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Pearl Krabs
SpongeBob SquarePants character
File:SpongeBob SquarePants Pearl Krabs.png
First appearance"Squeaky Boots"
Created byStephen Hillenburg
Voiced byLori Alan
In-universe information
SpeciesSperm whale
GenderFemale
OccupationAssistant at Grandma's Apron
Relatives
  • Mr. Krabs (father)
  • Mama Krabs (grandmother)
  • Redbeard Krabs (great-grandfather)

Pearl Krabs is a fictional character in the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. She is voiced by actress Lori Alan and first appeared in the season one episode "Squeaky Boots" on September 4, 1999. She was created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, who was inspired to design a whale character while supervising whale watches at the Orange County Marine Institute in Dana Point, California.

Pearl is a teenage sperm whale who lives in an anchor with her greedy father Mr. Krabs, the founder of the popular Krusty Krab restaurant. Pearl will inherit the Krusty Krab and assume the position of its owner when she grows older. She is currently employed at the town shopping center, the Bikini Bottom Mall. The identity and whereabouts of Pearl's unseen mother are one of the program's central mysteries, having never been explained directly; while supplemental materials indicate her father married a whale who gave birth to Pearl, Hillenburg is strongly against revealing this in an episode.

Critical reception for Pearl has been largely positive. Her depiction as the child of a single parent has been praised by critics as an example of SpongeBob's ability to challenge social norms such as the construct of a nuclear family. She has been frequently featured in a variety of merchandise, such as plush toys and video games, and at amusement park attractions. She appears in the 2004 feature film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and its 2015 sequel The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

Role in SpongeBob SquarePants

Because she is a whale and most other characters are small tide pool organisms, Pearl is depicted as extraordinarily tall and heavy. Her size compared to the other characters is frequently used for visual gags; for example, she is able to shake the entire Krusty Krab when she jumps and can fill the entire building with tears when she cries.[1] The floors of the Krabs residence are equipped with drain plugs so that the house can be emptied after Pearl cries or spouts water from her blowhole.[2]

Mr. Krabs attempts to interest Pearl in working at the Krusty Krab—their family business—but Pearl does not want to work there until she graduates from high school, since she believes it will negatively affect her social life.[3] Despite this, she manages the Krusty Krab when Mr. Krabs cannot[4] and fills in for other employees when needed.[5] She will inherit the restaurant and her father's fortune when she grows older.[6] Pearl, being a sperm whale, has the largest brain of any Bikini Bottom resident and is gifted in math; Mr. Krabs has tried to use this to his own advantage and wants Pearl to eventually become a bookkeeper for his restaurant.[7]

Pearl's favorite activities are socializing at the Bikini Bottom Mall and using her father's credit card to buy anything that is currently in style.[4] Mr. Krabs disapproves of Pearl's prodigal spending while at the mall, but nonetheless pays for her items to avoid disappointing his daughter.[8] Pearl is employed as an assistant at "Grandma's Apron," a store for elderly residents located on the ground floor of the shopping center.[9] Her boss at Grandma's Apron, Beatrice, is voiced by actress Betty White.[10]

Fictional origin

The disparity in species between Pearl and her father has never been directly explained in an episode, but merchandise and crew members have stated that Mr. Krabs was once married to a whale who gave birth to Pearl. A trivia book penned by former SpongeBob writer David Fain in 2000 states that Pearl "takes after her mother," implying that she is the biological offspring of Mr. Krabs and a whale.[11] According to creative director Vincent Waller, Stephen Hillenburg has received many letters requesting a Pearl origin story,[12] but is still "very much against solving [the] mystery" of how she entered the Krabs family.[13] A step outline for an episode focusing on her origin was written and started early development stages,[14] but the episode has been indefinitely shelved due to Hillenburg's disapproval.[15]

Pearl's name and the decision to portray her as motherless were an homage to the phrase mother-of-pearl, which refers to the inner layer of some sea-dwelling mollusk shells. Mr. Krabs uses this phrase whenever he is startled, in a similar vein to "Mother of God," as a reference to the absence of Pearl's mother. His use of the phrase only when he is dismayed or shocked has led some viewers to believe something tragic happened to Mrs. Krabs.[16]

