"Tango Tangle" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 14. In this episode, Plankton and Karen take dance lessons and they quickly become the heads of the class.
Characters[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Sheldon J. Plankton
- Karen Plankton
- Pearl Krabs
- Suzie Groove (single appearance)
- Bubble Bass
- Mama Bass
- Eugene H. Krabs (mentioned)
- Incidentals
- Fred
- Billy (cameo)
- Old Man Walker
- Slappy Laszlo
- Slippy
- Colonel Carper (cameo)
- Quarter guy (cameo)
- Mohawk brute 2 (cameo)
- Creepy squid (cameo)
- Kid Spikes (cameo)
- Goth whale (cameo)
Synopsis[]
Suzie giving encouragement to Karen and Plankton.
Plankton celebrates Karen's birthday by giving her a gift for tango lessons. She appreciates it, but points out that Plankton always gets stepped on whenever they dance together. To prevent this, Plankton puts himself through his newly-invented Leg Yanker Five Zillion, stretching out his legs to make him much taller. They attend their first lesson, along with SpongeBob and Pearl, and Slappy and Slippy. Their dance instructor, Suzie Groove, has everyone practice the tango. Plankton and Karen are unable to get the hang of it until Suzie teaches them to use their hips and tap into their aggression. Plankton and Karen sabotage the other dancers, which Suzie approves of. She declares them great at the tango, but not her best.
Bubble Bass and Mama Bass enter as a tango duo.
Bubble Bass and Mama Bass enter as a tango duo, and have a dance-off against Plankton and Karen. The Basses win, knocking the Planktons out of the building. Karen wants to go home, but Plankton assures her they need to cheat and find a way to be more aggressive. Plankton's Ray Ray ray falls out of his pockets, and Karen uses it on him to turn him into his dancing alter-ego. They go back into and do an even more impressive dance, beating the Basses and having Suzie declare them their new best students. During his finisher, Plankton moves so fast that his legs burn and go down to their usual size. Karen gives Plankton a kiss, but he gets electrocuted and the Ray Ray ray falls out of him. It blasts everyone in the room, turning them into Ray Ray, as Plankton and Karen express their worry to the viewers.
Production[]
This episode was in production during 2023.[5][3][4]
This episode was confirmed on September 5, 2023.[6]
On its premiere day, Ian Vazquez confirmed he directed this episode.[7] Kyle Morrison, a storyboard artist on his team, also confirmed they worked on that episode.[8]
Promotional art[]
- Drawn by Ian Vazquez.[1]
Art[]
Character design[]
- Designed by Ian Vazquez.[1]
Background design[]
- Art direction by Peter Bennett, backgrounds designed by Ian Vazquez,[1] traditionally painted in gouache by Amy Lewis and line art drawn digitally on top.[9]
Storyboards[]
- Supervised, roughed up, and plussed by Ian Vazquez,[1] Andrea Joan Cabral,[3][4][10] Kyle Morrison,[2] and Jeff Shea.[11]
Production notes[]
Ian Vazquez:
- "This episode was a fun challenge to choreograph and I think it turned out really fantastic in the end. With much appreciation to the board team of Andrea Joan Cabal, Kyle Morrison, Jeff Shea, Benji Williams & Chris Tabares for all bringing it to life, the designers, the timing team and all the animators at [Rough Draft Korea] doing some incredible work on the dancing!"[1]
Kyle Morrison:
- "This was one of [the crew's] favorite episodes to work on and was the most [Morrison] had plussed for Plankton & Karen up to this point!"[2]
- "For as complex as the dancing was to draw [Morrison thinks the crew were all] very pleased with how well it came out in the finished episode. [They were] very pleased by the reception to it as well!"[12]
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
| ( ◦ ) SpongeBob music |
‣ Tango D’amore A - Henryk Kuzniak [Title card.]
• Happy Birthday to U - Nicolas Carr [Opening.]
‣ Drama Unlimited 4 - Remastered - Ronald Hanmer [Plankton on fire.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield [Karen extinguishes Plankton.]
