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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia

"The Bully" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 3. In this episode, a bully named Flats joins SpongeBob's boating class to kick his butt.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

The Bully 030

"So let's all put on a happy face for Flats the Flounder!"

As the episode starts, SpongeBob is at boating school, and Mrs. Puff announces a new student will be joining the class. His name is Flats the Flounder, and he tells SpongeBob that he is going to "kick his butt." SpongeBob at first assumes him to be joking, but Flats soon makes it clear that he really means to beat up SpongeBob. An extremely paranoid SpongeBob tries to seek help and to reason with Flats, but to no avail.

SpongeBob asks Patrick for help, only to learn that he and Flats were buddies back in community college. He then tries to go to Mrs. Puff to help, who talks to Flats and explains to SpongeBob that "kicking his butt" means that Flats wants to become his friend, which is obviously not true. He then encounters Flats' dad in a boat and confronts him about his son's actions, only for the latter to go up to his father and threaten him as well, because he said "Now he's gonna kick my butt!". SpongeBob panics and sprints away.

The Bully 133

SpongeBob at the hospital to meet Flats.

He eventually runs away into town, where Flats attempts to run him over with a garbage truck, but he eventually drives over a banana peel SpongeBob drops, causing it to flip over. Flats awakens in the hospital, where he learns that SpongeBob saved his life by performing CPR on him for five hours straight.

Despite this, Flats continues to pursue SpongeBob; when SpongeBob runs through town and warn everyone about Flats, some people kick an old man's butt who they think is going to kick SpongeBob's butt. The old man was by a bus stop and Harold angrily asks how many times they have to teach him this lesson. Eventually, he corners SpongeBob in his own home, where he proceeds to beat him up.

The Bully 199

"I can't believe you beat up a new student!"

However, due to SpongeBob's spongy body, he absorbs the blows without harm. Flats continues to hit SpongeBob nonstop throughout all of next week, until he finally faints from exhaustion; his classmates cheer for SpongeBob. However, pitying Flats, SpongeBob starts a speech about how violence leads to nowhere, which ends with him making a fist. Just then, Mrs. Puff enters and sees Flats unconscious and SpongeBob making a fist, and believes the latter beat up Flats. Enraged by the disaster, Mrs. Puff shouts to a stunned SpongeBob that she is going to kick his butt before the screen fades to black, thus ending the episode.

Production[]

Art[]

Storyboards[]

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Marching to Honolulu - Kapono Beamer [Title card.]
  Hello Sailor (B) - Richard Myhill [Opening at Boating School.]
  Dangerous B - Mladen Franko [Flats the Flounder introduced.]
  Wooden Bear - Gil Flat, Tony Tape, Florian Voelxen [Flats says he's gonna kick SpongeBob's butt.]
  Horror Chords (b) - Paddy Kingsland [Flats rips off chest hair.]
  Wooden Bear - Gil Flat, Tony Tape, Florian Voelxen [Flats draws himself beating up SpongeBob.]
  Dramatic Cue (B) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob hides in the bathroom.]
  Unease - Dick Stephen Walter ["I just don't understand."]
  Dramatic Climax - Mike Sunderland ["What am I gonna do?"]
  Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, that's real nice."]
  Zelle 506 - Gerhard Trede [Flats enters.]
  Zelle 505 - Gerhard Trede [SpongeBob talks to Flats.]
  Funeral March - Frederic Chopin, R.A.F Music Library [Phone call.]
  Thats It ! - Nicolas Carr ["Patrick, is that you?"]
  Epic Struggle - Fredric Bayco [Flats at Patrick's house.]
  Danger Zone - Mike Sunderland [SpongeBob runs away from the phone.]
  Steel Licks 18 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Come in, SpongeBob."]
  Romance and Rhapsody - Felton Rapley [SpongeBob talks to Mrs. Puff.]
  Dramatic Cue (D) - Ronald Hanmer ["You what?!"]
  Dramatic Cue (E) - Ronald Hanmer ["I got diarrhea!"]
  Idea Sting - Nicolas Carr [Flats' dad.]
  Unpreventable - Gregor F. Narholz ["Dad, what are you doing?"]
  Flight in Panic 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob running away.]
  Dramatic Cue (F) - Ronald Hanmer [SpongeBob hides in a garbage can.]
  Dramatic Encounter - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob gasps.]
  Flight in Panic 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [Flats chasing SpongeBob.]
  Dramatic Stabs - John Fox [Banana peel.]
  Hawaiian Flower - Jon Jelmer [Flats in the hospital.]
  Flight in Panic 1 - Gregor F. Narholz [SpongeBob runs home/SpongeBob arrives home]
  Dramatic Encounter - Gregor F. Narholz [Flats getting ready to beat up SpongeBob.]
  Chief Taravana - Kapono Beamer [SpongeBob absorbing Flats' blows.]
  Whisper from the Past [#64] - Gregor F. Narholz ["Flats was the real victim here."]
  Tales from the Swamp (c) - Ron Goodwin [Mrs. Puff gasps.]
  Steel Licks 41 - Jeremy Wakefield [Ending.]