At Dragon Con in 2016, Lori Alan and Rodger Bumpass addressed Pearl's origins as their characters Pearl and Squidward, respectively. In the skit, Squidward asks Pearl if she is adopted. Pearl does not give a definite response, instead saying that she gets emotional over the topic.[17] Later at the same event, the actors discussed the disappearance of Pearl's mother. Alan affirmed that Mrs. Krabs' whereabouts are secret and Bumpass joked that she had been taken to an oceanarium, saying: "Two words: Sea World."[18]

Character

Development

refer to caption
An early drawing of Mr. Krabs and Pearl from Hillenburg's series bible.

Pearl was one of the first five characters that Stephen Hillenburg created for SpongeBob.[19] Her conceptualization is rooted in Hillenburg's tenure as a teacher at the Orange County Marine Institute in Dana Point, California.[20] Screenwriter Allan Neuwirth describes the Marine Institute as Hillenburg's "first stop on the road to SpongeBob SquarePants," as it inspired the development of many of the series' characters; Hillenburg's decision to include a whale character was influenced by his regular supervision of whale watches and a cetacean skeleton exhibit at the institute.[20] Hillenburg's original sketch of Pearl in the show bible included flukes and pigtails, which were dropped from her final design. Mr. Krabs and Pearl initially had matching yellow and orange clothes, but they were given individualized colors before production of the pilot episode.[19]

When he was first developing the characters, Hillenburg wanted Pearl and Mr. Krabs to travel around town in a caravan boat with a whale-sized teardrop trailer connected to it;[19] while this element did make it into the series, it was only used sparsely in early episodes.[21] The decision to have Mr. Krabs and Pearl live in an anchor was made after production on the first season had started. The original map of the show's setting, which Hillenburg showed Nickelodeon executives as part of his pitch to the network in 1997, did not include an anchor house and instead labeled the Krusty Krab as both of the characters' residence.[19]

Hillenburg originally planned to give Pearl and Mr. Krabs an equal amount of starring roles in episodes. This did not occur in season one, as Pearl was involved in less episodes than her father; Hillenburg considers this the largest difference between the completed first season and how he originally envisioned it.[22] Animation historian Jerry Beck has stated that Pearl's breakout role was in "Bossy Boots," which he considers to be the episode that best established her as one of the series' stars.[23]

Voice

Pearl's voice is provided by American actress Lori Alan in the series and both feature films.[24] During Alan's audition for the role, she was shown an early drawing of Pearl with the other main characters. She took note of how Pearl was much larger than the rest of the cast and decided to reflect the character's size in her voice by making it deep and full in tone. She also aimed to make the voice invoke the sound of whales’ low vocalizations while also sounding "spoiled and lovable."[17] In an interview with AfterBuzz TV, Alan said that she knew Pearl "had to sound somewhat like a child," but at the same time needed "an abnormally large voice."[25]

Pearl's catchphrase "Daddy!" was developed early during production of the first season, but was not used in an episode until later on. A script that the main voice actors were reading from during a rehearsal had the line fully capitalized, with the first syllable extended ("daaaaddy!"), so Alan knew to put particular emphasis on the line whenever it was in a script.[17] Rodger Bumpass, the voice of Squidward Tentacles, describes Alan's portrayal of Pearl as a "unique and wonderful take on how this teenager should be ... No one else has a teenager that sounds like Pearl."[17]

Reception

Critical reception for Pearl has been positive. In a review of the first official trailer for Sponge Out of Water, Victoria McNally of The Mary Sue stated that Pearl was her favorite character and she was disappointed not to see her in the movie's preview. She writes, "if they can manage to work Pearl into the plot somewhere, I'll take back everything I've already said about this film. Maybe she could get beached on the shore, I don't know. Pearl's the best."[26] Joseph Foy, the author of the novel SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy, stated that it was difficult not to sympathize with Pearl's situation, since she believes she is "more important to her father than money" but "we, the viewing audience, know differently."[27] DVD Talk's Paul Mavis stated in his review of Legends of Bikini Bottom that he found Pearl "annoyingly funny."[28] In 2013, José Antonio Gómez Marín of El Mundo stated that he felt Pearl brings an easily recognizable youthful tone to the show.[29]

