"Big Top Flop" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 13. In this episode, when the circus comes to town and steals his customers away, Mr. Krabs tries to sabotage the show.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Sponge-O the Incompetent (single appearance)
- Squidward Tentacles
- Squid-O (single appearance)
- Patrick Star
- Sea bear (single appearance)
- Eugene H. Krabs
- Ringmaster Mudkrabs[4] (single appearance)
- Incidentals
- Ringmaster Mudkrab (single appearance)
- Ms. Mayor (mentioned)
- Big fish four-eyes
- Motorcyclist
- Fish cowboy
- Showgirl fish
- Ringmaster's assistant
- Cannonball Jenkins
- Sea bears
- Giraffes
- Sea urchins
- Football player
- Pearl's cyan friend
Synopsis[]
Mr. Krabs sees Mudkrab.
Mr. Krabs notices that the Krusty Krab is empty, and is unable to figure out why. He suddenly hears calliope music and realizes that the circus is in town. The leader, Ringmaster Mudkrab, shows up and tells Krabs that he has legal permission to build his circus in front of the Krusty Krab. He offers Krabs a free ticket to the circus and brags about stealing his business. Krabs takes SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick to the circus in order to sabotage it.
Mudkrab talks to his circus crew inside a trailer, but Krabs barricades it shut. He decides to put on intentionally bad circus acts to ruin its reputation. He announces the show and insults the audience, but they actually enjoy it. For the first act, he has SpongeBob use a unicycle on a tightrope. SpongeBob is surprisingly able to keep his balance, and when Krabs tries to sabotage it by throwing urchins on him, he bounces off the net and into the audience. Meanwhile, back in the trailer, the circus magician summons a small saw from his hat, which Mudkrab uses to saw open the trailer doors.
Squidward the sad clown's act.
Krabs' next act is Squidward as a sad clown, which unexpectedly manages to win the audience over with its emotion. For the last performance, Krabs lets the sea bears loose and has Patrick act as a circus animal instead. Krabs wants Patrick to balance on a ball, but gets impatient and tries to shove him over it. The audience gets mad at Krabs, and Patrick and the audience threaten Krabs into doing the ball performance instead, which they end up enjoying.
Mudkrab finally escapes the trailer and storms into the circus tent. Krabs uses the circus equipment to try to avoid him, but Mudkrab keeps chasing after him. When Krabs gets stuck on the tightrope, he throws urchins at Mudkrab, and he gets knocked off. The urchins then gnaw the rope and knock Krabs off. Krabs escapes on a unicycle, with Mudkrab riding a motorcycle. The two eventually hop into cannons and fire at each other. The resulting collision is unseen, but results in applause from the audience and circus staff.
A week later, SpongeBob and Squidward stand in the middle of a deserted Krusty Krab. SpongeBob asks if Mr. Krabs will ever want to come back from the circus. Squidward suspects he will not because of how much money he is making. A pan back to the circus shows Krabs and Mudkrab fused together as a new freak show attraction, with a cheering crowd around them.
Production[]
This episode was confirmed on January 13, 2023.[5]
Promotional art[]
- Drawn by Ian Vazquez.[4]
Art[]
Character design[]
- Designed by Ian Vazquez and Shakeh Hagnazarian.[4]
Background design[]
Storyboards[]
- Supervised and plussed by Ian Vazquez,[4] Kyle Morrison,[1] who also may have modeled Squidward's clown close-up, and Jeffrey Shea.[6] Revised by Chris Tabares.[2]
Production notes[]
Ian Vazquez:
- Vazquez gave "thanks to the board team on this one, Kyle Morrison, Benji Williams, Jeff the Shea & Chris Tabares, and all the painters that brought this episode to life!"[4]
Kyle Morrison:
- "My last Season 13 scene was Squidward's sad clown act. We thought it would be way funnier if it was an artsy performance Squid was deliberately putting his all into (and a subtle "take that" to Krabs for ridiculing him earlier in the episode).[1] This wouldn't have been nearly as good had Ian Vazquez not choreographed the heck out of the silent acting, and it's probably my favorite Squid scene I've plussed so far!"[7]
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( â—¦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Good Old Dixie - Peter Winslow [Title card.]