‣ Hawaiian Happiness - Jon Jelmer ["This has been the best birthday I've ever had!"]
• 8 Bit World 1 - Nicolas Carr [Karen frowns.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 12E - Jeremy Wakefield ["We've tried this before, and if you recall..."]
• Saturday Night Disco Fever Full Mix - Nicolas Carr [Disco music.]
• Country Line Dance Riff - Nicolas Carr [Country music.]
• Don't Eat the Puffer Fish 3 - Nicolas Carr [Heavy metal music.]
• ? - Nicolas Carr ["This time is gonna be different!"]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco ["Because your other birthday present is..."]
‣ Project X - Cedric King Palmer [Plankton stretches his legs.]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco [Plankton melts to the floor.]
• Tangle Tango 3 - Nicolas Carr ["Nice weather up here."]
‣ El Choclo - Otto Sieben, John Fiddy, Angel Villoldo [At the Bikini Bottom Recreation Center.]
‣ HolidayInHavana.Full - Atlantic Connection [Suzie Groove appears.]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 4 - Fredric Bayco [Everyone cheering for Suzie.]
‣ Strictly Tango - Dick Walter [Suzie dancing with her sweatshirt.]
• Tangle Tango 3 120BPM - Nicolas Carr [SpongeBob dancing by himself.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 19C - Jeremy Wakefield [Pearl insults SpongeBob.]
• Two Tacos Tango 5A No Fx - Nicolas Carr [Suzie dancing with SpongeBob.]
• New Improved 2 Tacos Tango Full Mix - Nicolas Carr [Slappy and Slippy dancing.]
‣ Tango de Valentino - Sam Fonteyn ["Legs ain't your problem, honey."]
‣ King Conga - Dennis Farnon [Suzie hip-dancing.]
• Hot Steel and Slide Licks 7A - Jeremy Wakefield ["You've got your work cut out for you, Sheldon.]
• Talking About the Tango - Nicolas Carr ["Of course they can! You gotta force them to do it!"]
• Tangled Tango 1 - Nicolas Carr [Plankton and Karen dancing aggressively.]
‣ Guitar Tango - Bert Weedon ["Thank you, Suzie."]
• Tango Tangle Cue 2 - Nicolas Carr [Bubble Bass and Mama Bass appear.]
‣ Tango D'amore B - Henryk Kuzniak ["Bubble Bass and his mom?!"]
• Two to Tango 1 - Nicolas Carr [Drum roll.]
• Two to Tango 2 - Nicolas Carr [Plankton and Karen dance.]
‣ Comedy Punctuations And Bridges 3 - Fredric Bayco ["Try and out tango that!"]
• Tango Tangle Cue 2 - Nicolas Carr [Bubble Bass and Mama Bass dance.]
‣ Hawaiian Breeze - Jon Jelmer ["Well, that was fun, but I guess we're not aggressive enough to be the best."]
• But I Have an Idea - Nicolas Carr ["Ooh! It's my Ray Ray Ray!"]
‣ Ghastly Ghouls - Sean Elder ["The device that turns me into my alter ego with grayed hair, Ray Ray!"]
‣ La Corrida De Torros 1 - Steve Carter ["Looks like someone ordered a cold plate of revenge!"]
• Tango Challenge - Nicolas Carr [Bubble Bass and Mama Bass hiss.]
‣ Elastic Tango - Otto Sieben [Plankton and Karen have a rematch against Bubble Bass and Mama Bass.]
‣ Time To Tango (a) - Dick Walter ["Here, Plankton. You can borrow my legs."]
• Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Everyone gets zapped by the Ray Ray Ray.]
• Two Tacos Tango 5A No Fx - Nicolas Carr [Ending.]
Release[]
- This episode is available on the Another 100 Episodes, The Best 300 Episodes Ever, and The Complete Fourteenth Season DVDs.
Reception[]
- This episode ranked #7 on the official SpongeBob Instagram's ranking of 10 episodes from season 14.[13]
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode was paired up with a rerun of "Pet the Rock" during the original airing.[14]
- This episode was originally titled "Waltzing Wackos."[15]
- This episode takes place on December 20, since Karen's birthday was shown at the beginning of this episode.
