SpongeBob SquarePants

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***SpongeBob SquarePants*** is an animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. The series premiered with a sneak-peek preview after the Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. Its official debut was on July 17th of the same year with the episode pair "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants".

The main character is an accident-prone sea sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, who lives in an underwater pineapple with his pet snail Gary. His neighbors are his best friend, Patrick Star, and a sour octopus named Squidward. SpongeBob works for a cheapskate crab named Mr. Krabs, who lives in an anchor with his whale daughter Pearl. SpongeBob is enrolled in a boat-driving school run by Mrs. Puff, a pufferfish, and often spends time with a thrill-seeking squirrel from Texas named Sandy. The villains of the show are Plankton and Karen, the owners of a failing restaurant called the Chum Bucket. Most episodes take place in the town of Bikini Bottom or on the surrounding seafloor.

The cartoon is designed to appeal to older viewers as much as to children. 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. A flurry of bubbles accompany many actions, to remind the viewer everything is underwater. Squidward lives in an Easter Island head and Patrick lives under a rock. The suggestion is that the characters' dwellings have fallen from a tropical island to become underwater habitats. Snails behave like cats, while jellyfish act like bees, worms are the undersea equivalent of dogs, and scallops are often likened to birds.

*The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie*, the first theatrical film based on the series, was released on November 19, 2004. According to *Square Roots*, the movie was also the reason for the long production hiatus between the third and fourth season. A second movie, titled *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water*, was released on February 6, 2015. A third movie, titled *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run*, was released on August 14, 2020 in Canada and August 13, 2020 in the Czech Republic. It was released on Paramount+ on March 4, 2021 in the United States.

## History/Production

Main article: History of SpongeBob SquarePants

## Theme song

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song

The theme song, a sea shanty-style tune is sung by Pat Pinney and can also be found on the soundtrack, *SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights*. A cover of the song by superstar Avril Lavigne can be found on the soundtrack for *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie*. There was also a choral version done for the early episodes.

For several special episodes, the theme song was altered to fit the plot of the episode, such as in "Christmas Who?" and "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?"

## Characters

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters

* **SpongeBob SquarePants** - A square sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He works at the Krusty Krab along with his boring neighbor Squidward. He has a best friend named Patrick Star.
* **Patrick Star** - A cheerful, naive, and unintelligent starfish who is SpongeBob's best friend. He lives under a rock to the right of Squidward's house. He is unemployed but has held various temporary jobs throughout the series.
* **Squidward Tentacles** - An arrogant octopus who lives in an Easter Island head between SpongeBob and Patrick's houses. Although loved by the other characters, Squidward is pessimistic and asocial. He loathes his job as the cashier at the Krusty Krab.
* **Sandy Cheeks** - Another friend of SpongeBob's, Sandy is an athletic squirrel from Texas. She wears an astronaut suit and lives in an air-filled "Treedome" so that she can survive Bikini Bottom's ocean environment. She works as a scientist and an inventor.
* **Eugene H. Krabs** - The cheapskate, 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 a whale.
* **Sheldon J. Plankton** - A small green copepod who runs the failing Chum Bucket restaurant along with his sentient computer Karen. His goal is to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula and run Mr. Krabs out of business. He is a skilled inventor and often creates machines to assist him in his plots.
* **Karen Plankton** - A waterproof supercomputer who lives in the Chum Bucket laboratory. She acts as Plankton's sidekick and wife, providing him with evil plans to steal the recipe for Krabby Patties. Plankton always takes the credit for Karen's ideas and ends up messing them up.
* **Mrs. Puff** - SpongeBob's teacher at boating school. She is a pufferfish who blows up like an airbag whenever she is scared or crashes. SpongeBob is her longest-standing student. She is Mr. Krabs' love interest and girlfriend.
* **Pearl Krabs** - A whale who lives in a hollow anchor with her father, Mr. Krabs. When she grows up, her father wants her to continue the family business by inheriting the Krusty Krab and becoming its owner. She is currently a teenager who spends most of her time and money at the mall.
* **Gary** - SpongeBob's pet snail who meows like a cat, as do the other snails on the show. He is very intelligent, as revealed in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied." Gary actually wears shoes, and taught SpongeBob how to tie his shoes. Gary also has many other items stored in his shell.

