THE ADVENTURES OF GARY THE SNAIL Wiki
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"Meow."

— Gary, in various episodes

Gary looking up stock art

Garold Gareth "Gary" Wilson, Jr. is SpongeBob SquarePants' pet sea snail. He lives with SpongeBob in his pineapple house on 124 Conch Street. Gary is voiced by Tom Kenny and first appears in the pilot episode, "Help Wanted." He can speak in words just like the other snails in the hit series "The Adventures Of Gary The Snail.

He is a domesticated house pet with similar mannerisms to the real-world cat, most notably his "meow" sound, as snails are the underwater equivalent to cats in the show. He also has some abilities of dogs, from fetching to doing tricks. It has been suggested that SpongeBob has had Gary ever since he was a young boy. The episode "Treats!" reveals that Gary was adopted by SpongeBob. In "Plankton's Pet," SpongeBob reveals to have bought Gary at the animal shelter.

Gary was originally intended to be a minor joke character that would appear in the background of SpongeBob's bedroom, just like SpongeBob's pet scallop Shelley. However, as the series progressed, Gary developed a personality of his own beyond just saying "meow." He was eventually added to the show's Main Model Pack on March 22, 2000 and became one of the ten main characters.

Gary is known for his characteristic "meow"—in contrast to the barking of the sea worms, suggesting that snails (like Gary) are equivalent to our cats and that worms are equivalent to our dogs. It has been known for Gary to say things other than "meow", but this is unusual. In "Your Shoe's Untied," "Frozen Face-Off," "Squid Defense" and "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water", he is shown to be able to roar, and he screeches like a cat in "The Thing," "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" and "Grooming Gary." From Season 4 onwards, Gary has made cat sound effects when he is startled or angry, to further reinforce the connection between snails and cats. In "Opposite Day," Gary reverses this stereotype, barking like a dog.

In many episodes, it has been indicated that Gary has great intelligence (for snails at least). In "The Secret Box," Gary responded to SpongeBob's question with "Meow-no." SpongeBob did not think much of it and replied, "Aww, what do you know? You're a snail!" SpongeBob did not recognize it as special, perhaps meaning that it was not the first time that Gary spoke. In "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," the Bikini Bottomites were chanting "all hail Plankton," while Gary chanted monotonously "meow, Plankton." He may even be more intelligent than all the main characters (excluding Plankton), which is hinted to in "Sleepy Time," where Gary spoke in his dream (that SpongeBob was rudely interrupting) and sounded very old and wise. In the episode "Tutor Sauce," Gary is shown to be a good driver, as he is able to drive through the most dangerous road in Bikini Bottom, with no issue whatsoever (except the cops stopping the boat). He had an extensive library, which is a possible metaphor for intelligence.

It is suggested that SpongeBob had Gary when he lived with his parents as a really young boy. The episode "Treats!" reveals that Gary was adopted. As seen in "Gary Takes a Bath," Gary can levitate and teleport, possibly meaning that psychic powers run in the Star family, as Patrick has psychic abilities. Gary did not appear again after "Help Wanted" until the episodes "Plankton!" and "Naughty Nautical Neighbors." Gary has been to many places including the large Bass Vegas.

Gary had a minor role in the episode "Atlantis SquarePantis." Gary appears wearing a party hat and blowing on a paper horn. Gary is also a very good musician, although he was not part of Squidward's band in the episode "Band Geeks." In "The Paper," he played Squidward's clarinet very well, and Squidward gets confused. In "Procrastination," Gary played the trumpet. In "Something Smells," Gary played the violin to make SpongeBob cry while chopping onions because SpongeBob told him to.

Gary has the strange ability to become a floor buffer, as shown in "Sentimental Sponge."

Gary hates taking baths, as seen in "Gary Takes a Bath," "Pet Sitter Pat," and "Shellback Shenanigans." In "Pet Sitter Pat," Patrick wants to wash Gary, and later used a hose to do so. In Gary Takes a Bath, SpongeBob used many methods like Free Dollar, Boomerang Pet Ball, subliminal messages, etc.

Biography[]

[1]Gary was the only child of Sluggo Star.

At one point, he met SpongeBob at Kamp Koral, who then later adopted him at the local animal shelter when SpongeBob got older. In "Treats!," a picture is shown of the moment SpongeBob picked him out, showing that Gary spent his early childhood at the pound with three other snails.

One day, Gary briefly left SpongeBob in exchange for Patrick, though this was only done to retrieve a cookie from Patrick's pocket and Gary quickly returned to his original owner.

However, at some point, Gary moved out of Bikini Bottom and into Bass Vegas in response to SpongeBob's unintentional negligence. He was thereafter taken in and sheltered by an elderly woman named Granny, who mistook him for one of her snails.

