Query: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was directed by Stephen Hillenburg.

Relevant passages:
Stephen Hillenburg <=SEP=> Stephen McDannell Hillenburg ( born August21 , 1961 ) is an American cartoonist , animator , director , producer , and writer . A former marine-biology teacher , he created SpongeBob SquarePants ( 1999 ) , which has gone on to become one of the longest-running American television series as well as the highest-rated show ever to air on Nickelodeon .   Born in Lawton , Oklahoma and raised in Anaheim , California , Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and also developed an interest in art . He started his professional career in 1984 , instructing marine biology , at the Orange County Marine Institute , where he wrote The Intertidal Zone , an informative comic book about tide-pool animals , which he used to educate his students . In 1989 , two years after leaving teaching , Hillenburg enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts to pursue a career in animation . He was later offered a job on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rocko 's Modern Life ( 19931996 ) after his success with animated short films The Green Beret and Wormholes ( both 1992 ) , which he made while studying animation .   In 1994 , Hillenburg began developing The Intertidal Zone characters and concepts for what became SpongeBob SquarePants . The show premiered in 1999 and has since aired episodes . He also directed The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ( 2004 ) , for which he received a nomination for an Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production . Hillenburg 's decision was to end the television series once the film was completed ; however , Nickelodeon wanted to produce more episodes , so he resigned as the showrunner . He returned to making animated short films , with Hollywood Blvd. , USA ( 2013 ) .   Besides his two Emmy Awards and six Annie Awards for SpongeBob SquarePants , Hillenburg has also received other recognition , such as the Walk the Talk award from Heal the Bay for his efforts on elevating marine life awareness , and the Television Animation Award from the National Cartoonists Society . Despite this , he has been involved in several public controversies , including one that was centered on speculation over SpongeBob SquarePants ' intended sexual orientation , and a lawsuit that was filed against him .

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie <=SEP=> The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is a 2004 American animated adventure comedy film based on the Nickelodeon television series SpongeBob SquarePants . The film was directed by series creator Stephen Hillenburg and starred the series ' cast of Tom Kenny , Bill Fagerbakke , Clancy Brown , Rodger Bumpass and Mr. Lawrence , with guest performances by Scarlett Johansson , Jeffrey Tambor , Alec Baldwin and David Hasselhoff . It was produced by Hillenburg 's production company United Plankton Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies , it was distributed by Paramount Pictures and also it was first film in the SpongeBob SquarePants film series . In the film , Plankton devises a plan to steal King Neptune 's crown and send it to Shell City , and SpongeBob and Patrick must retrieve the crown to save Mr. Krabs from King Neptune 's wrath and Bikini Bottom from Plankton 's plan .   Previous offers by Paramount Pictures for a film adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants had been rejected by Stephen Hillenburg , but he eventually accepted one offer in 2002 . A writing team consisting of Hillenburg , Paul Tibbitt , Derek Drymon , Aaron Springer , Kent Osborne and Tim Hill was assembled , conceiving the idea of a mythical hero 's quest and the search for a stolen crown , which would bring SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface . The film was originally intended as the series finale , but Nickelodeon ordered more episodes of the series as the series had become increasingly profitable , so Hillenburg resigned as showrunner , with Tibbitt taking Hillenburg 's place .   The film was promoted immensely by Paramount and Nickelodeon , with tie-in promotions made by 7-Eleven , the Cayman Islands and Burger King , which decorated various of its franchises with 9 ft SpongeBob inflatable figures . The film was a box office success and grossed $ 85 million in the United States and $ 140 million worldwide , and received generally positive reviews from critics . A stand-alone sequel titled The SpongeBob Movie : Sponge Out of Water was released on February 6 , 2015 , and a third film is scheduled for release on August 2 , 2019 .