SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS VANS CUSTOMS SHOE BAG canvas Patrick Plankton exclusive

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Seller: sidewaysstairsco ✉️ (1,180) 100%, Location: Santa Ana, California, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 195573894249 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS VANS CUSTOMS SHOE BAG canvas Patrick Plankton exclusive.
Check out my other new & used items>>>>>>HERE! (click me) FOR SALE: A special edition Vans canvas shoe bag featuring a cartoon icon 2021 VANS CUSTOMS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS SHOE BAG DETAILS: It's a SpongeBob SquarePants drawstring shoe bag! This special edition Vans Customs shoe bag features your favorite anthropomorphic water-dwelling, pants-wearing sponge. In 2021 Vans offered SpongeBob SquarePants fans the opportunity to create their own custom kicks utilizing 1 of 4 limited edition SpongeBob graphic prints. Each pair of Vans Customs SpongeBob SquarePants shoes came with a totally useful and totally cool canvas shoe bag with an exclusive all-over pattern print. The drawstring style bag's graphic depicts SpongeBob hilariously riding some jellyfish, Plankton caught in a bubble, and a belly-flopping Patrick over a vivid electric blue or cyan background with the usually flowers. There's a great fan theory that says the large flowers that always appear in the background of all SpongeBob SquarePants episodes are boat propellers, just below the surface and distorted by the water - how cool, right? This simple yet quality, hand made product was constructed using the finest quality printed canvas. Out of print! Limited edition SpongeBob SquarePants printed canvas fabric was used to make custom shoes designed by the purchaser. When made available (June 2021) the Vans Customs X SpongeBob limited run shoes sold out quickly - making them and the accompanying canvas shoe bags hard to find. The 4 limited edition patterns of SpongeBob SquarePants Vans Customs canvas have since been retired and who knows when, if ever, Vans will make them available for use again. A must-have for SpongeBob collectors! Makes a great gift for the SpongeBob SquarePants fanatic especially those who love the awesome shoes Vans create. Stuff with SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise and give a friend the best present ever.   CONDITION: In like-new condition. Shoe bag appears new. Please see photos. *Shoes are not included; listing is for bag only.* To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK. *ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.* "SpongeBob SquarePants (or simply SpongeBob) is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character and his aquatic friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The fifth-longest-running American animated series, its high popularity has made it a media franchise. It is the highest rated Nickelodeon series and the most profitable property for Paramount Consumer Products, generating over $13 billion in merchandising revenue as of 2019.[4][needs update] Many of the series's ideas originated in The Intertidal Zone, an unpublished educational comic book Hillenburg created in 1989 to teach his students about undersea life.[5] He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996, and in 1997, a seven-minute pilot was pitched to Nickelodeon. The network's executives wanted SpongeBob to be a child in school, but Hillenburg preferred SpongeBob to be an adult character.[6] He was prepared to abandon the series, but compromised by creating Mrs. Puff and her boating school so SpongeBob could attend school as an adult.[7] Nickelodeon aired a preview for the series in the United States on May 1, 1999, after the airing of the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards. The series officially premiered on July 17, 1999. It gained enormous popularity by its second season, and has subsequently received worldwide critical acclaim. The thirteenth season began in October 2020,[8] and the series was renewed for a fourteenth season on March 24, 2022.[9] It has inspired three feature films: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Sponge Out of Water (2015), and Sponge on the Run (2020). Two spin-off series, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show, premiered in 2021. As of February 2022, four additional films are planned: three character spinoff films for Paramount+, and a new theatrical SpongeBob film. SpongeBob SquarePants has won a variety of awards including six Annie Awards, eight Golden Reel Awards, four Emmy Awards, 19 Kids' Choice Awards, and two BAFTA Children's Awards. A Broadway musical based on it opened in 2017 to critical acclaim.... Premise Setting A blue colored image of an atoll. Bikini Atoll, a coral reef in the Pacific Ocean. Tom Kenny confirmed the fictitious city of Bikini Bottom is named after Bikini Atoll. The series takes place primarily in the fictional benthic underwater city of Bikini Bottom located in the Pacific Ocean beneath the real-life coral reef known as Bikini Atoll.[11][12][13][c] Its citizens are mostly multicolored fish who live in buildings made from ship funnels and use "boatmobiles", amalgamations of cars and boats, as a mode of transportation. Recurring locations within Bikini Bottom include the neighboring houses of SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward; two competing restaurants, the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket; Mrs. Puff's Boating School, which includes a driving course and a sunken lighthouse; the Treedome, an oxygenated glass enclosure where Sandy lives; Shady Shoals Rest Home; a seagrass meadow called Jellyfish Fields; and Goo Lagoon, a subaqueous brine pool that is a popular beach hangout.[15] When the SpongeBob crew began production of the series' pilot episode, they were tasked with designing stock locations, to be used repeatedly, where most scenes would take place like the Krusty Krab and SpongeBob's pineapple house.[16] The idea was "to keep everything nautical", so the crew used plenty of rope, wooden planks, ships' wheels, netting, anchors, boilerplates, and rivets to create the show's setting. Transitions between scenes are marked by bubbles filling the screen, accompanied by the sound of rushing water.[16] The series features "sky flowers" as a main setting material.[16] When series background designer Kenny Pittenger was asked what they were, he answered, "They function as clouds in a way, but since the show takes place underwater, they aren't really clouds. Because of the tiki influence on the show, the background painters use a lot of pattern."[16] Pittenger said the sky flowers were meant to "evoke the look of a flower-print Hawaiian shirt".[16] Characters Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters Illustration of the series' ten main characters. The series' main characters. Top row, from left to right: Pearl, Plankton, and Karen. Bottom row: Sandy, Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, Squidward, Gary, Patrick, and Mrs. Puff. The series revolves around the title character and an ensemble cast of his aquatic friends. SpongeBob SquarePants is an energetic and optimistic yellow sea sponge who lives in a submerged pineapple. SpongeBob has a childlike enthusiasm for life, which carries over to his job as a fry cook at a fast food restaurant called the Krusty Krab. One of his life's greatest goals is to obtain a boat-driving license from Mrs. Puff's Boating School, but he never succeeds. His favorite pastimes include "jellyfishing", which involves catching jellyfish with a net in a manner similar to butterfly catching, and blowing soap bubbles into elaborate shapes. He has a pet sea snail with a pink shell and a blue body named Gary, who meows like a cat. Living two houses away from SpongeBob is his best friend Patrick Star, a dim-witted yet friendly pink starfish who resides under a rock. Despite his mental setbacks, Patrick sees himself as intelligent.[17] Squidward Tentacles, SpongeBob's next-door neighbor and co-worker at the Krusty Krab, is an arrogant, ill-tempered octopus who lives in an Easter Island moai. He enjoys playing the clarinet and painting self-portraits but hates his job as a cashier. He also dislikes living between SpongeBob and Patrick because of their childish nature. The owner of the Krusty Krab is a miserly, greedy red crab named Mr. Krabs who talks like a sailor and runs his restaurant as if it were a pirate ship. He is a single parent with a teenage daughter, a grey sperm whale with red lipstick and a yellow ponytail named Pearl, to whom he wants to bequeath his riches. Pearl does not want to continue the family business and would rather spend her time listening to music or working at the local shopping mall.[18] Another of SpongeBob's friends is Sandy Cheeks, a thrill-seeking and athletic squirrel from Texas, who wears an air-filled diving suit to breathe underwater.[19] She lives in a tree enclosed in a clear glass dome locked by an airtight, hand-turned seal and is an expert in karate, as well as a scientist. Located across the street from the Krusty Krab is an unsuccessful rival restaurant called the Chum Bucket.[20] It is run by a small, green, one-eyed copepod[21] named Plankton and his computer wife, Karen.[22] Plankton constantly tries to steal the secret recipe for Mr. Krabs's popular Krabby Patty burgers, hoping to gain the upper hand and put the Krusty Krab out of business.[23] Karen supplies him with evil schemes to obtain the formula, but their efforts always fail and their restaurant rarely has any customers.[24] When SpongeBob is not working at the Krusty Krab, he is often taking boating lessons from Mrs. Puff, a paranoid but patient pufferfish. SpongeBob is Mrs. Puff's most diligent student and knows every answer to the oral exams he takes, but he panics and crashes when he tries to drive a real boat.[25] When Mrs. Puff endures one of SpongeBob's crashes or is otherwise frightened, she puffs up into a ball.[26] An unseen figure called the French Narrator often introduces episodes and narrates the intertitles as if the series were a nature documentary about the ocean. His role and distinctive manner of speaking are references to the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.[27] Recurring guest characters appear throughout the series including: the retired superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, who are idolized by SpongeBob and Patrick; a pirate specter known as the Flying Dutchman; the muscular lifeguard of Goo Lagoon, Larry the Lobster; and the merman god of the sea, King Neptune. Special (generally half-hour or hour-long) episodes of the show are hosted by a live-action pirate named Patchy and his pet parrot Potty, whose segments are presented in a dual narrative with the animated stories.[28] Patchy is portrayed as the president of a fictional SpongeBob fan club, and his greatest aspiration is to meet SpongeBob himself. Potty likes to make fun of Patchy's enthusiasm and causes trouble for him while he tries to host the show. Production Development Early inspirations Aerial photograph of the Ocean Institute at Dana Point, California Before creating SpongeBob SquarePants, Stephen Hillenburg taught marine biology to visitors of the Ocean Institute (located in Dana Point, California).[29] Series' creator Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean as a child and began developing his artistic abilities at a young age. Although these interests would not overlap for some time—the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him—Hillenburg pursued both during college, majoring in marine biology and minoring in art. After graduating in 1984, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.[29][30] While Hillenburg was there, his love of the ocean began to influence his artistry. He created a precursor to SpongeBob SquarePants: a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone used by the institute to teach visiting students about the animal life of tide pools.[30] The comic starred various anthropomorphic sea lifeforms, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters.[31] Hillenburg tried to get the comic professionally published, but none of the companies he sent it to were interested.[30] A large inspiration to Hillenburg was Ween's 1997 album The Mollusk, which had a nautical and underwater theme. Hillenburg contacted the band shortly after the album's release, explaining the baseline ideas for SpongeBob SquarePants, and also requested a song from the band, which they sent on Christmas Eve. This song was "Loop de Loop", which was used in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied".[32][33][34] Conception While working as a staff artist at the Ocean Institute, Hillenburg entertained plans to return eventually to college for a master's degree in art. Before this could materialize, he attended an animation festival, which inspired him to make a slight change in course. Instead of continuing his education with a traditional art program, Hillenburg chose to study experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts.[30] His thesis film, Wormholes, is about the theory of relativity.[35] It was screened at festivals, and at one of these, Hillenburg met Joe Murray, creator of the popular Nickelodeon animated series, Rocko's Modern Life. Murray was impressed by the style of the film and offered Hillenburg a job.[35][36] Hillenburg joined the series as a director, and later, during the fourth season, he took on the roles of producer and creative director.[31][35][36][37] Martin Olson, one of the writers for Rocko's Modern Life, read The Intertidal Zone and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach.[30][35][38] He began to develop some of the characters from The Intertidal Zone, including the comic's "announcer", Bob the Sponge.