll hook up with SpongeBob" has SpongeBob riding a hook. Doubles as a Call-Back to the episode "Hooky".
- Walk the Plank: When Patchy disapproves of the Birdbrains' music, he tells them they have to walk the plank. They think it was a term meaning they were fired, but Patchy literally meant for them to walk the plank. However, they simply fly away without jumping.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: All SpongeBob wants is for his party to be a good one, and he believes that limiting the activities to scheduled time slots will keep things organized and fully supervised. Turns out, the truth is the exact opposite, and he's none the wiser.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Squidward disappears from the party after SpongeBob gets locked out. Though it could be possible that Squidward went home sometime before SpongeBob got back to his house.
- Wild Teen Party: SpongeBob's party becomes this after he gets locked out of his house while getting the newspaper to read the comics to everyone.
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Thirty seconds past 8:00, SpongeBob bursts into tears, thinking that no one is coming and that he is the "worst host ever".
- Yank the Dog's Chain: When Patchy says he hopes SpongeBob got his invitation, an Answer Cut reveals that SpongeBob did get the invitation, and that he'd really like to go to the party, but can't read the invitation because the ocean water smeared the ink.
