SpongeBob SquarePants (show)

*This page is about the show, if you're looking for the character then see SpongeBob SquarePants*

## SpongeBob SquarePants

### Genre

Comedy
Surreal Comedy

### Created by

Stephen Hillenburg

***SpongeBob SquarePants*** (also simply referred to as ***SpongeBob***) is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. The series chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his aquatic friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The fifth-longest-running American animated series, its popularity has made it a media franchise. It is the highest rated series to air on Nickelodeon and it is the most distributed property from ViacomCBS Networks International. The media franchise has generated more than $13 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon.

Many of the series' ideas originated in *The Intertidal Zone*, an unpublished educational book that Hillenburg created in 1989 to teach his students about undersea life. 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. He turned to Tom Kenny, who had worked with him on that series, to voice the title character. SpongeBob was originally going to be named SpongeBoy, and the series called *SpongeBoy Ahoy!*; both of these were changed as the name was already trademarked.

Nickelodeon held a preview for the series in the United States on May 1, 1999, after it aired the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards. The series officially premiered on July 17, 1999. It has received worldwide critical acclaim since its premiere and had gained enormous popularity by its second season. A feature film, *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie*, was released in theaters on November 19, 2004. A second film adaptation, *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water*, followed on February 6, 2015. A third film, *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run*, was released in Canadian theaters on August 14, 2020 followed by a premiere on video-on-demand and Paramount+ on March 4, 2021. In 2018, the series began airing its twelfth season; it was renewed for a thirteenth season on July 17, 2019, which began airing in October 2020. As of July 30, 2020, all prior seasons of the show are available on Paramount+.

*SpongeBob SquarePants* has won a variety of awards including six Annie Awards, eight Golden Reel Awards, four Emmy Awards, 18 Kids' Choice Awards, and two BAFTA Children's Awards. A Broadway musical based on the series opened in 2017 to critical acclaim. *Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years*, a computer-animated prequel spin-off series, debuted in March 2021 on the streaming service Paramount+, while *The Patrick Star Show*, a spin-off series focused on the character Patrick Star, debuted in July 2021 on Nickelodeon. An additional spin-off series, an untitled project based on the character Squidward Tentacles, is in development as of 2020.

## Nicktoons Unite! series

SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the main characters in the Nicktoons Unite! series, being the only one aside from Danny Phantom to appear in every installment.

### Nicktoons Unite!

SpongeBob appears as a playable character in Nicktoons Unite! and teams up with Danny Phantom, Timmy Turner and Jimmy Neutron to save their dimensions. Plankton appears as one of the main antagonists of the game and Bikini Bottom as the second level.

The heroes' travel to Bikini Bottom (with Jimmy, Danny, and Timmy using Jimmy's air gum to breathe underwater). They meet Sandy Cheeks, who explains that Plankton is using harvesters to capture jellyfish to extract power from their sting; he has also imprisoned Mr. Krabs. Sandy sends them to Jellyfish Fields to meet Patrick Star, but upon meeting him, he is sucked into a harvester. After destroying the harvesters, the group find themselves on The Flying Dutchman's ship; for he wants them (minus SpongeBob since he's annoying) to be his new crew. However, Danny persuades him to let them go in exchange for bringing back his old crew. Upon arriving at the Chum Bucket, they free Patrick and the jellyfish. On the roof, they face Plankton, using a robotic crab, and rescue Mr. Krabs.

### Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island

SpongeBob returns as a playable character in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island, this time joined by Patrick and Sandy as well. Squidward also plays a major role in the story, but isn't playable. Each of the playable characters have special costumes, but none that reference anything from the show, instead having original costumes for them.

Whilst the game takes place on Volcano Island the bonus levels of the playable characters reference the show. SpongeBob's level is based on the Jellyfish Fields, Patrick's on Gooby Goofer and Sandy's on Texas. Squidward doesn't have a bonus level but owns the art gallery instead.

### Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots

SpongeBob and Patrick both return as playable characters in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toyboys. The first level of the game takes place in Bikini Bottom as the two have to make a Krabby Patty delivery to a strange factory. In an accident they get sucked up and have to make their way out of this Krabby Patty harvesting factory. The two friends meet up with Tak and other Nicktoons in order to stop Professor Calamitous from forming the strongest toybot army by combining Krabby Patties, fairy magic and ghost energy.

SpongeBob's special costume is Prehistoric SpongeBob from the episode *Urgh* and Patrick's special costume is his Barnacle Boy outfit from the episode *Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy*.

The home console version has SpongeBob as a Master Model. The DS version has Squidward and Mr. Krabs appear as Master Models whilst the Gameboy Advance version has Patrick and Sandy.

### Nicktoons: Globs of Doom

In Nicktoons: Globs of Doom SpongeBob returns as a playable character. This time all the dimensions, including Bikini Bottom, are attacked by Globulous. With this universal danger the heroes are forced to team up with the villains, Plankton being playable as SpongeBob's adversary. SpongeBob makes use of a bubble-gun whilst Plankton uses a giant hammer which also increases his size. Patrick also appears in a larger NPC role but isn't a playable character because his weapon is a chocolate bar.

The first level of the game is Bikini Bottom. They go through Bikini Bottom, where the group battles an army of Morphoids, free Gary, Squidward, and Sandy Cheeks from the goo, and finally confront the corrupted Bubble Bass, who has grown to enormous size. They defeat this new menace by feeding him Krabby Patties (which ironically turned him into a zombie in the first place; a drop of Morphoid goo fell on it). SpongeBob is then doused in goo.

## Nickelodeon Super Brawl

The SpongeBob franchise appears in each installment of the Nickelodeon Super Brawl series.