Gary The Snail

Gary The Snail

Garold "Gary" Wilson the Snail, Jr. is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom SpongeBob SquarePants. He is an anthropomorphic sea snail created and designed by animator Stephen Hillenburg and voiced by Tom Kenny (who also provides the voice of SpongeBob and other miscellaneous characters). He lives as SpongeBob's 'pet' snail, but SpongeBob is often seen treating him more like a son, although SpongeBob is often oblivious to Gary's needs and more eager to put his own desires ahead of Gary's. Gary is often shown to have superior intelligence, possibly being the smartest individual in Bikini Bottom, and often acts as a straight man and voice of reason to the other characters. He acts as a loyal mascot, being able to do things such as cook for and prepare SpongeBob for his occupation and often solves problems that SpongeBob cannot. He enjoys eating almost anything, ranging from human food to infectious fungus (Gary is described as a bottom feeder in at least one episode).

The character received critical acclaim, being involved in other media such as plush toys and achieving popularity from both children and adults. It is revealed in the episode "Rule of Dumb" that Gary is related to SpongeBob's best friend Patrick Star. Gary's father Sluggo is Patrick's uncle and Patrick is Gary's first cousin once removed.