Once Gary had discovered SpongeBob was looking for him and finding out Granny's motive, he escaped her house and returned to Bikini Bottom to reunite with SpongeBob.

One day, SpongeBob received a chatterbox translation collar in the mail for Gary which the latter used as a means of communicating with his peers without meowing. It eventually got stolen by Squidward, thus ending his own with it.

Occupation[]

At various points, Gary has worked for the Krusty Krab, typically as a waiter or as a fry cook in "A Pal for Gary" and "Gary's Got Legs." At one point, he was hired to get rid of all the ick contamination on everyone. At another point, he was hired as the restaurant's bouncer.

When SpongeBob made his restaurant called SpongeBob's Place, Gary was hired as the cashier.

He briefly played the role as the DJ for The Sharks.

Description[]

Gary is a sea snail with a pink shell (which turns purple in the dark) with indigo spots and a red spiral. He has eye stalks that hold together his scarlet-green eyes with vermillion pupils. His quote is "Meow" and the sides of his body are light blue and his belly is chartreuse. He is known to create trails of slime when crawling. Even though he is typically seen without legs, "Your Shoe's Untied" reveals that he has legs and wears shoes. He is shown with legs again in "SpongeBob's Last Stand," and this eventually becomes a plot point of "Gary's Got Legs." He also has teats, revealed when SpongeBob milks him in "New Digs."

Being a snail, which is to Bikini Bottom what cats are to the real world, Gary is only able to communicate by saying "Meow."

His shell is known to store various items, as seen in "Have You Seen This Snail?," "Karate Island," and "Pineapple Invasion" among others.

He is seen without his shell multiple times. Examples include "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?," "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants," "Shell Shocked," "Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle," and "Are You Happy Now?"

Vocabulary and intelligence[]

To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants 025

Gary without his shell.

Gary is known for his characteristic "meow." However, it has been shown that Gary can say things other than "meow," such as in "The Secret Box" and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, where he says "No" and "Plankton" respectively. In "Your Shoe's Untied," "Frozen Face-Off," "Squid Defense," and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, he is shown to be able to roar. He screeches like a cat in some episodes. From season 4 onwards, Gary has made cat sound effects when he is startled or angry, to further reinforce the connection between snails and cats. In "Opposite Day," Gary reverses this stereotype by barking like a dog in honor of the eponymous holiday.

In many episodes, Gary has exhibited great intelligence to the point of anthropomorphism. In "Sleepy Time," it is revealed that in Gary's dreams, he is self aware and can speak and read, and comments "Did you think my shell was full of hot air?" In "The Secret Box," Gary responds to SpongeBob's question with "Meow-no." SpongeBob does not think much of it and brushes off his remarks on account of Gary just being a snail, implying Gary spoke to him before. In The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the Bikini Bottomites are chanting "All hail Plankton," while Gary monotonously chants, "Meow, Plankton." His intelligence is best exhibited in "Sleepy Time" where his dream counterpart is revealed to own a library and has an extremely intellectual mindset, having the ability to cite literature. His wise demeanor is also shown in "Chatterbox Gary" where he exercises his sophisticated vocabulary to describe his owner and peers. In "Jellyfish Hunter," it is revealed that instead of SpongeBob, he pays the electric bill.

Personality and habits[]

  • Gary hates taking baths, as seen in "Gary Takes a Bath," "Shellback Shenanigans," and "Pet Sitter Pat."
  • Gary has been known to exhibit bouts of anger.
    • In "Gary Takes a Bath," Gary snatches a ladder away from the tree that SpongeBob is stuck in, eliminating his option to escape safely. However, this did not cause any true harm to SpongeBob, who simply fell in the mud.
    • In "Once Bitten," he becomes aggressive and bites several of the Bottomites as a result of the pain that a splinter is inflicting. Even after said splinter is removed, Gary bites Mr. Krabs. However, this was done completely out of pain.
    • In "The Thing," Gary viciously attacks Squidward despite him having done nothing wrong. However, this is common for pets to do.
    • In "Grooming Gary," Gary joins the other pets in rioting against their respective owners for fancying his personality, which he did not want in the first place. However, this was done out of respect for himself and the other pets, who were being mistreated and shown off against their wills.
    • In "House Worming," Gary kicks SpongeBob out of his own home, although this was done out of self-defense.
    • In "Chatterbox Gary," Gary throws a walkie-talkie in Squidward's throat in retaliation for interfering with his translation collar. However, it was Squidward's fault in the first place.
  • He has a passion for animal rights and not being subject to things he does not want to do.
  • Gary is known to be quite gluttonous. He is seen eating absurd amounts of food and sometimes inedible objects in multiple episodes, notably "Have You Seen This Snail?"

Abilities and talents[]

Culture Shock 123

As seen in "Culture Shock," Gary writes his own poetry.

