Have You Seen This Snail?

Template:Episode/63

Characters

• Patchy the Pirate ^(cameo)
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Patrick Star
• Mermaid Man ^{(cameo on box)}
• Barnacle Boy ^{(cameo on box)}
• Dirty Bubble ^{(cameo on "Dirty Bubble Challenge" letter and box)}
• Gary the Snail
  • Miss Tuffsy
• Flies
• Baby Spiders ^(debut)
• Frankie Billy
• Ivy
• Dave
• Debbie Rechid
• Martin
• Susie Rechid
• Squidward Tentacles
• Charlie
• John
• Sheila
• Fish that Pass Gary in Bass Vegas
• Fred
• Alley Snails ^(debut)
  • Mary's Ex-boyfriend ^(debut)
• Granny ^(debut)
• Duck Figurine
• Picture Framed Snails ^(debut)
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Evelyn
• Singers of Gary Come Home
• Officer Rob Johnson ^(cameo)
• Norton
• Anchovies
  • Lenny
  • Mable-Monica
• Lisa ^(mentioned)

Synopsis

SpongeBob is walking home with a very heavy bag of snail food for Gary, and Patrick tells him that he has something important to tell him, but SpongeBob ignores him and passes Patrick's House before he can say it. At his front door, SpongeBob finds a package. He leaves the snail food on the porch and opens the package to find a Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy paddleball set. SpongeBob begins to play with it, and finds the "Dirty Bubble Challenge" inside the box, which presents him with the absurdly impossible task of hitting the paddleball 29,998,559,671,349 times in a row. He accepts the challenge, and repeatedly attempts it, never being able to successfully hit the ball even once. Meanwhile, Gary goes to his food bowl to eat, but finds it empty. He confronts SpongeBob for his food, but SpongeBob is too preoccupied with the paddleball and tosses Gary aside. Feeling disowned, Gary abandons SpongeBob, who does not even notice as he leaves. Gary wanders across the sea aimlessly, eventually departing on a bus to parts unknown.

Gary leaving SpongeBob.

Sometime later, Patrick goes to SpongeBob's House to tell him what he was going to say, remarking that he hasn't seen him in a couple of days. He finds that the house has deteriorated into an unkempt mess, and finds a psychologically broken SpongeBob lying in fetal position in his private quarters. SpongeBob tells him that he became this way from taking the Dirty Bubble Challenge, and Patrick wails at the mention of the challenge, saying that he beat the challenge years ago and won, but then he lost the trophy they sent. SpongeBob, who has now gotten over the challenge, invites Patrick into the kitchen for cookies and milk. He gives Patrick a "fresh" glass of milk, and trips over Gary's food bowl. He remembers that he must feed Gary, and retrieves the bag of food from his porch, remarking that it has gathered a lot of dust for "a couple hours." When he calls Gary for dinner, and when he does not come, SpongeBob asks Patrick how long he was taking the Dirty Bubble Challenge. Patrick, judging by the condition of the milk, which has spoiled to the point of being completely solid, tells SpongeBob that he was gone for about seven to ten days. SpongeBob begins desperately looking for Gary, until he checks in the mailbox, where he finds a note from Gary telling him that he has run away in search of a new owner that will remember to feed him. SpongeBob is devastated by this.

Meanwhile, Gary comes to a seedy and uninviting neighborhood, and after a close encounter with a gang of alley snails (who just wanted to give him nachos), Gary is found by an old lady who recognizes him as "Ms. Tuftsy." She takes Gary into her house, where she pampers and overfeeds him. Meanwhile, SpongeBob desperately searches all over Bikini Bottom for Gary, but to no avail. The next morning at work, SpongeBob is extremely depressed and unproductive, and Mr. Krabs tells him that "any problem you have can be solved with a little hard work." SpongeBob interprets this as meaning that he must work harder to find Gary, and with newfound confidence, leaves the Krusty Krab to continue his search. He puts up fliers around town that directly apologize to Gary and ask him to come home. They put one on the door of a crafts store, and when Patrick sees that the store is having a sale on scented pine cones, he rushes in to get some. Inside, he sees Gary with Grandma, and asks her where the scented pine cones are. She tells Patrick that she bought all of them, and Patrick leaves, oblivious to the fact that he has found Gary and not mentioning it to SpongeBob.