• Cheap and Frozen Short - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Opening.]
• Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr [Krabs checks his watch.]
• Humorous Conversation Full Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Krabs checks the calendar.]
‣ Broken Ride - Harry Bluestone [Krabs hears the circus.]
‣ Federico, Dahling! - Ann Klein [Ringmaster Mudkrab appears.]
‣ Comedy Cut 11 - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["Oh, boy! It's the circus!"]
• Sponge Surf no guit mel. - Michael Gurley, Billy Lincoln [Couple goes to the circus.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr [Krabs gets angry.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 27A - Jeremy Wakefield ["Well, since there's no work, I'll be going."]
• Distroy the Circus - Nicolas Carr [Krabs plans to destroy the circus.]
‣ Bridge 3 - Wilfred Burns ["We're going to enjoy the circus!"]
• Oh My Neptune! - Nicolas Carr ["And it'll be fun for all ages."]
• Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
‣ Roll Up For The Show - David Graham Farnon [Circus performers in their trailer.]
‣ Circus Of Fools - Barry Schleifer, Thomas Jankins [Parry Music Library] [SpongeBob and Patrick in their outfits.]
• More Percussion Embellishments - Nicolas Carr [Krabs gets into his ringmaster outfit.]
‣ Circus Of Fools - Barry Schleifer, Thomas Jankins [Parry Music Library] [Squidward in his outfit.]
‣ Show Fanfare 1 - David Lindup ["Oh, show's startin'."]
‣ Circus Rag - David Farnon [Krabs introduces the circus.]
• Piati Crash - Nicolas Carr [Overlays "Circus Rag."]
• Thats Funny - Nicolas Carr ["Dummies? Numbskulls?"]
• Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["He's funny!"]
‣ Four Play Ons/Offs - Ronnie Hazlehurst [Audience laughing.]
• Percussion Embellishments - Nicolas Carr [Drum roll.]
‣ Carnival At The Fair - William Merrick Farran [SpongeBob on the high wire.]
‣ The Whistler - Jack Parnell, Derek Scott [Circus performers trying to escape the trailer.]
‣ Fellini Circus - Eric Gemsa, Bernard Rabaud [Krabs presents the next act.]
‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward as a sad clown.]
• Whoopee Whistle - Nicolas Carr [Baseballs fly at Squidward's face.]
• Comical Shots - Nicolas Carr [Baseballs fly at Squidward's face.]
‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward sighs.]
• More Percussion Embellishments 2 - Nicolas Carr [Pie thrown into Squidward's face.]
‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward wipes his face.]
• Triangle - Nicolas Carr [Squidward's tear drop.]
‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Audience says "aww."]
• Slide Whistle - Nicolas Carr [Squidward's flower droops down.]
‣ Circus Story - Kamel Baibout [Squidward puts the flower in his hat.]
‣ Hippos And A Stranger - Dennis Farnon ["This idiot crowd is too easily entertained."]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [Circus performers still trying to escape.]
• Secret Agent 00 SquarePants 2 - Nicolas Carr [Krabs replaces the sea bears with Patrick.]
• ? [Drumroll.]
‣ Fools Rush In - John Charles Fiddy, Grahame Roy Maclean [Patrick tries dancing on a ball.]
• Piati Crash - Nicolas Carr [Krabs tries pushing Patrick onto the ball.]
‣ Fools Rush In - John Charles Fiddy, Grahame Roy Maclean [Audience boos.]
‣ I Say, I Say, I Say - David Lindup [Patrick forces Krabs to dance on the ball.]
• Comic Drum Shots - Nicolas Carr [Overlays "I Say, I Say, I Say."]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 4 - Fredric Bayco [Circus performers escape.]
‣ I Say, I Say, I Say - David Lindup [Krabs still dancing.]
• Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ringmaster Mudkrab confronts Krabs.]
‣ Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [Ringmaster Mudkrab chases Krabs.]
• Triangle - Nicolas Carr [Krabs winks.]
‣ Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [Krabs descends a ladder.]
• Comic Drum Shots - Nicolas Carr [Krabs and Ringmaster Mudkrab collide.]