[30] He wanted his series to stand out from most popular cartoons of the time, which he felt were exemplified by buddy comedies like The Ren & Stimpy Show. As a result, Hillenburg decided to focus on a single main character: the "weirdest" sea creature he could think of. This led him to the sponge.[30] The Intertidal Zone's Bob the Sponge resembles an actual sea sponge, and at first, Hillenburg continued to use this design.[30][35][36][39] In determining the new character's behavior, Hillenburg drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis, and Pee-wee Herman.[30][36][40][41][42] He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge and realized this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly.[30][35][36] Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Squidward were the next characters Hillenburg created for the show.[43] To voice the series' central character, Hillenburg turned to Tom Kenny, whose career in animation had started alongside Hillenburg's on Rocko's Modern Life. Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed to develop the character further.[44] Initially, Hillenburg wanted to use the name SpongeBoy—the character had no last name—and the series was to have been called SpongeBoy Ahoy![39][44] However, the Nickelodeon legal department discovered—after voice acting had been completed for the original seven-minute pilot episode—that the name "SpongeBoy" was already copyrighted.[45][44] In choosing a replacement name, Hillenburg felt he still had to use the word "Sponge", so that viewers would not mistake the character for a "Cheese Man". He settled on the name "SpongeBob". "SquarePants" was chosen as a family name after Kenny saw a picture of the character and remarked, "Boy, look at this sponge in square pants, thinking he can get a job in a fast food place."[40] When he heard Kenny say it Hillenburg loved the phrase and felt it would reinforce the character's nerdiness.[40][46] Assembling the crew Derek Drymon, who served as creative director for the first three seasons, has said that Hillenburg wanted to surround himself with a "team of young and hungry people."[41] Many of the major contributors to SpongeBob SquarePants had worked before with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life: this included: Drymon, art director Nick Jennings, supervising director Alan Smart, writer/voice actor Doug Lawrence (often credited as Mr. Lawrence), and Tim Hill, who helped develop the series bible.[41][42] Although Drymon would go on to have a significant influence on SpongeBob SquarePants, he was not offered a role on the series initially. As a late recruit to Rocko's Modern Life, he had not established much of a relationship with Hillenburg before SpongeBob's conception. Hillenburg first sought out Drymon's storyboard partner, Mark O'Hare—but he had just created the soon-to-be syndicated comic strip, Citizen Dog.[41] While he would later join SpongeBob as a writer,[47] he lacked the time to get involved with both projects from the outset.[41] Drymon has said, "I remember Hillenburg's bringing it up to Mark in our office and asking him if he'd be interested in working on it ... I was all ready to say yes to the offer, but Steve didn't ask; he just left the room. I was pretty desperate ... so I ran into the hall after him and basically begged him for the job. He didn't jump at the chance."[41] Once Hillenburg had given it some thought and decided to bring Drymon on as creative director, the two began meeting at Hillenburg's house several times a week to develop the series. Drymon has identified this period as having begun in 1996, shortly after the end of Rocko's Modern Life.[41] Jennings was also instrumental in SpongeBob's genesis.[48] Kenny has called him "one of SpongeBob's early graphics mentors".[42] On weekends, Kenny joined Hillenburg, Jennings, and Drymon for creative sessions where they recorded ideas on a tape recorder.[42] Kenny performed audio tests as SpongeBob during these sessions, while Hillenburg voice acted the other characters.[39][42] Hill contributed scripts for several first-season episodes (including the pilot)[49][50][51][52] and was offered the role of story editor, but turned it down—he would go on to pursue a career as a family film director.[53][54] In his stead, Pete Burns was brought in for the job. Burns hailed from Chicago and had never met any of the principal players on SpongeBob before joining the team.[41] Pitching     The execs from Nickelodeon flew out to Burbank, and we pitched it to them from the storyboards. We had squeezy toys, wore Hawaiian shirts, and used a boom box to play the Tiny Tim song ['Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight'] that comes on in the third act. We really went all out in that pitch because we knew the pilot lived or died by if the execs laughed. When it was over, they walked out of the room to discuss it. We figured they would fly back to New York and we'd hear in a few weeks. We were surprised when they came back in what seemed like minutes and said they wanted to make it. —Derek Drymon[41] While pitching the cartoon to Nickelodeon executives, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an "underwater terrarium with models of the characters", and played Hawaiian music to set the theme. The setup was described by Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman as "pretty amazing".[35] They were given money and two weeks to write the pilot episode "Help Wanted".[35] Drymon, Hillenburg, and Jennings returned with what was described by Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht as, "a performance [he] wished [he] had on tape".[35] Although executive producer Derek Drymon described the pitch as stressful, he said it went "very well".[35] Kevin Kay and Hecht had to step outside because they were "exhausted from laughing", which worried the cartoonists.[35] In an interview, Cyma Zarghami, then-president of Nickelodeon, said, "their [Nickelodeon executives'] immediate reaction was to see it again, both because they liked it and it was unlike anything they'd ever seen before".[55] Zarghami was one of four executives in the room when SpongeBob SquarePants was screened for the first time.[55] Before commissioning the full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless SpongeBob was a child who went to school, with his teacher as a main character.[6] Hillenburg recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school."[30] Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character.[30] He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, who is a boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love."[30] Executive producers and showrunners Photograph of Stephen Hillenburg standing holding a book with the title SpongeBob SquarePants looking to his right Stephen Hillenburg, creator of SpongeBob SquarePants Until his death in 2018, Hillenburg had served as the executive producer over the course of the series' entire history and functioned as its showrunner from its debut in 1999 until 2004. The series went on hiatus in 2002, after Hillenburg halted production on the show itself to work on the feature film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.[45] Once the film was finalized and the third season finished, Hillenburg resigned as the series' showrunner. Although he no longer had a direct role in the series' production, he maintained an advisory role and reviewed each episode.[55][56]     It reached a point where I felt I'd contributed a lot and said what I wanted to say. At that point, the show needed new blood, and so I selected Paul [Tibbitt] to produce. I totally trusted him. I always enjoyed the way he captured the SpongeBob character's sense of humor. And as a writer, you have to move on—I'm developing new projects. —Stephen Hillenburg, The Washington Post[57] When the film was completed, Hillenburg intended it to be the series finale, "so [the show] wouldn't jump the shark." However, Nickelodeon wanted more episodes.[58] Hillenburg appointed Paul Tibbitt, who had previously served on the show as a writer, director, and storyboard artist, to take over his role as showrunner to produce additional seasons.[59] Hillenburg considered Tibbitt one of his favorite members of the show's crew,[60] and "totally trusted him".[57] On December 13, 2014, it was announced that Hillenburg would return to the series in an unspecified position.[61] On November 26, 2018, at the age of 57, Hillenburg died from complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which he had been diagnosed with in March 2017.[62][63] Nickelodeon confirmed via Twitter the series would continue after his death.[64] In February 2019, incoming president Brian Robbins vowed Nickelodeon would keep the show in production for as long as the network exists.[65] As of the ninth season, former writers and storyboard directors Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli act as showrunners. Writing According to writer and storyboard artist Luke Brookshier, "SpongeBob is written differently to many television shows."[66] Unlike most of its contemporaries, SpongeBob SquarePants does not use written scripts.[66][67] Instead, storylines are developed by a team of five outline and premise writers. A two-page outline is then assigned to a team of storyboard directors, who produce a complete rough draft of the storyboard. One of the methods used to assemble storyboards was to use Post-it notes. Most of the dialogue and jokes are added during this stage.[45][66] Brookshier has likened this process to how cartoons were made "in the early days of animation."[66] The decision to eschew scripts for storyboards is one that Hillenburg made early in the series' development.[45] Rocko's Modern Life had also used storyboarding derived from short outlines, and having worked on that series, Hillenburg felt strongly about adopting the process for SpongeBob SquarePants—even though Nickelodeon was beginning to show a greater preference for script-driven cartoons.[41][68] Another series' writer, Merriwether Williams, explained in an interview that she and Mr. Lawrence would write a draft for an episode in an afternoon and be done at 4:00 pm.[69] The writing staff often used their personal experiences as inspiration for the storylines of the series' episodes.[41][57] For example, the episode "Sailor Mouth", where SpongeBob and Patrick learn profanity,[57] was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience as a child of getting into trouble for using the f-word in front of his mother.[41] Drymon said, "The scene where Patrick is running to Mr. Krabs to tattle, with SpongeBob chasing him, is pretty much how it happened in real life".[41] The end of the episode when Mr. Krabs uses even more profanity than SpongeBob and Patrick, was inspired "by the fact that my [Drymon's] mother has a sailor mouth herself".[41] The idea for the episode "The Secret Box" also came from one of Drymon's childhood experiences.[57][69] Hillenburg explained, "Drymon had a secret box [as a kid] and started telling us about it. We wanted to make fun of him and use it."[57] Almost every episode is divided into two 11-minute segments. Hillenburg explained: "[I] never really wanted to deliberately try to write a half-hour show".[57] He added, "I wrote the shows to where they felt right".[57] Voice actors Further information: List of SpongeBob SquarePants cast members and List of SpongeBob SquarePants guest stars     Steve described SpongeBob to me as childlike and naïve. He's not quite an adult, he's not quite a kid. Think a Stan Laurel, Jerry Lewis kind of child-man. Kind of like a Munchkin but not quite, kind of like a kid, but not in a Charlie Brown child's voice on the TV shows. —Tom Kenny[42] SpongeBob SquarePants features the voices of: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, and Lori Alan. Most one-off and background characters are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, Sirena Irwin, Bob Joles, Mark Fite and Thomas F. Wilson. Kenny voices SpongeBob and a number of other characters, including SpongeBob's pet snail Gary and the French narrator. He also physically portrays Patchy the Pirate in live-action segments of most special episodes. Kenny previously worked with Stephen Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life. When Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants, he approached Kenny to voice the main character.[70] Kenny originally used the voice of SpongeBob for a minor character on Rocko.[44] He forgot how to perform the voice initially and did not intend to use it afterward. Hillenburg, however, used a video clip of the episode to remind Kenny of the voice.[44] When Hillenburg heard Kenny perform the voice, he knew immediately he wanted it for his character. He said to Nickelodeon executives, "That's it—I don't want to hear anybody else do the voice. We've got SpongeBob."[42] The network insisted on auditioning more actors, but Hillenburg turned them down; in the words of Tom Kenny, "one of the advantages of having a strong creator is that the creator can say, 'No, I like that—I don't care about celebrities.'"[42] While Kenny was developing SpongeBob's voice, the show's casting crew wanted him to have a unique, high-pitched laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker.[71] Fagerbakke voices Patrick Star[72] and other miscellaneous characters. At the same time when Hillenburg, Derek Drymon and Tim Hill were writing the pilot "Help Wanted", Hillenburg was also conducting auditions to find voices for the characters.[41] Fagerbakke auditioned for the role of Patrick after Kenny had been cast.[73] Fagerbakke recalled that during this audition, "Hillenburg actually played for me a portion of Tom [Kenny]'s performance [as SpongeBob], and they were looking for a counterpoint."[73] In an interview, Fagerbakke compared himself to the character and said, "It's extremely gratifying".