History ShoutOut / SpongeBobSquarepants

* There's another ''Jaws'' reference in "[=SpongeBob=], Sandy, and the Worm," where the citizens are discussing what to do about the titular worm, when an old man who resembles a sailor scratches the wall in the same way the man in that film scratched the chalkboard to get everyone's attention. However, he just wanted to know where the bathroom was.

* In "Sandy's Rocket", [=SpongeBob=] declares, "You got your toothpaste in my peanut butter!" This references classic 1970s and 1980s Reese's cup commercials (where the characters would say "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" as well as the inverse).
* Also in "Sandy's Rocket", [=SpongeBob=] becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon, but the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security. This is a reference to the Third Expedition of Ray Bradbury's [[Literature/TheMartianChronicles "The Martian Chronicles"]].

* In "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II", the retired supervillain Atomic Flounder unleashes an atomic breath on Barnacle Boy after getting annoyed by Spongebob, just like that of Franchise/{{Godzilla}}.

* Also in "Sandy's Rocket," Spongebob becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon, [[Literature/TheMartianChronicles but that the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security.]] This is a reference to the Third Expedition of Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles."

** The Giant Krabby Patty tells [=Spongebob=], "I'll always be with you right here", while pointing to the protagonist's chest with a glowing finger, a reference to E.T.'s last words to Elliott in ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''.

%%ZCE* In “Pineapple Invasion”, after challenging Gary to a fight, Plankton says, “[[Film/TheWizardOfOz Put ’em up, put ’em up!]]”

* In "Stanley S. [=SquarePants=]", it is revealed that Mr. Krabs has [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales three nephews who solve mysteries.]]

* Also in "Sandy's Rocket, Spongebob becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon, [[Literature/TheMartianChronicles but that the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security.]] This is a reference to the Third Expedition of Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles."

* Also in "Sandy's Rocket, Spongebob becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon, [[Literature/TheMartianChronicles but that the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security.]]

* Also in "Sandy's Rocket, Spongebob becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon,[[Literature/TheMartianChronicles but that the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security.]]

* Also in "Sandy's Rocket, Spongebob becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon,[[Literature/The MartianChronicles but that the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security.]]

* Also in "Sandy's Rocket, Spongebob becomes convinced that he and Patrick have landed on the moon,[[Literature/The Martian Chronicles but that the aliens are projecting their memories onto the environment to lull them into a false sense of security.]]

* In "Something Smells, when [=SpongeBob=] decides he is ugly, he plays an organ and wears a mask (albeit a sillier one than the one in its source material), a la ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''.

** The song "Oh, Krusty Krab" is a parody of ''"Oh, Christmas Tree"''.

* Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy reference both the ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' TV series and [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Aquaman and Aqualad. Man Ray is based off of Black Manta]] (and bizarrely shares a name with a surrealist artist). The intro to the duo's old TV show is also a direct reference to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNQTw4HdzxQ the intro to the 60s Aquaman cartoon]] by Creator/{{Filmation}}.

* The episodes "Krabby Road" and "A Life in a Day" are a reference to ''Music/AbbeyRoad'' and "[[Music/TheBeatles A Day in the Life]]". There is an album based off the show called ''[[Music/TheWhiteAlbum The Yellow Album]]''.

* There's a Jaws reference in "[=SpongeBob=], Sandy, and the Worm," where the citizens are discussing what to do about the titular worm, when an old man who resembles a sailor scratches the wall in the same way the man in Jaws scratched the chalkboard to get everyone's attention. However, he just wanted to know where the bathroom was.

* In "Graveyard Shift": The flickering lights end up being caused by... [[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlok]]. [=SpongeBob=], Squidward and the "Slasher" just laugh it off.=

* In "Pranks A Lot", Mr. Krabs says "I ain't afraid of no ghosts"]], the iconic line from Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}' theme song.
* In the episode "Ghost Host", after the Flying Dutchman's failed attempt to scare [=SpongeBob=], he takes the form of a horrible, worm-like monster with the head of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, complete with pipe.

