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Do you want to learn about some SpongeBob SquarePants characters? Consider a Squidward character guide to understand the rude coworker and neighbor.
Squidward may be rude, but you may also say he’s misunderstood. If you want to relate to the character, consider learning about the details you may not learn by watching the show.
Bottom Line Up Front: Squidward Tentacles is a rude, angry cashier in Bikini Bottom. But there’s more to the character than meets the eye.
Squidward Tentacles Quick Facts
- Full Name: Squidward Q. Tentacles
- Birth Date: October 9, 1977
- Birth Place: Bikini Bottom
- Nick Nake: Squidward
- Death Date: not applicable
- Age When Series Starts: 21
- Zodiac Sign: Libra
- Siblings: Scarlet Tentacles
- Children: none
- Partner/Spouse: none
- Most Memorable Moment: When he finally tried a Krabby Patty and hid his obsession since he didn’t want others to know he liked them
- Actors Who Played: Rodger Bumpass
Squidward Tentacles Birthplace
Like many characters in SpongeBob SquarePants, Squidward was born in Bikini Bottom. He attended Octoville Preschool, and he was a kindergartner at Octoville Elementary.
Later, he went to Bikini Bottom Elementary and Bikini Bottom Jr. High. During his high school years, he attended South Westmore High and Bikini Bottom High School.
Squidward Tentacles Parents
Squidward’s parents don’t have given first names in the series. All we know is that his mom is Mrs. Tentacles, and she’s still alive.
There’s some inconsistency surrounding his dad, Mr. Tentacles. Some sources claim that Mr. Tentacles has died, but the character appears in a book “Hooray for Dads!”, so he could be alive.
He also has a twin sister named Scarlet Tentacles.
Squidward Tentacles Physical Traits
Squidward is an anthropomorphic octopus, despite having a name suggesting he’s a squid. He has two tentacles that act as arms and four that act as legs.
His head is reminiscent of that of an octopus with its round shape. Squidward’s nose is long and extends out and well below his nose, which may be why he has a nasal-y voice.
Squidward Tentacles Early Life
In his early years, Squidward grew up in Bikini Bottom. He lived with his parents and sister, and he attended various schools around town.
Squidward met his rival Squilliam Fancyson III in high school when they played in band. That encounter and the fact that Squilliam is a better clarinet player didn’t help Squidward’s confidence.
Squidward Tentacles Family
We don’t get to see Squidward’s family very much, but there is some information about them online. For one, he has a twin sister named Scarlet, though it’s unclear how close they are.
Of course, he has a mother and father, and his mother is for sure alive. Some sources claim his father passed away, while others claim Mr. Tentacles is alive.
Going back in the family tree, we see Squidward has one set of grandparents on his father’s side. His grandmother seems to not like Squidward very much as she is always mad at him.
We don’t know much about the grandparents and other relatives on Squidward’s mom’s side.
Squidward Tentacles Work
Even casual viewers should know that Squidward works as the cashier at The Krusty Krab. He has the job from before the start of the series, and like many people, he doesn’t like his work very much.
Sadly, his nightmare is realized in the first episode when SpongeBob lands a job as the fry cook. Squidward can’t get away from SpongeBob at work since they have to talk to each other, and he can’t get away at home since they’re neighbors.
Mr. Krabs is Squidward’s boss, and Mr. Krabs never seems to fire Squidward, despite him being a bad employee. Squidward is often short with customers, but he manages to keep his job.
Squidward Tentacles Hobbies
Squidward’s most well-known hobby is that of playing the clarinet. He often dreams of playing the clarinet full-time, but he never seems to get his career off the ground.
Another one of his hobbies is art, and he has made some paintings of himself that you can see inside his house.
While it’s not by choice, Squidward also occasionally goes jellyfishing with SpongeBob and Patrick. Early in the series, the sponge and starfish force Squidward to go jellyfishing, and Squidward gets hurt.
Squidward Tentacles House
Squidward lives in a house that looks like a statue from Easter Island. His house has two floors, with his living room and kitchen on the main level and his bedroom upstairs.
