SpongeBob SquarePants (TV Show)

***SpongeBob SquarePants***, also simply referred to as ***SpongeBob***, is an British animated television series and media franchise. It is chronologically the ninth of Nickelodeon's Nicktoons. It was created by Stephen Hillenburg, a former marine biologist, and Paul Winchell, a former ventriloquist and current voice actor at the time along with being the founder/president of Nickelodeon. It is produced by United Plankton Pictures and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. The series is narrated by Wilfrid Hyde-White for seasons 1–3 and the second movie, the Hugh Johns in the first film and season 4, and David Attenborough from season 5 onwards.

This show is unique in the sense that it was made for the United Kingdom despite being created in the United States. As such, most of the characters speak with British accents, with the country’s humor scattered throughout each episode (although American humor is not out of the question) and some terminologies are used (dollars ($) are referred to as pounds (p), fries are referred to as chips, etc.). The accents for characters not voiced by British actors (which is most of them) and terminologies were changed for airings around the world, though US DVDs retain half of the original accents (including John Hurt's audio) and all of the terminologies used.

The main character is an accident-prone sea sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants, who lives in an underwater pineapple with his pet snail Gary and works as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant called the Krusty Krab. His neighbors are his best friend, Patrick Star, and a sour octopus named Squidward Tentacles, the latter of whom is SpongeBob's irritable boss. SpongeBob works under the protection of a kindhearted, yet cheapskate crab named Eugene H. Krabs, who lives in an anchor house 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 land named Sandy Cheeks. The villain of the show is the Octopus in the Beaver Hat, a mentally sick and barbaric supervillain who uses dark magic against his foes, particularly SpongeBob and Patrick, his arch enemies.

The series was first broadcast on May 1, 1999, as a "sneak peek" after the Kids' Choice Awards. It officially began airing on July 17 of the same year. The show was initially only greenlit for 6 half-hour episodes (12 total segments), but the first season was extended because it had more passion put onto it than most of Nickelodeon's other cartoons at the time.﻿ The series ran for 12 seasons, consisting of 219 episodes, and 21 years, with production ending in 2018 and the final episode airing on November 7, 2020. Reruns are still airing, since the show is very popular amongst the audience of Nickelodeon.

## Setting

The series is set in an underwater city called Bikini Bottom, which is located on the floor of the Pacific Ocean Bikini Atoll. The citizens are mostly fish of different colors who live in ship funnels and drive boatmobiles. Main locations within Bikini Bottom include Conch Street, the Krusty Krab, and the Chum Bucket, Mrs. Puff's Boating School, Sandy's treedome, Jellyfish Fields, and Goo Lagoon. Special episodes of the show are usually presented from Fearless Freddy's house.

Bubbles are seen whenever something moves quickly, and they fill the screen to transition between scenes. As a cartoon, it includes many unrealistic occurrences that could not happen underwater: fires, tears, flooding a building, inhabitants drinking liquids from glasses, bathtubs filled with what seems to be water, and fish walking instead of swimming, among other things.

## Characters

The show stars an ensemble cast of nine main characters, consisting of SpongeBob and his aquatic friends who live in Bikini Bottom.

SpongeBob
*Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants*

SpongeBob is a yellow sea sponge. He is nerdy, optimistic, and passionate about life. He lives in a fully-furnished pineapple house. He loves his job as a fry cook at a fast-food restaurant called the Krusty Krab. His greatest goal in life is to earn his boat-driving license. He has been diligently attending Mrs. Puff's Boating School for years, but he never passes. He is best friends with Patrick and has a pet snail named Gary. His arch nemesis is the Octopus in the Beaver Hat.

SpongeBob is voiced by Paul Winchell. Stephen Hillenburg originally called the character "SpongeBoy," but renamed him after finding out that the name was already used by a mop company, not to mention the fact that Paul Winchell found the original name to be "too stupid." He originally drew SpongeBob in the shape of a natural sea sponge, but later decided that a "squeaky clean square" would fit SpongeBob's nerdy personality.

