SpongeBob Biography
Popularity
SpongeBob is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon,
according to the network, to become extremely popular.
Low-budget cartoons had not garnered as much esteem as
higher-rated shows, such as Rugrats, although when
SpongeBob aired in 1999, it had obtained a substantial
amount of viewers in the ratings to be considered
popular. SpongeBob follows some other Nickelodeon shows
that have attracted "older" followers: The Ren & Stimpy
Show, Rocko's Modern Life, the Kablam! skits, Action
League Now!, and The Angry Beavers. Other shows have
followed in this trend as well: The Fairly OddParents
and Invader Zim took a similar role when they aired in
2001, and the former is now second only to SpongeBob in
popularity.
Broad appeal
The cartoon is designed to appeal to children as well as
older viewers. This has a lot to do with the way
underwater life and situations are represented,
absurdly, as though they are almost equivalent to normal
terrestrial lifestyles. Instead of cars, the residents
of Bikini Bottom drive boats (with wheels). Once, while
on a camping trip, Patrick questions how they could have
a camp fire on the lagoon bottom—the fire is immediately
extinguished with a sizzle. A flurry of bubbles
accompany many actions, just to remind the viewer
everything is underwater. The main character SpongeBob
lives in a pineapple, while his neighbor Squidward lives
in an Easter Island head and Patrick lives under a rock.
The suggestion is that both have fallen from a tropical
island to become underwater habitats. Spongebob's
house-pet is a snail named Gary, who meows like a cat
(though characters have shown signs of being able to
understand him). In relation to this, underwater worms
bark (and act) exactly like dogs, and are kept on
chains. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees (buzzing
and stinging), but are collected or appreciated like
butterflies and are used for their delicious jelly. In
addition to this, instead of peanut butter, SpongeBob
SquarePants uses what is called in Bikini Bottom,
"Sea-Nut Butter". Aside from the many undersea puns,
some common products from the surface world have somehow
found their way into Bikini Bottom, such as Canned
Bread, Roast Beef, and even Pizza. How this happened is
never explained throughout the show, but since Bikini
Bottom is a mythical city, just about anything seems to
work.
SpongeBob is one cartoon in a long line of shows to put
in more "adult" references, and has become so popular
with the adult crowd that it has been shown on MTV and
Spike TV. A certain quote by Patrick ("It's gonna
rock!") has been used as a promo for rock stations. Ren
and Stimpy, among others, had followed a similar path.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released on November
19, 2004, features a cameo appearance by actor David
Hasselhoff, reprising his role from the Baywatch TV
series.
History
Origin (1993–1999)
SpongeBob's history can be traced back to 1993 when
Rocko's Modern Life first aired. One of the producers
was Stephen Hillenburg, a cartoon worker/marine
biologist who loved both his careers. When Rocko's
Modern Life was cancelled in 1997, Hillenburg began
working on SpongeBob (although some sketches trace back
to 1996). He teamed up with creative director Derek
Drymon, who had worked on shows such as Doug, Action
League Now!, and Hey Arnold!. Drymon had worked with
Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life as well, as did many
SpongeBob crew members, including writer Tim Hill and
voice actors Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence. Another crew
member with previous Nickelodeon cartoon experience was
former Angry Beavers story editor Merriwether Williams,
who worked on that show for its first few seasons and
switched to SpongeBob in July 1999.
During production of the show, Hillenburg provided a
concept of short comics with the same style of the show,
but the characters looked different. SpongeBob used to
be named SpongeBoy, and used to wear a red hat with a
green base and a white business shirt with a tie. The
name "SpongeBoy" did not make it into the show since the
name was already officially trademarked by Bob Burden,
creator of Flaming Carrot. Hillenburg later chose the
alternative name "SpongeBob." The original name was once
referenced in the show by Mr. Krabs' line, "SpongeBoy,
me Bob!." The Krusty Krab was originally spelled with
the letter C rather than K, but Stephen Hillenburg
thought K's were funnier.