The character lives between SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star. That means Squidward is often able to hear his neighbors playing or even messing with him.
Squidward Tentacles Trivia and Fun Facts
Squidward Tentacles is one of the seven main characters from SpongeBob SquarePants. While he’s not exactly the villain, he does often serve as an antagonist.
Whether you’re a casual viewer or a huge fan, you should consider some fun facts. Then, you may see Squidward from a different perspective, and you may like him more than you thought.
He’s an Octopus
It may be hard to believe, but animators based Squidward off of an octopus, not a squid. Stephen Hillenberg was a marine science educator and creator of the series.
He admitted that Squidward is in fact an octopus. The reason the character only has six tentacles is to simplify the animation process since eight tentacles would have been too much.
If you look at Squidward’s head, you’ll see a small resemblance to the shape of an octopus.
He Was Almost Octoward
To show viewers the character is an octopus, the original name for him was Octoward. His voice actor, Rodger Bumpass, admitted this fact in the DVD extras for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
However, the actor thought that Octoward was too awkward. Quite frankly, I agree, and I think Squidward flows much more easily, even if the name is a bit confusing.
Doug Lawrence Almost Voiced Squidward
Before Bumpass signed on for the role, Doug Lawrence tried out to voice Squidward. However, the show’s creator thought Lawrence was a better fit for the role of Plankton.
While this may not have been the worst voice for Squidward, Lawrence definitely evokes a villainous tone. Bumpass is able to do the nasal, monotone voice well, which is part of what makes Squidward so memorable.
He Had Blonde Hair
Like many shows, SpongeBob SquarePants has some inconsistencies, one of which refers to Squidward’s hair. In one episode, we see the return of Jim, who was The Krusty Krab’s previous fry cook.
Jim comments how the restaurant used to have more class and how Squidward had blonde hair before going bald. However, other sources, such as the Battle for Bikini Bottom game, claim Squidward was always bald.
He’s a Libra, but Not
Squidward’s October 9 birthday makes him a libra in the zodiac. However, he doesn’t exhibit many of the stereotypical libra traits, which include compassion, friendliness, and extroversion.
The octopus tends to keep to himself, and he’s not very friendly or compassionate. He does avoid conflict, though, especially when it comes to his rival Squilliam.
But, like many real people, Squidward’s zodiac sign doesn’t dictate his life or personality.
He Represents Wrath
While the creators and animators haven’t confirmed it, there’s a common fan theory about SpongeBob characters. The “Seven Deadly Sins Theory” claims that the seven main characters each represent a deadly sin.
For Squidward, that sin is Wrath. The character is frequently in a less-than-stellar mood, and he takes it out on those around him, from customers to his neighbors.
Even the good mood that SpongeBob is always in can’t help Squidward. So it’s easy to see the connection between Squidward and wrath.
Squidward Tentacles Appearances in Episodes
Squidward makes an appearance in most episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants. In some episodes, such as Help Wanted, the octopus plays a major role.
Other episodes give Squidward a more supporting role, and some episodes see him play an even smaller role. There are a few episodes that don’t feature the character at all.
However, in episodes like “The Getaway”, SpongeBob imitates Squidward’s appearance.
You can also see Squidward in some episodes of SpongeBob Squarepants spin-offs, such as Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and The Patrick Star Show.
Squidward Tentacles Appearance in Movies
Squidward, like many other main characters, appears in the three movies based on the series. In The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Squidward plays a supporting role.
The same is true of the third movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. However, he plays a bigger role in the second movie, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Fish Out of Water.
Squidward Tentacles Quotes
I don’t know about you, but a lot of what Squidward says is relatable or a mood. A lot of us don’t want to admit that we can be lazy or easily annoyed.
While Squidward does have some lines that aren’t the best, others are fantastic and easy to quote. Consider some of the best and most relatable Squidward Tentacles quotes.
“Here, Please Hit Me as Hard as You Can.”