Like Mr. Krabs, Pearl has also been considered a stereotyped character; Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown wrote in their 2007 book Packaging Girlhood that Pearl exhibits the traits of an archetypal girly girl.[30] A study by the federal office of gender equality in Mexico, el Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres, found that Pearl's roles sometimes rely on characteristics associated with stereotypes of women, such as vanity and materialism.[31]

In an article for Complex, Debbie Encalada praised the SpongeBob series as a whole for challenging social norms; the portrayal of the Krabses as a single-parent family was specifically highlighted as an example of the show's "subversiveness by subtly challenging the idea of the nuclear family."[32] Psychologist Steve Harriman covers the Krabs family dynamic in the 2005 Berkley Book Absorbing SpongeBob. He calls attention the lack of explanation given to Pearl and Mr. Krabs' disparity in species, noting that it is only after watching several episodes that viewers realize the Krabs family is broken. He also questions the decision to focus on Patrick's family rather than Pearl's in the only episode dealing "head-on with a core pathology of family" ("I'm with Stupid").[33] In his review of the third season, Bryan Pope of DVD Verdict called Mr. Krabs and Pearl (along with Krabs' girlfriend Mrs. Puff, whom he mistook for the character's wife) one of "the most head-scratching family units [he had] ever come across."[34]

Fan theories

The absence of Pearl's mother has caused much speculation among viewers since the series' debut. Various fan theories about how Pearl became Mr. Krabs' daughter have become popular on the internet. Jon Negroni, the author of the Pixar theory, theorized that Mr. Krabs has a fear of fish hooks in the episode "Hooky" because Pearl's mother was killed by a hook.[16] Another theory reported on by Metro UK proposed that the secret ingredient of Krabby Patties is whale meat from the former Mrs. Krabs.[35] In May 2017, BuzzFeed posted a tongue-in-cheek analysis of how Pearl possibly calls Mr. Krabs as "daddy" because he is her sugar daddy rather than her father. The article noted that the theory was impossible within the show's universe, but it had seen "a resurgence" of popularity on Twitter, where one post of it received more than 53,000 likes within three days.[36]

In other media

refer to caption
A float featuring Mr. Krabs and Pearl at Sea World in Southport, Queensland.

Pearl has been featured in various merchandise such as plush toys, video games, comics and trading cards.[37] The Krabs family restaurant, the Krusty Krab, has been the basis for a Lego playset[38] and many replicas at attractions. A float modeled after the Krusty Krab, featuring a costumed mascot of Pearl that greeted guests and an animatronic Mr. Krabs, regularly appeared at Sea World's weekly "SpongeBob ParadePants" parade.[39] A full-size replica of the building was built in Ramallah, Palestine in 2014.[40] In January 2016, Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom filed a lawsuit against the operators of a similar for-profit "Krusty Krab" restaurant to be opened in Texas.[41] A Texas federal judge ruled in January 2017 that the planned restaurant violated Viacom's rights to the SpongeBob property, thus halting its construction.[42][43]

In 2011, the indie rock group Yo La Tengo performed a live version of Mr. Krabs and Pearl's commercial from the episode "As Seen on TV" at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Included as part of Yo La Tengo's first tour, it starred Ira Kaplan as Mr. Krabs and Laura Krafft as Pearl.[44] Billy Gil of L.A. Record praised the performance as a whole in his review.[45] An episode of the sketch comedy series Robot Chicken titled "Major League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" includes a skit that stars Mr. Krabs and Pearl. The segment, animated in stop motion like most other sketches on the program, features Mr. Krabs using crab legs as the secret ingredient for Krabby Patties. Before he is exposed for serving cannibal meals, Pearl is shown unsuspectingly eating the patties.[46]