Gary helps SpongeBob tie his shoes in "Your Shoe's Untied," revealing that he wears brown shoes on his feet that are hidden under his body.

As seen in "Gary Takes a Bath," Gary can levitate and teleport.

In the episode "Tutor Sauce," Gary is shown to be a good driver, as he can drive a boatmobile through the most dangerous road in Bikini Bottom with no issue whatsoever, except the cops stopping the boat.

Gary is shown to know how to throw parties while SpongeBob is gone, as seen in "Atlantis SquarePantis" and "What if SpongeBob Was Gone? (Gary)." Gary is also quite a sublime musician. In "The Paper," he plays Squidward's clarinet very well, and Squidward gets confused. In "Procrastination," Gary plays the trumpet, and in "Something Smells," he plays the violin to make SpongeBob cry while chopping onions.

Gary can become a floor buffer, as shown in "Sentimental Sponge."

Gary knows how to read, as seen in "Gary Takes a Bath," "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve," "Pet Sitter Pat," and "Library Cards." He also reads a newspaper in "Pineapple Invasion."

In "Pat-a-thon," after multiple failed inventions by Sandy to help snails dance, she comes up with tap spray. Gary ends up getting dozens of little tap dancing feet underneath him, enabling him to dance.

Gary-focused episodes[]

Gary has had several episodes that center around him or relate to him:

  • "I Was a Teenage Gary": When SpongeBob has Squidward come to take care of him, Gary becomes starved and sick.
  • "Dumped": Gary runs away from home to be with Patrick to get the cookie out of his pocket.
  • "Gary Takes a Bath": Gary tries to escape SpongeBob's plans to get him to take a bath.
  • "The Great Snail Race": SpongeBob becomes a strict coach and is obsessed with winning the race trophy with Gary's poor body.
  • "Have You Seen This Snail?": Gary runs away from home after not being fed and Granny takes him in, thinking that he is a lost pet. Gary later finds out that SpongeBob is looking for him and that his new owner wants to feed him to death, so he escapes and returns to SpongeBob.
  • "Once Bitten": Squidward's anti-snail defense log affects Gary and he bites Bikini Bottomites, including SpongeBob, making them think that they are zombies.
  • "Fungus Among Us": Gary is the first one to make the solution by eating away the ick.
  • "Grooming Gary": SpongeBob gives Gary a makeover and takes him to the Bikini Bottom Pet Show but the latter does not like it, neither do the other competitors.
  • "Shell Shocked": Gary's shell has broken and SpongeBob needs to find him a new one.
  • "A Pal for Gary": SpongeBob buys a pet for Gary to play with while he is at work, but the pet is violent and hostile toward him, and SpongeBob accuses him of being mean to him.
  • "Gary in Love": Gary falls in love with a snail named Mary.
  • "The Cent of Money": Mr. Krabs uses Gary to suck up coins.
  • "Shellback Shenanigans": Plankton disguises himself as Gary, and SpongeBob believes he's terminally ill.
  • "Pet Sitter Pat": Patrick has to babysit Gary while SpongeBob is celebrating his grandmother's birthday.
  • "Treats!": Gary becomes addicted to a new snail treat called Snail Bites.
  • "Gary's New Toy": Gary is obsessed with a red ball and nearly loses SpongeBob's love and affection because of it.
  • "Pineapple Invasion": Gary must stop Plankton from stealing the secret formula from SpongeBob's home.
  • "Chatterbox Gary": Gary has a pet translation collar, and he's talking up a storm. Everyone loves it, except for Squidward.
  • "Gary & Spot": Gary sneaks out during the night to play with his best friend, Spot.
  • "Gary's Got Legs": Gary is given a set of limbs to keep up with SpongeBob, but soon makes his owner look sluggish by comparison.
  • "Gary's Playhouse": SpongeBob builds a snail-house outside for Gary to play in while he’s at work.

Trivia[]