Merchandising and Marketing
Merchandise based on the show ranges from Kraft Macaroni
& Cheese, Kellogg's cereal, and video games to boxer
shorts, pajamas, and t-shirts. The show also spawned a
large and popular merchandise line at Hot Topic,
Claire's, RadioShack, Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys "R" Us
stores. There have been kids meal tie-ins at Wendy's for
SpongeBob's House Party Special in 2002 and at Burger
King restaurants in 2001, 2003, and for the movie in
2004; in 2004, thieves stole nine-foot-high by
nine-foot-wide SpongeBob inflatables from the Burger
King restaurant franchises, demanding Krabby Patties as
ransom. The ransom note was signed by someone in
Minneapolis, Minnesota claiming to be Sheldon J.
Plankton, a character from the show. SpongeBob was also
featured on VH1's I Love the 90s: Part Deux: 1999 as
part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black. More
recently, a tie-in beverage for 7-Eleven convenience
stores has been created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee.
Events in the past with the SpongeBob SquarePants theme
include an exhibit at Underwater Adventures Aquarium in
the Mall of America called SeaCrits of Bikini Bottom
during the summer of 2003. In October 2004, a NASCAR
Busch Series race was named The SpongeBob SquarePants
Movie 300, presented by Lowe's and broadcast on TNT
featuring Jimmie Johnson's #48 Lowe's stock car and Kyle
Busch's #5 stock car painted for the race with the
SpongeBob Movie paint schemes. There were even contests
tied in with the movie where you could win cool stuff or
a trip to the Cayman Islands.
Rise to popularity (1999–2000)
SpongeBob blowing the sand off Squidward with his
reef-blower.In 1999, SpongeBob aired its first episode,
"Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome", after the
1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. At this time,
Rugrats was at the height of its popularity and had
already outlived dozens of other lower-budget cartoons.
SpongeBob, with its generally lower-class animation and
humor style more rooted in clever word-play and
culture-references unlike the potty humor that made
Rugrats so popular, was expected to be just another one
of those shows. Although it struggled in its early days,
its ratings flew up. After about a year, it surpassed
Rugrats as Nick's most highly rated show. SpongeBob's
signature voice (provided by Kenny) and humorous style
was enjoyable to both younger and older audiences. Many
people attribute the "Fall Of Rugrats/Klasky-Csupo/Rise
Of Low-Budget Cartoons" to SpongeBob.
Peak years (2000–2003)
Barnacle Boy facing off with Squidward.The show began
its second season in 2000 with more high-quality
animation and even more popular episodes. By then it was
clear to the world that SpongeBob had opened the door to
many other cartoons to use more "adult" senses of humor
and come from smaller companies. In 2001, The Fairly
OddParents aired from the then-small Frederator company.
It focused on a sense of humor similar to SpongeBob’s,
only more realistic, slightly crazier (and more
suggestive to "adult" topics), and with more pop culture
references; this show managed to become a hit as well
and currently ranks behind SpongeBob as Nick's second
most popular show. That same year, Invader Zim aired,
created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez; it had a
dark but silly sense of humor (similar to Vasquez's
other comic books) that managed to attract a very loyal
cult following consisting more of teens and adults than
young children (Though also containing a moderate amount
of preteens). SpongeBob, however, was the leader of all
these shows and had by this time started its now famous
merchandise line.
2002 also saw a bright side, as the first part of that
year saw SpongeBob at its peak. The beginning of the
third season produced many classic episodes and focused
on the same style and animation concepts. The year also
saw another more low-budget show with popularity (The
Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius), but things
changed late in the year. There was high speculation
that the show would be canceled very soon. Fans were
devastated and online petitions were widely distributed.
Rumors of a movie closing the show in 2004 were all over
talk, but fans just wanted more show. The highly
extended third season lasted through 2003, with fans on
their knees, and 2004, the year that would decide
everything. What was thought to be the last episode, "SpongeBob
Meets The Strangler/Pranks A Lot" would air in October
of 2004 and the movie was to be released in November of
that year.