[74] Whenever Patrick is angry Fagerbakke models his performance after American actress Shelley Winters.[75] Squidward Tentacles is voiced by Rodger Bumpass, who describes him as "a very nasally, monotone kind of guy." He said the character "became a very interesting character to do" because of "his sarcasm, and then his frustration, and then his apoplexy, and so he became a wide spectrum of emotions".[76] Arthur Brown, author of Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons!, has compared Squidward's voice to that of Jack Benny's,[77] a similarity Bumpass says is mostly unintentional.[76] Voice acting veteran Clancy Brown voices Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab. Hillenburg modeled Mr. Krabs after his former manager at a seafood restaurant, whose strong Maine accent reminded Hillenburg of a pirate.[78] Brown decided to use a "piratey" voice for the character with "a little Scottish brogue" after hearing Hillenburg's description of his boss.[79] According to Brown, his Mr. Krabs voice was mostly improvised during his audition and it was not challenging for him to find the correct voice.[79] Mr. Lawrence had met Hillenburg before on Rocko's Modern Life. While working on the pilot episode of SpongeBob, Hillenburg invited him to audition for all the characters.[80] Since other voices had been found for the main cast already, Lawrence began by voicing a variety of minor characters. This included Plankton, who was initially only set to appear in one episode.[80][41] Mr. Lawrence recalls that Nickelodeon executives told Hillenburg, "'we could stunt-cast this. You know, we could have Bruce Willis do this voice.' And Steve was just like, 'it's Doug [Lawrence], don't you hear it? This is the character! This is the guy!'"[80] Jill Talley, Tom Kenny's wife, voices Karen Plankton.[81] Being a Chicago native, she uses a Midwestern accent for the character.[82] Electronic sound effects are underlaid by the series' audio engineers to create a robotic sound when she speaks.[83] Talley and Mr. Lawrence often improvise Plankton and Karen's dialogue. Lawrence called improvisation his "favorite part of the voice over" in 2009.[84] He elaborated in a 2012 interview, saying, "I always enjoy the back-and-forth. [Talley and I] start to actually overlap so much talking to each other that [the voice directors] have to tell us, 'hey, stop doing that, separate what you're saying!'"[80] Carolyn Lawrence voices Sandy Cheeks. She was in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, with a friend who knew SpongeBob SquarePants casting director Donna Grillo. Her friend said to Grillo that Lawrence had "an interesting voice". Grillo invited her to audition and she got the role.[85][86] American actress Mary Jo Catlett,[87] who is known for her live-action roles on television programs from the 1970s such as Diff'rent Strokes and M*A*S*H provides Mrs. Puff's voice.[82] As of 2017, voicing Mrs. Puff has become her only regular television role; Catlett described herself as "basically retired" in 2013, since she feels that voicing Mrs. Puff requires less preparation than her performances in person.[88] Lori Alan voices Pearl Krabs.[89] During her audition for the role, Alan was shown an early drawing of the characters and noted that Pearl was much larger than the rest of the cast. She decided to reflect the character's size in her voice by making it deep and full in tone. She aimed to make it invoke the sound of whales' low vocalizations while also sounding "spoiled and lovable."[90] In an interview with AfterBuzz TV, Alan said she knew Pearl "had to sound somewhat like a child," but needed "an abnormally large voice."[91] In addition to the regular cast, episodes feature guest voices from many professions, including actors, athletes, authors, musicians, and artists. Recurring guest voices include: Ernest Borgnine, who voiced Mermaid Man from 1999 until his death in 2012;[92] Tim Conway as the voice of Barnacle Boy from 1999 until his death in 2019;[93] Brian Doyle-Murray as the Flying Dutchman;[94] and Marion Ross as Grandma SquarePants.[95] Notable guests who have provided vocal cameo appearances include: David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness in the television film Atlantis SquarePantis;[96][97] John Goodman as the voice of Santa in the episode "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"; Johnny Depp as the voice of the surf guru, Jack Kahuna Laguna, in the episode "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One";[98] and Victoria Beckham as the voice of Queen Amphitrite in the episode "The Clash of Triton".[99][100] Voice recording sessions always include a full cast of actors, which Kenny describes as "getting more unusual".[42] Kenny said, "That's another thing that's given SpongeBob its special feel. Everybody's in the same room, doing it old radio-show style. It's how the stuff we like was recorded".[42] Series writer Jay Lender said, "The recording sessions were always fun ..."[101] For the first three seasons, Hillenburg and Drymon sat in the recording studio and directed the actors.[102] Andrea Romano became the voice director in the fourth season,[102] and Tom Kenny took over the role during the ninth. Wednesday is recording day, the same schedule followed by the crew since 1999.[102] Casting supervisor Jennie Monica Hammond said, "I loved Wednesdays".[102] Animation Approximately 50 people work together to animate and produce an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.[66] Throughout its run, the series' production has been handled domestically at Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, California. The finished animation has been created overseas at Rough Draft Studios in South Korea.[57][103] The California crew storyboard each episode. These are then used as templates by the crew in Korea,[57] who animate each scene by hand, color each cel on computers, and paint backgrounds. Episodes are finished in California, where they are edited and have music added.[66] During the first season, the series used cel animation.[59] A shift was made the following year to digital ink and paint animation.[59] In 2009, executive producer Paul Tibbitt said: "The first season of SpongeBob was done the old-fashioned way on cells [sic], and every cell sic had to be part-painted, left to dry, paint some other colors. It's still a time-consuming aspect of the process now, but the digital way of doing things means it doesn't take long to correct".[59] In 2008, the crew began using Wacom Cintiqs for the drawings instead of pencils. The fifth season episode "Pest of the West", one of the half-hour specials, was the first episode where the crew applied this method. Series' background designer Kenny Pittenger said, "The only real difference between the way we draw now and the way we drew then is that we abandoned pencil and paper during the fifth season".[16] The shift to Wacom Cintiqs let the designers and animators draw on computer screens and make immediate changes or undo mistakes. Pittenger said, "Many neo-Luddites—er ... I mean, many of my cohorts—don't like working on them, but I find them useful. There's no substitute for the immediacy of drawing on a piece of paper, of course, but digital nautical nonsense is still pretty fun".[16] Illustration of the show's character models with SpongeBob on the left Screen Novelties created character models based on the works of Rankin/Bass for the show's stop-motion episodes. Since 2004, the SpongeBob crew has periodically collaborated with the LA-based animation studio Screen Novelties to create stop-motion sequences for special episodes. The studio produced a brief claymation scene for the climax of the first theatrical film.[104] It was re-enlisted in 2009 to create an exclusive opening for the series' tenth anniversary special.[105][106] The abominable snow mollusk, an octopus-like creature made of clay who acts as the antagonist of the double-length episode "Frozen Face-Off", was also animated by the company.[107] Animation World Network reported that "within the SpongeBob creative team, there was always talk of doing a more involved project together" with Screen Novelties.[107] As a result, the group was asked to create an episode animated entirely in stop motion in 2011. This project became "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!",[108] which reimagined the show's characters as if they were part of a Rankin/Bass holiday film.[109] Tom Kenny, who is normally uninvolved in the writing process, contributed to the episode's plot; he said in 2012 that he and Nickelodeon "wanted to do something just like those old school, stop-motion Rankin-Bass holiday specials ... which I watched over and over again when I was a kid growing up in Syracuse."[104] Unconventional materials such as baking soda, glitter, wood chips and breakfast cereal were used in mass quantities to create the special's sets.[110] Members of the Screen Novelties crew received one win and two nominations at the 30th Annie Awards,[111] a nomination at the 2013 Golden Reel Awards,[112] and a nomination at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival for animating the episode.[113] The team built a dolphin puppet named Bubbles, voiced by Matt Berry, for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.[114] Sequences involving Bubbles included a blend of stop motion and traditional animation. A second special animated in stop motion, themed around Halloween and using the same Rankin/Bass-inspired character models, was produced for season 11.[115][116] Music     [The music has gone] from mostly sea shanties and Hawaiian music à la Roy Smeck meets Pee-wee Herman—still the main style for the show—in the early episodes, but it now includes film noir, West Side Story to [Henry] Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and [Steven] Spielberg. There's Broadway-type scores and plain old goofy, loopy, weird stuff. I try to push the envelope on this show without getting in the way of the story, and I try to push it up and way over the top when I can get away with it, all the time keeping it as funny and ridiculous as possible. —Music editor Nicolas Carr[117] Mark Harrison and Blaise Smith composed the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.[118] Its lyrics were written by Stephen Hillenburg and the series' original creative director Derek Drymon. The melody was inspired by the sea shanty "Blow the Man Down".[36] An old oil painting of a pirate is used in the opening sequence. Dubbed "Painty the Pirate", according to Tom Kenny, Hillenburg found it in a thrift shop "years ago".[44] Patrick Pinney voices Painty the Pirate, singing the theme song as the character.[36] Hillenburg's lips were imposed onto the painting and move along with the lyrics.[44] Kenny joked this is "about as close of a glimpse as most SpongeBob fans are ever going to get of Steve Hillenburg", because of his private nature.[36] A cover of the song by Avril Lavigne can be found on the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack.[119][120] Another cover by the Violent Femmes aired on Nickelodeon as a promotion when the series moved to prime time.[121] Steve Belfer, one of Hillenburg's friends from CalArts, wrote and performed the music heard over the end credits.[41] This theme includes ukulele music at Hillenburg's request.[41] Drymon said, "It's so long ago, it's hard to be sure, but I remember Hillenburg having the Belfer music early on, maybe before the pilot".[41] The series' music editor and main composer is Nicolas Carr.[117] After working with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life, he struggled to find a new job in his field. He had considered a career change before Hillenburg offered him the job. The first season's score primarily featured selections from the Associated Production Music Library, which Carr has said includes "lots of great old corny Hawaiian music and big, full, dramatic orchestral scores."[117] Rocko's Modern Life also used music from this library. It was Hillenburg's decision to adopt this approach. Carr has described the selections for SpongeBob SquarePants as being "more over-the-top" than those for Rocko's Modern Life.[117] Hillenburg felt it was important for the series to develop its own music library, consisting of scores that could be reused and re-edited throughout the years. He wanted these scores to be composed by unknowns, and a group of twelve was assembled. They formed "The Sponge Divers Orchestra", which includes Carr and Belfer. The group went on to provide most of the music for later seasons, although Carr still draws from the Associated Production Music Library, as well as another library that he founded himself—Animation Music Inc.[117] Broadcast Episodes Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes Season    Episodes    Segments    Originally aired First aired    Last aired 1    20    41    May 1, 1999    March 3, 2001 2    20    39    October 20, 2000    July 26, 2003 3    20    37    October 5, 2001    October 11, 2004 4    20    38    May 6, 2005    July 24, 2007 5    20    41    February 19, 2007    July 19, 2009 6    26    47    March 3, 2008    July 5, 2010 7    26    50    July 19, 2009    June 11, 2011 8    26    47    March 26, 2011    December 6, 2012 9    26    49    July 21, 2012    February 20, 2017 10    11    22    October 15, 2016    December 2, 2017 11    26    50    June 24, 2017    November 25, 2018 12    26    48    November 11, 2018    April 29, 2022 13    26[122]    TBA    October 22, 2020    TBA Tenth anniversary     Ten years. I never imagined working on the show to this date and this long...I really figured we might get a season and a cult following, and that might be it. —Stephen Hillenburg[123] Nickelodeon began celebrating the series' 10th anniversary on January 18, 2009, with a live cast reading of the episode "SpongeBob vs. The Big One". The reading—a first for the series—was held at that year's Sundance Film Festival.