"[118] Rocko's Modern Life also used music from this library. Various artists including the Flaming Lips,[359] Wilco,[360] Ween,[361] Motörhead,[362] the Shins,[363] and Avril Lavigne[364] contributed to the soundtrack that reached number 76 on the US Billboard 200. After having a long-running show, they retired, but soon SpongeBob and Patrick got them back in the game. SpongeBob can morph into other shapes at will, and can grow back … A "SpongeBob and water conservation-themed element" was also added to Nickelodeon's pro-social campaign The Big Green Help. [245][d] Ukrainian website Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin, which has been described as a "fringe Catholic" group by The Wall Street Journal, criticized SpongeBob SquarePants for its alleged "promotion of homosexuality". One of the methods used to assemble storyboards was to use Post-it notes. Recurring guest voices include: Ernest Borgnine, who voiced Mermaid Man from 1999 until his death in 2012;[93] Tim Conway as the voice of Barnacle Boy from 1999 until his death in 2019;[94] Brian Doyle-Murray as the Flying Dutchman;[95] and Marion Ross as Grandma SquarePants. However, Nickelodeon wanted more episodes. The project was founded by American students Andrew Leber and Elisabeth Jaquette and attempts to document every appearance of SpongeBob in Egypt. [146][156] The "Best Year Ever" was recognized on Amazon Prime Day with an exclusive early release of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best 200 Episodes Ever!, a 30-disc DVD compilation of two box sets, SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Next 100 Episodes. [63][64] Nickelodeon confirmed via Twitter the series would continue after his death. [171] He added, "There is nothing that we have seen that points to SpongeBob as a problem. [176] Viacom's deal with Netflix expired, and shows such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer were removed. Series' background designer Kenny Pittenger said, "The only real difference between the way we draw now and the way we drew then is that we abandoned pencil and paper during the fifth season". He wrote, "Why isn't he [SpongeBob] at least holding a Molotov cocktail? Episodes are finished in California, where they are edited and have music added. Wednesday is recording day, the same schedule followed by the crew since 1999. Puff's voice. Patrick's most significant character trait is his lack of common sense. Puff, who I love. [283] The series was also available to stream on Hulu starting in 2012 until the series was removed in 2016. "[192], Robert Thompson, a professor of communications and director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told The New York Times, There is something kind of unique about [SpongeBob]. 57. The melody was inspired by the sea shanty "Blow the Man Down". [110] Tom Kenny, who is normally uninvolved in the writing process, contributed to the episode's plot; he said in 2012 that he and Nickelodeon "wanted to do something just like those old school, stop-motion Rankin-Bass holiday specials ... which I watched over and over again when I was a kid growing up in Syracuse. So this was the easiest job I ever got: There was no audition, there was no callback, there was no “It’s down to you and two other guys.” Though I did hear that there was a push to have Fred Savage play SpongeBob. In his most recent appearances, he is a bald and wrinkly skinny dark green fish with a light gray beard and eyebrows. It was great. [41] The end of the episode when Mr. Krabs uses even more profanity than SpongeBob and Patrick, was inspired "by the fact that my [Drymon's] mother has a sailor mouth herself". Patrick Star is commonly theorized to be capable of unknown throughout the run of the show, and is confirmed in SpongeBob … [164][165][166] Weekly viewership of the series had reached around fifteen million, at least five million of whom were adults. [55] Zarghami was one of four executives in the room when SpongeBob SquarePants was screened for the first time. He said: "Jesus didn't turn people away. It held an average national Nielsen rating of 4.9 among children aged two through eleven, denoting 1.9 million viewers. The ages of cartoon characters are often a mystery or can be very tricky, as most characters don’t age no matter how long their series have been active, and others simply never reveal their age. ", "SpongeBob SquarePants: The Great Patty Caper", "SpongeBob SquarePants — WhoBob WhatPants? He is voiced by actor and comedian Tom Kenny. [266], As of 2011, episodes produced since the first film have been variously categorized by DVD Talk and DVD Verdict as "tedious",[269] "boring" and "dreck",[270] a "depressing plateau of mediocrity",[271] and "laugh-skimpy". [367] The attraction opened in early 2013 at the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration. [237][238] James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the video of promoting homosexuality because it was sponsored by a pro-tolerance group. [67][68] Instead, storylines are developed by a team of five outline and premise writers. [231] The video garnered nearly 50,000 views within its first week. [20] It is run by a small, green, one-eyed copepod[21] named Plankton and his computer-wife, Karen. Pearl does not want to continue the family business and would rather spend her time listening to pop music or working at the local shopping mall. [164], In October 2002, another Nickelodeon series, The Fairly OddParents, ranked as the number two program for children between two and eleven years old. As a late recruit to Rocko's Modern Life, he had not established much of a relationship with Hillenburg before SpongeBob's conception. [30][35][36] Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Squidward were the next characters Hillenburg created for the show. They eagerly await new episodes. Hillenburg contacted the band shortly after the album's release, explaining the baseline ideas for SpongeBob SquarePants, and also requested a song from the band, which they sent on Christmas Eve. [39][44] However, the Nickelodeon legal department discovered—after voice acting had been completed for the original seven-minute pilot episode—that the name "SpongeBoy" was already in use for a mop product. [18] Another of SpongeBob's friends is Sandy Cheeks, a thrill-seeking and athletic squirrel from Texas, who wears an air-filled diving suit to breathe underwater. [138][139][140] It was released as part of a five-episode DVD set on November 10, 2009. This show is amazing to me! [44] He forgot how to perform the voice initially and did not intend to use it afterward. [122], Steve Belfer, one of Hillenburg's friends from CalArts, wrote and performed the music heard over the end credits. [36], A cover of the song by Avril Lavigne can be found on the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack. "[16] Pittenger said the sky flowers were meant to "evoke the look of a flower-print Hawaiian shirt".[16]. He also usually wears blue overalls with two golden snaps along with a brown farmer hat. SpongeBob became the first animated character sculpted entirely out of wax. Dubbed "Painty the Pirate", according to Tom Kenny, Hillenburg found it in a thrift shop "years ago". SpongeBob is Mrs. Most of the dialogue and jokes are added during this stage. [329] In an interview with Tom Spurgeon, Bissette said, "I've even broken my retirement to do one work-for-hire gig [for SpongeBob Comics] so I could share everything about that kind of current job. Check out the cartoon's new 'concept vehicle' – EXCLUSIVE", "Toyota to Unveil 2014 Highlander SpongeBob Edition [Video]", "SpongeBob-Themed Toyota Highlander by Nickelodeon", "A new line of Spongebob Squarepants Masterpiece Memes figurines bring all your favorite SpongeBob memes to life", "Nickelodeon Releases Official Spongebob Meme Figures", SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition. [41] Fagerbakke auditioned for the role of Patrick after Kenny had been cast. [7] He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996 following the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life, and in 1997, a seven-minute pilot was pitched to Nickelodeon. Steve Hillenburg's creations will continue to bring joy to kids and families everywhere ", "SpongeBob: the excitable, absorbent star of Bikini Bottom", "COLUMN: Do you remember Bill Fagerbakke? [35] Drymon, Hillenburg, and Jennings returned with what was described by Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht as, "a performance [he] wished [he] had on tape". [11][12][13][c] Its citizens are mostly multicolored fish who live in buildings made from ship funnels and use "boatmobiles", amalgamations of cars and boats, as a mode of transportation. [48] Kenny has called him "one of SpongeBob's early graphics mentors". [409] Pirate's Booty released limited edition SpongeBob SquarePants Pirate's Booty snacks in 2013. "[216] In 2013, the publication ranked SpongeBob SquarePants the eighth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time. [12], Kids' meal tie-ins have been released in fast food restaurants in many parts of the world, including Burger King in Europe and North America, as well as Wendy's in North America, and Hungry Jack's in Australia. