= Sailor Mouth =
"Sailor Mouth" is the first segment of the 18th episode of the second season, or the 38th overall episode of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The episode was directed by Andrew Overtoom, and was written by Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, and Merriwether Williams. Dohrn and Tibbitt also served as storyboard directors, and Carson Kugler, William Reiss, and Erik Wiese worked as storyboard artists. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 21, 2001.
The series follows the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. In this episode, SpongeBob reads a "bad word" off a dumpster behind the Krusty Krab, but does not know what it means. Patrick explains to him that it is a "sentence enhancer" which is used "when you want to talk fancy." The two start using it in every sentence they speak. However, when Mr. Krabs hears them, he warns the two never to use the word again or any of the 13 bad words. Later on, SpongeBob accidentally swears again. Patrick then runs to tell Mr. Krabs with SpongeBob trying to stop him. However, when Mr. Krabs accidentally injures his toe, he utters all the 13 bad words. The two cannot believe it and run to Mama Krabs to tell on him. Mama Krabs, who is appalled by their use of the words, makes the three paint her house as punishment.
The episode received positive reviews, while various members of the SpongeBob SquarePants crew consider the episode to be one of their favorites, mainly due to the satirical nature of the episode. However, the episode was not immune to negative reception, and was criticized by watchdog media group the Parents Television Council and fans, who interpreted the episode as an example of promoting and implicitly satirizing use of profanity towards children.
= = Plot summary = =
When SpongeBob goes around to the back of the Krusty Krab to take out the trash, he reads some words written on a dumpster. SpongeBob asks Patrick what is it and Patrick says that the word is a "sentence enhancer" which is used "when you want to talk fancy." The next day, SpongeBob walks into the Krusty Krab and says the word to Patrick and then over the intercom. The Krusty Krab customers are appalled by SpongeBob's use of his "word" and leave. Squidward then informs Mr. Krabs, who then decides to tell them that they were using profanity, and mentions that there are 13 swear words they should not use. SpongeBob and Patrick vow Mr. Krabs that they will never use swear words again.
Later, they play their favorite game, Eels and Escalators. Patrick always gets escalators but SpongeBob always gets eels. Eventually, he loses the game and accidentally utters the swear word. Patrick then races to the Krusty Krab to tell Mr. Krabs with SpongeBob trying to stop him. SpongeBob bursts through the front door and tells Mr. Krabs that Patrick said the swear word, Patrick then joins along. Eventually, Mr. Krabs stops their gibberish explanations, and takes SpongeBob and Patrick outside and makes them paint the Krusty Krab as punishment.
Mr. Krabs is about to give SpongeBob and Patrick the job, but he hits his foot on a rock, throws the paint away and says all 13 swear words while complaining about his foot being injured. When SpongeBob and Patrick hear all the swear words, they run to Mama Krabs' house to tell her that Mr. Krabs swears. When they all reach her house, they repeat the same swear words that Mr. Krabs used. This makes her faint, but shortly after Mr. Krabs scolds SpongeBob and Patrick for saying all those bad words in front of her she regains consciousness. Mama Krabs states that all three of them should be ashamed for saying all those words. She then gives all three of them the task of painting her house with a fresh coat of paint as punishment for saying those words at her.
= = Production = =
"Sailor Mouth" was directed by Andrew Overtoom, and was written by Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, and Merriwether Williams. Dohrn and Tibbitt also served as storyboard directors, and Carson Kugler, William Reiss and Erik Wiese worked as storyboard artists. Series creator Stephen Hillenburg has described the episode plot as "a classic thing all kids go through." Much of the storyline for the episode was inspired by the writers' own experiences from childhood. The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 21, 2001. The episode marks the introduction of Mr. Krabs' mother, Mama Krabs, who was voiced by former SpongeBob SquarePants creative producer and current executive producer Paul Tibbitt.
The writing staff used their individual childhood experiences as inspirations to come up with much of the story lines for this episode. The idea for "Sailor Mouth" was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience "[when] I got in trouble for saying the f-word in front of my mother." Drymon said, "The scene where Patrick is running to Mr. Krabs to tattle, with SpongeBob chasing him, is pretty much how it happened in real life." The end of the episode, where Mr. Krabs uses more profanity than SpongeBob and Patrick, was also inspired "by the fact that my [Drymon's] mother has a sailor mouth herself."
The scene where SpongeBob and Patrick playing a game of Eels and Escalators, which is a parody of Snakes and Ladders, was difficult for the crew to animate, since many shots featured certain board pieces changing location. According to the series' season 2 DVD commentary, it was planned to have a scene that had SpongeBob saying "Go 'dolphin noise' yourself" followed by Patrick saying "'Dolphin noise' you too!" during the Eels and Escalators game. It was removed in the final episode check because it would have been inappropriate for the younger audience.
"Sailor Mouth" was released on the DVD compilation called SpongeBob SquarePants: Sea Stories on March 12, 2002. It was also included in the SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 2nd Season DVD released on October 19, 2004. On September 22, 2009, "Sailor Mouth" was released on the SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes, alongside all the episodes of seasons one through five.
= = Reception = =
Erik Wiese, a member of the SpongeBob SquarePants crew, considers "Sailor Mouth" to be his favorite episode, mainly due to its random and satirical nature, saying "Sometimes SpongeBob just catches me off-guard." Nancy Basile of About.com ranked the episode at number two for her list of the Top 10 SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes. She said "'Sailor Mouth' just barely missed being in the number one slot." Basile praised the episode's plot and called it "genius [...] because children can relate to the forbidden thrill of using curse words, and adults can laugh at the parody of TV censorship." In an interview with Paul Tibbitt, one of the episode's writers, he told that "Sailor Mouth" is his second favorite SpongeBob episode.
= = = Criticism and controversy = = =
According to a report titled Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, which documents the increase in potentially violent, profane, and sexual content in children's programming, the Parents Television Council, a watchdog media group, and fans believed the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Sailor Mouth" was an implicit attempt to promote and satirize use of profanity among children. The episode originally aired during the 2001 – 02 television season, ironically the season in which the PTC named SpongeBob SquarePants among the best programs on cable television, but the report cited a repeat broadcast of the episode from 2005 to prove its point that it promoted use of profanity among children. In a later report, several members of the PTC listed "Sailor Mouth" as an example of how levels of profane, sexual, and violent activity has increased in children's television programming. Nickelodeon, in response to the incident, said "It's sad and a little desperate that they stooped to literally putting profane language in the mouths of our characters to make a point. Has the FCC looked at this?" Richard Huff of the New York Daily News criticized the report for misinterpreting an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, "Sailor Mouth", over its intent to satirize profanity implicitly.