Karate Choppers

Template:Episode/14b

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Sandy Cheeks
• Squidward Tentacles
• Eugene H. Krabs
• Gary the Snail ^{(in a picture)}
• Fish on SpongeBob's TV
• Dave
• Jennifer Millie
• Volcano Sauce Drop ^(debut)
• Fred ^{(2 cameos)}
• Martin
• Nat Peterson
• Bill
• Fish Fishing in the Park ^(debut)
• Unnamed Worm ^(debut)
• Nathiel Waters ^(cameo)
• Sylvester
• Evelyn
• Abigail Marge
• Anchovy
• John
• Nancy
• Tina Fran
• Clay
• Old Man Jenkins
• Nazz-Mimi
• Jimmy Gus
• Lonnie ^(cameo)

Synopsis

SpongeBob and Sandy are practicing karate against each other. SpongeBob is carefully going around his house looking for her, until she jumps out. They fight, and have a lot of fun. Sandy threatens SpongeBob with a drop of volcano sauce (that talks) to the tongue, and tells him that she will sneak up on him and fight him tomorrow. At The Krusty Krab the next day, SpongeBob thinks anyone or anything can be Sandy, so he is cautious and does not work much. When he strikes one of the customers, Mr. Krabs demands to know what is going on, so SpongeBob explains to him that he is doing karate.

Therefore, Mr. Krabs tells him to stop doing karate, or he will have no choice but to fire him. Sandy attacks him, and though SpongeBob attempts to explain Mr. Krabs's warning, Sandy doesn't believe him. At that moment, Mr. Krabs sees this and thinks he is doing karate with Sandy. An angry Mr. Krabs comes out of The Krusty Krab and tells SpongeBob that he is fired. This upsets SpongeBob and makes him cry. Sandy quickly explains to him that SpongeBob tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen. Mr. Krabs gives SpongeBob his job back. Mr. Krabs warns SpongeBob not to do anymore karate as he feels that it's poisoning his mind.

The two attempt to forget about karate, and go to the park. However, while slicing sandwiches, they begin doing karate again, Mr. Krabs catches them. SpongeBob admits the truth and explains that he can't help himself. He gives Mr. Krabs permission to fire him. However, instead of firing SpongeBob he finds that karate chops can replace knives. The next day, Mr. Krabs has SpongeBob and Sandy slice Krabby Patties this way, earning him more money.

Production

Art

Music

( ‣ ) Production music

( • ) Original music

( ◦ ) SpongeBob music

 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [title card]
 ‣ Panther Prowl - David Farnon [opening]
 ‣ Cieszyn Polka - Wladyslaw Rakowski [TV show]
 ‣ Police Car - Sam Spence [SpongeBob screams]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [SpongeBob and Sandy doing karate]
 ‣ Police Car - Sam Spence [SpongeBob throws Sandy through the door]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill [SpongeBob does a karate dance]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [karate over the phone]
 ‣ Bossa Cubana - Gerhard Narholz [Sandy shopping]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [tin cans]
 ‣ Police Car - Sam Spence [SpongeBob laughs]
 ‣ Dancing the Hula - Kapono Beamer ["What a beautiful day!"]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [more karate]
 ‣ House of Horror (5) - W. Merrick Farran [volcano sauce]
 ‣ Death Trap - Gregor F. Narholz ["By the powers of naughtiness..."]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [novelty toy]
 ‣ The Rake Hornpipe - Robert Alexander White [at the Krusty Krab]
 ‣ Keep Cool - Jean Christophe Thomas, Laurence Peter Cottle [customer swatting a fly]
 ‣ Blow the Man Down (b) - Robert Alexander White [Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob to get back to work]
 ‣ Keep Cool - Jean Christophe Thomas, Laurence Peter Cottle [SpongeBob enters the bathroom]
 ‣ Sailor's Waltz - Heinz Matschurat [Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob to stop doing karate or he's fired]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["Fired?"]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [Sandy appears]
 ‣ Stack of Leis - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob crying]
 ‣ Vibe Link (b) - Richard Myhill ["We can?"]
 ‣ Hawaiian Pussycat - George de Fretes [SpongeBob squeezes a rock]
 ‣ On the Beach - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob and Sandy on a picnic]
 ‣ Mavericks - The Woodies* [making sandwiches]
 ‣ Police Car - Sam Spence [sting]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [they fight]
 ‣ Hawaiian Link (a) - Richard Myhill [everything cut in half]
 ‣ Dramatic Cue (d) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob screams]
 ‣ O Makalapua (b) - Kapono Beamer ["Oh, all right, Mr. Krabs, you caught me."]
 ‣ Take That! (a) - Helene C.E. Muddiman [ending]

*on the Season 1 DVD, this is replaced with "El Dementia" by The Surfdusters

Release

• This episode is available on the Fear of a Krabby Patty, Absorbing Favorites, 10 Happiest Moments, Complete 1st Season, First 100 Episodes, and Deep-Sea Games DVDs.

