Wishing You Well

Wishing You Well is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season four. In this episode, Mr. Krabs opens a wishing well.

Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Patrick Star
• Mr. Krabs
• Squidward Tentacles
• Sandy Cheeks
• Mrs. Puff
• Plankton
• Bikini Bottom citizens
• Live-action human
• Martha
• Tyler
• Harold
• Debbie Rechid
• Henry-Bart

Song: Down The Well

Plot

After Mr. Krabs sees a child throwing a coin down a well, much to his horror, he learns about wishing wells, and creates "The Eugene Krabs Memorial Wishing Well " in hope of making money from it. SpongeBob and Squidward are tasked with digging the well, and SpongeBob does all the work, singing a song about the well's magic while doing so. After the well's completion, SpongeBob obtains a "promotion" in which he has to stay in the bottom of the well all day and night to collect coins that fall in. After Sandy, Plankton and Mrs. Puff throw coins into the well and make their wishes, Patrick arrives and throws his soda cup into the well, thinking it to be a trash can. SpongeBob tries to explain to him that it is a wishing well, and Patrick mistakes the voice as coming from the "trash can". He wishes that SpongeBob was here to see the magic trash can with him, and when he tries to throw his coin into the well, he falls inside and meets SpongeBob at the bottom. That night, Mr. Krabs arrives to collect the money, and SpongeBob asks him if any of the wishes have come true yet. Mr. Krabs falsely says that if they "believe hard enough" and "dig deep enough", the wishes will come true. The two buddies take this literally, and begin to dig the well deeper. Eventually, SpongeBob finds a glowing crack on the ground and claims that he has "found the magic." Squidward later comes to the well to tell them how good it feels that they aren't able to bother him. SpongeBob tells him that they found the magic, and Squidward, laughing at them, explains that there is no magic and that wishing wells are nothing more than a scam. SpongeBob wishes that he could see the magic for himself, and Squidward falls into the well, and SpongeBob and Patrick's antics continue to torment him as he desperately tries to escape. The next day, Mr. Krabs arrives to check on the well as Squidward finally climbs out, with SpongeBob and Patrick following. Squidward wishes to get as far away from the well as possible, and is subsequently hit by and stuck to the front of a bus going to "far away". Mr. Krabs asks SpongeBob how much money they made, and SpongeBob explains that they made no money, but found the magic. Mr. Krabs then tries to explain to him that there is no such thing as magic, but then sees that the wishes of Sandy, Mrs. Puff and Plankton have all come true. The skeptical Mr. Krabs still doesn't believe in magic, and tries to prove that magic doesn't exist by wishing to be "steamed and served with a side of melted butter". His wish is granted, and a live-action human with a bib reading "THE END" prepares to eat Mr. Krabs in his meal.

Trivia

• "Wishing You Well" placed as the second most-voted episode ever on the Best Day Ever marathon, only blocked by "Karate Island" for the first place.
• The wishes of the citizens:
  • Squidward: To be far away from here (gets hit by a bus to "Very Very, Far, Away").
  • SpongeBob: Squidward join with him and Patrick to see the "magic" of the well. (Squidward leans over laughing at SpongeBob and Patrick too far and falls into the well).
  • Patrick: To be with SpongeBob. (He then falls into the well).
  • Sandy: To have a telescope that works underwater. (Gains out of nowhere during the night via the magic crack dug by Patrick and SpongeBob)
  • Plankton: To be big enough to crush his enemies. (Grew higher than a skyscraper overnight via the magic crack)
  • Mrs. Puff: To have a snazzy boat and be a "hot rod mama". (Gains during night via the magic crack)
  • Mr. Krabs: To be steamed and served with a side of melted butter. (Tried to prove to SpongeBob that there was no such thing as magic. Unfortunately, he was teleported to a dinner plate, where he was about to be devoured by a live-action human.)
• This is the second time Mr. Krabs is a normal crab.
• This episode's name is a pun on a wishing well.
• In one airing, the episode began as "All that Glitters". After the line "You can't rush perfection", it changes to "Wishing You Well". The rest of the episode goes normally.
• Mr. Krabs and Patrick have never heard of a wishing well.
• The Greek version for this episode is called "Πηγάδι ευχών" which means "Well wishes", and in the Netherlands it is called "Doe een wens!", which means "Make a wish!". In the Brazil, it's just called "O Poço dos Desejos", which means "The Wishing Well".
• This episode is the second time we see Mr. Krabs in live-action form. First was in Pressure.
• In Imitation Krabs, Mr. Krabs almost got eaten. Now, he did get eaten.
• The moral of this episode is to be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
• When SpongeBob says that he believes in magic, his legs disappear.
• The scene where Squidward gets hit by a bus is similar to Terry's death in the movie Final Destination.
• This is the first time money is shown on a title card. Second will be The Cent of Money.
• This is the second time the final scene says "THE END". The first was "I Had an Accident" and the third later being "Banned in Bikini Bottom" and the fourth being "Planet of the Jellyfish".
• SpongeBob puts in a sign that says "Open" beside the well. But two scenes later, it disappears.
• SpongeBob and Patrick think claustrophobia is a fear of Santa Claus. It actually means a fear of small places.
• Squidward states that he is claustrophobic. However, he had no difficulty inside a box in Idiot Box.
• Patrick's drink, which he threw away in the well, disappears after he falls in.
• When Patrick is sitting on Squidward, Squidward's shirt is gone.
• When Mr. Krabs collects the money and SpongeBob loads the bucket, he loads only two coins when there were four to collect. Also, SpongeBob claims he got two pennies from Mrs. Puff, while she threw only one coin down the well. SpongeBob also did not put the "slightly used pair of dentures" that Patrick was wearing into the bucket.
• Patrick's "ribs" disappear in the scene after. He also says Squidward is stepping in his potato salad, but no potato salad is shown.
• When Patrick throws the coin, the well is big enough for him to fall in. But when he reaches the bottom, it is big enough for SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward.
• Squidward points out that all he could smell is the dumpster. After a couple scenes, the dumpsters gone.

APM Music Identification

• Comic Walk - "Hey, that little brat is throwing perfectly good money away!"
• Drama Link G - Mr. Krabs tries to save the money in the well.
• Hawaiian Link B - "Oh, it's no use. Me poop deck's too big."
• Drama Link D - "NO!
• Dramatic Cue G - Mr. Krabs saves a Quarter.
• Lonely Heart's Club - Mr. Krabs learns about the concept of a wishing well.
• The Tip Top Polka/Cliff Polka - "SpongeBob, why aren't those patties ready?"
• Hello Sailor (b) - "It's beautiful. (sniff sniff) You smell that, boys? That's the smell of money!"
• Tomfoolery - "Well, we got 6½ hours till the end of my shift. What do you wanna do know?"
• Overture - "Holy mackerel! Look, Patrick, we've struck magic!!!"
• Keel Row - "Good morning, SpongeBob. Let's see whatcha got."