The Sponge Who Could Fly

"The Sponge Who Could Fly", also known as "The SpongeBob SquarePants Lost Episode", is the 19th episode of the third season and the 59th overall episode of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. It was written by Paul Tibbitt, Kent Osborne, and Merriwether Williams, with Andrew Overtoom and Tom Yasumi serving as animation director and Mark O'Hare as the director of the walk cycles in the beginning of the episode. The episode was produced in 2002 and aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on March 21, 2003. The series follows the adventures and endeavors of the title character in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. In this episode, SpongeBob wishes he could fly with the jellyfish. He makes several attempts to do so, but all of these fail. At home, SpongeBob is drying his hair and receives a phone call, he puts the hair dryer in his square pants, and the dryer inflates them, giving him the ability to fly. He goes around helping people, earning their admiration and becoming a superhero of sorts. However, other characters continue to ask increasingly unnecessary favors of him, leaving him no time to fly with the jellyfish. The episode became available on the VHS of the same name and the Lost at Sea DVD on March 4, 2003. Tie-in promotions were made with Burger King, which released a series of toys. Upon release, "The Sponge Who Could Fly" gained seven million views receiving mixed to positive reviews from television critics, especially concerning the live action segments. "The Sponge Who Could Fly" was adapted into a musical called SpongeBob SquarePants Live! The Sponge Who Could Fly!, which toured selected cities in Asia, in 2007. The musical was renamed to SpongeBob SquarePants: The Sponge Who Could Fly! A New Musical when it toured the United Kingdom in 2009. Plot In Encino, California, SpongeBob fan Patchy the Pirate has presumably lost the "Lost Episode" of SpongeBob prior to the episode. After a segment of previous SpongeBob clips called "Remembering SpongeBob", and Patchy lamenting that he lost the episode, he sets off to find it using a treasure map. Throughout several difficulties, he eventually finds a VHS tape which holds the episode. He then returns home in glee, and watches the episode. However, the tape only shows a clip of SpongeBob doing a series of cheap walk cycles to techno music before abruptly showing EBU color bars.