In the world of SpongeBob SquarePants, Sandy Cheeks is the fish out of water. Except she's a squirrel hanging out with the fish back in the water. She's also a daredevil, a scientist, and a proud Texan. One of SpongeBob's best friends, she is also one of the most prominent female characters in the franchise and is sometimes seen as the show's leading lady.
Being friends with one of the most famous cartoon characters in modern times means that Sandy has often made appearances in movies, video games, toys, books, and even a Broadway musical, as well as a few spin-off shows. Because of all this, there are some things that even the most hardened fan of the series might not know about Sandy.
10 Sandy Is A Squirrel Of Many Names
At times, Sandy's name is implied to be short for "Sandra." That said, as she is mentioned having a twin brother named Randy, it's likely her parents gave her a name that rhymes. Outside the cartoon in supplementary material, she is sometimes given a middle name. According to SpongeBob SquarePants Ocean 3D: Facts & 3D Pics, it's Olivia. However, the Broadway show gives "Jennifer" as her middle name.
Sandy's name has also been changed in a few foreign dubs. In Croatia, she's "Luna." A Korean dub named her "Darami," a play on a word for "squirrel." Some countries give her names based on local words for sand. She's "Arenita" in Latin America and "Santa-Sanna" in Finland.
9 Sandy Isn't The First Squirrel Under The Sea
Although Sandy comes from Texas, a few characters in the history of SpongeBob's underwater world resemble her, such as the Dark Knight in "Dunces and Dragons" and the Pirate Queen in "Pull Up a Barrel." Strangely, both appear able to breathe underwater despite being squirrels.
Sandy's exact relationship with these figures is complicated. SpongeBob notes the Dark Knight's resemblance to his mammalian friend, even dubbing her "medieval Sandy." It's even implied he inspired her family to learn karate, implying they are related. On the other hand, as the Pirate Queen only appears in a story being recounted, it's implied SpongeBob is just imagining her as resembling his friend.
8 Sandy Comes From A Large Family
Regarding Sandy's immediate family, her parents have only been identified as "Pa" and "Ma," with them appearing in a photo in "Surf N' Turf." She has two known siblings, Randy, her twin brother, and Rosy, an older sister. Through Rosy, she has three nieces: Macadamia, Pistachio, and Hazelnut, who are parodies of Donald Duck's nephews.
According to the episode "Squirrel Record," Sandy is seen chucking 100 woodchucks in an attempt to break the world record. They are soon revealed to be her cousins and she says she'll see them again at Christmas. Another squirrel cousin was once seen applying for a job at the Krusty Krab.
7 Sandy Brought Christmas To Bikini Bottom Two Times
In SpongeBob's first Christmas-themed story, "Christmas Who," it's revealed that SpongeBob learned about the titular holiday from Sandy, after initially mistaking her Christmas tree for a fire. He then proceeds to share the holiday with the rest of Bikini Bottom. Strangely, she disappears from the story early on, even when the rest of Bikini Bottom is embracing the holiday spirit.
SpongeBob's spin-off series, Kamp Koral, features a similar Christmas special, "The Ho! Ho! Horror!," where Christmas is given an alternate introduction to Bikini Bottom, with Santa getting mistaken for a monster. Once again, Sandy, who is at the camp thanks to time travel, is the one who explains the holiday to everyone after recognizing Santa.
6 Sandy Was Once The Subject Of Censorship
At one point, in the episode "Procrastination," SpongeBob looks out the window and sees his friends having fun outside while he is stuck writing an essay for boating school. In addition to things like jellyfish playing tennis and Gary riding on a ball, he sees Patrick rubbing lotion on Sandy's shoulders.
Some versions of the episode cut the sequence, with some theorizing it looked too much like Patrick removing Sandy's top. This wasn't the only sequence cut from the episode. Another, which involves live-action footage of a racer crashing, was also cut. Some later releases and airings of the episode include these scenes, however.
5 Sandy Has A Criminal Record
In "Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy," Plankton steals Sandy's fur in an attempt to steal the Krabby Patty formula. A hairless Sandy arrives to stop him in the nick of time, only for her to get arrested for public nudity.
While this was the first time Sandy gets arrested at the end of an episode, she could've come pretty close to having priors. It's been rumored that an early version of "The Great Snail Race" was going to end with Sandy getting arrested for publicly kicking SpongeBob in retaliation for making a sexist comment earlier in the episode.
4 One Infamous Sandy Episode Was Originally Much Darker
The ending of "Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy" proved controversial with fans who found it unfair since Sandy was considered naked when she was still wearing her typical purple swimsuit. Added to that, other characters get away with wearing less than her, like the typically pants-less Squidward or the normally unclothed Plankton.
This plot hole might be explained by the episode's development. Originally, Sandy was going to appear naked. She was also given a much more skeletal design without her fur. Possibly seen as too scary, an earlier design of a hairless Sandy, as seen at the end of "Survival of the Idiots," was reused for the final episode.
3 Sandy's Relationship With SpongeBob Is Complicated
Officially, SpongeBob has been described as "asexual" and without a love interest. SpongeBob is even once shown to be capable of asexual reproduction. Despite this, early episodes and promos hinted that SpongeBob might have some special feelings, if not a crush, on Sandy.
In "Ripped Pants," he's jealous of the attention Sandy's giving Larry and the episode's famous song even alludes to how "no girl ever wants to dance" with the guy with ripped pants. In "Nature Pants," the two things he mentions he regrets giving up while living with the jellyfish are "Krabby Patties," the food he famously prepares, and "Sandy."
2 Sandy & SpongeBob Might Technically Be Married
In what was likely a nod to shippers who want to see them together, "Truth or Square" has SpongeBob and Sandy get married, only for it to turn out to be part of a play. However, the apparently real priest believed it was a legitimate ceremony, implying he actually married the two by accident.
It is heavily rumored that a deleted scene would have taken the joke in another direction. In response to the priest, SpongeBob would have said the ceremony didn't have to be just a play, though this would've earned him a slap from Sandy.
1 Sandy's Relationship With SpongeBob Gets More Complicated Outside The Cartoon
A series pitch bible, made back when the main character was called "Sponge Boy," describes Sandy as the "apple of 'SpongeBob's' eye," adding that she's the only thing that would make him miss work. This early version of the characters implies SpongeBob had an unrequited crush on Sandy, with him helping Sandy with her daredevil stunts jokingly compared to "dates."
The book Once Upon a SpongeBob features a Cinderella-inspired dream sequence with SpongeBob in the Cinderella role and Sandy as the prince analog. Wendy's once released a line of SpongeBob toys that included a SpongeBob notepad with a Sandy pen, effectively pairing the two together. Whenever pop culture needs to give SpongeBob a girlfriend for a joke, Sandy is usually the go-to girl. MAD Magazine once featured a fictional pitch for a live-action SpongeBob movie where Sandy was described as SpongeBob's "feisty love interest."