A Pal for Gary

A Pal for Gary
General
Production code:	223-708
Season №:	7
Episode №:	131b
Airdate:	January 2, 2010 February 26, 2010 March 18, 2010 March 31, 2010 April 21, 2010 See more... February 26, 2010 October 13, 2010 November 11, 2010 December 19, 2010 January 19, 2011 January 20, 2011 January 20, 2011 March 15, 2011 March 31, 2011 April 1, 2011 (QTV) April 4, 2011 July 22, 2011 December 11, 2011 February 7, 2012 April 25, 2015 July 2, 2018 (TET) July 24, 2018 (PLUS PLUS) October 4, 2018 December 30, 2020 December 18, 2021 April 21, 2022 December 23, 2022
U.S. premiere time (ET):	9:30 am
Copyright year:	2009
U.S. viewers (millions):	4.28
Running time:	10 minutes, 48 seconds
Sister episode(s):	"Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful"
Credits
Writer(s):	Casey Alexander Zeus Cervas Richard Pursel
Supervising Producer(s):	Paul Tibbitt
Storyboard:	Casey Alexander Zeus Cervas
Animation:	Andrew Overtoom
Creative:	Vincent Waller
Chronology
Previous	"Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful"
Next	"Yours, Mine and Mine"

"A Pal for Gary" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 7. In this episode, SpongeBob gets another pet to keep Gary company while he isn't home, which proves to be disastrous.

Characters

• Gary the Snail
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Fish cowboy ^{(cameo on TV)}
• Seahorse
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Fortune teller ^(debut)
• Jellyfish ^{(cameo in painting)}
• Grandma SquarePants ^(mentioned)
• Shelley
• T.S. Halibut ^{(debut) (mentioned)}
• Incidentals
  • Fred
  • Incidental 41
  • Incidental 72
  • Incidental 103
  • Incidental 107 ^{(1D colored)}
  • "Puffy Fluff" incidentals ^(debut)
    • Puffy Fluff 1
    • Puffy Fluff 2
    • Puffy Fluff 3 ^{(named Puffy Fluffy)}

Synopsis

The episode starts at SpongeBob's house, where he is feeding Gary. Afterward, he has to leave for work, but Gary wants to go for a walk. SpongeBob tells him that he does not have time to give him one and sadly walks away to work, feeling remorseful that he had no time to hang out with Gary. As he goes to the Krusty Krab, he notices that Mr. Krabs refuses to give one customer service on account of him bringing his pet worm into the restaurant. This reminds SpongeBob of the fact that Gary is home alone with nobody to keep him company, prompting him to make a remorseful phone call reminding Gary that he will arrive home soon.

SpongeBob finding the perfect "pet" for Gary, unaware of its danger.

As SpongeBob gets off work at night, Mr. Krabs tells him that he needs help with loading coal out of the parking lot, but SpongeBob cannot help as he has to get back to Gary at home. Mr. Krabs lets him off the hook so long as he comes in work five hours earlier the following day to help with the parking lot. As SpongeBob is walking home, he notices a truck selling Puffy Fluffs, which catch his attention due to their "cute" appearance. However, the lady selling them informs him of their danger (they are extremely vicious and hostile toward other pets, especially snails), but SpongeBob does not pay attention and simply runs off with a green Puffy Fluff without paying for it, the lady commenting aside that nobody listens to her.

SpongeBob comes home and shows Gary his new playmate while he is at work; he names it "Puffy Fluffy," and places them next to one another to have them get along as he makes an enchiladas meal. Anytime SpongeBob is not present, Puffy makes blatant threats to Gary, but SpongeBob fails to notice Puffy Fluffy's impending danger and instead accuses Gary of perpetrating violence against him or ignoring him. As punishment, Gary is put to sleep early tonight, next to Puffy Fluffy, then SpongeBob himself goes upstairs to sleep, berating Gary again when he disturbs him. Over the night, Puffy continues to threaten Gary as if he is going to kill him. Gary tries many defense mechanisms, but it turns out that Puffy Fluffy is stronger than him, making Gary more vulnerable to his abuse. They continue fighting throughout the night which eventually carries into the library, causing a house fire made by Puffy Fluffy, who knocked over SpongeBob's fireplace, and SpongeBob does not wake up once, since he slept peacefully and dreamed that he was in his grandmother's house. Gary was able to put it out.

"You put Fluffy down right now!"