Hiatus/Movie Era (2003–2005)
(see furthur below for controversies)
The show continued to gain high approval ratings despite
a lack of new episodes, and many feared they would never
air. Thankfully, the president of Nickelodeon announced
that the show would continue without Hillenburg
featuring Derek Drymon as executive producer and Paul
Tibbit taking over Drymons role as supervising producer.
As its movie only achieved over $85,000,000 in revenue
in the United States, it has been assumed that the
show's popularity has declined. The Rugrats Movie, on
the other hand, earned over $100,000,000 in the United
States (it was around this time that the animated series
which it is based on, Rugrats, was at the height of its
popularity. Ironically, that movie would also be
considered Rugrats' jump the shark moment by many
fans.).
Season 4 (2005- )
Fear of a Krabby Patty.TV advertisements for
SpongeBob's fourth season first aired publicly during
the 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The new
episodes began airing on May 6, 2005. So far, four new
episodes and nine segments of new episodes have aired,
with more upcoming including an episode about Gary
running away and a sixth Mermaidman & Barnacle Boy.
The first new episode of Season 4, "Fear Of A Krabby
Patty/Shell Of A Man", was a huge hit with many fans who
had long been bored with the show and many more faithful
ones who have been waiting for new episodes for years.
After airing three new episodes on Fridays from May 6 to
20, Nickelodeon did not premiere any new SpongeBob
episodes until September 2005.
For the first time in SpongeBob's run, Nickelodeon began
airing 11-minute segments of new episodes separately,
spread over two days. This practice began with the
airing of the episode "Selling Out" on September 23; its
companion episode, "Funny Pants," premeired the
following week on September 30 (Nickelodeon did air
"Selling Out" and "Funny Pants" together as a rerun on
October 9, 2005).
Also for the first time, SpongeBob SquarePants will be
featured in a Nickelodeon TV movie set to air November
11, entitled Where's Gary?.
Characters
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SpongeBob SquarePants - A square sponge who lives in
a pineapple under the sea. He works at the Krusty Krab
with his boring neighbor Squidward. He believes that no
one has ulterior motives, and believes almost anything
that anybody tells him.
Squidward Tentacles - A bad-tempered and hostile octopus
that lives in an Easter Island moai between the
domiciles of SpongeBob and Patrick. Although loved by
the other characters, Squidward appears pessimistic and
antisocial. This is because of his curmudgeonly nature.
Patrick Star - A cheerful, naive and unintelligent
starfish; SpongeBob's best friend. He lives under a rock
to the left of Squidward's house. Everybody but
Spongebob realizes that Patrick is, to put it bluntly,
stupid.
Sandy Cheeks - Another friend of SpongeBob's, Sandy is
an athletic squirrel from Texas. She wears an old
spacesuit and lives in the "Treedome" so that she can
survive Bikini Bottom's ocean environment. She is a
scientist, in episodes like "Funny Pants and "Sandy's
Rocket". She gets mad at SpongeBob and Patrick when they
kidnap her and other residents of Bikini Bottom in
"Sandy's Rocket", Spongebob and Patrick believing the
other residents were aliens.
Eugene H. Krabs - The money-addicted, miserly owner of
the Krusty Krab. Commonly known as Mr. Krabs, he is
SpongeBob and Squidward's boss. He lives in an anchor
with his daughter Pearl, who is literally as big as a
whale.
Gary - SpongeBob's pet snail, who acts very much like a
cat, meowing, sleeping, and avoiding baths. Very
intelligent, as revealed in the episode "Sleepy Time."
Gary actually wears shoes, and taught SpongeBob how to
tie his shoes. Gary also has a record player in his
shell.
Sheldon J. Plankton - The owner of the restaurant The
Chum Bucket and Mr. Krabs' main rival. Usually referred
to by his surname, Plankton, he has one eye with a red
iris. Plankton is supposed to be modeled after a kind of
plankton called a copepod. He is determined to steal the
secret Krabby Patty formula from The Krusty Krab and run
Mr. Krabs out of business. The Chum Bucket looks like a
big bucket, with a hand grasping the handle. The words
"The Chum Bucket" are written in red on the front of it.