Patrick
*Main article: Patrick Star*

Patrick is a pink starfish. He lives under a rock and wears floral swim trunks. He is SpongeBob's best friend and spends his time without SpongeBob waiting for him to come back. Patrick is rather unintelligent and can make poor decisions that get both him and SpongeBob in trouble. Patrick's attitude is usually relaxed and easygoing, but when someone is mean to him or SpongeBob, he can get angry. His arch nemesis is the Octopus in the Beaver Hat.

Patrick is voiced by Bob Weighton in his only acting role to date. Stephen Hillenburg created Patrick as a "surfer dude" character who could hang out with SpongeBob during his time off from school and work. Hillenburg wanted to convey the behavior of starfish— slow-looking but capable of violent movement- in Patrick's demeanor.

Squidward
*Main article: Squidward Tentacles*

Squidward is a turquoise octopus. He is SpongeBob's boss at and owner of the Krusty Krab and lives in an Easter Island Head next door to him. Squidward loves to paint self-portraits and play his clarinet. He is usually grumpy because nobody recognizes his artistic talents. He often gets annoyed with SpongeBob's optimism, but truly appreciates SpongeBob's friendship at times.

Squidward is voiced by the first narrator of the series, Wilfrid Hyde-White, for seasons 1-3 and all three movies, and Mel Brooks for season 4 onward. Stephen Hillenburg designed Squidward as an octopus because their bulbous heads give the look of an inflated sense of self-importance. Squidward is usually drawn with six limbs because giving him a full set of eight was too difficult to animate. Squids have *ten* limbs and thin, triangular heads, unlike Squidward.

Mr. Krabs
*Main article: Eugene H. Krabs*

Mr. Krabs is a red crab. He is Squidward's assistant at the Krusty Krab and owns the Krusty Krab 2 and is Pearl's single father. He lives with his daughter Pearl in a hollow anchor. He is obsessed with money and will do almost anything to make a profit, except overworking his employees SpongeBob and Flats the Flounder. The only people who have more control over him than money are his boss, Squidward, Pearl, and his girlfriend, Mrs. Puff. However, despite his stinginess, he is really nice to other people. Under the harsh conditions of Squidward's command, Mr. Krabs is there for SpongeBob whenever he has a problem and was the one who hired the yellow sponge to work at the Krusty Krab in the first place. Plus, he also has a good reason for keeping a lot of money: to give Pearl a house of her own.

Mr. Krabs is voiced by Sean Connery, best known for his extensive live-action filmography and playing the role of James Bond. Stephen Hillenburg disliked having a "big-name" actor on the show, but felt that Connery's voice fit the character perfectly. Connery has stated that Mr. Krabs will be his only role after his retirement from Hollywood in 2012. Connery died on October 31, 2020, and according to Ralph Bakshi, the crew hasn't found anyone to replace him yet.

Sandy
*Main article: Sandy Cheeks*

Sandy is a brown squirrel. She wears a diving suit and lives in an air-filled Treedome to breathe underwater. Sandy is a daredevil who loves practicing karate and extreme sports. Having come from the U.S. state of Texas, she talks with a Southern drawl and loves rodeos. She earns a living by working as a scientist.

Sandy is voiced by June Foray (speaking voice) and Maria Bamford (singing voice). Stephen Hillenburg stated in 2014 that he created Sandy as "a strong female character that could be a friend to SpongeBob but *not* a love interest." Tim Hill wanted to add a romantic aspect to the show when he helped Hillenburg with the series' pitch bible, but this did not end up occurring. Foray went on to say that "If they ever go on to make SpongeBob and Sandy a couple, that's when I'm outta here."

Mrs. Puff
*Main article: Mrs. Puff*

Mrs. Puff is a beige pufferfish. She is SpongeBob's teacher at boating school. She knows everything about boats and how to drive them. Mrs. Puff is extremely determined and will stop at nothing to get SpongeBob his driver's license. After so many years with SpongeBob as her perpetual student, she has become paranoid and prone to outbursts. She is always trying to come up with new lessons that could help SpongeBob succeed, but they never work. She also has a permanently deflated father named Dappermane who doesn't like the idea of sponges driving or girls having nights out, always thinking up plans to put a stop to these kinds of actions.