[124][125] The episode, which premiered on TV on April 17, 2009, features Johnny Depp as a guest star.[126] Other celebratory actions taken by the network included the launching of a new website for the series (spongebob.com) and the introduction of new merchandise. A "SpongeBob and water conservation-themed element" was also added to Nickelodeon's pro-social campaign The Big Green Help.[124] In an interview, Tom Kenny said, "What I'm most proud of is that kids still really like [SpongeBob SquarePants] and care about it ... They eagerly await new episodes. People who were young children when it started 10 years ago are still watching it and digging it and think it's funny. That's the loving cup for me."[127] Three nights before the official anniversary date, an hour-long documentary on the series, Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants, premiered on VH1.[123][124][125][127][128] Critically acclaimed duo Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley created the film as a followup to I.O.U.S.A.—a documentary on America's financial situation. Creadon remarked, "After spending two years examining the financial health of the United States, Christine and I were ready to tackle something a little more upbeat. Telling the SpongeBob story feels like the perfect fit."[124] On Friday, July 17, Nickelodeon marked the official anniversary of the series, with a 50-hour television marathon titled "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend". It began with a new episode, "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants". Saturday saw a countdown of the top ten episodes as picked by fans, as well as an airing of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The marathon finished on Sunday, with a countdown of episodes picked by celebrities and the premiere of ten new episodes.[124][129][130] Nickelodeon continued celebrating the anniversary through the rest of the year. An eight-episode DVD set featuring To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants was released shortly after the marathon on July 21.[131][132] Next a 2,200 minute, 14-disc DVD set titled The First 100 Episodes was released on September 22.[132][133][134] Finally, on November 6, an hour-long television film, titled Truth or Square, debuted on Nickelodeon. The film is narrated by Ricky Gervais and features live action cameo appearances by: Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, P!nk, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and Robin Williams.[135][136][137] It was released as part of a five-episode DVD set on November 10, 2009.[138] Twentieth anniversary On February 11, 2019, Nickelodeon announced it would recognize the twentieth anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants with a series of celebrations known as the "Best Year Ever".[139][140] In honor of the anniversary, Pantone created color shades known as "SpongeBob SquarePants Yellow" and "Patrick Star Pink" to be used by Nickelodeon's licensing partners.[141][142][143] Romero Britto, Jon Burgerman, and the Filipino art collective Secret Fresh were commissioned by Nickelodeon to create art pieces devoted to SpongeBob SquarePants. Some of these pieces were to be adapted into commercial products.[141][142] On February 12, in conjunction with Nickelodeon's announcement of the "Best Year Ever", Cynthia Rowley presented a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed wetsuit during New York Fashion Week.[144][145][146] A month later, Marlou Breuls presented the SpongeBob SquarePants-themed "Icon Collection" during Amsterdam Fashion Week.[147][148] That summer, Nike, in collaboration with Kyrie Irving, released a SpongeBob SquarePants series of shoes, accessories, and apparel.[149] In July, for the first time ever, SpongeBob SquarePants became the theme of a cosmetics line, which was released as a limited time offering by HipDot Studios.[144][150][151] The "Best Year Ever" also introduced an official SpongeBob SquarePants YouTube channel and a new mobile game based on the series, along with new toy lines.[143][144] The "Best Year Ever" formally began on July 12, 2019, with the premiere of the one-hour, live-action/animated TV special SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout.[139][140][152] It continued that month at San Diego Comic Con, with two panels, a booth, and various activities devoted to the series.[143][153] The "Best Year Ever" was recognized on Amazon Prime Day with an exclusive early release of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Best 200 Episodes Ever!, a 30-disc DVD compilation of two box sets, SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Next 100 Episodes. The collections received a standard nationwide release on August 27.[154] The "Best Year Ever" continued into 2020 culminating with the August 14 release of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.[139][140][155] Reception Ratings and run-length achievements Within its first month on air, SpongeBob SquarePants overtook Pokémon as the highest rated Saturday-morning children's series on television. It held an average national Nielsen rating of 4.9 among children aged two through eleven, denoting 1.9 million viewers.[156][157] Two years later, the series had firmly established itself as Nickelodeon's second highest-rated children's program, after Rugrats. SpongeBob SquarePants was credited with helping Nickelodeon take the "Saturday-morning ratings crown" for the fourth straight season in 2001.[158] The series had gained a significant adult audience by that point—nearly 40 percent of its 2.2 million viewers were aged 18 to 34.[159] In response to its weekend success, Nickelodeon gave SpongeBob SquarePants time slots at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, to increase the series' exposure.[159][160] By the end of 2001, SpongeBob SquarePants boasted the highest ratings for any children's series, on all of television.[161][162][163] Weekly viewership of the series had reached around fifteen million, at least five million of whom were adults.[161] In October 2002, another Nickelodeon series, The Fairly OddParents, ranked as the number two program for children between two and eleven years old.[164] Its ratings at that time were almost equal to SpongeBob SquarePants' then-average of 2.2 million viewers per episode.[164] The Fairly OddParents even briefly surpassed SpongeBob SquarePants, causing it to drop into second place. At this time, The Fairly OddParents had a 6.2 rating and nearly 2.5 million child viewers, while SpongeBob SquarePants had a 6.0 rating and 2.4 million child viewers aged two to eleven.[165] Nickelodeon "recognized" The Fairly OddParents for its climbing ratings and installed it in a new 8:00 PM time slot, previously occupied by SpongeBob SquarePants.[164] In an interview, Cyma Zarghami, then-general manager and executive vice president of Nickelodeon, said, "Are we banking on the fact that Fairly OddParents will be the next SpongeBob? ... We are hoping. But SpongeBob is so unique, it's hard to say if it will ever be repeated."[164] In 2012, however, the series' ratings were declining.[166][167] The average number of viewers aged two to eleven watching SpongeBob at any given time dropped 29% in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to Nielsen. Wall Street Journal business writer John Jannarone suggested the series' age and oversaturation might be contributing to its ratings' decline and might also be directly responsible for the decline in Nickelodeon's overall ratings.[168] Media analyst Todd Juenger attributed the decline in Nickelodeon's ratings directly to the availability of streaming video content on services like Netflix, a provider of on-demand Internet streaming media.[169] Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, contradicted that notion, saying: "We are getting nice revenues through these subscription VOD deals", adding Netflix only has "some library content" on its service.[170][171] A Nickelodeon spokesman said, "SpongeBob is performing consistently well and remains the number one rated animated series in all of children's television."[168] He added, "There is nothing that we have seen that points to SpongeBob as a problem."[168] Dauman blamed the drop on "some ratings systemic issues" at Nielsen, citing extensive set-top-box data that "does in no way reflect" the Nielsen data.[172] Juenger noted SpongeBob could affect the ratings of other Nickelodeon programming because children often change channels to find their favorite programs, then stay tuned to that network.[168] Nickelodeon reduced its[clarification needed] exposure on television. In the first quarter of 2012, the network cut back on the number of episodes it aired by 16% compared to a year earlier.[168] On April 22, 2013, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced their intentions not to renew their existing deal with Viacom.[173] Viacom's deal with Netflix expired, and shows such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer were removed.[174] However, seasons five through eight of SpongeBob are still available to stream on Netflix in Canada.[175] On June 4, 2013, Viacom announced a multi-year licensing agreement which would move its programs, such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer, to Amazon.com, Netflix's top competitor.[176][177] Amazon agreed to pay more than $200 million to Viacom for the license, its largest subscription streaming transaction ever.[178][179] SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the longest-running series on Nickelodeon.[180] It became the network's series with the most episodes during its eighth season, surpassing the 172 episodes of Rugrats.[181] In the ninth season, its 26 episodes brought the number of episodes produced to 204.[182][183][184] In a statement, Brown Johnson, Nickelodeon's animation president said, "SpongeBob's success in reaching over 200 episodes is a testament to creator Stephen Hillenburg's vision, comedic sensibility and his dynamic, lovable characters. The series now joins the club of contemporary classic Nicktoons that have hit this benchmark, so we're incredibly proud."[185][186] Critical reception SpongeBob SquarePants has been widely praised particularly for its appeal to different age groups, and the show has earned numerous awards and accolades throughout its run. James Poniewozik of Time magazine described the title character as "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match—conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him."[187] According to Laura Fries of Variety magazine, the series is "a thoughtful and inventive cartoon about a hopelessly optimistic and resilient sea sponge ... Devoid of the double entendres rife in today's animated TV shows, this is purely kid's stuff. ... However, that's not to say that SpongeBob is simplistic or even juvenile. It's charming and whimsical, but clever enough to appeal to teens and college-aged kids, as well."[188] The New York Times' critic Joyce Millman said SpongeBob "is clever without being impenetrable to young viewers and goofy without boring grown-ups to tears. It's the most charming toon on television, and one of the weirdest. And it's also good, clean fun, which makes sense because it is, after all, about a sponge." Millman wrote, "His relentless good cheer would be irritating if he weren't so darned lovable and his world so excellently strange. ... Like Pee-wee's Playhouse, SpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet."[189] Robert Thompson, a professor of communications and director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told The New York Times     There is something kind of unique about [SpongeBob]. It seems to be a refreshing breath from the pre-irony era. There's no sense of the elbow-in-rib, tongue-in-cheek aesthetic that so permeates the rest of American culture—including kids' shows like the Rugrats. I think what's subversive about it is it's so incredibly naive—deliberately. Because there's nothing in it that's trying to be hip or cool or anything else, hipness can be grafted onto it.[190] In another interview with Los Angeles Times, he commentated on the show's adult audience: "[On one hand] It's a kind of time machine that transports parents back to when they watched TV in their footie [pajamas]. On the other hand, it's very hip in the way it's presented. It is very edgy to adults who know how to read and listen between the frames."[191] Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked SpongeBob SquarePants as the 22nd greatest American TV series of all time in their 2016 book TV (The Book).[192] In a 2007 interview, Barack Obama said SpongeBob is his favorite TV character and admitted that SpongeBob SquarePants is "the show I watch with my daughters."[193][194][195] Awards and accolades Main article: List of awards and nominations received by SpongeBob SquarePants SpongeBob SquarePants has received many awards and nominations; among these are four Emmy Awards (Outstanding Special Class Animated Program in 2010;[196] Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation" in 2014;[197] Outstanding Children's Animated Series in 2018; and Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program in 2018 for Kenny);[198] six Annie Awards;[199][200][201][202][203] and two BAFTA Children's Awards.[204][205] In 2006, IGN ranked SpongeBob SquarePants 15th on its list, Top 25 Animated Series of All Time,[206] and in 2013, it ranked the series 12th on its list, The Top 25 Animated Series for Adults.[207] In addition, the website's UK division ran a Top 100 Animated Series list, and like its US counterpart, ranked SpongeBob SquarePants 15th.[208] TV Guide listed SpongeBob SquarePants himself at number nine on its list 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time in 2002.