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate that wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). The first season's score primarily featured selections from the Associated Production Music Library, which Carr has said includes "lots of great old corny Hawaiian music and big, full, dramatic orchestral scores. It was Hillenburg's decision to adopt this approach. [44] Initially, Hillenburg wanted to use the name SpongeBoy—the character had no last name—and the series was to have been called SpongeBoy Ahoy! When in this outfit, the hair clip that keeps her hair in a ponytail changes color from dark pink to light pink. But also Caps and Leafs), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. It seems to be a refreshing breath from the pre-irony era. [225] After the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SpongeBob became a fashion phenomenon, appearing on various merchandise items from hijabs to boxer shorts. [231][232] According to the website that uploaded the video, this is one of the "most popular marching songs" in the Russian military. Neither do we. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. The Krusty Krab hosts a talent show where SpongeBob steals the show while mopping up the stage. [89] Lori Alan voices Pearl Krabs. Club wrote that as the series went on, "[it] leaned hard into kid-friendly physical humor and gross out moments that appealed to no one in particular". In the first quarter of 2012, the network cut back on the number of episodes it aired by 16% compared to a year earlier. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood protested the ad for being sexist and inappropriately sexual, especially considering SpongeBob's fan base includes young children. Show More . [58][104] The California crew storyboard each episode. Hillenburg modeled Mr. Krabs after his former manager at a seafood restaurant, whose strong Maine accent reminded Hillenburg of a pirate. "; Johnny Depp as the voice of the surf guru, Jack Kahuna Laguna, in the episode "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. [30][36][40][41][42] He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge and realized this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly. The Big One";[99] and Victoria Beckham as the voice of Queen Amphitrite in the episode "The Clash of Triton". This project became "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!”,[109] which reimagined the show's characters as if they were part of a Rankin/Bass holiday film. ", "SpongeBob + Sir Mix-A-Lot + Burger King = Offensive Commercial? [285] As part of CBS All Access's rebranding plan, the series joined along with other ViacomCBS shows on July 30, 2020. [224], The character has also become a trend in Egypt at Cairo's Tahrir Square. Animation for the series is outsourced from Korean animation studio, Jeffery's comments were also published by the, fifth-longest-running American animated series, Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight, List of SpongeBob SquarePants cast members, List of SpongeBob SquarePants guest stars, Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants, List of awards and nominations received by SpongeBob SquarePants, National Expert Commission of Ukraine on the Protection of Public Morality, List of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise, SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights, Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical, nuclear testing that occurred on the atoll, "SpongeBob SquarePants and the Indestructible Faith of Imagination", "Comic Riffs - The Interview: 'SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg", "CBS sets 'SpongeBob Christmas' for November", "Nickelodeon Marks 20 Years of SpongeBob SquarePants with the "Best Year Ever, "CBS All Access Adds 70 Shows From ViacomCBS's Networks Ahead of 2021 Rebranding", "Before the Tonys, SpongeBob Seized the Culture With Memes", "The Hype Soaking it Up' SpongeBob Actor Loves the Attention", "SpongeBob SquarePants Answers 7 Big Questions And Debunks 1 Popular Theory", "Stephen Hillenburg created the undersea world of SpongeBob", "Big Pop Fun #28: Stephen Hillenburg, Artist and Animator–Interview", "Did You Know: Ween's 'The Mollusk' Helped Inspire The Creation Of SpongeBob Squarepants", "A Deep Dive Into Ween, the Band that Birthed Bikini Bottom", "Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews Joe Murray, creator of Rocko's Modern Life", "SpongeBob Turns 10 Valued At $8 Billion", "SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Steve Hillenburg", "Nickelodeon's 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Reaches A Milestone: 10 Years", "The Interview: 'SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg", "The show isn't cancelled.