** The middle of the jellyfishing song has a slight rewrite of The Toyes' Smoke Two Joints (replace "two joints" with "jellyfishing").

* In "Christmas Who?", when Squidward (dressed as Santa Clause) asks a little girl what she wants for Christmas, she replies "Front teeth." This is a reference to the 1948 song ''All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth'' by Donald Yetter Gardner.
* In "New Student Starfish", Patrick's climb up the mountain of light bulbs has a brief shout out to Series/ThePriceIsRight's Cliff Hanger Game, complete with yodeling and lederhosen.

* The second half of "Squeaky Boots" parodies [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"]], where Mr. Krabs steals the rubber boots he gave to Spongebob and hides them under the floorboards of the Krusty Krab, only to still be driven mad by the squeaking.

** The Giant Krabby Patty tells [=Spongebob=], "I'll always be with you right here", while pointing to the protagonist's chest with a glowing finger, a reference to E.T.'s last words to Elliott in Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial.

* A reference to [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey 2001]] occurs in the episode "Sandy's Rocket", where a copy of the novel version can be seen floating in the rocket as Spongebob and Patrick briefly travel through space. The famous music happens to be playing during this scene too.
* ''Krabs Vs. Plankton'': When Plankton enters the courtroom, the theme from ''Series/ThePeoplesCourt'' plays.
* The episodes ''Krabby Road'' and ''A Life in a Day'' are a reference to Music/AbbeyRoad and [[Music/TheBeatles A Day in the Life]]. There is an album based off the show called [[Music/TheWhiteAlbum The Yellow Album]].

* The show itself is quite similar to ''Film/GoodBurger''. Spongebob is a cheerful and naive fast food employee like Ed, and the Krusty Krab, like Good Burger, is threatened by a rival restaurant that wants to steal its secret recipe. There's even a [[TheDinnermobile Dinnermobile]], and the "Goofy Goober" song's lyrics are an awful lot like "We're All Dudes".
* Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy reference both the ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' TV series and [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Aquaman and Aqualad. Man Ray is based off of Black Manta]] (and bizarrely shares a name with a surrealist artist).
** The intro to the duo's old TV show is also a direct reference to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNQTw4HdzxQ the intro to the 60s Aquaman cartoon]] by Creator/{{Filmation}}.

* In "Sleepy Time", [=SpongeBob=] tells Gary "Mind your wandering eye, you little mollusk!", a direct reference to a lyric from the title track of Music/{{Ween}}'s album ''The Mollusk''.

** Squidward is also called Wolfgang Amadeus Tentacles in his dream.
** Plankton's dream is a throwback to [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} old]] [[Film/{{Gamera}} kaiju]] [[Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms films]]. With Plankton himself as the kaiju.

* In "Graveyard Shift", the flickering lights end up being caused by...[[Film/{{Nosferatu}} Orlok]]? [=SpongeBob=], Squidward and the "Slasher" just laugh it off. "[[OhCisco Nosferatu!]]"
** From that same episode, when Squidward observes the creepy occurrences in the Krusty Krab, he ends with: [[Film/TheAmityvilleHorror1979 "And the walls will ooze green slime!]] ... Oh wait, they always do that."
* In "Something Smells, when [=SpongeBob=] decides he is ugly, he is plays an organ and wears a mask (albeit a sillier one than the one in its source material), a la ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera''.
* Mr. Krabs (shouting in response to Sandy about why there's only one fast-food restaurant in Bikini Bottom) "...There can be only one, drylander!" (Mr. Krabs is Creator/ClancyBrown, who played The Kurgan in ''Film/{{Highlander}}'').
* Jürgen Kluckert, Krabs' German voice actor, gets his own ActorAllusion. In "Born Again Krabs", when faced with the Flying Dutchman, he calls himself "Benjamin Blümchen", a reference to the beloved German children's character that he had succeeded from the late Edgar Ott.
* The World's Smallest Violin in "Squilliam Returns" is a reference to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jrKXf2G-AA a scene]] in, of all films, ''Film/ReservoirDogs''.
* In "Pranks A Lot", Mr. Krabs says [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} "I ain't afraid of no ghosts!"]]

