Query: SpongeBob SquarePants is not a series.

Relevant passages:
SpongeBob SquarePants <=SEP=> SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon . The series chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom . The series ' popularity has made it a media franchise , as well as the highest rated series to ever air on Nickelodeon , and the most distributed property of MTV Networks . As of 2015 , the media franchise has generated $ 12 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon .   Many of the ideas for the series originated in an unpublished educational comic book titled The Intertidal Zone , which Hillenburg created in 1989 . He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996 upon the cancellation of Rocko 's Modern Life , and 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 was to be called SpongeBoy Ahoy ! , but these were both changed , as the name was already trademarked .   Nickelodeon held a preview for the series in the United States on May 1 , 1999 , following the television airing of the 1999 Kids ' Choice Awards . The series officially premiered on July 17 , 1999 . It has received worldwide critical acclaim since its premiere and gained enormous popularity by its second season . A feature film , The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie , was released in theaters on November 19 , 2004 , and a sequel was released on February 6 , 2015 . On October 15 , 2016 , the series began airing its current tenth season , beginning with the episode `` Whirly Brains '' . In May 2017 , the show was announced to be renewed for a 12th season .   The series has won a variety of awards , including six Annie Awards , eight Golden Reel Awards , two Emmy Awards , 12 Kids ' Choice Awards , and two BAFTA Children 's Awards . Despite its widespread popularity , the series has been involved in several public controversies , including one centered on speculation over SpongeBob 's intended sexual orientation , and another focusing on the perceived declining quality of the show 's content since the release of the first film . In 2011 , a newly described species of fungi , Spongiforma squarepantsii , was named after the cartoon 's title character .

Tom Kenny <=SEP=> Thomas James Kenny ( born July 13 , 1962 ) is an American actor and comedian known for his long-running role as the title character in the SpongeBob SquarePants TV series and films .   Kenny has voiced many other characters including Heffer Wolfe in Rocko 's Modern Life ( 1993 -- 1996 ) , the Ice King in Adventure Time ( 2010 -- present ) , the Mayor in The Powerpuff Girls ( 1998 -- 2005 ) , Dog in CatDog ( 1998 -- 2005 ) , and Spyro from the Spyro the Dragon franchise ( 1999 -- 2002 ) . His live-action work includes comedies The Edge ( 1992 -- 1993 ) and Mr. Show ( 1995 -- 1998 ) .   Kenny has won two Annie Awards for his voice work as SpongeBob Squarepants and the Ice King .

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 .

SpongeBob SquarePants (character) <=SEP=> SpongeBob SquarePants is the titular character and protagonist of the American animated television series of the same name . He is voiced by actor and comedian Tom Kenny , and first appeared on television in the series ' pilot episode on May 1 , 1999 .   SpongeBob SquarePants was created and designed by cartoonist and marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg shortly after the cancellation of Rocko 's Modern Life in 1996 . Hillenburg intended to create a series about an over-optimistic sponge that annoys other characters . Hillenburg compared the concept to Laurel and Hardy and Pee-wee Herman . As he drew the character , he decided that a `` squeaky-clean square '' ( like a kitchen sponge ) fit the concept . His name is derived from `` Bob the Sponge '' , the host of Hillenburg 's comic strip The Intertidal Zone that he originally drew in the 1980s while teaching marine biology to visitors of the Ocean Institute . SpongeBob is a naïve and goofy sea sponge who works as a fry cook in the fictional underwater town of Bikini Bottom .   The character has received positive critical response from media critics and achieved popularity with both children and adults , though he has been involved in public controversy . SpongeBob appeared in a We Are Family Foundation video promoting tolerance , which was criticized by James Dobson of Focus on the Family because of the foundation 's link to homosexuality .

SpongeBob SquarePants (season 10) <=SEP=> The tenth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants , created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg , began airing on Nickelodeon in the United States on October 15 , 2016 . It opened with the episode `` Whirly Brains '' and is scheduled to conclude with `` Feral Friends '' and `` Do n't Wake Patrick '' . The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom . The season was executive produced by series creator Hillenburg and was the first season of the show not to involve long-time crew member and former showrunner Paul Tibbitt . The showrunners for this season were Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller , who also acted as supervising producers . It is the shortest season , containing 11 episodes instead of the usual 26-episode length .   The show received several accolades during the run of its tenth season , including the 2017 Kids ' Choice Award for Favorite Cartoon . The series was also nominated in various international Kids ' Choice Awards ceremonies for the same category . The show received a pending nomination at the BAFTA Children 's Awards for the International category as well .