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A SpongeBob’s Grandma guide is what I needed when I couldn’t remember anything about her aside from her ability to make amazing cookies. Of course, she’s so much more than just a talented baker.
Strong women like Sandy Cheeks aren’t rare in the SpongeBob world, but Spongebob’s grandma shows us that you don’t have to know karate to take control of your own life. You can do it with cookies and grandma kisses.
If you aren’t an old-school fan of SpongeBob, you may have never seen Grandma SquarePants. This guide can help you learn everything there is to know about the sweetest grandma in the series.
SpongeBob Grandma Overview
- Name: Harriet SquarePants
- Home: Grandma SquarePants’ house
- Species: Sea Sponge
- Age: Unknown
- Spouse: Grandpa SquarePants
- Children: Harold SquarePants (SpongeBob’s Dad), Sherm SquarePants, Blue SquarePants
- First Appearance: “Grandma’s Kisses”
- Actress: Marion Ross
Every Episode SpongeBob’s Grandma Is In
Despite Grandma SquarePants’ impactful presence, she only has less than ten main series episodes. In six of those episodes, she doesn’t even appear but is merely mentioned. Now that’s a powerful presence.
Season 2, Episode 26 – “Grandma’s Kisses”
Grandma’s Kisses is the memorable episode when SpongeBob decides he wants to be treated like a grown-up. He visits Grandma SquarePants, where he is given cookies and read stories.
Whenever she leaves a kiss mark on his forehead, SpongeBob is teased at work. This upsets SpongeBob, so he tells his grandma that he wants to be treated like an adult. Of course, he doesn’t last the entire episode before he gives in and accepts her coddling.
Season 5, Episode 93 – “BlackJack”
When SpongeBob’s cousin BlackJack is released from prison, SpongeBob receives notes saying that Blackjack is going to pay his family a visit. His grandma says BlackJack called and said that he had some “loose ends to tie up.”
This is the extent of Grandma’s appearance in the episode, but it was nice to see her after a six-year break from the series. We don’t see her again for another three years.
Season 7, Episode 146 – “The Abrasive Side“
In this episode, SpongeBob awaits a bus ride to Glove World! SpongeBob’s people-pleasing nature prevents him from getting on the bus after doing favors for several people. One of those people is his grandma, who asks him to help her cross the road.
Gary orders him an abrasive side because SpongeBob can’t say no. Whenever his grandma asks again, SpongeBob refuses. When apologizing, he finds out that she has also ordered an abrasive side. She tells him, “Make your own hot cocoa; I’m busy!”
Season 8, Episode 164 – “Pet Sitter Pat”
The last episode that Grandma SquarePants appears in is “Pet Sitter Pat.” The episode features Grandma’s birthday. SpongeBob decides to go but needs someone to watch his snail Gary.
The episode follows the escapades Patrick and Gary go on and SpongeBob’s worry while he’s at the party. SpongeBob leaves the party early due to his worry, but everything turns out fine.
Mentioned
- Season 6, Episode 107 – “No Nose Knows” – SpongeBob says that she says to punish the nose, not the man.
- Season 7, Episode 131 – “A Pal for Gary” – SpongeBob talks to her in his sleep.
- Season 7, Episode 134 – “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” – SpongeBob tells the police that his grandma gave him the sitar without a license.
- Season 8, Episode 173 – “Squiditis” – SpongeBob uses her methods to relieve homesickness.
- Season 11, Episode 224 – “Squid Noir” – SpongeBob says he was at her house all day, so he couldn’t have stolen Squidward’s clarinet.
All About Grandma SquarePants
Grandma Harriet SquarePants is an interesting individual, which you will notice if you pay attention. Take a deeper look into who she is with some interesting details about the old sponge.
Personality
Grandma SquarePants is everyone’s favorite grandma. She bakes sweets, is affectionate and always kind. Though she can seem shallow, her depth is shown whenever she tells SpongeBob that she’ll love him that she loves him just as much when he’s an adult.
She babied Patrick whenever SpongeBob decided he didn’t want her affection anymore. This was a manipulation tactic to make SpongeBob jealous, letting us know that she is always a few steps ahead.
Backstory and Hobbies
Not a lot is known about Harriet’s backstory. She married Grandpa SquarePants when she was young and had three children. She loves to bake and is passionate about classical music.
She even owns a Stradivarius as well as vintage records. A real Stradivarius is worth millions, which would mean Harriet is rich. You wouldn’t know this from her modest cottage with a straw roof.
Harriet makes sweaters with love in every stitch. They appear to be itchy, and what they are made from isn’t stated. However, in the comics, the sweaters become sentient.
Grandma SquarePants Outside the Series
Grandma SquarePants is popular enough that she was brought outside of the series for books, games, and shorts. Take it all and put it together to find out even more about the lovable grandsponge.
Short – What Else Can a Krabby Patty Do?
The short by Nickelodeon shows us everything that a Krabby Patty can do besides be eaten. The silly short mentions all sorts of things, such as using it as a hockey puck or shoes.
Grandma SquarePants appears at the end whenever Patrick says, “this ain’t your grandma’s Krabby Patty.” To which SpongeBob replies that it was, panning out to a perturbed Grandma SquarePants.
Games
- Employee of the Month – makes an appearance in chapter one of the PC game (not the episode), but she isn’t the main focus.
- Which SpongeBob Side Character Are You? – one of the six results you can get in the Nickelodeon quiz. If you get her, then you probably love to work with your hands, and everyone loves you, lucky.
