"SpongeChovy" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 14. In this episode, it's invasion of the faux-chovies when everyone in Bikini Bottom suddenly starts meeping.

Characters[]

• SpongeBob SquarePants
  • Faux-Chovy SpongeBob
• Patrick Star
  • Faux-Chovy Patrick
• Squidward Tentacles
  • Faux-Chovy Squidward
• Surface World Pizza chef ^{(single appearance)}
  • Rodger Bumpass
• Eugene H. Krabs
  • Faux-Chovy Mr. Krabs
• Rube Goldfish
  • Faux-Chovy Rube Goldfish
• Gale Doppler
  • Faux-Chovy Gale Doppler
• Lady Upturn
  • Faux-Chovy Lady Upturn
• Mrs. Puff
  • Faux-Chovy Mrs. Puff
• Pearl Krabs
  • Faux-Chovy Pearl
• Larry the Lobster
  • Faux-Chovy Larry
• Hans
• French Narrator
• Fifi
  • Faux-Chovy Fifi
• Incidentals
  • Incidental 6
  • Incidental 14 ^{(hot pink fins)}
  • Incidental 22
  • Several Incidental 30s ^{(one named Meep Meep)}
  • Several Incidental 30As
  • Incidental 37B
  • Incidental 40
  • Incidental 41
  • Incidental 45
  • Incidental 49
  • Incidental 81
  • Incidental 82
  • Old Man Walker
  • Incidental 92A
  • Incidental 104
  • Incidental 154
• Skateboarders
  • Faux-Chovy Skateboarders

Synopsis[]

A horde of hungry anchovies arrives at the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob serves them all from the grill, but notices one of them forgot to take their to-go order. When he jumps in front of the group to ask them, they do not stop and he gets swept up by them. SpongeBob ends up on the bus with the anchovies. After climbing to the front, he speaks the anchovies' "meep" language and is able to identify who forgot their order, and delivers it to them. He continues hanging out with the anchovies as they go out for ice cream, to buy sunglasses, and to jump on mattresses at the mattress store.

When SpongeBob is dropped off from the bus, he has been turned into an anchovy. He is visited by Patrick and they play patty-cake. After the game, Patrick has also been turned into an anchovy. When the mail is delivered, they go outside and turn the mailman into an anchovy as well. The three arrive at the Krusty Krab and cook Krabby Patties together. When Mr. Krabs goes to check what the meeping in the kitchen is about, he also turns into an anchovy. They end up transforming all of the customers into anchovies, all while Squidward has his headphones on relaxing and ignorant of all the commotion. The "faux-chovies" as they then leave the Krusty Krab, run around town meeping, transforming citizens that happen to be in their way (including Pearl, Mrs. Puff and Larry offscreen). A newscast from Gale Doppler and Rube regarding the faux-chovy flock ends with them being turned into anchovies as well.

Squidward, as the only one unchanged, locks the Krusty Krab and relaxes in silence and still initially unaware of the happenings. However, the faux-chovies get in and he is forced to serve them; his headphones also get eaten by one of the faux-chovies during the ruckus much to his chagrin. Suddenly, a bus full of real anchovies arrives, and start to instigate a face-off against the faux-chovies as Squidward cowers in fear of the ordeal. One anchovy recognizes SpongeBob as the one who gave him his to-go order. This leads the anchovies and faux-chovies to reconcile.

Squidward, annoyed by all the meeping, decides to get rid of the anchovies and faux-chovies. He dials the phone and orders a pizza from the surface world. As Squidward heads back to his station in triumph and claiming to never end up as a faux-chovy himself, the said pizza through Hans' hands, drops in the middle of the Krusty Krab, scaring the anchovies away. The faux-chovies smell the pizza and revert to normal. Everyone goes to dine on the pizza being all grateful to have returned to normal (Patrick being flabbergasted at the lack of anchovies as toppings), and Mr. Krabs calls Squidward to join in with paper plates. However, both he and SpongeBob notice his absence and wonder where he went during the commotion. It is then revealed that Squidward, dragged away without anyone's notice, has become the only faux-chovy left, riding the bus with the anchovies and letting out a sad "meep."

