The following contains spoilers for Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, now streaming on Netflix
Summary
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movieshifts the focus of theSpongeBob SquarePantsfranchise over to Sandy, introducing her family along the way. The film answers a lot about Sandy’s role in theSpongeBobuniverse, explaining what her science research on Bikini Bottom is for and revealing what her life back in Texas before the events of the series was like. One of the biggest ways the show expands on Sandy’s history is by introducing her immediate family. A Texas-loving collection of circus squirrels, the Cheeks are revealed to be as fesity, dedicated, and loving as Sandy herself.
This means when Sandy and SpongeBob come to them for help while trying to locate a stolen Bikini Bottom,Saving Bikini Bottom’s new charactersare more than eager to work alongside them. Notably, the extended Cheeks family has an interesting relationship with the previously established canon of the series. While some members of the family are consistent withthe funniest episodes ofSpongeBob SquarePants, others are tweaked or missing from the film. Here are all of Sandy Cheek’s relatives acrossSpongeBob SquarePantsandSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, and how they fit into SpongeBob and Sandy’s adventures.
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Sandy Cheeks
Sandy Is Played By Carolyn Lawrence
Sandy Cheeks takes the lead inSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, which also does a good job of showcasing her extended family. Introduced in season 1’s “Tea in the Treedome,” Sandy is one of the main characters ofSpongeBob SquarePants. She often plays the straight man to SpongeBob and Patrick’s short-sighted enthusiasm.
A brilliant scientist who relocated underwater to Bikini Bottom, Sandy quickly becomes one of SpongeBob’s best friends. She works for B.O.O.T., a laboratory that is studying marine life. Carolyn Lawrence has played the character since she debuted in 1999, although the film reveals far more about her history.
Granny Cheeks
Granny Cheeks Is Played By Grey DeLisle
Granny Cheeks is Sandy’s paternal grandmother. The mother of Pa Cheeks, Granny appears inSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie.Granny Cheeks takes part in multiple action beats despite her age, working alongside the rest of her family to save Sandy after she’s bitten by a rattlesnake through the use of extended artifical limbs. Notably, Granny is shown to use karate, a skill that Sandy has been shown embracing in various episodes ofSpongeBob SquarePants, suggesting she may have been the one to introduce the martial art to her in the first place.
Pa Cheeks
Pa Cheeks Is Played By Craig Robinson
Pa Cheeks is Sandy’s father, and one of the more prominent members of the Cheeks familywho appears inSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. An acrobatic leader of the family, Pa leads the family to the rescue when Sandy and SpongeBob are confronted by a gang of rattlesnakes. Pa is initially eager to bring Sandy back into the family business, but is also quick to lead the family to help Sandy and SpongeBob save Bikini Bottom when asked.
Ma Cheeks
Ma Cheeks Is Played By Grey DeLisle
Ma Cheeks is Sandy’s mother, and plays an emotional role inSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. A circus performer like the rest of her immediate family,Ma Cheeks is the one who tries the hardest to convince Sandy to leave Bikini Bottombehind and return to Texas. However, she’s also quick to defend her daughter from danger and is shown to eventually accept that Sandy is just “visiting” them on the surface, leading to their sweet reunion later in the film.
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Randy Cheeks
Randy Cheeks Is Played By Johnny Knoxville
Randy Cheeks is Sandy’s brother. Randy was teased during in season 7’s “Rodeo Daze,” with Sandy receiving a letter that implied he was a rodeo star in their home state of Texas. Randy is one of the more prominent members of the Cheeks family who appears inSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. While his involvement in illegal nut sales get the family briefly chased by the police,he plays a minor but pivotal role in the movieby befriending SpongeBob and teaching him the Cheeks family whistle. This allows SpongeBob to call them for reinforcements in the finale.
Rowdy & Rosie Cheeks
Rowdy And Rosie Cheeks Are Played By Grey DeLisle
Rowdy and Rosie are Sandy’s youngest siblings, and appear alongside the rest of the Cheeks family inSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. Despite their youth, they are shown jumping into danger just as eagerly as the rest of the family. They are often seen working alongside their parents and older siblings, and help save Bikini Bottom. Rowdy and Rosie are seemingly the youngest of Sandy’s family, although this contradicts another family member for Sandy who was introduced in the original animated series.
Rosy Cheeks
Rosy Cheeks Is Played By Lori Alan
Before Rosie Cheeks was introduced alongside her twin brother,SpongeBob SquarePantshad actually introduced an older version of Sandy’s sister.Rosy Cheeks appeared in season 12’s “Sandy’s Nutty Nieces” as an older woman, who comes to Sandy to drop off her titular daughters. It seems that this version of Rosy has been reimagined in the film as a younger character. Rosy could still be canon within the universe, however, and just lives far enough away she couldn’t be involved. However, the looser canon ofSpongeBob SquarePantsmeans she may have been written out of the story.
Macadamia, Hazelnut, & Pistachio Cheeks
Macadamia, Hazelnut, And Pistachio Are Played By Maria Bamford
Introduced alongside their mother in “Sandy’s Nutty Nieces,” Macadamia, Hazelnut, and Pistachio are three little girls that terrorize SpongeBob and Patrick during a visit to their aunt.Sandy’s nieces are parodies of Donald Duck’s nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, who’ve been at the heart of franchises likeDuckTales. They share many qualities with the earliest incarnation of those three characters, which highlighted their mischievous side. However, the change in Rosy to Rosie Cheeks may have rendered the three of them non-canon for the film.
Sandy’s Other Relatives
Various episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants teased other members of Sandy’s family. There have been multiple ancestors introduced over the seasons, including the medieval Dark Knight seen in season 4’s “Dunces and Dragon.” Sandy’s great aunt Rosie was introduced in season 5’s “Pest of the West,” discovering oil within Texas. Season 8’s “Mooncation” revealed that Sandy’s grandfather was a scientist like her, and was actually an astronaut who went to the Moon. This suggests Sandy’s family in theSpongeBob SquarePantsworld goes back centuries.
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
Cast
After Bikini Bottom is taken out of the ocean on the order of an evil CEO, SpongeBob and Sandy travel to the latter’s home state of Texas. There, they meet up with Sandy’s family and must find a way to return their home to the sea.