Mrs. Puff is voiced by Mary Jo Catlett. Stephen Hillenburg called Mrs. Puff the "most important" character to the series' history. In 1997, Nickelodeon told him that they would only produce the show if SpongeBob was a kid who went to school, with his teacher as a main character. When they went to Paul Winchell to prove their point, however, he said "Let the biologist do what he wants. After all, what do *you* know about the series that he doesn't?", hinting that he knew the work that Hillenburg and the team put into it. As a compromise, Hillenburg created Mrs. Puff's Boating School, which introduced a teacher to the main cast while keeping SpongeBob as an adult.

Pearl
*Main article: Pearl Krabs*

Pearl is a gray-colored sperm whale. She is a self-conscious teenager who just wants to fit in with the fish of Bikini Bottom. Because she is so big, she has a hard time blending in. Pearl usually stomps around and shakes the seafloor below her. She is Mr. Krabs' daughter and lives with him in their hollow anchor house.

Pearl is voiced by June Foray. Stephen Hillenburg was inspired to create Pearl while working as a tour guide for whale watches at the Ocean Institute. He named Pearl as his favorite character alongside Dappermane Puff and often tried to suggest story ideas about Pearl when he visited the writer's room.

Karen
*Main article: Karen Plankton*

Karen is a waterproof computer. She lives in the laboratory of the Chum Bucket, where she calculates evil plans to help her husband Plankton steal the Krabby Patty formula. She is the smartest resident of Bikini Bottom but sometimes feels that her intellect is wasted on Plankton. Karen has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Despite being a machine, Karen has a wide range of emotions and cares a lot about Plankton deep down.

Karen is voiced by Jill Talley, who is married to Tom Kenny. Stephen Hillenburg named Karen after his wife, Karen Hillenburg. He based Karen's deadpan humor on his wife's personality, calling her "the funniest person I know." Karen was promoted to a main cast member in the credits of the 2004 movie.

Gary
*Main article: Gary the Snail*

Gary is a light blue sea snail with a pink shell. He lives with SpongeBob in their pineapple home. Gary's mannerisms are based on a housecat, and he meows to communicate with others. SpongeBob can seemingly understand Gary and often sees him as a voice of reason.

Gary's meows are provided by Tom Kenny and Frank Welker. His speaking voice in "Sleepy Time" is provided by Wilfrid Hyde-White, and his translation collar in "Chatterbox Gary" is voiced by Keith David. Gary was not featured in Stephen Hillenburg's original drawings for the show; he was added as a new character during the production of the pilot.

Recurring characters
Special episodes of the show from season 2 all the way to season 4's "Dunces and Dragons" were hosted by a live-action shark hunter named Fearless Freddy and his pet parrot Potty. Fearless Freddy was portrayed as a host who would welcome the viewer into his house and enhance his/her vocabulary skills. Potty is a crude marionette (later live hand) puppet who does not like his life at Freddy's house and wants to see SpongeBob and friends to have adventures with them. Potty would later go on to host the special episodes after "Dunces and Dragons" after the death of Paul Winchell, Fearless Freddy's actor, on June 24, 25 .

Recurring guest characters appear throughout the series, such as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, a pair of elderly, semi-retired superheroes of whom SpongeBob and Patrick are big fans, and the Octopus in the Beaver Hat, a barbaric octopus who is the arch nemesis of SpongeBob and Patrick. Bikini Bottom is sometimes haunted by a pirate ghost called the Flying Dutchman, who glows green and owns a floating pirate ship. The sea is ruled by a merman god named King Neptune, who lives in a palace with his family. News in Bikini Bottom is usually presented by a field reporter named Perch Perkins and a newsreader, the Realistic Fish Head, some characters such as Larry the Lobster, Fred and Old Man Walker were originally background characters, but got more major roles in future episodes.