This is followed by a song set to a montage of a heartbroken SpongeBob (along with Patrick) unsuccessfully searching for Gary and publishing media asking him to come home (including a billboard, a television announcement, and skywriting). After returning from a day out with his new owner, Gary indicates that has to go to the bathroom, and Grandma gives him a stack of fliers given to her by "a little chubby boy." Gary sees that the stack of flyers is from SpongeBob, and realizes that he does indeed care about him. Gary feels sorry for SpongeBob, so he tries to make him feel better by returning. While Grandma is in the kitchen getting the meatloaf she had been cooking for him, Gary tries to find an exit, and stumbles across a closet full of dead snail shells. Gary realizes that Grandma is overfeeding him and presumably did this with many other snails before. Grandma chases Gary, and now outside, He hides in a back alley, where he encounters one of the alley snails he met earlier. He pushes him into the open, where Grandma believes him to be her snail and takes him in place of Gary. Meanwhile, SpongeBob has given up on looking for Gary, and wishes to see him one last time, when Gary suddenly comes to him. SpongeBob promises to never neglect him again, and takes him inside to feed Gary, saying that he must be "starving," unaware of what Gary has been through, which Gary responds with a denial meow stating that he's full.

Production

Deleted Scene

According to the storyboard, SpongeBob was originally going to visit Squidward's house and ask Squidward if he could give him a hand with the bag of snail food. This was either cut to save time or it was replaced with Patrick.

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Open and End Fanfare - Nino Nardini ["Ahoy, it's a SpongeBob SquarePants special!"]
 ‣ Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Ahoy, it's a SpongeBob SquarePants special!"]
 ‣ Alley Cats - Robert Mersey [title card]
 ‣ Alekoki - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob carrying snail food]
 ‣ Vibe Sting - Nicolas Carr [form letter]
 ‣ Seaweed - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob reads it]
 ‣ Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob leaves the snail food outside]
 ‣ Knights of the Air - Sam Fonteyn ["Let's see what we got here."]
 ‣ Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence [Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy paddleball set]
 ‣ The Beast Within - Paddy Kingsland [Dirty Bubble challenge]
 ‣ The Holy Land - David Farnon [choir]
 ‣ Grand Orchestral Fanfare - Gregor Narholz [SpongeBob begins playing paddleball]
 ‣ On the Beach - Kapono Beamer [Gary goes over to his food bowl]
 ‣ Life on the Wild Side - Sam Spence ["Mermaid Man needs me."]
 ‣ Rescue - Cecil Milner [SpongeBob describing Dirty Bubble]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["Pets."]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact 2 - Ivor Slaney [Gary leaps onto SpongeBob's face]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (b) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob runs around screaming]
 ‣ Pua Paoakalani (b) - Kapono Beamer [Gary leaves on a bus]
 ‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr [Patrick sees bag of snail food]
 ‣ Graveyard - Johnny Pearson [Patrick looking for SpongeBob]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact 2 - Ivor Slaney ["SpongeBob, what happened?!"]
 ‣ Fates [#62] - Gregor Narholz [SpongeBob on the floor]