## Episodes

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants episode list

### Movies

 *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water* | February 6, 2015
 *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run* | March 4, 2021

## Home video releases

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants videography

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants international videography

## Cast

* **Tom Kenny**: SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, Patchy the Pirate, French Narrator
* **Bill Fagerbakke**: Patrick Star
* **Rodger Bumpass**: Squidward Tentacles
* **Clancy Brown**: Eugene H. Krabs
* **Doug Lawrence**: Sheldon J. Plankton, Potty the Parrot (since 2017), Larry the Lobster
* **Jill Talley**: Karen Plankton
* **Carolyn Lawrence**: Sandy Cheeks
* **Mary Jo Catlett**: Mrs. Puff
* **Lori Alan**: Pearl Krabs
* **Stephen Hillenburg**: Potty the Parrot (2000-2004)
* **Paul Tibbitt**: Potty the Parrot (2005-2012)
* **Dee Bradley Baker**: Various characters, including Bubble Bass and Squilliam Fancyson
* **Sirena Irwin**: Various characters, including Margaret SquarePants
* **Thomas F. Wilson**: Various characters
* **Carlos Alazraqui**: Scooter
* **Ernest Borgnine**: Mermaid Man (1999-2012)
* **Tim Conway**: Barnacle Boy ([2020|1999-2012; 2020] archive recordings in *SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated*)
* **Brian Doyle-Murray**: The Flying Dutchman
* **Charles Nelson Reilly**: The Dirty Bubble
* **Marion Ross**: Grandma SquarePants (2001-2011)

### Movie cast

* **Scarlett Johansson**: Princess Mindy
* **Jeffrey Tambor**: King Neptune
* **Alec Baldwin**: Dennis
* **Antonio Banderas**: Burger-Beard the Pirate
* **Matt Berry**: Bubbles, King Poseidon
* **Awkwafina**: Otto
* **Keanu Reeves**: Sage
* **Snoop Dogg**: The Gambler
* **Danny Trejo**: El Diablo
* **Tiffany Haddish**: Master of Ceremonies
* **Reggie Watts**: Chancellor

## Crew

* Stephen Hillenburg: Creator, Showrunner (1999–2004), Executive Producer (1999-2018)
* Derek Drymon: Creative Director/Writer/Story Editor/Executive Producer (1999-2004)
* Sherm Cohen: Art Director/Writer/Executive Prouducer (2005-2006)
* Paul Tibbitt: Writer/Storyboard Director/Backing Voice Actor/Executive Producer, Showrunner (1999-2004; 2005-2017)
* Merriwether Williams: Story Editor/Writer
* Doug 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
* David Wigforss: Special Effects (CG visual effects animator)
* Caleb Muerer: Art Director
* Andy Rheingold: Executive in Charge of Production
* 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-), Showrunner (2015-)
* Alan Smart: Animation Director
* Tom Yasumi: Animation Director
* Andrew Overtoom: Animation Director
* Sean Dempsey: Animation Director
* Chris Reccardi: Storyboard Director & Writer

## Trivia

* The pilot version of "Help Wanted" (1997) had a different intro sequence in its original form; the actual theme song had not been written at the time.
* *SpongeBob* is the second-longest-running current Nickelodeon series and the longest-running Nickelodeon animated series. Nickelodeon's oldest show overall is *Nick News with Linda Ellerbee*, which aired for 23 years, from 1992 to 2015. However in 2022, it will take the title
	+ *SpongeBob* is also the second longest-running ViacomCBS-produced animated series, right behind Comedy Central's *South Park*.
* *SpongeBob* was the third Nicktoon to have a sneak preview airing after a Kids Choice Awards ceremony, the first two being *The Angry Beavers* and *CatDog*.

## Broadcast history

 Template:Flagicon UKUnited Kingdom
Template:Flagicon IrelandIreland
 Brazil
Rede Globo (2000-2015)
SBT (2015-present)
 Template:Flagicon CanadaCanada
 Albania
 Arabic Speaking Countries
 China

## External links

* Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
* SpongeBob SquarePants on Wikipedia
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