[209] In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named SpongeBob one of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.[210] Viewers of UK television network Channel 4 voted SpongeBob SquarePants the 28th Greatest Cartoon in a 2004 poll.[211][212] The series is among the All-TIME 100 TV Shows as chosen by Time television critic James Poniewozik in 2007. He said, "It's the most funny, surreal, inventive example of the explosion in creative kids' (and adult) entertainment that Nick, Cartoon Network and their ilk made possible."[213] In 2013, the publication ranked SpongeBob SquarePants the eighth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.[214] Television critic Matt Zoller Seitz included the series in his 2016 book with Alan Sepinwall titled TV (The Book) as the 22nd greatest American television series of all time, saying that "SpongeBob SquarePants is an absurdist masterpiece that Salvador Dalí and Groucho Marx would have watched together in their smoking jackets".[215][216] Legacy SpongeBob hot air balloon SpongeBob balloon at the Hot air balloon festival in León, Guanajuato, Mexico in November 2010 SpongeBob SquarePants wax statue SpongeBob SquarePants wax statue, in National Wax Museum Plus, in Dublin, Ireland In July 2009, Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York launched a wax sculpture of SpongeBob in celebration of the series' 10th anniversary. SpongeBob became the first animated character sculpted entirely out of wax.[217][218][219][220] The character has also become a trend in Egypt at Cairo's Tahrir Square.[221] After the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SpongeBob became a fashion phenomenon, appearing on various merchandise items from hijabs to boxer shorts.[222][223] The phenomenon led to the creation of the Tumblr project called "SpongeBob on the Nile". The project was founded by American students Andrew Leber and Elisabeth Jaquette and attempts to document every appearance of SpongeBob in Egypt.[224] Sherief Elkeshta cited the phenomenon in an essay about the incoherent state of politics in Egypt in an independent monthly paper titled Midan Masr. He wrote, "Why isn't he [SpongeBob] at least holding a Molotov cocktail? Or raising a fist?"[225] The phenomenon has even spread to Libya, where a Libyan rebel in SpongeBob dress was photographed celebrating the revolution.[226] Although The Guardian and Vice have asserted that the trend has little to no political significance,[221][222] "joke" presidential campaigns have been undertaken for SpongeBob in Egypt and Syria.[222][224] A clip was posted to YouTube in February 2013 that features soldiers in the Russian army and navy singing the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song as they march.[227][228] According to the website that uploaded the video, this is one of the "most popular marching songs" in the Russian military.[227] The video garnered nearly 50,000 views within its first week.[228] Following Hillenburg's death in November 2018, more than 1.2 million fans signed a petition for the National Football League to have the song "Sweet Victory" from the season 2 episode "Band Geeks" performed in his honor at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium's Twitter account, the venue of the show, tweeted a GIF of SpongeBob dancing in "Band Geeks" in December. Maroon 5 who were performing at the game, included a brief clip of SpongeBob in a preview video, leading fans to believe the song would be performed. While the song's opening was ultimately included, it served as a transition into artist Travis Scott's set, which left many fans disappointed.[229][230] In response to fans' disappointment at not hearing the complete "Sweet Victory" song during the halftime show at the Super Bowl LIII, the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League showed a clip of the full "Sweet Victory" song during a game at the American Airlines Center. In the clip, the characters' band uniforms are recolored green after the Stars.[231][232] Several species of organism have been named in reference to SpongeBob. In May 2011, a new species of mushroom, Spongiforma squarepantsii, was described and named after the series' title character.[233] In 2019, a species of sea sponge, Clathria hillenburgi, was named in honor of Hillenburg, also referencing his creation of SpongeBob SquarePants.[234] In 2020, a species of abyssal sea star, Astrolirus patricki, was described and named after Patrick Star; individuals of this species were found to be closely associated with hexactinellid sponges, and it was thus named after Patrick as a reference to the character's friendship with SpongeBob.[235] In honor of Stephen Hillenburg, a non-profit fan project, titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Rehydrated, was released online on May 1, 2022. It consists of a recreation of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie reanimated by 300 people with re-recorded music and dialogue. Amid the YouTube premiere, the video was taken down by Paramount Global due to copyright laws. As a result, the hashtag #JusticeForSpongeBob became trending on Twitter against Paramount's action. The video was restored the following day.[236][237] Criticism Controversies Sexuality In 2005, an online video that showed clips from SpongeBob SquarePants and other children's shows set to the Sister Sledge song "We Are Family" to promote diversity and tolerance was attacked by an evangelical group in the United States. They saw SpongeBob being used to "advocate homosexuality".[238][239] James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the video of promoting homosexuality because it was sponsored by a pro-tolerance group.[239] The incident prompted the question whether SpongeBob is gay. Although the character has enjoyed popularity with gay viewers, series creator Stephen Hillenburg had already denied SpongeBob is gay three years earlier, clarifying at the time he considered the character to be "somewhat asexual".[240] After Dobson's comments, Hillenburg reasserted his position, stating that sexual preference does not play a part in what they are "trying to do" with the series.[241][242] Tom Kenny and other production members were distraught that the issue had arisen.[44] Dobson later said his comments were taken out of context and his original complaints were not with SpongeBob, the video, or any of the characters in the video, but rather with the organization that sponsored the video, the We Are Family Foundation. Dobson said they posted pro-gay material on their website, but later removed it.[243] After the controversy, John H. Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minister and president, said they would welcome SpongeBob into their ministry. He said: "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."[244] Queer theorist Jeffery P. Dennis, author of the journal article "Queertoons", argued that SpongeBob and Sandy are not romantically in love, but added he believed SpongeBob and Patrick "are paired with arguably erotic intensity".[245] Martin Goodman of Animation World Magazine called Dennis' comments regarding SpongeBob and Patrick "interesting".[246][d] Ukrainian website Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin, which has been described as a "fringe Catholic" group by The Wall Street Journal, criticized SpongeBob SquarePants for its alleged "promotion of homosexuality".[248] The group sought to have the series banned, along with several other popular children's properties. The National Expert Commission of Ukraine on the Protection of Public Morality took up the matter for review in August 2012.[248] Questions of SpongeBob's sexuality resurfaced in 2020 after Nickelodeon's official Twitter account posted an image of the character, in rainbow colors with text celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and its allies during Pride Month. Although the post did not make any assertions about SpongeBob's sexual orientation, numerous users responded on social media, claiming they already had their suspicions that he might be gay or reasserting Hillenburg's description of asexuality.[249] In April 2009, Burger King released a SpongeBob-themed advertisement featuring a parody of Sir Mix-a-Lot's song "Baby Got Back". The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood protested the ad for being sexist and inappropriately sexual, especially considering SpongeBob's fan base includes young children.[250][251][252][253][254] In official statements released by Burger King and Nickelodeon, both companies claimed the campaign was aimed at parents.[253][254] Other     "The children who watched the cartoon were operating at half the capacity compared to other children." —Angeline S. Lillard, University of Virginia[255] A 2011 study conducted at the University of Virginia, published in the journal Pediatrics, suggested that allowing preschool-aged audiences to watch the series caused short-term disruptions in mental function and attention span because of frequent shot changes, compared to control groups watching Caillou and drawing pictures.[256][257] A Nickelodeon executive responded in an interview the series was not intended for an audience of that age and that the study used "questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust."[258][259] Several of the series' episodes have also been the subject of controversy. In a report titled "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing", which documents the increase in potentially violent, profane, and sexual content in children's programming, the Parents Television Council, a watchdog media group, claimed the season 2 SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Sailor Mouth" was an implicit attempt to promote and satirize use of profanity among children.[260] "SpongeBob's Last Stand" (season 7) and "Selling Out" (season 4) have been criticized for promoting environmentalism and left-wing politics because of their negative portrayal of big business.[261] "SpongeBob, You're Fired" (season 9) caused widespread controversy and sparked a political debate over its portrayal of unemployment;[261] after Fox News and the New York Post commented on the episode, Media Matters for America accused the two organizations of using the episode to "attack the social safety net."[262] This statement was echoed by Al Sharpton, who claimed conservatives' "new hero" to be "a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea."[263] In 2014, the education minister of Kazakhstan, Zabira Orazalieva, deemed the show too violent for children, labeling the titular character a "self-absorbed hooligan"[264] who "regularly inflicts violence on others in his community and seems to enjoy what he does."[265][266] In 2019, University of Washington professor Holly M. Barker stated that the show promotes "violent and racist" colonialism, since Bikini Bottom is named after Bikini Atoll, a place where natives were resettled by the US government for nuclear testing. Barker also pointed out that cultural appropriation of Pacific culture in the show. Because of such content, children have "become acculturated to an ideology that includes the U.S. character SpongeBob residing on another people’s homeland", according to Barker.[267] ViacomCBS eventually pulled the episode "Mid-Life Crustacean" (season 3), first aired in 2003, out of circulation in March 2021, presumably due to its ending in which SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs partake in a panty raid. "We determined some story elements were not kid-appropriate", a Nickelodeon representative stated. A later episode, "Kwarantined Krab" (season 12), was also made unavailable for release, over its similarities to Allegations of declining quality Ambox current red Americas.svg     This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2018) Various media outlets including MSN, The A.V. Club, and Vulture have reported that SpongeBob's popularity declined following the release of the 2004 film and Hillenburg's departure as showrunner.[269][270][271] In 2012, MSN cited a post on Encyclopedia SpongeBobia, a Fandom-hosted wiki, which said that many fans felt the series had "jumped the shark" following the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and that online fansites were becoming "deserted."[269] As of 2011, episodes produced since the first film have been variously categorized by DVD Talk and DVD Verdict as "tedious;"[272] "boring" and "dreck;"[273] a "depressing plateau of mediocrity;"[274] and "laugh-skimpy."[275] In 2018, Vulture noted the most popular online memes of the series usually focused on episodes from the first three seasons.[271] That same year, The A.V. Club wrote that as the series went on, "[it] leaned hard into kid-friendly physical humor and gross out moments that appealed to no one in particular".[270] Nickelodeon faced criticism from fans and former staff like Paul Tibbitt when the network greenlit spinoffs (see below) after the death of Hillenburg, who had previously expressed hesitation in deriving from the parent series. "The show is about SpongeBob, he's the core element, and it's about how he relates to the other characters," Hillenburg told Television Business International. "Patrick by himself might be a bit too much. So I don't see any spin-offs."[276] Other media Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants (franchise) Spin-offs Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years Main article: Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years On February 14, 2019, it was announced that a SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off is in development.[140] On June 4, it was announced the spinoff will be titled Kamp Koral. The plot will focus on a 10-year-old SpongeBob and his friends at the titular camp located in the Kelp Forest, where they spend the summer catching jellyfish, building campfires, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck.[277][278] It serves as a tie-in to the animated film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.[278] It was confirmed production of the series began in June 2019.[140][277] Nickelodeon animation head Ramsey Naito said of the series, "SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for Kamp Koral is a testament to the strength and longevity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world." Like SpongeBob SquarePants, the series is co-executive produced by Marc Ceccarelli, Jennie Monica, and Vincent Waller. Kamp Koral is produced using computer animation rather than the digital ink and paint animation used for SpongeBob SquarePants.[278] On February 19, 2020, it was announced that the series had an official title of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, and would be premiering in July 2020.[279] On July 30, 2020, it was announced that the series would be released on CBS All Access (now Paramount+), the ViacomCBS streaming service, in early 2021.[280][281] On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 4, 2021.[282] The Patrick Star Show Main article: The Patrick Star Show On August 10, 2020, it was reported that a Patrick Star talk show titled The Patrick Star Show was in development with a 13-episode order. The show is similar to other talk shows such as The Larry Sanders Show and Comedy Bang! Bang!.[283][284] The series premiered on Nickelodeon on July 9, 2021,[285] with the series set to be available on Paramount+ later on.[286] Streaming Originally, SpongeBob SquarePants was streaming on Netflix. However, the series was removed from the United States in 2013 due to their deal with Viacom not being renewed.[287] The series was also available to stream on Hulu starting in 2012 until being removed in 2016.[288] The series later streamed on Amazon Prime Video in 2013 after the Netflix deal ended.[289] As part of the rebranding plan of Paramount+, the series joined along with other ViacomCBS shows on July 30, 2020.[280][281] Currently, the first 6 seasons are available to be streamed on Prime Video and the first 12 seasons through Paramount+.[290] The series is available to stream on Netflix in Canada.[291] Home video SpongeBob SquarePants DVD releases Season     DVD release date Region 1     Region 2     Region 4     1     October 28, 2003[292]     November 7, 2005[293]     November 30, 2006[294]     2     October 19, 2004[295]     October 23, 2006[296]     November 30, 2006[297]     3     September 27, 2005[298]     December 3, 2007[299]     November 8, 2007[300]     4     September 12, 2006[301]     November 3, 2008[302]     November 7, 2008[303] January 9, 2007[304]     5     September 4, 2007[305]     November 16, 2009[306]     December 3, 2009[307] November 18, 2008[308]     6     December 8, 2009[309]     November 29, 2010[310]     December 2, 2010[311] December 7, 2010[312]     7     December 6, 2011[313]     September 17, 2012[314]     September 12, 2012[315][316]     8     March 12, 2013[317]     October 28, 2013[318]     October 30, 2013[319]     9     October 10, 2017[320]     TBA     October 7, 2020[321]     10     October 15, 2019[322]     TBA     October 7, 2020[323]     11     March 31, 2020[324][325]     TBA     October 7, 2020[326]     12     January 12, 2021[327][328]     TBA     TBA     13     TBA     TBA     TBA Comic books Main article: SpongeBob Comics The 32-page bimonthly comic book series, SpongeBob Comics, was announced in November 2010[329] and debuted the following February.[330] Before this, SpongeBob SquarePants comics had been published in Nickelodeon Magazine,[329][331][332] and episodes of the television series had been adapted by Cine-Manga,[329][333] but SpongeBob Comics was the first American comic book series devoted solely to SpongeBob SquarePants.[329][331][332] It also served as SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg's debut as a comic book author.[330][331][332] The series was published by Hillenburg's production company, United Plankton Pictures, and distributed by Bongo Comics Group.[329][331][332] Hillenburg described the stories from the comic books as "original and always true to the humor, characters, and universe of the SpongeBob SquarePants series." Leading up to the release of the series, Hillenburg said, "I'm hoping that fans will enjoy finally having a SpongeBob comic book from me."[331][332] Chris Duffy, the former senior editor of Nickelodeon Magazine, serves as managing editor of SpongeBob Comics.[331][332] Hillenburg and Duffy met with various cartoonists—including James Kochalka, Hilary Barta, Graham Annable, Gregg Schigiel, and Jacob Chabot—to contribute to each issues.[331][332] Retired horror comics writer and artist Stephen R. Bissette returned to write a special Halloween issue in 2012, with Tony Millionaire and Al Jaffee.[334] In an interview with Tom Spurgeon, Bissette said, "I've even broken my retirement to do one work-for-hire gig [for SpongeBob Comics] so I could share everything about that kind of current job."[335] In the United Kingdom, Titan Magazines published comics based on SpongeBob SquarePants every four weeks from February 3, 2005,[336] through November 28, 2013.[337] Titan Magazines also teamed up with Lego to release a limited edition SpongeBob-themed comic.[338] Films Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants (film series) Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies produced The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, an animated film adaptation of the series released on November 19, 2004.[339] The film was directed by Hillenburg, and written by long-time series writers Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt, and Hillenburg. He and Julia Pistor produced the film, while Gregor Narholz composed the film's score.[340][341][342] The film is about Plankton's evil plan to steal King Neptune's crown and send it to Shell City. SpongeBob and Patrick must retrieve it and save Mr. Krabs' life from Neptune's raft and their home, Bikini Bottom, from Plankton's plan. It features guest appearances by Jeffrey Tambor as King Neptune, Scarlett Johansson as the King's daughter Mindy, Alec Baldwin as Dennis, and David Hasselhoff as himself,[343] and received a positive critical reception,[344][345] It grossed over $140 million worldwide.[346] Three television films were released: SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis in 2007, SpongeBob's Truth or Square in 2009, and SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout in 2019. A sequel to the 2004 film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, was released in theaters on February 6, 2015.[347] The series' main cast members reprised their roles.[348] The underwater parts are animated traditionally in the manner of the series—the live-action parts use CGI animation with the SpongeBob characters.[349][350] The film has a budget similar to the previous film and cost less than $100 million to produce.[351][352][353] On April 30, 2015, Viacom announced a third film was in development.[354] In April 2018, Tim Hill was named as director, and the film's original title, It's a Wonderful Sponge, was revealed. Paramount originally scheduled a release date of July 17, 2020, later moving it earlier to May 22, 2020.[355] In October 2018, it was announced the movie will be an origin story of how SpongeBob came to Bikini Bottom and how he got his square pants. Around the same time, it was announced that Hans Zimmer will compose the music. The first poster along with a title change to Sponge on the Run was revealed on November 12, 2019,[356] with the first trailer releasing on November 14.[357] The film was later delayed to July 31, 2020 (and later August 7, 2020) due to the .[358][155] The film's worldwide theatrical release was later cancelled in June 2020 and it was announced that it would be released in Canadian theaters on August 14, 2020, followed by a release on premium video on demand before heading to Paramount+ in early 2021.[359][360] On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the film would be released on the service on March 4, 2021.[282] Future films In November 2019, a "music-based" Squidward project was reported to be in development for Netflix.[361][362] In early March 2020, ViacomCBS announced that it would be producing two spin-off films based on the series for the streaming service.[363] On August 24, 2021, Brian Robbins, CEO of Nickelodeon, has stated that a new SpongeBob film is "in the works."[364] On February 15, 2022, it was announced that three character spinoff films were in the works for Paramount+, as well as a theatrical SpongeBob film. The first character spinoff film is set to be released in 2023.[365] Music Collections of original music featured in the series have been released on the albums SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights (2001), SpongeBob's Greatest Hits (2009), and The Yellow Album (2005). The first two charted on the US Billboard 200, reaching number 171 and 122, respectively.[366][367] Several songs have been recorded for the purpose of a single or album release, and have not been featured on the show. The song "My Tidy Whities" written by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley was released only on the album The Best Day Ever (2006). Kenny's inspiration for the song was "underwear humor,"[368] saying: "Underwear humor is always a surefire laugh-getter with kids ... Just seeing a character that odd wearing really prosaic, normal, Kmart, three-to-a-pack underwear is a funny drawing ... We thought it was funny to make a really lush, beautiful love song to his underwear."[368] A soundtrack album The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More..., featuring the film's score was released along with the feature-length film in November 2004. Various artists including the Flaming Lips,[369] Wilco,[370] Ween,[371] Motörhead,[372] the Shins,[373] and Avril Lavigne[374] contributed to the soundtrack that reached number 76 on the US Billboard 200.[375] Theme park rides Photograph of the entrance and lift hill of the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge ride at the Mall of America. Entrance and lift hill of SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge ride at the Mall of America The SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D film and ride opened at several locations including Six Flags Over Texas, Flamingo Land Resort, and the Shedd Aquarium.[376] The ride features water squirts, real bubbles, and other sensory enhancements. In 2012, Nickelodeon teamed up again with SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment and Super 78 to produce SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D: The Great Jelly Rescue.[377] The attraction opened in early 2013 at the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration.[378] It was also installed at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Orlando, Florida.[379][380][381] The seven-minute film follows SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy rescuing the jellyfish of Jellyfish Fields from Plankton's evil clutches.[378] On May 23, 2015, an interactive 3D show titled SpongeBob SubPants Adventure opened in Texas at Moody Gardens.[382] A variety of SpongeBob SquarePants-related attractions are currently located within Nickelodeon themed-areas at Movie Park Germany, Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Sea World, American Dream Meadowlands, and Mall of America, which includes the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge euro-fighter roller coaster. Video games Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants video games Numerous video games based on the series have been produced. Some of the early games include: Legend of the Lost Spatula (2001)[383] and SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (2003). In 2013, Nickelodeon published and distributed SpongeBob Moves In!, a freemium city-building game app developed by Kung Fu Factory for iOS and Android.[384][385][386][387] On June 5, 2019, THQ Nordic announced SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, a full remake of the console versions of the original 2003 game.[388][389][390] The game was released 1 year later on June 23, 2020[391][392] and includes cut content from the original game.[393] On May 28, 2020, Apple Arcade released a game called Spongebob Squarepants: Patty Pursuit.[394] In 2021, EA Sports introduced a SpongeBob-themed level to the Yard section of its Madden NFL 21 video game.[395] On September 17, 2021, THQ Nordic announced SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake, a new original game based on the franchise.[396] SpongeBob SquareShorts Nickelodeon launched the first global SpongeBob SquarePants-themed short film competition, SpongeBob SquareShorts: Original Fan Tributes, in 2013.[397][398] The contest encouraged fans and filmmakers around the world to create original short films inspired by SpongeBob for a chance to win a prize and a trip for four people to a screening event in Hollywood. The contest opened on May 6 and ran through June 28, 2013.[399][400] On July 19, 2013, Nickelodeon announced the competition's finalists.[401][402][403] On August 13, 2013, the under 18 years of age category was won by David of the United States for his The Krabby Commercial, while the Finally Home short by Nicole of South Africa won the 18 and over category.[404] Theater Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants (musical) SpongeBob SquarePants was adapted as a stage musical in 2016 by director Tina Landau. SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical premiered in Chicago in 2016 and opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on December 4, 2017.