 ‣ Bittersweet Memory - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin ["Many years ago, I took that challenge!"]
 ‣ Closing the Door - Nicolas Carr [door closed]
 ‣ Quiz Logo 1 - Dave Hewson ["I think it has something to do with this bowl."]
 ‣ Harp Ding - Nicolas Carr ["That's it, I gotta feed Gary!"]
 ‣ Hawaiian Party - Peter Dennis [SpongeBob puts food in Gary's bowl]
 ‣ Waddle Cop - David Farnon [solid milk]
 ‣ Of Love and Destiny - Leighton Lucas [SpongeBob can't find Gary anywhere]
 ‣ Harmonica Shorts [#30] - Robert Appleton, Rick Fenn [Gary wandering through a desert]
 ‣ Harmonica Shorts [#31] - Robert Appleton, Rick Fenn [Gary's stomach howls]
 ‣ Harmonica Shorts [#32] - Robert Appleton, Rick Fenn [Gary sneezes]
 ‣ You're Nice - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Gary's favorite treats!"]
 ‣ ? [later that night]
 ‣ Torn Apart - Mike Sunderland ["Gary, where are you?"]
 ‣ Comic Walk - Sidney Torch [Squidward taking a bath]
 ‣ Six Powerful Cues (f) - Wilfred William Burns [looking for Gary in Squidward's bathroom]
 ‣ Unknown Track 40 - Nicolas Carr ["Here goes nothing."]
 ‣ Comic Cues [#25] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [letters fly out of mailbox]
 ‣ Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr ["Look, Pat!"]
 ‣ Woe is Me! - Richard Myhill [note from Gary]
 ‣ Whisper from the Past [#64] - Gregor Narholz ["Dear Neptune, what have I done?"]
 ‣ Alley Cats - Robert Mersey [Gary in the city]
 ‣ Heavenly Voices (b) - David Farnon [nachos]
 ‣ Alley Cats - Robert Mersey [other snails hiss at Gary]
 ‣ West Side Rumble - Sam Spence [Gary slithers away]
 ‣ Evil Alien Attack 1 [#15] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Gary sees a shadowy figure]
 ‣ Light and Easy - Harry Rabinowitz ["There you are, Miss Tufsy."]
 ‣ Waltzing in Dreamland - Alan Moorhouse [Gramma puts on music]
 ‣ Pacific Romance - Jan Rap [SpongeBob looking all over town for Gary]
 ‣ Stealthily - Jack Shaindlin [Gary and Gramma watching TV]
 ‣ Lynda's Music Box - Peter Dennis [Gramma puts Gary to bed]
 ‣ Botany Bay (b) - Robert Alexander White [the next morning at the Krusty Krab]
 ‣ Dramatic Impact 3 - Ivor Slaney [Krabby Patty covered in tears]
 ‣ Hawaiian Breeze - Jon Jelmer [SpongeBob crying]
 ‣ Marching to Honolulu - Kapono Beamer ["If I'm gonna find Gary, I'm gonna need to work harder at it."]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer ["It's the apocalypse!"]
 ‣ Unknown Track 41 - "Patrick, now is not the time for talking."
 ‣ Lambs in Clover - Jack Strachey [Gary having breakfast]
 ‣ Beach Boy - Hilmar Doetsch, Karl Heinz Kroll [inside the craft store]
 ◦ Gary's Song - Stew [montage of SpongeBob looking for Gary]
 ‣ Folli the Foal - Andrew Fenner ["Gramma will get a lovely meatloaf in the oven for you."]
 ‣ Whisper from the Past [#64] - Gregor Narholz [Gary sees SpongeBob's flyers]
 ‣ Stepping into Danger - Mike Sunderland [Gary opens a door]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer [closet full of snail shells]
 ‣ House of Horror - William Farran [Gary finds out Grandma's true plan of eating him/Grandma goes after Gary.]
 ‣ Vibe Q Sting - Nicolas Carr ["When Gary left, he took all my tears with him."]
 ‣ Drowsy Reef - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["Gary loved balsa wood!"]
 ‣ Romantic Entrance [#22] - Harry Bluestone ["Gary!"]
 ‣ Romantic Entrance [#24] - Harry Bluestone [SpongeBob hugs Gary.]
 ‣ Celebrations - Jan Rap [ending]