Several tracks on The Best Day Ever, a 2006 soundtrack album, features the vocal performance of Lori Alan as Pearl.[47] The segment "Pearl Krabs aka Caller #5!" is a skit between Pearl and a disc jockey voiced by radio personality Jerry Blavat.[48] In the 2016 Broadway musical based on SpongeBob, Pearl is played by Emmy Raver-Lampman.[49] In the production, she sings a duet with Mr. Krabs titled "Daddy Knows Best," an original composition written by Alex Ebert that highlights the two characters' differences.[50] Diana Martinez of the Daily Herald wrote positively of the musical, calling Raver-Lampman's performance as Pearl "a jaw-dropping powerhouse ballad."[51]

References

  1. ^ Writers: Sherm Cohen, Aaron Springer, Peter Burns (October 2, 1999). "The Chaperone". SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 1. Episode 12a. Nickelodeon.
  2. ^ Writers: Josh Androsky, Daniel Dominguez (May 3, 2016). "Married to Money". SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 9. Episode 196b. Nickelodeon.
  3. ^ Writers: Walt Dohrn, Paul Tibbitt, Doug Lawrence (October 26, 2000). "Bossy Boots". SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 2. Episode 22b. Nickelodeon.
  4. ^ a b Writers: Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash, Dani Michaeli (January 28, 2011). "Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle". SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 7. Episode 140b. Nickelodeon.
  5. ^ Banks, Steven (September 12, 2006). For the Love of Bubbles. Simon & Schuster. p. 43. ISBN 978-1416916338.
  6. ^ Kyle Jarrow (June 7, 2016). The SpongeBob Musical (Broadway musical). Tina Landau.
  7. ^ "Meet the Characters: Pearl, the Teenage Whale". Nickelodeon Asia. Viacom International. Archived from the original on August 12, 2004. She's gifted in math, so naturally her father tries to interest her in the exciting life of restaurant bookkeeping. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants: Meet the Gang!". Nickelodeon Australia. Viacom International. When her famously frugal father Mr. Krabs gets the credit card bills ... she just turns on the water works and melts his krusty old heart.
  9. ^ Writer: Clare O'Kane (March 12, 2016). "Mall Girl Pearl". SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 9. Episode 197a. Nickelodeon.
  10. ^ "See Betty White and Aubrey Plaza as a Grandmother and a Goth in SpongeBob SquarePants!". People. Time Inc. March 9, 2016.
  11. ^ David Fain (September 1, 2000). SpongeBob's Trivia Book. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-689-84018-0.
  12. ^ Vincent Waller (July 16, 2015). "Vincent Waller on Twitter". Archived from the original on April 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Vincent Waller (March 19, 2016). "Vincent Waller on Twitter". Archived from the original on February 20, 2017.
  14. ^ Vincent Waller (July 16, 2015). "Vincent Waller on Twitter". Archived from the original on April 22, 2017.
  15. ^ Vincent Waller (July 16, 2015). "Vincent Waller on Twitter". Archived from the original on April 22, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Jon Negroni (January 27, 2015). "The Krabs Theory: Who's Really the Mother of Pearl?". Archived from the original on May 22, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d Alan, Lori; Bumpass, Rodger (September 3, 2016), SpongeBob panel discussion at Dragon Con 2016, part 2: Rodger Bumpass and Lori Alan
  18. ^ Alan, Lori; Bumpass, Rodger (September 3, 2016), SpongeBob panel discussion at Dragon Con 2016, part 3: Rodger Bumpass and Lori Alan
  19. ^ a b c d "From Boy to Bob". Nick Mag Presents: SpongeBob SquarePants. Viacom International. June 2003.
  20. ^ a b Neuwirth, Allan (April 1, 2003). Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1581152692.
  21. ^ Writers: Steve Fonti, Chris Mitchell, Mr. Lawrence (September 4, 1999). "Squeaky Boots". SpongeBob SquarePants. Season 1. Episode 8b. Nickelodeon.
  22. ^ Banks, Steven (September 21, 2004). SpongeBob Exposed!: The Insider's Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants. Schigiel, Gregg (illustrator). Simon & Schuster. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-689-86870-2.