* In "Stanley S. [=SquarePants=]", it was revealed that Mr. Krabs has [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales three nephews who solve mysteries.]]
* "[=SpongeBob=]'s Last Stand" features a song called "Give Jellyfish Fields A Chance", which is a parody of [[Music/JohnLennon John Lennon's]] "Give Peace A Chance". The scene that the song plays over is a parody of the music video for "[[Music/BobDylan Subterranean Homesick Blues]]".

* "[[Franchise/{{Dune}} Wormsign!]]" ''[[VisualPun *Cue a shot of a picket sign reading "Worm".*]]''
* In "Rule of Dumb", "[[Film/SpiderMan1 With great power comes great responsibility.]]"

* In "Survival of the Idiots", the face Patrick makes when he says "Who you callin' pinhead?" is very similar to the character Butt-Head from ''[[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead Beavis and Butt-Head]]'', although this may be a coincidence.

* In "The Camping Episode", Spongebob and Patrick end up smashing a guitar and a drum set, respectively. Okay, quite a few RockersSmashGuitars, so that could be a ShoutOut to any of those bands, right? Fast forward to the episode "Sweet And Sour Squid" where Squidward and Plankton are clearly singing a parody of "[[Music/{{Tommy}} Pinball Wizard]]", and it seems to indicate that at least one writer among the crew is a fan of Music/TheWho, meaning that in the Camping Episode Spongebob and Patrick were most likely imitating Pete Townshend and Keith Moon, respectively.
* During the tenth anniversary special, Creator/RobinWilliams asked Patchy if he knew [[Film/{{Hook}} Captain Hook]]. Granted, this is Creator/RobinWilliams we're talking about, so that line was likely to have been ad-libbed, but still...
* Quite a few in "Patrick [=SmartPants=]".
** During the two times Patrick crashes through the sign and falls off the cliff, [[PlummetPerspective the camera cuts to a bird's-eye view of him plummeting]] [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner as he shrinks into the distance and crashes in a cloud of dust]].
** What is the first thing that Patrick says when the brain coral gets screwed into his brain? "I find all this laughter to be [[Franchise/StarTrek highly illogical]]".

* In "[=SquidBob=] [=TentaclePants=]," Sandy's teleportation device bears a striking resemblance to [[Film/TheFly1986 Brundle's telepods.]]
* "Bye Squidward! Bye Mr. Krabs! ''Bye, Squidward''." "You said "Bye, Squidward" twice." "[[Film/BlazingSaddles I like]] [[HoYay Squidward]]."
* In "Hooky", when Patrick is riding on a hook like a horse, he shouts, [[Radio/TheLoneRanger "Heigh-ho, Silverfish! Away!"]]

** If it's ''SANDY'' dressed like that, it could be a shout-out to a shout-out, i.e. ''Film/KillBill''.
*** She also [[Manga/{{Naruto}} uses a series of hand seals]] to break out of a cage. And the last hand seal is an [[Series/HikariSentaiMaskman Aura Hand]].
*** Sandy's and Udon's muscle growth seems to be based on [[Manga/YuYuHakusho Toguro's 100% muscle growth]].

* At the end of "Fear of a Krabby Patty":
-->'''Giant Krabby Patty''': Just remember, [=Spongebob=], I'll always be with you right here. ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial (points to a part of Spongebob's stomach with a glowing finger)]]''
-->'''[=SpongeBob=]''': In my heart?\\
'''Giant Krabby Patty:''' Actually, in your arteries.

* In one episode, Mr. Krabs enters Sandy's dome for the first time and remarks, [[Series/DoctorWho "It seems so much bigger once you're inside..." Sandy casually responds, "Yeah, that's what they all say."]]
* In "Hocus Pocus", Mr. Magic lives on a [[Film/TheWizardOfOz brown-tiled road.]]
** In fact [[spoiler: Mr. Magic himself more or less serves the same role as the titular "wizard."]]
* "Plankton!"
-->'''Plankton''': [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi You weak-minded fool!]]
* In "Pizza Delivery", Spongebob is called [[Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies "Jethro" twice]].

