Sandy Cheeks is one of the main characters in SpongeBob SquarePants, and the original plan for the character would have broken one of the show’s biggest rules – here’s what happened. Created by Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants made its debut on Nickelodeon in 1999, and it has become not only the most successful Nicktoon to date but also one of the longest-running American animated series, with 13 seasons and counting.
SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character and his friends (and a couple of enemies) in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is often accompanied by his neighbor and coworker Squidward, his best friend (and also neighbor) Patrick Star, and Sandy Cheeks, the only character in the series that isn’t a sea animal. Sandy is a squirrel that moved from Texas and lives in an air-filled glass dome known as the Treedome, and is also one of SpongeBob’s closest friends. When the first episodes of the series were released, the relationship between SpongeBob and Sandy sparked a lot of questions as many thought she was his girlfriend, and even though that’s not the case, it was among the first plans for the character.
Sandy is kind and caring for SpongeBob and helps him out whenever he needs it, though she has also had to be a bit tough with him as he can be quite impulsive and reckless. Sandy and SpongeBob have some interests in common, particularly karate, and as she’s super competitive, they often end up challenging each other. Still, Sandy and SpongeBob are very good friends, and haven’t been romantically involved nor will they ever be, even if that was one of the initial plans for them. Writer Tim Hill is said to have wanted to introduce a romantic element on the show, which never happened not only with SpongeBob and Sandy but in general (except, maybe, that one time Mr. Krabs went out with Mrs. Puff, but that relationship never evolved).
Another writer and member of the SpongeBob SquarePants crew, Vincent Waller, shared a bit more about Sandy’s original plan on Twitter. When asked about whether there will be an episode where SpongeBob gets a girlfriend, Waller said that probably won’t happen as it’s on Stephen Hillenburg’s shortlist of “NO’s”. He was then asked if Hillenburg would have experimented with the idea at some point, to which Waller replied that he’s under the impression that Sandy’s introduction was that, but “it didn’t fit organically for them to be romantically involved”. In fact, Hillenburg shared in 2014 that Sandy was created as a “strong female character that could be a friend to SpongeBob but not a love interest”.
Sandy being SpongeBob’s friend instead of his girlfriend ultimately works best for the show, as there’s no need for SpongeBob to have a romantic partner and Sandy doesn’t need that either. Hillenburg’s vision of Sandy was the right one, and she ended up being not only the smartest one in the show (and possibly in Bikini Bottom, with Plankton probably being her only competition) but also the strongest one, on different levels. In the end, this gives a nice balance to the Sandy/SpongeBob friendship and made her a favorite among SpongeBob SquarePants fans.