## Popularity

*SpongeBob SquarePants* is one of the two only cartoons to consistently make the Top 10 list in the Nielsen ratings, the other being *The Loud House*, and is the most expensive Nicktoon ever made, with each season costing $850,000 to $1,100,000, with an extra $150,000 going into fixing almost all of the errors in episodes for home media and digital releases, as well as international broadcasts. When *SpongeBob* first aired alongside *The Loud House* in 1999, they gained a significant number of viewers in the ratings, eventually becoming more popular than shows like *Rugrats* had ever been.

*SpongeBob* did not gain its popularity until its premiere on Nick Jr. on July 26, 1999, and it has remained popular since then, despite a six-month hiatus from April to October the next year. It has extremely high ratings on TV.com, scoring an average of 9.0. *SpongeBob SquarePants* ranked #15 in IGN's Top 100 Best Animated Series, just five spots behind the top 10 list, but was able to place in the top 20.

*SpongeBob* is one in a long line of animated series that is designed to appeal to adults as well as children. This has a lot to do with the absurd way underwater life and situations are represented, and with the situations, references, and words used, which younger viewers might not understand. The show has become popular with younger viewers due to its silly characters, grade school-level jokes, fast pace, and colorful art style, while older viewers tend to praise the show for its writing, dialogue, cultural references, and innuendos. Certain innuendos also are intended to go over younger viewers' heads. For example, SpongeBob tries to show his grandma that he is a mature adult by wearing sideburns and a derby, and listening to "free-form jazz." These are jokes most children would not understand. Numerous marine biology in-jokes are woven into the show. There are also often complex, ironic scenarios that need close attention. Both age groups, however, agree that the voices of the characters are the best part, with younger kids liking the way the characters sound and older viewers praising the actors and their performances, particularly Rex Harrison.

While most Nickelodeon showcases tended to focus soley on either education or slapstick and neither both, *SpongeBob* chose to go for the same kind of style its predecessors, *Rocko's Modern Life* and *The Loud House*, were given, a well-balanced line between slapstick and education, using 2 to 5 adult jokes and pop-culture references per episode (for example, King Kong in "I Had an Accident"). However, unlike those shows, *SpongeBob* would use a bit more slapstick humor, but still not use too many adult jokes.

Part of the show's appeal has to do with the childlike nature of SpongeBob and his best friend, Patrick, both of whom are adults but display an innocence typical of human children. However, the characters are not immune from more adult avocations, including rock musicianship in a stadium performance, reminiscent of a hard rock concert, or Patrick turning to SpongeBob after they had nurtured a baby clam in the episode "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve," holding his arms out saying "Let's have another."

Unlike most shows on Nickelodeon, *SpongeBob* features well-known independent musicians who contribute to its soundtrack. Alternative rock bands, such as Wilco, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, and Ween (who have contributed two original songs to the show and their 1997 song "Ocean Man" to the movie soundtrack), as well as metal bands Pantera, Motörhead, and Twisted Sister have made appearances on the show and movies soundtracks, and heavy metal group Metallica even released a T-shirt featuring cartoon versions of themselves playing live with the characters SpongeBob and Patrick. David Bowie was a special guest on the *SpongeBob SquarePants* episode "Atlantis SquarePantis," which aired on November 12, 2007. The episode drew a total of 8.8 million viewers, the biggest audience in the show's eight-year history. A second *SpongeBob SquarePants* feature film, entitled *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water* was released in theaters on February 15, 2015. A third film, entitled *The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run*, is set to be released digitally on CBS All Access in 2021 and be fully CGI-animated as opposed to the second one.