- Billy ("Pickles") has his season 1 design in this episode.
- My leg!/Fourth wall break: Near the end of this episode when Plankton is about to say "my legs," Fred interrupts him by also saying, "my legs" and muffling Plankton before saying that it's his line, which breaks the fourth wall.
- This is fitting since Plankton and Fred are both voiced by Doug Lawrence, who also wrote this episode.
- This was one of Ian Vazquez and his crew's favorite episodes to direct and plus.[7][5]
Dub facts[]
- On April 9, 2024, this episode, along with its sister episode, "Necro-Nom-Nom-Nom-I-Con" were completely dubbed in Arabic and Polish.
- In the Hebrew dub, the name of Plankton's alter ego is "תותחי," which translates to Cannonsy. Although in other episodes, Plankton's alter ego is called Ray Ray and remains in the original version.
Episode references[]
- Plankton's expression when he runs screaming while he's burning is similar to the one in "Plankton's Army" when he runs out of the Krusty Krab screaming.
- Karen says that Plankton constantly gets stepped on at the places they dance at, and one of the places Plankton is seen getting stepped on is the dance club that he got stepped on in "Single-Celled Defense."
- During the last scene in the montage, Plankton is wearing his zipper helmet from "The Algae's Always Greener."
- The Bikini Bottom Recreation Center returns from "Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture." To its right, the Adult Learning Center from "Artist Unknown" can briefly be seen.
- SpongeBob wears his dancing outfit from "I ♥ Dancing."
- Mama Bass's ability to tango was previously shown in "Bubble Bass's Tab." Bubble Bass also says he and his mother have won the tango championship three years in a row, possibly referencing the fact that said season 12 episode premiered three years prior to this one in the United States.
Cultural references[]
- Slippy is dressed as a flapper girl. This is likely referencing the 1931 German film Die Koffer Des Herrn OF where Peter Lorre's character Stix dates and eventually marries a flapper dancer.
- Jeff Shea used the "MIRIAM LEONARDO Tango" YouTube channel's video "Basic Step - (Argentine Tango for beginners)" as a reference for the tango scenes he plussed in this episode.[16]
Errors[]
Plankton without his eyebrow.
- After Karen's flashback montage, Plankton is missing his eyebrow.
Plankton's left arm error.
- In the scene where Suzie tells Plankton to dance with his hips, his left arm is disconnected from his body for a while, and then disappears.
Videos[]
Names in other languages[]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| German | Tango-Revanche | Tango Rematch |
| Russian | Танго-суматоха Tango-sumatokha |
Tango Commotion |
| Spanish (American) | Duelo de tango | Tango Duel |
| Spanish (European) | Tango enredado | Tangled Tango |
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f Ian Vazquez on Instagram - "Some of my work on Tango Tangle..."
- ^ a b c Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "'Tango Tangle' Thread...'"
- ^ a b c Spongebob Squarepants **Storyboard Plussing Season 14 Episode 6 "Tango Tangle", 2023 - Andrea Joan Cabal | SpeakerDeck
- ^ a b c Storyboards - ANDREA CABAL
- ^ a b Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "Tango Tangle," one of our favorite..."
- ^ File:299-300.jpeg
- ^ a b Ian Vazquez on Twitter - "I don't really use..."
- ^ Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "Tango Tangle," one of our favorite..."
- ^ Amy Lewis on Twitter - "Another background painting for SpongeBob SquarePants..."
- ^ https://speakerdeck.com/ajcabral/spongebob-squarepants-tango-tangle-2023
- ^ Jeff Shea on Twitter - "SpongeBob Tango Tangle..."
- ^ Kyle Morrison on Twitter - "For as complex as the dancing..."
- ^ SpongeBob on Instagram - "Classics in the making"
- ^ Nickstory - February 20, 2024
- ^ File:Tango tangle.jpeg
- ^ Jeff Shea on Twitter - "I REALLY HAVE TO THANK..."