- SpongeBob’s Idle Adventures – Harriet SquarePants is one of the characters you can hire and level up on the mobile game.
Books and Comics
- The Amazing SpongeBobini – SpongeBob does what his grandma would do to cheer Patrick up when Patrick is sick.
- Camp SpongeBob – SpongeBob says he never got to go to karate camp because he spends the summer with his grandma.
- You Can’t Keep a Good Sponge Down – appears in the book with quotes of her own.
- SpongeBob SquarePants: The Essential Guide – Grandma SquarePants’s house and more is shown in the book.
- Confessions of a Sponge – short mention of Grandma SquarePants from SpongeBob’s perspective.
- Comic Number 9 – includes “Grandma’s Kisses,” the episode that introduced Grandma SquarePants in the series.
- SpongeBob Comics No. 2: Grandma’s Cookies – SpongeBob smells his grandma’s cookies and will do anything to taste them.
- SpongeBob Comics No. 12: Great Grandma – Squidward and SpongeBob’s grandma bond over their love for classical music and sophisticated food.
- SpongeBob Comics No. 38: The Sweater – SpongeBob’s Grandma is mentioned when SpongeBob gets into knitting strange sweaters.
Other Grandmas on SpongeBob
Grandma SquarePants isn’t the only grandma in SpongeBob SquarePants. However, not every old woman in the show is a grandma. Some either never had kids, or proof of them being a grandparent is never shared.
Granny
Granny is an old woman we first see in “Have You Seen This Snail?” She is considered an antagonist, but she isn’t evil. She takes Gary home with plans to eat him after she fattens him up.
Gary runs away, and her attention is diverted to another snail who she takes home instead. She inevitably eats him as Gary discovers he wasn’t the first snail she tried to eat. She has succeeded many times.
Granny appears in later episodes, but only for brief moments. She may appear again in the future with a new role or with her love for escargot as the episode’s main feature.
Betsy Krabs
Betsy Krabs is Mr. Krabs’ mother. Because Mr. Krabs has a child named Pearl, she is Pearl’s grandmother. Mrs. Betsy Krabs is a kind older crab who has a temper, as shown a couple of times in the series.
She is shown to have a romantic time whenever Plankton develops a crush on her and the two start dating. But her integrity is shown whenever she realizes Plankton’s plans to steal the formula and breaks it off with him.
Her backstory has tragic notes, as her father-in-law took custody of Eugene Krabs whenever he was a child. Although Betsy and Eugene seem close as adults, it’s obvious he would have turned out better if she had raised him.
Granny Plankton
Granny Lily Plankton is Plankton’s grandma. She is seen as an authority figure who tries to keep Plankton in line. In “Grandmum’s the Word,” she goes to the Krusty Krab because Plankton promised he’d own it by then.
Lily, who wants to own the Krusty Krab herself, steals the Krabby Patty secret formula, even unknown to Plankton. The gang takes it back, but Plankton is still happy his granny had a happy birthday.
My favorite part of the episode is Lily’s crush on Squidward. She continuously flirts with him and sees him as “Handsome Squidward,” which is the GigaChad version of Mr. Tentacles.
Grandma Tentacles
Grandma Tentacles lets us know exactly what Squidward is the way that he is. She’s abusive and hostile towards Squidward. While some may say, Squidward deserves her abuse because he cooks the food incorrectly, this is 100% untrue.
At one point, Squidward mentions his grandma fondly, saying that she made him homemade soap. This could have been his other grandma, or it could have been a type of trauma bond.
I want to see more of Grandma Tentacles to see if they keep her true to her abusive self. Perhaps next time, we’ll see humanity that will give us more compassion for her, just as seeing her gave us compassion for Squidward.
Beatrice
Because Beatrice runs the store Grandma’s Apron and teaches Pearl how to be a grandma, it’s safe to assume that she is a grandma. She also uses what she calls “Granny Powers” to fight back when necessary.
Granny Powers is when she tells long, boring stories. Whenever Pearl gets bullied at work in her store, Beatrice helps her out. The legendary character was voiced by the legendary Betty White.
FAQs
Answer: SpongeBob’s Grandma doesn’t know how old she is. Because she doesn’t know and never shares any details about her age, the viewers aren’t meant to know how old she is in the series.
Answer: Yes. Her name is SquarePants, which means she is SpongeBob’s dad’s mother. Her children are Harold, Sherm, and Blue. Sherm is only shown in a picture, while Blue is only shown briefly.
Answer: Because there are mentions of the voice actress retiring, it is unlikely Grandma SquarePants will have a voiced role again. The voice actress may change, but the creators may honor her role by retiring the character.
Answer: Because she’s a natural sponge. Animator Stephen Hillenburg said that SpongeBob is “made of cellulose, but he has parents who are natural sponges” are round. The same goes for his grandma, who is not a cookie, but a sponge.
Answer: This is never answered in any canon depiction. It isn’t known if he is dead or not, but it is safe to assume that he is because no divorce is mentioned, and SpongeBob’s grandma lives alone.
Life Without Grandma SquarePants
Grandma SquarePants was like a grandma I never had. I loved watching the way that she took care of anyone that she could. Though she wasn’t as outwardly strong as Beatrice or passionate as Betsy, she had her place.
Grandma SquarePants represents the textbook grandma that millions of people can relate to. She proves there’s nothing wrong with being the grandma who bakes cookies and lets her grandkids lick the spoon.
As many people have a grandma like Grandma SquarePants, there are even more who yearn for one. So, give her some slack, and don’t let yourself be SpongeBob in the first half of “Grandma’s Kisses.”
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