** Another reference to [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey 2001]] occurs in the episode "Sandy's Rocket", where a copy of the novel version can be seen floating in the rocket as Spongebob and Patrick briefly travel through space. The famous music happens to be playing during this scene too.
* ''Krabs Vs. Plankton'': When Plankton enters the courtroom, the theme from ''Series/ThePeoplesCourt'' plays. No, not a SuspiciouslySimilarSong, ''the actual music''.
* There is an episode called ''Krabby Road''. [[Music/AbbeyRoad Three guesses on what that's a pun of.]]
** This shout out was also in a Christmas short called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jKW_Gsq7vI Plankton's Holiday Hits]], so this is basically a shout out of a shout out.
** ''Atlantis [=SquarePantis=]'': The citizens of Atlantis resemble [[WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine the Blue Meanie]] with [[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Mark Chang]]'s brain dome.
-->'''Creator/MoBrosStudios''': [[LampShadeHanging It's like they just threw the Blue Meanie and Mark Chang in a blender.]]
** Another episode is called ''A Life in a Day'', clearly a reference to [[Music/TheBeatles A Day in the Life]].
** There is an album based off the show called [[Music/TheWhiteAlbum The Yellow Album]].
* In "The Sponge Who Could Fly", the title card bears a striking resemblance to the opening sequence of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
* Several of them in "Truth or Square":

** Patchy showing the really old clip of [=SpongeBob=] is a reference to a lot of cartoons from the 1920’s and 1930’s, mainly Disney cartoons from that era, such as WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse.

** Robin Williams also mentions the film ''Film/{{Hook}}'', in which he also starred.

* In "Face Freeze", Spongebob and Patrick make a number of ridiculous faces that are just plain creepy. One of the ones Patrick chose to make? A... um... [[Franchise/DragonBall pink monstrosity with square ears, a pointed head, a menacing grin, and sunken-in black eyes...]] He would be the kind of person to turn the population into chocolate if he could, but isn't that going a little far even for him?
* In "The Bully", the scene where Flats chases [=SpongeBob=] down with a garbage truck is very similar to the climax of ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' where Biff chases Marty down a tunnel in his car - both Biff and Flats are even shown close up and laughing evilly behind the wheel. This would also be a very nice ActorAllusion, as Tom Wilson played both of them.
* In "To Save A Squirrel", Sandy uses the phrase "[[Literature/WhiteFang Eat or be eaten]]" to describe was survival training camp is like.
* "Big Pink Loser" has a shout-out to ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension'', of all things, when Patrick claims that his life's dream is "to defeat the giant Monkey Man and save the ninth dimension", later amending it to "to defeat the ''little'' Monkey Man and save the ''eighth'' dimension" when [=SpongeBob=] convinces him that it might be too hard. The titular "eighth dimension" was a key part of the plot of ''Buckaroo Banzai'', and it also featured a race of villainous aliens who called all humans "Monkey Boy" (''"It's not my goddamn planet! Understand, Monkey Boy?"''). Then again, Creator/ClancyBrown, who plays Mr. Krabs, co-starred in the film, so it’s not THAT weird of a reference.
* In "Tutor Sauce", Spongebob accidentally sends Mr. Krabs flying into the ''background coral'' due to his reckless driving. ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' fans might think of a similar[[note]]In the the sense of background object interaction ONLY[[/note]] gag in the episode ''1 + 1 = Ed'' in which Ed interacts with the background houses.
* From "Missing Identity" after [=SpongeBob=]'s '''''"BLEEUGH!"''''' (after trying Gary's Snailpo) reaches the Snailpo factory's offices:
-->'''Female employee:''' What is it, Peterson?\\
'''Peterson:''' I'm not sure. [[Film/ANewHope I feel... a disturbance!]]
* One episode even had one in the form of a RunningGag.
-->'''Patrick:''' [[Manga/{{Akira}} That's MISTER Doctor Professor Patrick to you!]]
* The premise of "A Pal For Gary", where Puffy Fluffy is bought from a gypsy and becomes a monster overnight, is modeled after the plot of ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'', where an adorable creature becomes a ravaging beast if fed after midnight. Only in this plot, the buyer ignores the seller.

