Location

Bikini Atoll is an island in the real-life Marshall Islands. In SpongeBob SquarePants, it is represented as a small island with three palm trees. It is the marker of where Bikini Bottom is located﻿[citation needed]. It is located near California﻿[citation needed].

It appears in the theme song and also during the openings and closings of many episodes. It plays an important role in "Pressure" and "Whale Watching."

Contents show]

Description

It appears as a small island with sand in the middle of the ocean. Its most notable landmarks are the three palm trees that inhabit one side of the island. It appears small, but in reality, it is much larger and appears small because of an optical illusion.[1]

On the other side of the island, there is a forest filled with an array of wildlife and a skeleton who previously guarded the Magic Book.[1]

History

Bikini Atoll has been around for millennia. The trees that inhabit the island have had its ancestors during the times of prehistory.[2]

At one point, Davy Jones was either on the island or at least had the Magic Book, which previously resided on the island.[1]

Role in series

Fishermen can be seen fishing at the beginning of the episode as the French Narrator explains their dangerous effects on aquatic species.

Bikini Atoll appears when Patrick jumps out of the ocean to tell it about "his" newly attained award, only to almost suffocate from lack of water moments later.

To prove that sea creatures are better than land creatures, Sandy makes SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and Mr. Krabs go up to the island. They survive, although they get attacked by seagulls.

A big piece of iceberg breaks off and floats across the ocean near this island.

Sandy karate-kicks SpongeBob out of the ocean and up to the surface of the island, where he is briefly seen in live-action kitchen sponge form.

After Sandy is frightened by SpongeBob and Patrick (as ghosts), she leaves Bikini Bottom and travels back to Texas via an acorn-shaped rocket, which launches out of the ocean and to the landmark of Austin, Texas.

The state of the Krusty Krab's 24-hour business is documented on a Bikini Atoll background.

The Fiery Fist O' Pain roller coaster is so high that SpongeBob and Patrick reach ocean distance.

The island appears when Patchy goes looking for SpongeBob, who did not arrive at his TV Extravaganza.

SpongeBob comes flying out of the ocean as a result of the demolition derby, once again briefly seen in his live-action sponge form.

The island appears in Beatrice's scrapbook.

The island appears when a carrier boat is dropping a box of fortune cookies into the ocean.

The French Narrator appears to tell Patchy about Neptune's Moon, in which the Bikini Bottom Atoll is seen.

The island appears when Pearl beaches herself.

The island is completely stripped away by SpongeBob.

Roles in Other Media

The island appears in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie when David Hasselhoff arrives with both SpongeBob and Patrick to bring them back to Bikini Bottom.

In the second level, Plankton and Jimmy Neutron have the chance to enter a pipe, which leads to Bikini Atoll. A Krabby Patty cheat trophy is on the island.

Destruction

In "The String," the island was destroyed when SpongeBob unraveled all of Bikini Bottom and the Milky Way with the string.

Trivia

The episode "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired" includes the footage from "No Weenies Allowed" where SpongeBob is flung out of the water and back in again.

In real life, Bikini Atoll was used for nuclear bomb testing in the 40s and 50s. Tom Kenny once debunked a popular fan-theory that said the anthropomorphism of Bikini Botton was a result of the nuclear testing.

Starting with "Lame and Fortune," a CGI model of the island is used instead of the filmed island. [3] This is because the original model island has not aged well as confirmed by Vincent Waller on Twitter. It is currently buried somewhere deep within Stephen Hillenburg's garage.

When the island is shown at night, a human finger is visible in the water to portray a reflection of the moon. According to the "Christmas Who?" audio commentary, Stephen Hillenburg filmed the Bikini Atoll island at Steve Belfer's house in Tom Kenny's pool in California[4].