The next day, SpongeBob wakes up to find that his house is a mess and assumes that Gary caused it out of jealousy of his new "friend." He then walks into his exercise room to find Puffy Fluffy about to eat Gary alive, but, oblivious to Puffy Fluffy's blatant abuse, once again accuses Gary of harassing him. Puffy eventually traps SpongeBob as well, which gives Gary the idea to save him by getting out his lasso and freeing SpongeBob, and intimidating Puffy, who runs off after Gary presents his defense. Despite this, SpongeBob still believes that Gary was responsible for Puffy Fluffy's violent behavior.

The episode ends with SpongeBob at work again, this time bringing Gary after the policy has been updated to allow animals in the restaurant, so he won't be lonely anymore to his dismay. Mr. Krabs hires Gary as the restaurant's second fry cook, as the episode ends.

Production

The episode was added to the US Copyright Office on September 8, 2009.

Art

This image is from "Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants"

Model sheets

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 • Clownfish Capers - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
 • Skipping to School - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Opening]
 • Grass Skirt Chase - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Gary grabs everything he needs to watch some TV]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr [Gary turns on the TV]
 • Steel Licks 5 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Poor little snail, just wanted some fun time."]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr [Gary watching TV]
 • Happy Sack Shanty - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [at the Krusty Krab]
 • Steel Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield [No pet policy]
 ‣ Drama Link (D) - Hubert Clifford ["Eh?!"]
 • Jovial Pirate's Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["Hey, let's not be hasty."]
 • Steel Licks 33 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob feels guilty]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr [Gary still watching TV]
 • Steel Licks 41 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Too distraught to even answer the phone."]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr ["Hello. You've reached SpongeBob and...C'mon Gary"]
 • Steel Licks 66 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob leaves a message]
 • Steel Licks 67 - Jeremy Wakefield ["If we ever stop having so much fun, together!"]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob leaves a message]
 • Steel Licks 70 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob puts the phone down]
 • Sneaky Panther Pants - Nicolas Carr [Closing time]
 • Salty Krab Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Mr. Krabs re-tarring the parking lot]
 • Steel Licks 37 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Poor Gary's been home alone all day."]
 • The Pollywog Strut - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Wow, Dad, is it really mine to keep?"]
 ‣ Why Am I So Poor? B - Niko Radic, Laszlo Borteri [SpongeBob buys another pet]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr [Gary still watching TV]
 • Goofy Conversation Continued Thin Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["I brought you a surprise!"]
 ‣ Tales From The Swamp (C) - Ron Goodwin [Puffy Fluffy roars at Gary]
 • Goofy Conversation Continued Thin Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Eat up, you two."]
 ‣ Jarabe Tapatio A - Gerhart Frei, Carlos Periguez ["I'm gonna make some enchiladas."]
 • Horror House Of Wax Retro 3 - Nicolas Carr, Ron Wasserman [Puffy Fluffy eats the entire food bowl/Puffy Fluffy rips the squeaky carrot toy]
 • Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["I hope you're happy now."]
 ‣ Finger of Fear - Fredric Bayco [Gary has to share his bed with Puffy Fluffy]
 • Solo Steel 4 - Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob goes to bed]
 ‣ Drama Link (F) - Hubert Clifford [Gary enters]
 ‣ Music, Box - [General Series 6000 Extension] ["See? There he is, fast asleep."]
 ‣ Drama Link (C) - Hubert Clifford [Balloon deflates]
 ‣ Cellar Search - Philippe Pares [Puffy Fluffy's grown to gigantic size]
 • Graveyard @ Midnight 2 - Nicolas Carr, Ron Wasserman [Puffy Fluffy roars at Gary]
 ‣ Lullaby Box - Johannes Brahms, Leo Nissim [SpongeBob talking in his sleep]
 ‣ Abject Terror - Paul Lewis [Puffy Fluffy chases Gary]
 ‣ Stealth by Night - Jack Coles ["Mmm, you're making meatballs, Grandma?"]
 ‣ Sword Fight - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Gary putting out the fire]
 • New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Huh?"]
 ‣ Alone In The Old House - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob's library destroyed]
 ‣ Terror - Alan Braden [Gary's about to be eaten]
 ‣ Sword Fight - Sam Fonteyn [SpongeBob breaks down the door]
 ‣ Tales From The Swamp (A) - Ron Goodwin ["Gary!"]
 • Horror House Of Wax Retro 2 - Nicolas Carr, Ron Wasserman [Puffy Fluffy tries to eat SpongeBob]
 • Blazing Baloney Western - Nicolas Carr [Gary saves SpongeBob]
 • Add Lib Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr [Ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Heroes of Bikini Bottom, Complete Seventh Season, Set Sail for Silly, SpongeBob SquarePants Vol. 11, The SpongeBob SquarePants Collection, 3 DVD Value Pack, Spužva Bob Skockani DVD 4, Snail's Meow, Triple Pack 3, The Best of Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob SquarePants 8 Season DVD Collection, Easter with SpongeBob, Kids Double Pack: Volume 3, Kids Double Pack: Volume 2, Next 100 Episodes, Big Hits: Volume 2, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, and The Seventh & Eighth Seasons DVDs.