Production[]

This episode was confirmed on September 5, 2023.^[1]

Music[]

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Hawaiian Train - Victor Cavini [Title card.]
 • Salty Krab Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Opening.]
 • Its Mine - Nicolas Carr ["Someone ordered a Krabby Patty to go?"]
 ‣ Bartmania A - Guy Moon [Anchovies bring SpongeBob on the bus.]
 • New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr [Anchovies look confused.]
 ‣ Six Ten-Second Bridges - Remastered - Fredric Bayco [SpongeBob speaking to the anchovies.]
 ‣ Tiki March - Lionel Wendling [SpongeBob spending time with the anchovies.]
 • Finger Snaps - Nicolas Carr [Overlays "Tiki March"]
 • Whats This Sting - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob becomes a faux-chovy.]
 • Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
 • A Short Fishy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob meeping.]
 • A Fishy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob and Patrick play patty-cake.]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19E - Jeremy Wakefield [Transition to next scene.]
 • A Fishy Conversation - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Patrick becomes a faux-chovy.]
 • Allergy Attack 2 - Nicolas Carr [Mailman sees SpongeBob and Patrick as faux-chovies.]
 • Jovial Pirate's Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob, Patrick, and the mailman go to the Krusty Krab.]
 ‣ Six Ten-Second Bridges - Remastered - Fredric Bayco ["Are the anchovies back?"/Customers become faux-chovies.]
 • Psycho Surgery - Nicolas Carr [Lady Upturn sees the faux-chovies.]
 ‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 4 - Fredric Bayco ["Step aside, and let my precious Fifi pass!"]
 • Spongemonger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Faux-chovies running through Bikini Bottom.]
 • Bikini Bottom News Theme - Nicolas Carr [Gale Doppler's weather report.]
 ‣ Trafficscape - Eric Winstone [Rube reporting on the faux-chovies.]
 • Bikini Bottom News Theme - Nicolas Carr ["Thanks, Rube."]
 • Oh My Neptune - Nicolas Carr [Gale Doppler becomes a faux-chovy.]
 • Lap Steel-spce_01 - Nicolas Carr [Transition to next scene.]
 • Vibra Slap - Nicolas Carr [Squidward relaxing at the Krusty Krab.]
 • Squiddy Time Bossa Nova - Nicolas Carr [Squidward relaxing at the Krusty Krab.]
 ‣ Scorched Earth - Trevor Duncan [Faux-chovies outside the Krusty Krab.]
 • Cream Pie - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward taking the faux-chovies' orders.]
 ‣ Subversion - Ralph Dollimore [Anchovies at the Krusty Krab.]
 • Bubble Popping Boys 2 - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Anchovies and faux-chovies circling each other.]
 • Bubble Popping Boys - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Anchovies and faux-chovies stack onto each other.]
 • SpongeBob Flashback Vibes - Nicolas Carr [Start of flashback.]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks 26 - Jeremy Wakefield ["My bad. I meant 'meep meep.'"]
 • SpongeBob Flashback Vibes - Nicolas Carr [End of flashback.]
 • A Pinapple Luau W-bongos - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Anchovies and faux-chovies make amends.]
 ‣ Viva Italia a 30 - Graham Preskett [Squidward calling Surface World Pizza.]
 ‣ Ghoulies And Ghosties - Remastered - Fredric Bayco ["Nobody's turning me into a faux-chovy."]
 • Cream Pie - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Hans delivers a pizza to the Krusty Krab.]
 • Another Best Day Ever - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Faux-chovies turn back to normal.]
 ‣ Bartmania A - Guy Moon [Squidward on the bus.]
 • Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]

Release[]

• This episode is available on the Another 100 Episodes, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, and The Complete Fourteenth Season DVDs.

Reception[]

• This episode ranked #3 on the official SpongeBob Instagram's ranking of 10 episodes from season 14.^[2]

Trivia[]

General[]

• On Nickelodeon, this episode was originally going to premiere at 5:00 PM, but it was moved to 4:00 PM.