* "This Grill is Not a Home", [=SpongeBob=] and Mr. Krabs' DistantDuet from "Welcome to the Chum Bucket", appears to be an AffectionateParody of "[[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail Somewhere Out There]]".
* "Clams" has numerous references to ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', including the famous theme.
** There's also a reference to ''Literature/MobyDick'', when Mr. Krabs nails a sandwich to the boat's flagpole as a reward.
** There's also a Jaws reference in "[=SpongeBob=], Sandy, and the Worm," where the citizens are discussing what to do about the titular worm, when an old man who resembles a sailor scratches the wall in the same way the man in Jaws scratched the chalkboard to get everyone's attention. However, he just wanted to know where the bathroom was.
* In "Ditchin'", the new ''Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy'' comic book includes a panel about their origin story, which has [[Franchise/{{Superman}} their parents launching them in a rocket]].

* In the episode "Spy Buddies", [[SwappedRoles Mr. Krabs and Plankton switched lives to settle a bet,]] where Mr. Krabs could steal the formula, and Plankton would fail to protect it. At the end, Mr. Krabs wins by stealing the formula, and the bet it settled by having Plankton pay Krabs [[Film/TradingPlaces "one a-dollar."]]

** It can also be a reference to [[MythologyGag an early Hillenburg comic featuring a very early version of SpongeBob called]] ''ComicBook/TheIntertidalZone.''
* In “Pineapple Invasion”, after challenging Gary to a fight, Plankton says, “[[Film/TheWizardOfOz Put ’em up, put ’em up!]]”

* One of the famous Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes is titled "Back to the Past", whose conflict revolves around trying to undo a BadFuture dominated by the BigBad; [[WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack Gee, doesn't THAT sound familiar to you?]]

** In one scene, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick appear at the end of the hallway as the camera does a StaggeredZoom complete with PsychoStrings, like the Grady Twins from ''Film/TheShining''.

* In "Survival of the Idiots", the face Patrick makes when he says "Who you callin' pinhead?" is very similar to the character Butthead from ''[[WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead Beavis and Butthead]]'', although this may be a coincidence.

* In "Survival of the Idiots", the face Patrick makes when he says "Who you callin' pinhead?" is very similar to the character Butthead from ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'', although this may be a coincidence.

** Plankton's dream is a throwback to [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} old]] [[Film/{{Gamera}} kaiju]] [[Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms films]].

* "Big Pink Loser" has a shout-out to ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension'', of all things, when Patrick claims that his life's dream is "to defeat the giant Monkey Man and save the ninth dimension", later amending it to "to defeat the ''little'' Monkey Man and save the ''eighth'' dimension" when [=SpongeBob=] convinces him that it might be too hard. The titular "eighth dimension" was a key part of the plot of ''Buckaroo Banzai'', and it also featured a race of villainous aliens who called all humans "Monkey Boy" (''"It's not my goddamn planet! Understand, Monkey Boy?"'').

** [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick appearing everywhere Squidward goes and scaring him takes inspiration from the ''WesternAnimation/{{Droopy}}'' cartoons.
** In one scene, [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick appear at the end of the hallway as the camera does a StaggeredZoom complete with PsychoStrings, like the Grady Twins from ''WesternAnimation/TheShining''.

* In "I Was A Teenage Gary", the title itself is one to ''Film/IWasATeenageWerewolf''.

* The show itself is quite similar to ''[[Film/GoodBurger]]''. Spongebob is a cheerful and naive fast food employee like Ed, and the Krusty Krab, like Good Burger, is threatened by a rival restaurant that wants to steal its secret recipe. There's even a [[TheDinnermobile Dinnermobile]], and the "Goofy Goober" song's lyrics are an awful lot like "We're All Dudes".

** Plankton's dream is a throwback to [[Franchise/Godzilla old]] [[Film/Gamera kaiju]] [[Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms films]].

* In "I Was A Teenage Gary", the title itself is one to ''Film/IWasATeenageWerewolf'''