‣ Calling All Clowns - David Lindup [Audience cheers.]
• Comic Drum Shots - Nicolas Carr ["One week later..."]
• Cheap and Frozen Short - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Back at the Krusty Krab.]
• Cirque Du Cliche No Perc FX - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]
Release[]
- This episode is available on The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD.
Trivia[]
General[]
- This is the third episode to have a circus play a major role in its plot after "Don't Feed the Clowns" and "Under the Small Top."
- This is the first episode in the franchise to premiere on Halloween in the United States.
- Ironically, this episode has nothing to do with the holiday.
- This is the first episode for the opening credits to credit Ian Vazquez as a supervising director instead of a storyboard supervisor.
- The ending of characters being conjoined is similar to "SquidBob TentaclePants" and "Teacher's Pests," although Mr. Krabs and Mudkrab take advantage of their position, racking up money at the circus.
- This episode was originally going to premiere at 5:00pm, but it was moved to 4:00pm.
Simulcasting. By the time Nick had started the episode, Nicktoons was already airing it.
- This episode's premiere, alongside the other three in its premiere week, have been simulcast on Nicktoons.[8] It aired early on Nicktoons compared to Nickelodeon, which aired the episode after a 5-minute commercial break. This is due to Nicktoons positioning commercial breaks after the show ends, rather than before it.
- This episode was paired up with a rerun of "Allergy Attack!" during the original American airing.[9]
- Various production assets from "Don't Feed the Clowns" were used to help build this episode's atmosphere during visual development.[4]
- On October 8, 2023, "Mr. Fox" confirmed he was present for this episode's ADR records:[10] "ADR means Automated Dialogue Replacement. So when they didn't get everything they needed in the original records made before the animation, they bring the actors back in after the episode is animated to fix timings or get efforts or other little things."[11] He told viewers to go watch and support the episode.[10]
Dub facts[]
- This episode marks the last definitive participation of Latin American voice actor Luis Pérez Pons as the voice of Mr. Krabs in the main SpongeBob series, before his death on October 24, 2023. However, he would voice President Krabs in The Patrick Star Show episode, "Super Stars," which premiered in Latin America 4 months after this episode premiered in the region.
Cultural references[]
- Patrick's stance when he falls from the sky and later when he is called by Mr. Krabs to get into the Sea Bear cage bears resemblance to the infamous "Family Guy Death Pose", in which a character lays facing away from the viewer with an arm laid behind their back after getting injured.
- This previously occurred in "Slappy Daze."
- During the sad clown performance, Squidward does an impression of Jimmy Durante while even mimicking his famous catchphrase, "Ha-cha-cha-cha-cha-chaaaaa!"
Episode references[]
- The work calendar read "Septebuary," which was previously mentioned as a gag month in "SquidBird." However, in that episode, Patrick called it "Septembuary."
- The dances Mr. Krabs does on the ball references his birthday dance from "Squeaky Boots" and his robot dance from "Krab Borg."
- The audience of the circus includes characters from "Scaredy Pants" and "MuscleBob BuffPants."
- The cowboy kid's outfit reuses the colors of the cowboy's outfit from "Boating Buddies."[4]
- The group of sea bear circus performers are the same group of sea bears from "The Clam Whisperer."[4]
Errors[]
The tag on Patrick's costume is brown like his fins
- When Squidward in his clown outfit is revealed, the white tag on Patrick's sea bear costume is colored the same brown as his fins.
Videos[]
References[]
- ^ a b c Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "My last Season 13 scene..."
- ^ a b Chris Tabares on Instagram - "Some of my Storyboard drawings..."
- ^ a b Sterling Richter on Twitter - "Circus big tent designs I made..."
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ian Vazquez on Instagram - "A bunch of work I had a hand in..."
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - LeakDB
- ^ Jeffrey Shea on Twitter - "Hi everyone :)..."
- ^ Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "This wouldn't have been..."
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - Nicktoons G.L.O.B.E. Archives
- ^ October 31, 2023 - Nickstory
- ^ a b Mr. Fox on Twitter - "Hey, I was presemt..."
- ^ Mr. Fox on Twitter - "ADR means..."