• This episode's premiere, alongside the other three in its premiere week were simulcasted on Nicktoons.^[3] Due to Nicktoons' spacings of commercial breaks, the episode effectively debuted on that network first.
• This episode's title is a portmanteau of SpongeBob's name, and "anchovy."
  • Additionally, SpongeBob turns into a faux-chovy in this episode.
• The title card background for this episode is nearly identical to that of "Buff for Puff," the only differences being that it is slightly darker and features anchovy silhouettes on it.
  • Coincidentally, both episodes are from season 14 and premiered two days apart in November 2023.
• Faux-chovies invading Bikini Bottom is similar to how the nearwhals (acting as faux-narwhals) invaded Bikini Bottom in "Something Narwhal This Way Comes."
• A clip of Lady Upturn's scene from this episode appears in "SpongeBob's Super Bowl Party."
• Squidward calls the Surface World Pizza chef, portrayed by his voice actor, Rodger Bumpass, breaking the fourth wall.
  • This is the second time Squidward interacts with Rodger Bumpass, the first being "Goons on the Moon."
• Storyboard artist Nick Lauer created a story similar to this episode's plot back when he was eight years old called "PLANTONS_[sic] Big Plan," where everyone turns into anchovies.^[4]
• This episode marks the first usage of the track "Hawaiian Train" since "The Whole Tooth," which premiered almost 7 years before this episode.
  • This is also the first usage of the track "Trafficscape" in the main series since "Atlantis SquarePantis," though it previously played in The Patrick Star Show episode "Movie Stars."
• This is the third episode to play the track "Bartmania A." The first is "Help Wanted" and the second is "Gary's Playhouse."
  • Ironically, all three episodes have SpongeBob - or SpongeGary in "Gary's Playhouse" - sending many Krabby Patties to the anchovies.

Episode references[]

• The "chovy" terminology originates from Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, primarily the episode "What About Meep?," where SpongeBob and Patrick help an anchovy named Chovy out of his identity crisis.
• SpongeBob sends many Krabby Patties to anchovies like in "Help Wanted."
  • The anchovies eat the Krabby Patties in a similar way like they did in the aforementioned episode.

Cultural references[]

• The song that SpongeBob and Patrick sing while playing patty cake is "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man."
• The Surface World Pizza chef is seen wearing an Apple Watch on his wrist.

Errors[]

• In all of the Krusty Krab scenes, the Chum Bucket and its path across the street are missing.

• When SpongeBob with a takeout bag steps on Squidward, his headphones break, but he is later seen using those same headphones when he's talking orders from the faux-chovies. It's possible he either bought another one or had a spare.
• In the scene where the faux-chovies are about to turn Lady Upturn and Fifi into faux-chovies, Mr. Krabs has no nose. This also happens before they transform the construction worker.
• When the faux-chovies turn the builder into an an anchovy, one of them is missing their legs for one frame.

The key is missing, but it then reappears.

• When Squidward locks the Krusty Krab door and leaves the key in the keyhole, in some scenes the key in the door is missing, but when SpongeBob sees it, the key is back.
• When the Surface World Pizza chef answers the phone, he is wearing an Apple Watch on his wrist, but in the next shot of when he hangs up the phone, the watch is missing.
• Some of the faux-chovies, such as Larry, occasionally have their mouths' "side flaps" missing in some scenes or frames.
• When the anchovies and faux-chovies are facing off against each other, the Galley Grub is missing.

Videos[]

Names in other languages[]

Language	Name	Meaning
German	Falsche Sardellen	False Anchovies
Russian	Губка-анчоус Gubka-anchous	Sponge the Anchovy
Spanish (American)	Anchoa Esponja	Sponge Anchovy
Spanish (European)	Esponjianchoa	SpongeAnchovy

References[]

1. ^ File:295-98.jpeg
2. ^ SpongeBob on Instagram - "Classics in the making"
3. ^ SpongeBob SquarePants - Nicktoons G.L.O.B.E. Archives
4. ^ Nick Lauer on Instagram - "Going through old stuff at my..."