Trivia

General

• The title card background is similar to those of "Hall Monitor" and "Culture Shock." The only difference is that the title card for the latter is a lighter shade of red and is slightly zoomed in.
  • It is also similar to the one for "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One," only that the title card is blue and not red.
• SpongeBob mentions Mr. Krabs' hatred of pets in the restaurant again in "The Cent of Money" and "Shellback Shenanigans."
  • Coincidentally, all three are season 7 episodes.
• This episode features a phone in SpongeBob's house that is not a shellphone. This phone was previously seen in "Procrastination."
• Incidental 41 is seen as a sheriff in the western crime movie or TV show that Gary is watching.
• Gary wears a soda-drinking hat while watching TV. A soda drinking hat was previously seen as the main plot point of the episode "One Krabs Trash."
• Puffy Fluffy's species is never referred to by name in this episode. It is instead known from the model sheets.
• It's revealed that Gary's full first name is Garold.

Shelley can be seen in SpongeBob's bedroom.

• SpongeBob didn't have to get Gary a partner because he already has another pet, Shelley. She even appears during this episode, when SpongeBob is sleeping in his bedroom and the ceiling cracks are falling off.
• This episode reveals that SpongeBob's garage is located behind the living room.
• When Puffy Fluffy in his monstrous form is inside of the exercise room, SpongeBob comes in and mistakenly thinks that Puffy Fluffy is the one being held hostage by Gary when it's obviously the other way around.
• This episode pairing is the first in season 7 where Patrick is absent in both segments.
• This is the first season 7 episode to feature the Krusty Krab without Squidward.
• This is the second episode where SpongeBob says, "Gary, shame on you!" The first was "Fungus Among Us."
• This is the second episode where Gary wears a Krusty Krab employee hat. The first was "Banned in Bikini Bottom."
• This is the second episode where Gary is seen inside of the Krusty Krab kitchen. The first was "Suds."
• There is an online game based on this episode called Gary's Revenge.
• This episode was paired up with "Don't Look Now" during the Massive Monster Mayhem Marathon.

Dub facts

• In the Polish dub, SpongeBob tells Puffy Fluffy to put Gary down instead of the other way around.

Cultural references

• This episode's plot is a parody of the 1984 horror comedy film Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
• The container for the chips that Gary eats is similar to the Pringles cans.
  • The container appears again in the The Patrick Star Show episode "Gas Station Vacation" as one of the many items Squidina grabs at Gas Land.
• Puffy Fluffy's harmless form looks similar to a piranha.
• Puffy Fluffy's multiple tongues inside of his mouth are a reference to the films Aliens and Tremors.
• T.S. Halibut is a reference to British essayist T. S. Eliot.

Errors

SpongeBob's belt is white.

• When SpongeBob is walking away from his house near the start of the episode, his belt turns white for a split second.
• Throughout most of the western crime movie or TV show that Gary is watching, the cowboy fish is in his normal olive green design, but in the last scene that is shown, he is instead purple with a blue fin.

SpongeBob's mouth is yellow instead of red.

• When SpongeBob carries a food bowl into the living room, the inside of his mouth appears yellow instead of red for a split second.
• When Puffy Fluffy is rummaging through SpongeBob's fridge, there are only two frying pans on the rack near the stove. However, when Gary climbs onto the stove in an attempt to defend himself, there are now three frying pans that were not visible in the aforementioned shot.
• In this episode, SpongeBob's exercise room is seen to be on the first floor below the library, when in most other appearances, it is on the second floor, with the library next to it.

Miscolored teeth

• When SpongeBob says, "This is exactly what I was talking about--," some of Puffy Fluffy's teeth are colored red instead of white.