Voice actors and their characters
Tom Kenny:
SpongeBob SquarePants,
Gary the Snail, French Narrator, Patchy the Pirate,
a Six-armed green Octopus, the laughing voice of
Squidward Tentacles (only in Funny Pants), Mr.
Squarepants,
 |
Uncle Sherm SquarePants, Grandpa SquarePants,
Fred (Home Sweet Pineapple), Tom (some episodes)
Dee Bradley Baker: Squilliam Fancyson, Various six-armed
green Octopusses, Customers, Vendors
Rodger Bumpass: Squidward Tentacles, Mama Tentacles
Bill Fagerbakke:
Patrick Starfish
Carolyn Lawrence:
Sandy Cheeks
Clancy Brown: Eugene Krabs
Doug Lawrence (a.k.a. Mr. Lawrence): Sheldon J.
Plankton,
Larry Lobster, Plankton's Mother, Fred, Tom
Lori Alan:
Pearl Krabs, Patrick's mother
Mary Jo Catlett: Mrs. Poppy Puff
Sirena Irwin: Mrs. Squarepants, Mama Krabs
Ernest Borgnine: Mermaid Man
Tim Conway: Barnacle Boy
Stephen Hillenburg: Potty
Brian Doyle-Murray: The Flying Dutchman
Charles Nelson Reilly: The Dirty Bubble
Marion Ross: Grandma SquarePants
Jill Talley: Karen (Plankton's computer wife)
John Rhys-Davies: Man Ray
John O'Hurley: King Neptune (Neptune's Spatula)
Sergio Ristie: King Neptune (SpongeBob's House Party
(Party Pooper Pants))
Kevin Michael Richardson: King Neptune (voice in
SpongeBob's House Party (Party Pooper Pants))
Carlos Alazraqui: Additional Voices (Seasons 1-3)
Thomas F. Wilson: Additional Voices
Clea Lewis: Additional Voices
Guest Voices and Stars in the Movie
Jeffrey Tambor: King Neptune
Scarlett Johansson: Princess Mindy
Alec Baldwin: Dennis the Hitman
David Hasselhoff: Himself
Theme song
The theme song, based on sea shanties, most likely "Blow
the Man Down", is the principal song used in the series.
It is sung by Painty the Pirate, voiced by Pat Pinney,
and can be found on the soundtrack, SpongeBob
SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights. A cover of the
song by Avril Lavigne can be found on The SpongeBob
SquarePants Movie (soundtrack). A choral version was
recorded for the SpongeBob Christmas special where the
last words, "SquarePants", were replaced by "Christmas
special".
Painty: Are you ready, kids?
Kids: AYE-AYE, CAPTAIN!
Painty: I can't hear you!
Kids: AYE-AYE, CAPTAIN!
Painty: Oh...Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Kids: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
Painty: Absorbent and yellow and porous as he!
Kids: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
Painty: If nautical nonsense be something you wish,
Kids: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
Painty: Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish!
Kids: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!
Painty: Ready?
Painty & Kids: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, SPONGEBOB
SQUAREPANTS, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS,
Painty: SPONGEBOB...SQUAREPANTS!
Controversy
Despite the show's popularity, SpongeBob has endured
controversy. Although this is not new for Nickelodeon;
many of its cartoons, including Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's
Modern Life, The Angry Beavers, Invader Zim and The
Fairly OddParents, have sparked controversy in one way
or another. SpongeBob's popularity has made its
controversy more noticeable and larger scale.
SpongeBob was seemingly uncontroversial during the first
two seasons and the beginning of the third season.
However SpongeBob and Patrick's close friendship in many
episodes (particularly 2 Season 3 episodes, including
one where Sponge and Star hold hands) led some viewers
to the conclusion that sponges were the next gay icon.