Reception

• As of August 11, 2015, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) gives this episode a rating of 8.8/10 based on 250 ratings by users.tt0769435 TV.com users give this episode a rating of 9/10 based on 207 votes.
• "Karate Choppers" was ranked #44 during the Best Day Ever event from November 9–10, 2006.

Trivia

Template:Trivia

• There is a online game called "Kah Rah Tay Contest" that is based on this episode.
• On The Complete 1st Season DVD, this episode, along with "Plankton!," has a cast commentary.
• This is the last episode to premiere in 1999, along with "SB-129." It's also the last episode to air in the 1900s. The next episode, "Sleepy Time," premiered in 2000.
• This was Merriwether Williams's first episode as a writer.
• There is a fish fishing for fish with a fishing pole at the Bikini Bottom Park.
• When SpongeBob attacks Fred and sends him into the floor, some fish are shocked. One of the fish (who is gray with something purple on his face) is the fish that acts confused when he hears Plankton's squeaky voice in "Walking Small."
• The face on the hot sauce drop is Tom Kenny's face. In the Season 1 DVD commentary, he stated that he had to wear red makeup all over his face in order to make the hot sauce scene better.
  • Kenny also stated that the scene was shot in the Nickelodeon restroom, and he had an audition later that same day the scene was shot, and the red makeup would not come off fully.
• Two clips of this episode was featured in the 2010 film Date Night.
• MY LEG!: SpongeBob karate chops Fred.
• In this episode SpongeBob is a karate master like Sandy. However, in other episodes, Spongebob is much less skilled.
  • This episode includes a rare instance in which SpongeBob defeats Sandy in a karate fight.
• The mask that Sandy says is her "worst disguise yet" looks extremely similar to the one that SpongeBob wears when he pretends to be Sandy's "pappy" in "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm." The only difference between them is the colors.
• This is the second episode to have karate in it. The first was "Tea at the Treedome."
• The hot sauce drop is notable for scaring younger viewers due to the live-action face and the fact that it shows up out of nowhere.
• This is the only episode to date to show Sandy in a nightgown without breasts showing.
• This is the first time Sandy says Mr. Krabs' name.
• It is unknown if Sandy and SpongeBob ate the Krabby Patties because after fighting, (and making Krabby Patties) they were relaxing and the Patties were still on the ground.
• The fish shown on SpongeBob's T.V. is a royal gramma (Gramma loreto), a tropical aquarium fish.
• SpongeBob thought Sandy would be in the restroom, meaning that either the Krusty Krab has a unisex restroom, or that SpongeBob was still thinking Sandy could be anywhere around him.
• This is the first appearance of volcano sauce. The second will be "Nasty Patty".

Errors

• SpongeBob leaves the kitchen with a tray of six Krabby Patties. When he tosses the Krabby Patties onto Squidward's head, all six stick to Squidward's head. In the next shot, there are eight Krabby Patties. In the final zoom shot of Squidward's head after SpongeBob says "Nice hairpiece, Squidward," ten Krabby Patties can be seen.

File:D'oh! Closed-Cation Error.jpg

D'oh! Closed-Caption Error.

• When Squidward said: "Go!" the closed-captions said: "D'oh!," which is Homer's catchphrase from The Simpsons.
• When SpongeBob is cutting the food, on his first cut, the mustard seems to disappear.
• Oddly, during the fight between SpongeBob and Sandy, a brick can be seen in their dust cloud.
• After the bubble transition cuts to the Krusty Krab, some bubble freeze in mid-air. This error happened again in "Rock Bottom" and in "The Camping Episode."
• When SpongeBob slices the first slice of salami, the mustard bottle is missing.
• At the Bikini Bottom park, when Sandy karate chops SpongeBob's arm, SpongeBob doesn't have karate gear on, but in the next shot, SpongeBob has his karate gear on.
• A second window was added to SpongeBob's pineapple home near the lower right corner. Before, there was only one window on the upper left corner.
• After the volcano sauce threat, Sandy karate kicks SpongeBob into the background. SpongeBob yells "Curses!" and Sandy appears to be moving her mouth as though she is also saying it, though she could be mimicking it.
• Mr. Krabs tells Squidward that he was in his office, however, the viewer will notice that Mr. Krabs' office is the first door on the left, and when he comes in, he's on the right. But when SpongeBob talks to him, Mr. Krabs is on his office side, next to Squidward.
• When SpongeBob rolls Sandy into a ball, her helmet disappears.
• When SpongeBob goes into the restroom (of the Krusty Krab), there is the "Please wash your fins" sign on it. Later, when SpongeBob is walking, it disappears.
• In the scene with SpongeBob holding the rock together to hide it from Mr. Krabs, a "tree" can be seen in the background chopped in half. The "leaves" of the tree are also chopped in half, even though they wouldn't be touched just from chopping the tree in half.
• In the scene with SpongeBob capturing Sandy with the Novelty Toy tongue, she has her left arm inside her suit while she guzzles down hot sauce. Once SpongeBob loops the tongue around her, her arm immediately appears outside of the suit.