[405] The musical opened to critical acclaim,[406] and tied for most-nominated production at the 2018 72nd Tony Awards with twelve Tony nominations.[407] SpongeBob in internet culture Online memes relating to SpongeBob SquarePants have achieved widespread popularity on the Internet, so much so that Vox's Aja Romano declared in 2019 that "Spongebob memes came to rule internet culture."[408] A subreddit devoted to memes based on the animated series has, as of May 2019, accumulated over 1.7 million subscribers, a figure exponentially higher than subreddits devoted to the series itself.[408] Matt Schimkowitz, a senior editor for Know Your Meme, told Time that a combination of factors make SpongeBob memes so popular. He speculated that nostalgia for the past, alongside the cartoon's young audience, contributed to the SpongeBob Squarepants's outsized presence in Internet meme culture. Schimkowitz further added that memes derived from the series are exceptionally good at expressing emotions.[409] Michael Gold of The New York Times concurred. The writer opined that because of the show's "high episode count" and that it was "so ubiquitous at the beginning of the 21st century," SpongeBob SquarePants became "easy meme fodder."[410] Nickelodeon and members of the SpongeBob cast have expressed approval for the trend. Tom Kenny told Time that he found SpongeBob memes relatable and good-natured. Kenny said that while the show's characters can be considered complex, they are also simple, creating a wealth of content for meme creators to work with.[citation needed] Nickelodeon has manufactured a line of toys based on some of the show's most recognizable meme formats,[408] and has even included references to well-known memes in video games.[411] Among the show's most popular memes are the mocking SpongeBob meme, referring to an image macro from the episode, "Little Yellow Book," [412] a screenshot of a surprised Patrick Star from the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,[413] an image of Spongebob appearing exhausted in the episode, "Nature Pants,"[414] and a particularly disheveled illustration of Squidward from "Squid's Day Off."[415] Merchandise Further information: List of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise Photograph of a SpongeBob SquarePants figure set on a beach A set of SpongeBob SquarePants figures modeled after the main characters The popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants inspired merchandise from T-shirts to posters.[72] In 2009, it was reported that the franchise had generated an estimated $8 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon.[416] The series is also the most distributed property of Paramount Media Networks.[371] SpongeBob is viewed in 170 countries speaking 24 languages, and has become "a killer merchandising app".[417] The title character and his friends have been used as a theme for special editions of well-known family board games, including Monopoly,[418] Life,[419] and Operation,[420] as well as a SpongeBob SquarePants edition of Ants in the Pants,[421] and Yahtzee.[422] In 2001, Nickelodeon signed a marketing deal with Target Corporation and Burger King, expanding its merchandising.[159] The popularity of SpongeBob has translated well into sales. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week—faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time.[423] SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted marketing at women there. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan, as the character's design is very different from already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu.[424] Ratings and merchandise sales showed SpongeBob SquarePants has caught on with parents and with college audiences.[12] In a 2013 promotion, college-oriented website Music.com gave away 80,000 SpongeBob T-shirts, four times more than during a similar promotion for Comedy Central's South Park.[12] Kids' meal tie-ins have been released in fast food restaurants in many parts of the world, including Burger King in Europe and North America, as well as Wendy's in North America, and Hungry Jack's in Australia. A McDonald's Happy Meal tie-in with SpongeBob-themed Happy Meal boxes and toys was released in Europe and other international markets in the summer of 2007.[425] In Australia, the advertisement for the McDonald's SpongeBob Happy Meal won the Pester Power Award because the ads enticed young children to want its food because of the free toy.[426] As a tie-in beverage for the DVD release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 7-Eleven released the limited edition Under-the-Sea Pineapple Slurpee in March 2004.[427] Pirate's Booty released limited edition SpongeBob SquarePants Pirate's Booty snacks in 2013.[428][429] In 2007, high-end SpongeBob-themed electronics were introduced by Imation Electronics Products under the Npower brand, including MP3 players, digital cameras, a DVD player, and a flatscreen television.[430] Pictures of SpongeBob SquarePants began to appear on the labels of 8 ounce cans of Green Giant cut green beans and packages of frozen Green Giant green beans and butter sauce in 2007, which featured free stickers. This was part of an initiative to encourage kids to eat their vegetables.[431] The Simmons Jewelry Co. released a $75,000 diamond pendant as part of a SpongeBob collection.[219][432] In New Zealand, the UK-based Beechdean Group unveiled the SpongeBob SquarePants Vanilla Ice Cream character product as part of a license deal with Nickelodeon.[433] NZ Drinks launched the SpongeBob SquarePants bottled water.[434] Build-A-Bear Workshop introduced the new SpongeBob SquarePants collection in stores and online in North America on May 17, 2013.[435][436][437] Shoppers can dress their SpongeBob and Patrick plush in a variety of clothing and accessories. Sandy Cheeks and Gary the Snail are also available as pre-stuffed minis.[438] Build-A-Bear Workshop stores nationwide celebrated the arrival of SpongeBob with a series of special events from May 17 through May 19.[439] On July 13, 2013, Toyota, with Nickelodeon, unveiled a SpongeBob-inspired Toyota Highlander.[440] The 2014 Toyota Highlander was launched on SpongeBob Day at the San Diego Padres v. Giants game.[441][442][443] The SpongeBob Toyota Highlander visited seven U.S. locations during its release, including the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Florida.[444] In April 2019, Nickelodeon released a series of toys adapted from various SpongeBob Internet memes. These included "Handsome Squidward", "Imaginaaation SpongeBob", "Mocking SpongeBob", "SpongeGar", and "Surprised Patrick". Shortly after the release of the line, most of the toys sold out on Amazon.com." (wikipedia.org) "Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children.[1] It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. Its programming is primarily aimed at children aged 2–17,[2] along with a broader family audience through its program blocks. The channel began life as a test broadcast on December 1, 1977[3] as part of QUBE,[4] an early cable television system broadcast locally in Columbus, Ohio.[5] The channel, now named Nickelodeon, launched to a new countrywide audience on April 1, 1979,[6] with Pinwheel as its inaugural program.[5] The network was initially commercial-free and remained without advertising until 1984.[7][8] Throughout history, Nickelodeon has introduced several sister channels and programming blocks. Nick Jr. is a preschool morning block launched on January 4, 1988. Nicktoons, based on the flagship brand, launched as a separate sister channel in 2002. In 1999, Nickelodeon partnered with Sesame Workshop to create Noggin, an educational brand consisting of a cable channel and an interactive website. Two blocks aimed at a teenage audience, TEENick (previously on Nickelodeon) and The N (previously on Noggin), were merged into a standalone channel, TeenNick, in 2009. As of September 2018, the channel is available to about 87.167 million households in the United States.... History Main article: History of Nickelodeon The channel's name comes from the first five-cent movie theaters called nickelodeons. Its history dates back to December 1, 1977, when Warner Cable Communications launched the first 2-way interactive cable system, QUBE,[4] in Columbus, Ohio. The C-3 cable channel carried Pinwheel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time,[4][10] and the channel was labelled "Pinwheel" on remote controllers, as it was the only program broadcast. Initially scheduled for a February 1979 launch,[11] Nickelodeon launched on April 1, 1979, initially distributed to Warner Cable systems via satellite on the RCA Satcom-1 transponder (the owner of the satellite, RCA Americom, later became GE Americom as a result of General Electric's acquisition of RCA Americom's parent company, RCA Corporation, before merging with Luxembourg-based Société Européenne des Satellites to form SES Global, now SES S.A, which one of the ancestors of the Satcom series, the SES and AMC satellite constellations, still operate, Nickelodeon presently broadcasts on AMC-11).[12] Originally commercial-free, advertising was introduced in January 1984.[7] Programming Main article: List of programs broadcast by Nickelodeon Programming seen on Nickelodeon includes animated series (such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, Middlemost Post, The Patrick Star Show, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, The Smurfs, Rugrats and Monster High), live-action, scripted series (such as Danger Force, Tyler Perry's Young Dylan and That Girl Lay Lay), and original made-for-TV movies, while the network's daytime schedule is dedicated to shows targeting preschoolers (such as Bubble Guppies, PAW Patrol, and Blue's Clues & You!). A re-occurring program was bi-monthly special editions of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee,[13] a news magazine series aimed at children that debuted in 1992 as a weekly series and ended in 2015.[14] In June 2020, Nickelodeon announced that they would bring back Nick News in a series of hour-long specials. The first installment, Kids, Race and Unity: A Nick News Special premiered on June 29, 2020, and was hosted by R&B musician Alicia Keys.[15] Nicktoons Main article: Nicktoons Nicktoons is the branding for Nickelodeon's original animated television series.[16][17] Until 1991, the animated series that aired on Nickelodeon were largely imported from foreign countries, with some original animated specials that were also featured on the channel up to that point.[18][19] Though the Nicktoons branding has infrequently been used by the network itself since the 2002 launch of the channel of the same name, original animated series continue to make up a substantial portion of Nickelodeon's lineup.[17] Roughly, six to seven hours of these programs are seen on the weekday schedule, and around nine hours on weekends, including a dedicated weekend morning animation block.[18] In 2006, the channel struck a deal with DreamWorks Animation to develop the studio's animated films into television series (such as The Penguins of Madagascar).[20] Since the early 2010s, Nickelodeon Animation Studio has also produced series based on preexisting IP purchased by ViacomCBS, such as Winx Club and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Movies Main article: List of Nickelodeon original films Nickelodeon has produced a variety of original made-for-TV movies, which usually premiere in weekend evening timeslots or on school holidays. Nickelodeon also periodically acquires theatrically-released feature films for broadcast on the channel. The channel occasionally airs feature films produced by the network's Nickelodeon Movies film production division (whose films are distributed by sister company Paramount Pictures). Although the film division bears the Nickelodeon brand name, the channel does not have access to most of the movies produced by its film unit. The majority of the live-action feature films produced under the Nickelodeon Movies banner are licensed for broadcast by various free-to-air and pay television outlets within the United States other than Nickelodeon (although the network has aired a few live-action Nickelodeon Movies releases such as Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Good Burger). Nickelodeon also advertises hour-long episodes of its original series as movies;[citation needed] though the "TV movie" versions of Nickelodeon's original series differ from traditional television films in that they have shorter running times (approximately 45 minutes, as opposed to 75–100 minute run times that most television movies have), and use a traditional multi-camera setup for regular episodes (unless the program is originally shot in the single-camera setup common of films) with some on-location filming. In 2002, Nickelodeon entered a long-standing broadcast partnership with Mattel to air films and specials based on the toy company's Barbie (and later Monster High) dolls. The first Barbie movie to air on Nickelodeon was Barbie as Rapunzel on November 24, 2002.[21] The Barbie and Monster High films are usually aired under a brokered format in which Mattel purchases the time in order to promote the release of their films on DVD within a few days of the Nickelodeon premiere, an arrangement possible as Nickelodeon does not have to meet the Federal Communications Commission rules which disallow that arrangement for broadcast channels due to regulations banning paid programming to children. Programming blocks The network's main programming is usually broadcast from 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. on weekdays (the sign-off time varies with holidays and special programming) and 6 a.m. - 10 p.m on weekends (Eastern and Pacific Time). Current     Nick Jr. – Nickelodeon currently broadcasts shows targeted at preschool-aged children on Monday through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (7:00 to 10:00 a.m. during the summer months, other designated school break periods, and on national holidays). The block primarily targets audiences of preschool age as Nickelodeon's usual audience of school-aged children are in school during the block's designated time period. Programs currently seen in this block include PAW Patrol, Peppa Pig (from the UK), Blaze and the Monster Machines, Ryan's Mystery Playdate, Blue's Clues & You!, Santiago of the Seas, and Baby Shark's Big Show!.     