In the 2002 episode "Rock-A-Bye-Bivalve", SpongeBob and
Patrick adopt a baby scallop, furthering the many
controversial rumors because of its implications that
the two made major life decisions together as a couple
would. Spongebob is sometimes portrayed for brief
moments in women's clothing, (in three episodes), often
cited by people as evidence to support the controversy,
however it should be noted that SpongeBob is one of many
other famous cartoon and slapstick characters, including
the mega-popular classic Bugs Bunny to have gone above
the limits and endure controversy. Stephen Hillenburg,
creator of the show itself, states SpongeBob to be
asexual, as he is a sponge. Some fans speculate
otherwise because part of the adult humor of the show is
that a Spongebob, sometimes will panic when it's shown
not wearing underwear, as if he were a human, and run
and hide back to his pineapple. In early episodes, it's
revealed that Spongebob reproduces by budding and making
children sponges come out of his holes, thereby
supporting Hillenburg's statement. This is not so
different than what real sponges do. Aside from the
controversy of "Rock-A-Bye Bivalve", there are actually
many heterosexual relationships on the show (eg. Mr.
Krabs/Mrs. Puff Spongebob's parents, Pearl/Octavious,
Rex Plankton/Mama Krabs, Gary/Snelly Plankton/Karen,
Patrick/Mindy, and in many early episodes there is a
slight romantic relationship between Spongebob and
Sandy), and arguably no gay relationships at all, and
many agree it does not endorse abnormalcy in any way.
Independent of assumptions, the cartoon's acceptance and
optimism have made it popular within parts of the
real-lives.
More recently, SpongeBob was featured in the
pro-tolerance "We Are Family" commercial, along with
many other cartoon characters. The video has sparked
controversy because some conservative Christian groups
believe that the We Are Family Foundation was using it
to promote the normalization of homosexuality in
American schools. A spokesman for the foundation
suggests that anyone who thought the video promoted
homosexuality "needs to visit their doctor and get their
medication increased."[1]. Many fans have also pointed
to the fact that many more characters besides SpongeBob
were featured in the commercial, and SpongeBob's
appearance is only a few seconds long. It has been
incorrectly reported that James Dobson, a leading figure
among many conservative Christians, believes SpongeBob
is homosexual or promotes a homosexual lifestyle.
See the minor characters in SpongeBob SquarePants.
Main crew
Stephen Hillenburg: Creator/Executive Producer (Left
Show In 2004)
Derek Drymon: Creative Director/Writer/Story
Editor/Executive Producer Starting 2005
Sherm Cohen: Art Director/Writer/
Paul Tibbitt: Writer/Storyboard Director/Supervising
Producer Starting 2005
Merriwether Williams: Story Editor/Writer
Doug Lawrence (a.k.a. Mr. Lawrence): Writer/Story Editor
Chuck Klein: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
Jay Lender: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
Sam Henderson: Writer/Storyboard Director
Kaz: Writer/Storyboard Artist
Aaron Springer: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
C.H. Greenblatt: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
Bradley Carow: Music
Sage Guyton: Music
Steven Belfer: Music
Jeremy Wakefield: Music
Nicholas Carr: Music
David Wigforss: Special Effects (CG visual effects
animator)
Caleb Muerer: Art Director/Storyboard Artist
Andy Rheingold: Executive in Charge of Production
Steven Banks: Head Writer (2004—)
Tim Hill: Writer
Eric Wiese: Writer/Storyboard Artist
Mark O'Hare: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
Steven Fonti: Writer/Storyboard Director (1999)
Chris Mitchell: Writer/Storyboard Artist (1999)
Mike Bell: Writer/Storyboard Director (2005—)
Vincent Waller: Writer/Storyboard Artist &
Director/Technical Director (2005—)
Alan Smart: Animation Director
Tom Yasumi: Animation Director
Andrew Overtoom: Animation Director
Sean Dempsey: Animation Director
Movie (2004)
This SpongeBob Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2006 Chuck Ayoub