  23. ^ Beck 2013, p. 27
  24. ^ Thomas S. Hischak (September 21, 2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-0-7864-8694-6.
  25. ^ Alan, Lori (November 2015). "Lori Alan Interview". AfterBuzz TV (Interview). Interviewed by Kaori Takee.
  26. ^ McNally, Victoria (July 25, 2014). "It May Be Stupid, But It's Also Dumb: SpongeBob SquarePants Has Been Made Into Live Action/CG Hybrid Movie". The Mary Sue. Dan Abrams.
  27. ^ Foy 2011, p. 59
  28. ^ Mavis, Paul (November 16, 2010). "SpongeBob SquarePants: Legends of Bikini Bottom". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010.
  29. ^ José Antonio Gómez Marín [in Spanish] (November 13, 2013). "La cruz del sur: Bob Esponja". El Mundo (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial.
  30. ^ Sharon Lamb; Lyn Mikel Brown (April 1, 2007). Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes. St. Martin's Press. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-1-4299-0632-6.
  31. ^ "Programa de Fortalecimiento a la Transversalidad de la Perspectiva de Género" (PDF). Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres. Lorena Cruz Sánchez. February 2011.
  32. ^ Encalada, Debbie (May 1, 2014). "How "SpongeBob SquarePants" Stayed Fresh and Subversive Over 15 Years". Complex. Verizon Hearst Media Partners.
  33. ^ Harriman, Steven (October 4, 2005). Absorbing SpongeBob: Ten Ways to Squeeze More Happiness Out of Life. Berkley Books. p. 137. ISBN 978-0425207048.
  34. ^ Pope, Bryan (February 8, 2006). "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Third Season". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on February 17, 2006.
  35. ^ Duncan Lindsay (September 29, 2015). "This seriously dark SpongeBob SquarePants fan theory will give you nightmares". Metro UK. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015.
  36. ^ Jen Abidor (May 21, 2017). "This SpongeBob Theory Explains a Lot About Mr. Krabs and Pearl". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017.
  37. ^ "Beckett Presents: SpongeBob SquarePants". Beckett Media. November 2009. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  38. ^ "Krusty Krab Adventures 3833" (PDF). Lego.com. The Lego Group. 2009.
  39. ^ "Gold Coast Theme Parks Trade Brochure 2012". Gold Coast Attractions. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (July 21, 2014). "'SpongeBob SquarePants': Real-Life Krusty Krab Restaurant to Open in Palestine". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  41. ^ Spata, Christopher (January 29, 2016). "Real-Life Krusty Krab Restaurant Sued by SpongeBob Parent Company". Complex.
  42. ^ Gardner, Eriq (January 11, 2017). "Judge Rules 'Krusty Krab' Restaurant Violates Viacom's 'SpongeBob' Rights". The Hollywood Reporter.
  43. ^ Gershman, Jacob (January 12, 2017). "SpongeBob and Krusty Krab Prevail in Real-Life Trademark Battle". The Wall Street Journal.
  44. ^ Lloyd, Robert (March 3, 2011). "The Sponge and the Fury: Ira Kaplan on Yo La Tengo's 'Sitcom Theater'". Los Angeles Times. Tronc.
  45. ^ Gil, Billy (February 25, 2011). "Yo La Tango @ El Rey Theatre". L.A. Record. YBX Media.
  46. ^ Writers: Mike Fasolo, Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, Zeb Wells (February 13, 2011). "Major League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Robot Chicken. Season 5. Episode 87. Adult Swim.
  47. ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best Day Ever - Various Artists". AllMusic. All Media Network. September 12, 2006. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  48. ^ The Best Day Ever (CD). United States: Nick Records. September 12, 2006.
  49. ^ Weiss, Hedy (June 19, 2016). "Feel-good 'SpongeBob Musical' rumbles, toils and bubbles". Chicago Sun-Times.
  50. ^ Oxman, Steven (June 20, 2016). "The SpongeBob Musical Review: Musical's Pre-Broadway Run in Chicago". Variety.
  51. ^ Martinez, Diana (June 24, 2016). "Gunnar gives The SpongeBob Musical 100 points". Daily Herald. Paddock Publications.

Bibliography

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