Sandy Cheeks

Sandra Jennifer “Sandy” Cheeks is a principal character in The SpongeBob Musical. Unlike the rest of the characters featured in the show, Sandy is not a native to Bikini Bottom or even an aquatic creature. She is a squirrel from Texas with a love for science and karate, living in Bikini Bottom to do research.

Act I

 * "Bikini Bottom Day"
 * "No Control"
 * "Hero Is My Middle Name"
 * "Tomorrow Is"

Act II

 * "Chop To The Top"
 * "Best Day Ever"
 * "Bikini Bottom Day (reprise III)"
 * "SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song"

Appearance
In the animated series, Sandy wears a suit and helmet whenever outside her tree dome. However, since Sandy is a very athletic role, she wears more loose white clothing and an afro with a flower clip in it to symbolize Sandy’s helmet from the cartoon. In the Chicago production, Sandy wears a sleeveless white top, black and white leggings, and silver sneakers. This outfit is updated in the Broadway production. Sandy is given a white jumpsuit with black designs and white shoes with black shoelaces and buckles.

Personality
Sandy is a well-rounded combination of intelligence and confidence. Compared to SpongeBob, Sandy has a more no-nonsense and blunt approach to things, analyzing things before making decisions and focusing on the objective facts. Nonetheless, Sandy is an emotionally-conscious character who knows when to give soft consolation and tough love. She's a very spunky heroine who draws a lot of energy from the research she conducts and revelations she makes.

Voice
Sandy speaks with a Southern accent, just like in the animated series. She also has a tendency to use metaphors, notable examples include:

Sandy calls attention to this when she reaches the top of Mount Humongous, saying: “It’s as scary as a… as a… there ain’t no metaphor for something like this!”

Sandy is well-versed in the subject of science, and thus has no issue casually using large scientific words that most people in Bikini Bottom don’t understand. She can quickly explain plans and research she’s done with acute thoroughness.

Mannerisms
Sandy’s unique sound effect is various karate chops, used sparingly when she does specific moves. She is the least eccentric of the main cast, not being accented by sound effects as often as SpongeBob or Squidward, she walks in a very generic manner, and doesn’t have extravagant accessories like the giant gloves Mr. Krabs has.

In the Television Special, Sandy fidgets her hands quickly whenever she’s nervous and/or sad. This happens twice in the musical, after the town meeting where she is discriminated against for being a land mammal and on her way to Jellyfish Fields, after seeing a mob that’s decided to blame the crisis on her.

Paraphernalia

 * The Erupter Interrupter: Sandy begins to brainstorm on an ingenious bubble device to stop Mt. Humongous from erupting. At the beginning of Act II, she has finished making it and keeps it in a briefcase. Once the duo of Sandy and SpongeBob reach Mt. Humongous, she puts the device in her pocket so she won’t have to carry a heavy load. She gives it to SpongeBob later because he is the only one in the team who can get to the very top.
 * Jetpack: In Sandy's introduction, she wears a jetpack she’s been working on and sings about how it’s almost finished. Patrick uses it to save SpongeBob from falling off Mt. Humongous in Act II.
 * Nunchucks: A karate enthusiast, Sandy uses nunchucks at two points in the musical. It’s first used when Sandy explains that she didn’t fit in in Texas because of her interest in both science and martial arts, swinging the nunchucks around and hitting toy squirrels held behind her. They’re used in Act II by Sandy to calm SpongeBob down after he hyperventilates upon seeing Mt. Humongous. She holds the nunchucks while reciting the No. 1 and 2 rules of Karate.

Themes
Sandy is used to represent the importance of science. Without Sandy’s prolific knowledge on science, there would’ve been no way for Bikini Bottom to defeat Mount Humongous.

Sandy is also used to represent the issue of racism. Besides Pearl, Sandy is the only character who has a desired ethnicity in the casting calls; Black/ African Descent, Latino / Hispanic. Old Man Jenkins leads a hate campaign against Sandy, believing her to be the cause of the volcano’s near eruption simply because she is a land mammal. This is an allegory for how minorities are often discriminated against by the majority on the basis of those people being dissimilar. Sandy later tells SpongeBob that she’s “never fit in”, whether in Bikini Bottom or on land.