Release

• This episode is available on the Where's Gary?, Complete Fourth Season, Season 4 Volume 1, Nick Picks Volume 4, and First 100 Episodes DVDs.

Reception

• "Have You Seen This Snail?" was viewed by eight million people. It was the highest-rated program on all TV with children aged two to eleven for the year of 2005 behind the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl kick-off, and the highest-rated program on all of cable TV with children aged two to eleven and children aged six to eleven in 2005.
• Critics produced mixed reviews for Have You Seen This Snail?. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called the episode deeply hilarious and described the plot as a "bittersweet riot." He drew attention to how the story is similar to the plot of "Dumped," an earlier episode in which Gary deserted SpongeBob.
• The television critic for the St Petersburg Times was not so positive about the episode however, criticizing how SpongeBob's disappointed and sad character for "Have You Seen This Snail?" is quite different to the character's normal bright personality.

Trivia

Template:Trivia

• This is the final episode to premiere in 2005.
• This is the first of the four thirty minute specials on November 11 of separate years. The others were "The Great Patty Caper" in 2010, "A SquarePants Family Vacation" in 2011, and "SpongeBob You're Fired" in 2013.
• There is an online game based on this episode named Trail of the Snail.
• Gramma also appears in "Boating Buddies," "Choir Boys," "Shuffleboarding," "Gramma's Secret Recipe," and "Mall Girl Pearl."
• Originally, this episode was going to be a TV movie rather than a thirty minute episode.
• Advertisements for this episode refer to it as Where's Gary? It is also called Where's Gary? on its VHS and DVD releases.
• There was a book based on this episode named Where's Gary?
• In international dubbings of this episode (except in Brazil) the song "Gary Come Home" is either sung by SpongeBob himself, or is left untranslated.
• Nickelodeon Inc. is written on the packaging of the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Paddle Ball Set.
• Oddly one of the buses was seen being driven by a police fish rather than a typical Bikini Bottomite.
• The original plot for this episode was Granny is fattening Gary up to eat him, but that was changed due to it being deemed too scary for a children's series. Also, she had an axe that was replaced with a tray of cookies.
  • The original plot is highly similar to the fictional story Hansel And Gretel.
• It is revealed that Gary has a clock inside his shell that tells what time he eats.
• This episode, along with "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" and "Pest of the West," has a Patchy the Pirate opening in Flash animation.
• The title card is very similar to "Wet Painters" due to the painted letters.
• Running Gags:
  • When Patrick sees something that is really important, he gets worried by a useless reason.
  • Gramma calling Gary Mrs. Tuffsy
  • SpongeBob says "darn it" when trying the challenge.
• The scene where Squidward screams when SpongeBob and Patrick enter his house has become a meme on YouTube. The videos are usually named "[Insert name here] drops by Squidward's house." It consists of a collection of videos depicting the scene being edited so that a completely random character is pasted into the picture, covering up view of SpongeBob and Patrick. He screams normally, but it is looped backwards to help extend the video.
• A clip of this episode was seen in the 2007 movie Alvin and the Chipmunks, which crew member Tim Hill appeared in.
• In Poland, this episode called Kto widział ślimaka? which means Who Seen the Snail?
• Have You Seen This Snail? featured an original piece of music written for the episode by the musician Stew, entitled "Gary Come Home."
• This was the second time that Gary left SpongeBob. The first was "Dumped."
• This episode premiered two years after Friends Forever was released.
• This episode, along with "Are You Happy Now?," "Can You Spare a Dime?," "Christmas Who?," "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?," "Hide and Then What Happens?," "What's Eating Patrick?," "Goodbye, Krabby Patty?," and "Sportz?" are the only episodes to end in a question mark.
• This episode is the first episode to be double-length and does not include Patchy in it.
• It would be impossible to hit the paddleball 29,998,559,671,349 times in a row since 29,998,559,671,349 seconds would last more than 900,000 years.
• Patrick's line "Office products falling from the sky!" was used in a Nickelodeon quiz called Are You Smarter Than Patrick Star?
• In a Top 20 list by blameitonjorge, the entire episode was placed at #9 on the "Top 20 Saddest Moments In Kid Shows."
• The Snail-Po truck would be seen again in "The Getaway."

Cultural references

• This episode is similar to the Peanuts movie "Snoopy, Come Home," "Spike Runs Away" from Rugrats, "Abner Come Home" from Hey Arnold!, "Pluto Runs Away" from Mickey Mouse Works, "Arthur's Missing Pal" from Arthur, "Where's Huggy?" from WordGirl, "Oh, There You Are Perry!" from Phineas and Ferb, "Stan Runs Away" from Dog with a Blog, "La Larva de Amor" from Teen Titans Go!, "Lost And Found" from Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures and "Lucky Seven" from Little Charmers.
• Around the time this episode aired, Cartoon Network had a snail resembling Gary at the bottom of the screen during its programs. It should be noted that Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon were bitter enemies during the 90's and early 2000's (due to Cartoon Network's bigger library), so they started insulting each other in their bumpers. [1]
• Gramma seems to be a parody of the witch from Hansel and Gretel, who overfed the children with the intention of eating them. She is also similar to Bluebeard, who kept the corpses of his murdered wives in a closet, which gives away his secret to his new wife.
• When Gary and Gramma are driving in the car, Gramma says "Set phasers on fun!," a reference to the Star Trek line "Set phasers on stun."
• The song, "Gary Come Home" is remarkably similar to Heart of Gold by Neil Young.
• The title is a reference to the quote, "Have you seen this pet?"
• The music that played when SpongeBob said "I think it has something to do with this bowl" was a reference to Jeopardy.

Errors

• When Gramma takes Gary to dance, the blanket is still there, but after that, the blanket is gone.
• When Patrick flips SpongeBob, the paddleball is missing, later it reappears.
• When SpongeBob trips on Gary's bowl the milk splashes out from the jug, but when Patrick shakes the milk out of the glass it is in a solid form.
• When Patrick causes the plane to crash, SpongeBob says "Pat, no!," but captions say "Aah, no!."
• When SpongeBob is reading the note left on his door, he walks inside and leaves the door open. But when the mailfish rings the doorbell, SpongeBob opens the door, though it was already open. 
• When Gary is getting out of the food dish, he doesn't have the running away sack. In the scene right after, he has it on his back.
• When Squidward says "What are those neanderthals up to?," his teeth look different and you can see each individual tooth, similar to Patrick's teeth.

Squarepat?

• When SpongeBob opens the mailbox, it says "Squarepat" when should be "SquarePants."
• When Gramma puts Gary down, Gary is missing a dot on his shell.
• When Gary gets back to the pineapple, he groans after SpongeBob suggests Gary being hungry. However, he should be hungry since it would have taken him a week to ten days to get back to Bikini Bottom.
• Patrick suggests that they were at Martha's Craft Zone that day. However, Gary would have taken a week to 10 days to get back to Bikini Bottom.
• SpongeBob is seen driving a plane during the montage of "Gary Come Home" even though he doesn't have his license.