Release[]

Trivia[]

General[]

  • According to the first half of the production code of this episode, (5571-191[1]) it was originally meant to be a part of season 2. However, it was later moved to the third season, later being given the code of 5572-191.[2]
  • Flats is seen driving a dump truck, which makes the fact that he is in boating school seem illogical. However, it is possible that as Flats lacked a license, he was driving it illegally.
  • When Patrick is talking to SpongeBob on the phone, he says Flats was his "community college buddy," revealing that Patrick went to college.
Screenshot 20191130-200656 YouTube
  • The drawing Flats makes of himself beating up SpongeBob can be seen on Squidward's chalkboard in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game (PC version).
  • When SpongeBob runs to the bathroom, there is a flyer that reads "Join the Glee Club" in the background.
  • When Flats attacks, SpongeBob is able to absorb the hits due to being an invertebrate; however, other episodes show him getting injured as normal.
  • Charlie appears purple instead of blue, and wears green pants instead of red in this episode.
  • This is the first episode for a few things:
    • The first episode to fully reveal the boating school hallways and bathrooms.
    • The first episode where the Krusty Krab appears without Mr. Krabs nor Squidward appearing.
      • This is also the first episode of season 3 to feature it without Squidward, while the second without Mr. Krabs. The first was "Just One Bite."
    • The first major boating school episode that is not written by Mr. Lawrence.
  • Flats is voiced by Thomas F. Wilson, whose best-known role outside of SpongeBob is the similar bully character of Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future films.
  • This episode was originally planned to be in the Best of the Baddies Marathon, but it was replaced with its sister episode by mistake.
  • When Flats first walks into the classroom, it shows that the school leads outside. Later, SpongeBob is standing in a hallway, where the door would lead to.
  • When Flats and SpongeBob first interact at the beginning of the episode at their desks, Mrs. Puff can be heard saying "blah blah blah" over and over in the background.
  • The French dub roughly calls this episode "The Bob, the brute and the mistress," which has no relation to the English title card.[citation needed]
The Bully 015

"I think it goes stuck inside your-"

  • In this episode and "New Student Starfish," the inside of the Boating School is a real school complete with hallways and a locker. In most of the series, it is a one-room school.
  • Numerous scenes and quotes from this episode have become famous internet memes:
    • Harold talking to Incidental 85 saying "How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man!?" became a popular internet meme in March 2016.
    • SpongeBob's line "Hi, I'm SpongeBob" became a popular internet meme in April 2023.
  • During the Nicktoon Bully Bash, this episode was paired up with "Plankton!"[4]

Errors[]

  • When Mrs. Puff enters the classroom for the first time, SpongeBob is behind the group of students. However, when the students clap for Flats when he first enters the class, SpongeBob is behind Nat Peterson, who covers him entirely.
  • When Flats draws a diagram of himself beating up SpongeBob, the drawing initially only takes up about half the height of the chalkboard. However, when the camera angle changes, it becomes as high as the entire chalkboard.
  • When Flats first walks into the classroom, it shows that the school leads outside. Later, SpongeBob is standing in a hallway, where the door would lead to.
  • When SpongeBob crashes into Flats' dad's boat, there is only one seat. Later, Flats is shown in the car, too.
  • When the garbage truck idles behind SpongeBob, it reads "Bikini Bottom Garbage." In the next scene, it is missing.
  • When Flats makes a sand sculpture of SpongeBob and kicks it, Mrs. Puff's mouth is not moving while she is heard talking.
The Bully 102

SpongeBob's missing eyelashes.

  • SpongeBob's eyelashes are missing for a short amount of time while Mrs. Puff says "And maybe play some sports with you on weekends."
  • At the beginning and end of the episode, Mrs. Puff walks directly into the classroom from the outside of the building. However, in the middle of the episode, her classroom is located within the building.


Video[]

SpongeBob_Meets_Flats_the_School_Bully_😟_-_SpongeBob

SpongeBob Meets Flats the School Bully 😟 - SpongeBob

References[]

Wikipedia logo This page uses content from Wikipedia (originalauthors). Both Encyclopedia SpongeBobia and Wikipedia are licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license.


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