Iraq 2003
Encyclopedia
Iraq 2003 is an X-Presidents episode on Saturday Night Live
s TV Funhouse
. It originally aired March 18, 2003. Tom Kenny
guest starred as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants
and Jeff Bergman
voiced Bugs Bunny
.
grows increasingly impatient with George W. Bush
's failure to get enough approval to invade Iraq
. He then decides that this is due to the lack of propaganda cartoons in the present. After presenting the team with two cartoons (the latter of which he claims was the reason for the U.S. victory in the Grenada
invasion), George H. W. Bush
decides that they should make their own cartoon about Iraq. The team hires SpongeBob SquarePants for the cartoon, but SpongeBob is uncomfortable making it, believing the acts they want him to perform (such as soaking up all of the urine in America and squeezing it into Saddam Hussein
's mouth) are racist against the Iraqi people. Reagan is angered by SpongeBob's unwillingness to cooperate, and threatens that if he refuses, he could have The Katzenjammer Kids take his place. This fails to change anything, and SpongeBob leaves, at which point Bill Clinton
shows up with Yasmine Bleeth
, and asks if they want to use her in the cartoon. Reagan then captures SpongeBob, and locks him in a cage to be sent to Guantanamo Bay, as the team checks his laptop
for child pornography
.
Shortly afterwards, the Powerpuff Girls break in to try and save SpongeBob. However, they are no match for the team, and are quickly subdued. Jimmy Carter
is shocked that the team "beat up little girls", so Reagan decides that the they should "bail". As they leave, Gerald Ford
remarks that one of the Powerpuff Girls has stopped breathing. In the Oval Office
, George Bush Sr. tries to convince his son that Oliver North
is willing to take the blame for the incident, but the younger Bush says that it will be unnecessary, because he has had The Pentagon
alter the footage with CGI animation, so that the Powerpuff Girls now appear to be Al-Qaeda
operatives. Ford believes that the girls in the video are actual terrorists, and tries to attack them, only to be stopped by Bush Sr. Reagan tells Bush Jr. not to mind Ford, because he was never elected. Bush Jr. tells him that it is okay, because he was not either. He then begins to laugh, and the X-Presidents do as well.
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
s TV Funhouse
TV Funhouse
Saturday TV Funhouse is the title of a recurring skit on NBC's Saturday Night Live featuring cartoons created by longtime SNL writer Robert Smigel as well as a short-lived spinoff series TV Funhouse that ran on Comedy Central...
. It originally aired March 18, 2003. Tom Kenny
Tom Kenny
Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...
guest starred as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants (character)
SpongeBob SquarePants is a main fictional character in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. He is voiced by Tom Kenny and first appeared on television in the series' pilot episode "Help Wanted" on May 1, 1999. SpongeBob was created and designed by cartoonist Stephen Hillenburg...
and Jeff Bergman
Jeff Bergman
Jeff Allen Bergman is an American voice actor, who provides the modern day voices of various classic cartoon characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, George Jetson, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound.-Life and career:Originally from Philadelphia,...
voiced Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
.
Plot summary
In the headquarters of the X-Presidents, Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
grows increasingly impatient with George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's failure to get enough approval to invade Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. He then decides that this is due to the lack of propaganda cartoons in the present. After presenting the team with two cartoons (the latter of which he claims was the reason for the U.S. victory in the Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
invasion), George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
decides that they should make their own cartoon about Iraq. The team hires SpongeBob SquarePants for the cartoon, but SpongeBob is uncomfortable making it, believing the acts they want him to perform (such as soaking up all of the urine in America and squeezing it into Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's mouth) are racist against the Iraqi people. Reagan is angered by SpongeBob's unwillingness to cooperate, and threatens that if he refuses, he could have The Katzenjammer Kids take his place. This fails to change anything, and SpongeBob leaves, at which point Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
shows up with Yasmine Bleeth
Yasmine Bleeth
Yasmine Amanda Bleeth is an American actress. Her television roles include Caroline Holden in the long-running series Baywatch.-Early life and career:...
, and asks if they want to use her in the cartoon. Reagan then captures SpongeBob, and locks him in a cage to be sent to Guantanamo Bay, as the team checks his laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
for child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
.
Shortly afterwards, the Powerpuff Girls break in to try and save SpongeBob. However, they are no match for the team, and are quickly subdued. Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
is shocked that the team "beat up little girls", so Reagan decides that the they should "bail". As they leave, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
remarks that one of the Powerpuff Girls has stopped breathing. In the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
, George Bush Sr. tries to convince his son that Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
is willing to take the blame for the incident, but the younger Bush says that it will be unnecessary, because he has had The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
alter the footage with CGI animation, so that the Powerpuff Girls now appear to be Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
operatives. Ford believes that the girls in the video are actual terrorists, and tries to attack them, only to be stopped by Bush Sr. Reagan tells Bush Jr. not to mind Ford, because he was never elected. Bush Jr. tells him that it is okay, because he was not either. He then begins to laugh, and the X-Presidents do as well.