Everyone has bad days, and it can be easy to want someone to hurt you even more. This quote from Squidward comes when he’s very unhappy at work.
He asks a customer to hit him with a baseball bat. As someone who has worked in food service, I can relate to Squidward and his mood around stupid questions and customer problems.
Even if you haven’t worked in that environment, you’ve probably had a moment where you wanted someone to hit you. Maybe you had a bad day at work, or perhaps you didn’t get something you wanted.
“I Hate All of You.”
Squidward tends to think of himself as better or smarter than those around him. So it makes sense that he hates the creatures in his life and how he’d want to verbalize that.
What I love about this quote is the tone in Squidward’s voice. It’s the standard monotone that we hear from Squidward, and it’s not him yelling like you might expect.
If you’ve ever been in a stressful work environment, you may have wanted to say this. Or maybe you’ve had a group project and felt like you were doing all the work, so you didn’t like your project partners very much.
“Wake Me Up When I Care.”
Sometimes, the biggest things to us mean nothing to others. We also all have moments when we’d rather not listen to someone tell a boring or irrelevant story.
Whatever the case, this quote about wanting to sleep is pretty relatable. It’s very similar to telling someone to shut up, but it’s not quite as harsh.
Still, it’s clear this is a Squidward quote. The character would rather have a customer hit him than have to listen to a ridiculous story or complaint.
“Please Come Again. When I’m Not Working.”
If you’ve ever had to deal with a rude customer, you’ll have probably thought this. Oftentimes, retail and service employees have to ask customers to come back to the store.
However, when you don’t like a customer, that’s the last thing you want to say. Unlike most of us, Squidward is brave enough to vocalize his desire to never see a customer again.
I’d love to have that kind of confidence, especially when working in retail or food service. Even if you’d never say it, you can probably understand the feelings behind this quote.
“Fortunately, I Have Enough Talent for All of You.”
You don’t have to watch much SpongeBob to know that Squidward is pretty arrogant. In the Band Geeks episode, Squidward shares this quote when talking about how the other fish don’t have musical talent.
As a flute player who grew up taking music lessons and playing in groups, this is relatable. While I’ve never said something like this, I’ve come across musicians who would admit something similar.
The music world can be competitive, and it can be easy to hate on musicians who aren’t as good.
“No Patrick, Mayonnaise Is Not an Instrument.”
Another quote from the same scene comes after one of Patrick’s most well-known quotes about mayonnaise. Squidward answers that mayo isn’t an instrument.
Of course, in Squidward fashion, the character doesn’t understand some of these questions. To him, it should be obvious that condiments aren’t musical instruments.
Honestly, this whole scene is great, especially the lines from Squidward, Patrick, and other characters.
FAQs About the Squidward Character Guide
Answer: Squidward is angry for a lot of reasons, but they all lead to back to his negative view on life. It also doesn’t help that he works a job he hates, so most of his time is bound to be stressful.
Living between two characters who are friends and who annoy you wouldn’t help either. SpongeBob and Patrick frequently annoy Squidward, making it easy for him to stay angry.
Answer: Squilliam Fancyson III is Squidward’s nemesis, and their rivalry started in high school. The two both played clarinet in band class, and Squilliam happened to be a better player.
That caused a blow to Squidward’s ego, and he’s never really recovered. Every time Squilliam comes around, he treats Squidward similarly to how Squidward treats characters like SpongeBob, but Squid’s poor attitude makes him take the treatment poorly.
Answer: Squidward only has six tentacles because animating eight would have been too difficult. The series started in 1999, and technology has advanced quite a bit.
It’s possible that animating eight tentacles would be much easier today. However, making changes to the iconic character probably isn’t going to happen.
Final Note on the Squidward Character Guide
Whether you’re a casual viewer or a superfan, you should look at a Squidward character guide. Then, you can understand some of the motives behind the resident octopus of Bikini Bottom.
Squidward is often mean, but he’s had a bad attitude that never helps. Keep that in mind next time you watch an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants or any of the spin-offs or movies.
For more interesting readings check out:Â