  • [2]Gary's on the map. In Karate Island, when SpongeBob is waxing Gary's shell, he finds his favorite novelty t-shirt that says "I love Krabby Patties" under his shell.
  • In The Inside Job, it is revealed that Brain Gary lives in SpongeBob's brain.
  • Gary's favorite food is Snail-Po which SpongeBob once tasted.
  • Also in Your Shoe's Untied, Gary is revealed to have feet.
  • Gary can say the words "Plankton","yeah!" and "No"
  • Also to illustrate Gary's antagonism towards Squidward, in I Was a Teenage Gary, when SpongeBob answers the door, to Squidward, holding Gary, Gary hisses at him.
  • Gary has arms as seen in Have You Seen This Snail?, The Gift of Gum, and Grooming Gary.
  • According to the episodes, Gary Takes a Bath and Rock-a-Bye Bivalve, Gary can read because in the episode Rock-a-Bye Bivalve he is seen reading the newspaper, and in Gary Takes a Bath he is seen reading a book called "Snail Jokes". He was also reading a book called "Snail Tales" to Patrick at the end of "Pet Sitter Pat," although due to Gary's lack of English, Patrick could not understand him, as explained when he said "Snail Tales? I thought it was called 'Meow Meow Meow.'"
  • Gary is shown to have many things hidden under his shell; a house, SpongeBob's Krabby Patty T-shirt, a record player, a diamond, and many other pieces of junk.
  • In the episode "Treats!", it is revealed that Gary's full name is "Gary Wilson Jr."
  • Gary the Snail talks and it's voiced by Chiara Zanni.
  • In the first two films based on the series, Gary only plays small background roles. He plays a much more prominent role in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run compared to the first two films, where he is snailnapped and it is up to SpongeBob and Patrick to go find him.
    • Concept art from scrapped storylines of Sponge on the Run also confirm that Gary was always planned to play an major role in the movie. In fact, one of these storylines would have focused on Gary's origin where he originally was the son of the rulers of a planet inhabited by snails.
  • In Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, Gary's role is significantly reduced since he does not live directly with SpongeBob. He has only made three physical appearances in Kamp Koral as of 2023.
  • The episodes "Your Shoe's Untied" and "Earworm" show Gary having a record player under his shell.
  • SpongeBob sometimes nicknames Gary "Gare Bear" or just "Gare."
  • Because he is a mollusk, Gary should actually be sexless, as all mollusks are.
  • In "Karate Island," when SpongeBob is waxing Gary's shell, he finds his favorite novelty T-shirt that says, "I love Krabby Patties" in a pile of junk inside his shell.
  • His favorite food is Snail-Po, and later Snail Bites.
  • On the Adventures in Bikini Bottom LEGO set, Gary's shell is orange.
  • Aside from his trademark "Meow," Gary can say the words "Plankton," "Yeah!," and "No!"
  • In the first teaser trailer for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Gary is shown enjoying taking a bath with SpongeBob as the latter plays with his water toys, even though Gary is shown to hate taking baths.
  • It is revealed in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water that Gary hates mayonnaise.
  • Gary has arms, as seen in "Have You Seen This Snail?," "The Gift of Gum," and "Grooming Gary."
    • In addition to this, "Your Shoe's Untied" and "SpongeBob's Last Stand" reveal that he has feet.

Rivalry with Squidward Tentacles[]

  • In "I Was a Teenage Gary," the ignorant Squidward lied to SpongeBob that he would feed Gary, who nearly died of hunger and thirst.
  • In "The Great Snail Race," he raced against Squidward's snail Snellie.
  • In "Once Bitten," Squidward made lots and lots of Anti-Snail wooden logs. A log got inside Gary's foot and he got a splinter. Gary went out of control because the splinter or log really hurt, and bit Squidward.
  • In "The Thing," it is revealed that Gary attacked Squidward and nearly killed Squidward too. When Squidward turned into the thing, Gary nearly killed Squidward again.
  • In "Can You Spare a Dime?", Gary calls Squidward a big loser as Squidward calls him other bad names.
  • In "Patty Caper," when SpongeBob blames Gary for supposedly stealing the secret ingredient to the Krabby Patty, Gary describes another suspect—Squidward, and, based on the picture Patrick had drawn of him, Gary must think Squidward is very ugly.
  • In "Ugh," Squidward's prehistoric ancestor Squog and Gary's prehistoric ancestor Prehistoric Gary fight because of Prehistoric Gary's slime trails in front of his house.
  • In Little Yellow Book He bites Squidward's tentacle as he was saying horrible words.
  • In "Unreal Estate," Gary attacks Squidward when the latter sneaks into SpongeBob's bedroom at night to clog his alarm clock with pepper.
  • In "Chatterbox Gary," Gary, using his new translation collar, criticizes Squidward's artwork and calls him naïve, which provokes an angered reaction from Squidward. To get revenge, Squidward sneaks into SpongeBob's house at night and replaces the translation collar with a walkie-talkie, using it to give commands to a tired SpongeBob, ultimately resulting in SpongeBob's house rolling down a road. When a now homeless SpongeBob is suggested by the walkie-talkie to dig a hole, Gary notices Squidward behind a brick wall and realizes that he was responsible for the loss of SpongeBob's house, prompting him to take the walkie-talkie and kick it into Squidward's throat, making him sound like Gary that causes a bunch of worms to angrily chase and attack him.


Quotes
[]

Meow. (Every episode)

Meow!

Meow?

(Talks in a high pitched male voice in every episode)

Rrrrrrrrowl!

Grrrrrrrrrrowl!

Hrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

ROOOOOOAR!!!

Me-No.

"Woof."

"Meow." (regalish)

Meow Plankton! (Under the mind control helmet by Plankton)

"Did you think my shell was full of hot air?" 

Gallery[]

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