The TV movie "Atlantis SquarePantis" references numerous other movies or stories. David Bowie's character, Lord Royal Highness (with his upper-class accent), and the locals looked remarkably like the Blue Meanies from *Yellow Submarine* - quite fitting for an underwater adventure. When the characters arrive at his habitat, he falls down as he proceeds down the red carpet (as Willy Wonka does in the *Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory* film), before leading them on a tour. A case can also be made for the yellow road used in the tour is a reference to *The Wizard of Oz* - along with the movie being a musical.

## Merchandise

Main article: List of merchandise
Merchandise based on the show ranges from Kraft macaroni and cheese, Kellog's cereal, and video games to boxer shorts, flip-flops, pajamas, t-shirts, and slippers.
The show also spawned a large and popular merchandise line at Hot Topic, Claire's, RadioShack, Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys "R" Us stores in the United States as well as the Zellers, Wal-Mart, and Toys "R" Us stores in Canada, and a limited selection of merchandise at Kmart and Target in Australia. Toys "R" Us would go on to sell over 4,500,864,312 in USD, making it the company with the highest amount of money from the series.

There were many *SpongeBob* kids meal tie-ins at Wendy's restaurants for the special "Party Pooper Pants" in 2002 and at Burger King restaurants in 2001, 2003, and for the movie in 2004. In 2006, another kids meal tie-in for Burger King was introduced for the "Dunces and Dragons" special, and in 2007 for the "Friend or Foe' special featuring containers for BK Chicken Fries designed to look like SpongeBob. In November 2007, another Burger King kids meal was released to tie-in with the TV movie "Atlantis SquarePantis," and in April 2008 there were kids meals to tie-in with "Pest of the West."

A McDonald's Happy Meal tie-in was not released in North America until 2012, but has already been released in Europe in the United Kingdom and Germany in early 2003 at about the same time a *Catscratch* Happy Meal was released in the United States and Canada. On July 21, 2012, the episodes "Face Freeze!," "Demolition Doofus," "Extreme Spots," and "Squirrel Record" premiered. SpongeBob sport toys were released in America in summer 2012.

In Japan, *SpongeBob* had a kids meal tie-in with Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), which featured different toys based on the TV series.

SpongeBob was also featured on VH1's *I Love the 90s: Part Deux* as part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black and "Weird Al" Yankovic among other celebrities.

A tie-in beverage for *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* in 2001 at 7-Eleven convenience stores was created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee, which was discontinued in 2005.

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 Turner Network Television (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 contests tied in with the movie where fans could win SpongeBob-related items or a trip to the Cayman Islands.

The motion simulator/interactive movie ride "Escape from Dino-Island 3D" at Six Flags Over Texas was turned into "SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D," with water squirts, real bubbles, and other sensory enhancements. The SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D ride opened at the Noah's Ark Dive-In Theater located at Noah's Ark Water park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin in the summer of 2005. LEGO received a license to produce SpongeBob SquarePants building sets, which are available in stores now. SpongeBob appeared at the Mall of America's then-new-at-the-time theme along with the rest of the Nicktoons in a Nickelodeon theme park re-branded from the Mall of America's Park at MOA (formerly Camp Snoopy) to Nickelodeon Universe in 2006 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The theme park features a SpongeBob-themed Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster, the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge, which replaces the Mystery Mine Ride and Olde Tyme Photo store on the eastern end of the theme park.

Other items featuring SpongeBob include special edition *Monopoly*, *The Game of Life* and *Operation* board games as well as a SpongeBob SquarePants edition of *Ants in the Pants* and *Yahtzee*. SEGA Corporation introduced a ticket redemption game based on the show that has become popular with most video arcades.

The SpongeBob SquarePants market saturation has become something of a joke. In the comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon," Hawthorne the crab is showing off a small nuclear (Junior) reactor, and Herman the shark says: "Boy, that SpongeBob will endorse anything!"

When the complete first season of SpongeBob SquarePants was released in the United Kingdom, it included some heavy editing (though not to the cartoons themselves). The audio commentaries were cut out, and only two extras were left in, possibly to avoid a 12 rating. A similar approach was taken with the second season; it included no audio commentaries and only one extra, Around the World with SpongeBob SquarePants.