SpongeBob SquarePants
[23] Recurring guest characters appear throughout the series including: the retired superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, who are idolized by SpongeBob and Patrick; a pirate specter known as the Flying Dutchman; the muscular lifeguard of Goo Lagoon, Larry the Lobster; and the merman god of the sea, King Neptune.[citation needed] Special (generally half-hour or hour-long) episodes of the show are hosted by a live-action pirate named Patchy and his pet parrot Potty, whose segments are presented in a dual narrative with the animated stories.Recurring locations within Bikini Bottom include the neighboring houses of SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward; two competing restaurants, the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket; Mrs.Puff's Boating School, which includes a driving course and a sunken lighthouse; the Treedome, an oxygenated glass enclosure where Sandy lives; Shady Shoals Rest Home; a seagrass meadow called Jellyfish Fields; and Goo Lagoon, a subaqueous brine pool that is a popular beach hangout.He created a precursor to SpongeBob SquarePants: a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone used by the institute to teach visiting students about the animal life of tide pools.[33][38][39][42] In determining the new character's behavior, Hillenburg drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis, and Pee-wee Herman."SquarePants" was chosen as a family name after Kenny saw a picture of the character and remarked, "Boy, look at this sponge in square pants, thinking he can get a job in a fast food place.[42][45] Hill contributed scripts for several first-season episodes (including the pilot)[52][53][54][55] and was offered the role of story editor, but turned it down—he would go on to pursue a career as a family film director.[61] Hillenburg appointed Paul Tibbitt, who had previously served on the show as a writer, director, and storyboard artist, to take over his role as showrunner to produce additional seasons.[48] Rocko's Modern Life had also used storyboarding derived from short outlines, and having worked on that series, Hillenburg felt strongly about adopting the process for SpongeBob SquarePants—even though Nickelodeon was beginning to show a greater preference for script-driven cartoons.[44][60] For example, the episode "Sailor Mouth", where SpongeBob and Patrick learn profanity,[60] was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience as a child of getting into trouble for using the f-word in front of his mother.[98] Notable guests who have provided vocal cameo appearances include: David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness in the television film Atlantis SquarePantis;[99][100] John Goodman as the voice of Santa in the episode "It's a SpongeBob Christmas![112] 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".The film is narrated by Ricky Gervais and features live action cameo appearances by: Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, P!nk, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and Robin Williams.[232][233][234] In a statement, Brown Johnson, Nickelodeon's animation president, said, "SpongeBob's's success in reaching over 200 episodes is a testament to creator Stephen Hillenburg's vision, comedic sensibility and his dynamic, lovable characters.James Poniewozik of Time magazine described the title character as "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match—conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him."[238] According to Laura Fries of Variety magazine, the series is "a thoughtful and inventive cartoon about a hopelessly optimistic and resilient sea sponge ... Devoid of the double entendres rife in today's animated TV shows, this is purely kid's stuff. ..."[240] Robert Thompson, a professor of communications and director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told The New York TimesThere is something kind of unique about [SpongeBob].[279] Following Hillenburg's death in November 2018, more than 1.2 million fans signed a petition for the National Football League to have the song "Sweet Victory" from the season 2 episode "Band Geeks" performed in his honor at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show.[308][e] The 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".[310] Questions about SpongeBob's sexuality resurfaced in 2020 after Nickelodeon's official Twitter account posted an image of the character, in rainbow colors with text celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and its allies during Pride Month.Although the post did not make any assertions about SpongeBob's sexual orientation, numerous users responded on social media, claiming they already had their suspicions that he might be gay or reasserting Hillenburg's description of asexuality.[318][319] A Nickelodeon executive responded in an interview the series was not intended for an audience of that age and that the study used "questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust.[329] ViacomCBS eventually pulled the episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" (season 3), first aired in 2003, out of circulation in March 2021, presumably due to its ending in which SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs partake in a panty raid.[332][333][334] In 2012, MSN cited a post on Encyclopedia SpongeBobia, a Fandom-hosted wiki, which said that many fans felt the series had "jumped the shark" following the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and that online fansites were becoming "deserted".[333] Nickelodeon faced criticism from fans and former staff like Paul Tibbitt when the network greenlit spinoffs (see below) after the death of Hillenburg, who had previously expressed hesitation in deriving from the parent series.[188][341] Nickelodeon animation head Ramsey Naito said of the series, "SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for Kamp Koral is a testament to the strength and longevity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world."[355] Billed as Super Bowl LVIII: Live from Bikini Bottom, the broadcast incorporated SpongeBob-themed augmented reality effects and features (in addition to those seen on previous games aired by the network), and appearances by characters from the series (SpongeBob and Patrick acted as "analysts" alongside announcers Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson, with Sandy Cheeks taking on "sideline reporter" duties).[429][430] The contest encouraged fans and filmmakers around the world to create original short films inspired by SpongeBob for a chance to win a prize and a trip for four people to a screening event in Hollywood.[449] In Australia, the advertisement for the McDonald's SpongeBob Happy Meal won the Pester Power Award because the ads enticed young children to want its food because of the free toy.
SpongeBob SquarePants (character)SpongeBob SquarePants (disambiguation)Animated sitcomComedySurreal comedyStephen HillenburgDerek DrymonTim HillNicholas R. JenningsPaul TibbittMarc CeccarelliVincent WallerTom KennyBill FagerbakkeRodger BumpassClancy BrownMr. LawrenceJill TalleyCarolyn LawrenceMary Jo CatlettLori Alancomplete listPatrick PinneyThe Blue Hawaiianslist of episodesUnited Plankton PicturesNickelodeon Animation StudioNickelodeonThe Patrick Star Showanimated television seriesmarine science1999 Kids' Choice AwardsSpongeBob SquarePantsBikini BottomRocko's Modern LifePokémonfifth-longest-running American animated seriesfifteenth seasona multimedia franchiseParamount Consumer ProductsThe SpongeBob SquarePants Moviestreaming televisionBroadway musicalcomic book seriesvideo gamesAnnie AwardsEmmy AwardsBAFTA Children's AwardsKids' Choice AwardsMillennialsGeneration ZList of SpongeBob SquarePants charactersPlanktonMr. KrabsSpongeBobSquidwardPatrickMrs. Puffsea spongefry cookKrusty Krabbutterfly catchingsea snailPatrick StarstarfishSquidward Tentaclessperm whaleSandy CheekscannibalismcopepodpufferfishintertitlesJacques CousteauMermaid Man and Barnacle Boymermanlive-actionPatchydual narrativeBikini Bottom (disambiguation)Bikini AtollbenthicPacific Oceancoral reefChum Bucketlighthouseseagrass meadowbrine poolpilot episodeHawaiian shirtOcean InstituteDana Point, Californiamarine biologymaritime historyanthropomorphicThe MolluskCalifornia Institute of the Artstheory of relativityJoe Murrayfourth seasoncreative directorMartin Olsonbuddy comediesThe Ren & Stimpy ShowCharlie ChaplinLaurel and HardyJerry LewisPee-wee HermanNick JenningsAlan SmartDoug Lawrenceseries bibleMark O'HareCitizen Dogstory editorBurbankpitchedstoryboardsTiny TimLivin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the MoonlightterrariumEric ColemanHelp WantedAlbie HechtKevin KayCyma Zarghamishowrunner