This is a good article. Click here for more information.

Pizza Delivery (SpongeBob SquarePants)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
"Pizza Delivery"
SpongeBob SquarePants episode
200px
Title card
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 5
Directed by Sean Dempsey (animation)
Sherm Cohen (storyboard)
Written by Sherm Cohen
Aaron Springer
Peter Burns
Original air date August 14, 1999 (1999-08-14)
Running time 11 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Boating School"		 Next →
"Home Sweet Pineapple"
SpongeBob SquarePants (season 1)
List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes

"Pizza Delivery" is the first segment of the fifth episode of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The episode was written by Sherm Cohen, Aaron Springer, and Peter Burns, and was directed by Sean Dempsey. Cohen also functioned as storyboard director, and Springer worked as storyboard artist. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 14, 1999.

In the episode, the Krusty Krab receives a call from a customer ordering a pizza, and Mr. Krabs sends SpongeBob and Squidward to deliver it. When the two employees become stranded in the middle of a desert, they get into numerous predicaments. Along the way, SpongeBob tries to show Squidward the way of the pioneers.

In pitching the show to Nickelodeon, creator Stephen Hillenburg originally wanted the idea of having the characters on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway. However, he eventually gave up the idea, and resurrected it in "Pizza Delivery". The episode received positive reviews, with most media critics considering it one of the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes.

Plot

File:Pizza Delivery (SpongeBob and Squidward).jpg
Squidward (left) and SpongeBob (right) deliver the pizza on foot in the middle of a desert after losing their boatmobile.

At closing time, the Krusty Krab receives a call from a customer ordering a pizza, a product that they do not serve. Knowing that he could get extra money, Mr. Krabs spontaneously makes a Krabby Patty pizza and has SpongeBob and Squidward deliver it. The two go to deliver the pizza; however, SpongeBob cannot drive and is still in boating school. When SpongeBob tries to shift the boat into reverse, he becomes nervous and goes back too far, causing the two to become stranded in a desert. With the boat out of gas, they are forced to deliver the pizza on foot.[1]

While delivering the pizza, SpongeBob sings a song about the Krusty Krab pizza, and how it is "the best pizza for you and me." The two gradually become tired, and Squidward gets hungry, but SpongeBob prevents him from eating the pizza. They then get whirled into a tornado, where the pizza saves their lives when SpongeBob uses it as a parachute. After escaping the tornado, the two lose sight of the road, and SpongeBob shows Squidward some "pioneer tricks" to help them find it, such as hitchhiking, eating corals, telling where civilization is by looking at what direction moss points, and even using boulders as vehicles. The eternally skeptic Squidward does not believe him, but reconsiders when they end up driving a boulder to the customer's house.

Unfortunately, their journey does not pay off well. The customer gets angry because he did not get the drink he said he ordered, and slams the door on SpongeBob. He starts crying, but Squidward, having a change of heart, confronts the customer and slams the pizza in his face. Squidward comforts SpongeBob, assuring the customer ate the pizza, cheering him up. The two drive back to the Krusty Krab, which is comically revealed to be close nearby, much to Squidward's dismay.

Production

"Pizza Delivery" was written by Sherm Cohen, Aaron Springer, and Peter Burns, with Sean Dempsey serving as animation director. Cohen also functioned as storyboard director, and Springer worked as storyboard artist.[2] The episode originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 14, 1999.[3]

Series creator Stephen Hillenburg's original idea for the series pitch was that the writers would write a storyboard for a possible episode and pitch it to Nickelodeon.[4] Hillenburg wanted to write an episode with SpongeBob and Squidward on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway.[4] Derek Drymon said "It's a road trip movie starring Gary Farmer, who is an innocent, kid-like character who is traveling with a curmudgeon."[4] Eventually, the idea developed while they were working on it, but Hillenburg gave up the idea for the initial pitch.[4] Instead, they used another idea for the pitch which was in the series pilot episode called "Help Wanted".[4] They resurrected the road trip idea during the first season and used a lot of the ideas for "Pizza Delivery".[4]

"Pizza Delivery" was released on the DVD compilation called SpongeBob SquarePants: Christmas on September 30, 2003.[5][6][7] It was also included in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 1st Season DVD released on October 28, 2003.[1][8][9] On September 22, 2009, the episode was released on the SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes DVD, alongside all the episodes of seasons one through five.[10][11]

Reception

"Pizza Delivery" received very positive reviews. Nancy Basile of About.com ranked the episode No. 2 on her "Best SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes" list. She said "[It] is the perfect episode to depict SpongeBob's enthusiasm for all things Krusty Krab against Squidward's apathy and cynical nature." Basile cited her favorite scene in the episode where "After the customer slams his door in SpongeBob's face, Squidward makes sure he swallows the pizza 'in one bite.'"[12] Giving the episode 5 out of 5 stars, Bill Treadway of DVD Verdict said the episode is his "personal favorite of all the episodes,"[13] writing that "this one is loaded with enough unique twists and hilarious comedy to bear repeat viewings."[13]

Emily Estep of WeGotThisCovered.com ranked the episode No. 1 on her "Top 10 Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants" list,[14] saying "But – the pizza is for the customer, and flawless employee SpongeBob won't let Squidward eat any of it."[14] She wrote "[The episode] has the undervalued nostalgia of being episode five of the entire series and it benefits from the aforementioned chemistry of Spongebob and Squidward."[14] She also praised the episode as "an in-depth look at their [SpongeBob and Squidward] relationship, and it set the tone for just how strange the show could be."[14] Estep lauded the hitchhiking dances by SpongeBob, saying "These moves are amusing and charming, while Squidward's bitterness is easy to relate to."[14] In 2009, "Pizza Delivery" was chosen by viewers on Nick.com as the No. 1 episode during a television marathon called "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash".[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 1st Season. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2003.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants: Christmas. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2003.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2009.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Pizza_Delivery_(SpongeBob_SquarePants)&oldid=1351847"