Nick at Nite – Nickelodeon's nighttime programming service,[22] which premiered on July 1, 1985, and broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/PT, Friday nights from 9 p.m. - 6 a.m. ET/PT, Saturday nights from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. ET/PT, and Sunday nights from 10 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/PT. Originally featured classic sitcoms from the 1950s and 1960s such as The Donna Reed Show,[22] Mr. Ed and Lassie, programming eventually shifted towards repeats of popular sitcoms from the 1980s to the 2000s such as Home Improvement, The Cosby Show and Roseanne.[23] In 1996, a pay television channel, TV Land (formerly Nick at Nite's TV Land, until 1997) based on the block, launched with a similar format of programs.[24] Nick at Nite has also occasionally incorporated original scripted and competition series, with some in recent years produced through its parent network's Nickelodeon Productions unit. As of 2021, programming on Nick at Nite consists entirely of acquired shows such as Full House, Friends, Mom and Young Sheldon. Since 2004, Nielsen has broken out the television ratings of Nick at Nite and Nickelodeon as two separate networks.[23]     That New Thursday Night – a live-action comedy block airing from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. The schedule features Danger Force, Tyler Perry's Young Dylan, That Girl Lay Lay, and Warped! (all first-run episodes are cycled on the schedule, giving it a variable schedule).     New Friday Night – an animation block airing from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, featuring new episodes of a rotating selection of Nickelodeon animated series. The series featured are SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House and The Casagrandes. Former     SNICK – "SNICK" (short for "Saturday Night Nickelodeon") was the network's first dedicated Saturday primetime block that aired from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. Geared toward preteens and teenagers, it debuted on August 15, 1992 (with the initial lineup featuring two established series that originally aired on Sundays, Clarissa Explains It All and The Ren & Stimpy Show, and two new series, Roundhouse and Are You Afraid of the Dark?). The block mainly featured live-action series (primarily comedies), although it periodically featured animated series. SNICK was discontinued on January 29, 2005, and was replaced the following week (February 5, 2005) by a Saturday night edition of the TEENick block.     Nick in the Afternoon – "Nick in the Afternoon" was a daytime block that ran on weekday afternoons during the summer months from 1995 to 1997, and aired in an extended format until December for its final year in 1998. It was hosted by Stick Stickly, a Mr. Bill-like popsicle stick character (puppeteered by Rick Lyon and voiced by actor Paul Christie, who would later voice the Noggin mascot Moose A. Moose). The block was replaced for Summer 1999 by "Henry and June's Summer" (hosted by the animated hosts of the anthology series KaBlam!). From 2011 to 2012, Stick Stickly returns to television for TeenNick's "The '90s Are All That" to host "U-Pick with Stick" on Friday nights as a concept of user-chosen programming.     U-Pick Live – "U-Pick Live" (originally branded as "U-Pick Friday" from 1999 to late 2000, and originally hosted by the Henry and June characters from KaBlam!) was a block that aired weekday afternoons from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time from October 14, 2002, to May 27, 2005, which was broadcast from studios in New York City's Times Square district, where Nickelodeon is headquartered. Using a similar concept that originated in 1994 with the Nick in the Afternoon block, "U-Pick Live" allowed viewer interaction in selecting the programs (usually cartoons) that would air on the block via voting on the network's website.     TEENick – "TEENick" was a teenage-oriented block that ran from March 4, 2001, to February 1, 2009, which ran on Sundays from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time; a secondary block on Saturdays launched in 2005, taking over the 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific timeslot long held by SNICK. It was originally hosted by Nick Cannon, and then by Jason Everhart (aka "J. Boogie"). Beginning in January 2007, Noggin's own teenage-targeted block The N ran a spin-off block called "TEENick on The N." The TEENick name, which was removed on February 1, 2009, later became the name of the channel TeenNick on September 28, 2009.     ME:TV – "ME:TV" was a short-lived live hosted afternoon block that ran during summer 2007, which ran on weekday afternoons from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific Time.     Nick Saturday Nights – a primetime live-action block airing from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. It was introduced on September 22, 2012, as Gotta See Saturday Nights. Recent episodes of certain original series may air when no new episodes are scheduled to air that week. Premieres of the network's original made-for-TV movies also occasionally aired during the primetime block, usually in the form of premiere showings. Saturday premieres were discontinued for the time being on December 11, 2021.     Nick Studio 10 – "Nick Studio 10" was a short-lived late afternoon programming block that ran from February 18 to June 17, 2013, which ran weekdays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. The block featured wraparound segments based on episodes of the network's animated series, which were shown in an off-the-clock schedule due to the segments that aired following each program's individual acts. Special events Guest appearance of mascots including characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants and Paw Patrol from Nickelodeon during the Nickelodeon Slime Cup SG event held in City Square Mall, Singapore in July, 2017     Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards – The Kids' Choice Awards are a 90-minute-long annual live awards show held on the fourth Saturday night in March (formerly the first Saturday in April until 2008, but returned in 2011). The award show (whose winners are selected by Nickelodeon viewers though voting on the channel's website and through text messaging) honors popular television series and movies, actors, athletes and music acts, with winners receiving a hollow orange blimp figurine (one of the logo outlines used for much of the network's "splat logo" era from 1984 to 2009).     Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports – A spin-off of the Kids' Choice Awards, "Kids Choice Sports" is held in July with the same KCA voting procedures and differing categories for team sports and athlete achievements for the past year (featuring categories such as "Best Male Athlete", "Best Female Athlete", "King Of Swag", and "Queen Of Swag"), along with the award featuring a sports-specific purple mohawk. Its inaugural ceremony aired on July 17, 2014.     Nickelodeon HALO Awards – The HALO Awards features five ordinary teens who are Helping And Leading Others (HALO). Its inaugural ceremony aired on December 11, 2009. The awards show is hosted by Nick Cannon and airs on Nickelodeon and TeenNick every November/December until 2017.     Worldwide Day of Play – The "Worldwide Day of Play" is an annual event held on a Saturday afternoon in late September that began on October 2, 2004, to mark the conclusion of the "Let's Just Play" campaign launched that year, which are both designed to influence kids to exercise and participate in outdoor activities; schools and educational organizations are also encouraged to host local events to promote activity among children during the event. Nickelodeon and its sister channels (except for the Pacific and Mountain Time Zone feeds and the Nick 2 Pacific feed that is distributed to the Eastern and Central Time Zones), some of the network's international channels and associated websites are suspended (with a message encouraging viewers to participate in outdoor activities during the period) from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time on the day of the event.[25] Since 2010, the Worldwide Day of Play event became part of The Big Help program, as part of an added focus on healthy lifestyles in addition to the program's main focus on environmental issues. Blocks on broadcast networks     Untitled UPN block – In 1998, Viacom's UPN then entered into discussions with the network to produce a new block.[26]     Nickelodeon en Telemundo – On November 9, 1998, Telemundo introduced a daily block of Spanish dubs of Nickelodeon's series (such as Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, and Blue's Clues); the weekday edition of the block ran until September 5, 2000, when it was relegated to weekends in order to make room for the morning news program Hoy En El Mundo; Nickelodeon's contract with Telemundo ended in November 2001, after the network was acquired by NBC. The former Nick on CBS logo used until its discontinuation in 2004.     Nick on CBS/Nick Jr. on CBS – On September 14, 2002, Nickelodeon began producing a two-hour Saturday morning block for CBS (which was co-owned with Nickelodeon at the time as a result of then-network parent Viacom's 1999 acquisition of CBS) to comply with the Children's Television Act. The block featured episodes of series such as As Told by Ginger, The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, and Pelswick which premiered on most CBS stations. The block was retooled in 2004 as a preschool-oriented block featuring Nick Jr. shows (such as Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, and Little Bill); "Nick Jr. on CBS" was replaced in September 2006 by the KOL Secret Slumber Party block (produced by DIC Entertainment, which was subsequently acquired by Canada-based Cookie Jar (now WildBrain), as a result of CBS and Viacom's split into separate companies earlier that year, but re-merged in late 2019. Related networks and services Current sister channels Nick Jr. Main article: Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (Nick Jr. Channel on-air to differentiate itself from the block) is a pay television network aimed mainly at children between 2 and 7 years of age. It features a mix of current and former preschool-oriented programs from Nickelodeon, as well as some shows that are exclusive to the channel. The Nick Jr. Channel launched on September 28, 2009, as a spin-off of Nickelodeon's long-running preschool programming block of the same name, which had aired since January 4, 1988.[27] The channel replaced Noggin, which was relaunched as a streaming service in 2015 and acts as a separate sister brand. Noggin's programming is distinct from the Nick Jr. channel's; it mainly carried preteen-oriented programs at its launch,[28] and its 2015 streaming service features a variety of exclusive series. On October 1, 2012, the Nick Jr. Channel introduced NickMom, a four-hour nighttime block aimed at parents,[29] which ran until September 28, 2015.[30][31] While traditional advertising appeared on the channel during the NickMom block, the network otherwise only runs programming promotions and underwriter-style sponsorships in lieu of regular commercials. Nicktoons Main article: Nicktoons (American TV channel) Nicktoons is a pay television network that launched on May 1, 2002,[27] as Nicktoons TV; it was renamed Nicktoons in May 2003 and rebranded as Nicktoons Network in 2005 before reverting to its previous name in September 2009. The network airs a mix of newer live-action and animated shows from Nickelodeon such as Henry Danger, The Fairly OddParents, The Loud House, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles alongside original series airing exclusively on Nicktoons. TeenNick Main article: TeenNick TeenNick is a pay television network that is aimed at adolescents and young adults, named after the TEENick block that aired on Nickelodeon from March 2001[32] to February 2009. The channel merged programming from the TEENick block with The N, a former block on Noggin. Although TeenNick has more relaxed program standards than the other Nickelodeon channels (save for Nick at Nite and the NickMom block on Nick Jr.) – allowing for moderate profanity, suggestive dialogue and some violent content – the network has shifted its lineup almost exclusively towards current and former Nickelodeon series (including some that are burned off due to low ratings on the flagship channel) that have stricter content standards. It also airs some acquired sitcoms and drama series. NickMusic Main article: NickMusic NickMusic is a pay television network in the United States mainly featuring music video and music-related programming from younger pop artists that appeal to Nickelodeon's target audience. It launched on the channel space formerly held by MTV Hits on September 9, 2016. Former sister channels     Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids (commonly branded as Nickelodeon GAS or Nick GAS), was a pay television network that launched on March 1, 1999, as part of the suite of high-tier channels launched by MTV Networks. It ran a mix of game shows and other competition programs from Nickelodeon (essentially formatted as a children's version of—and Viacom's answer to—the Game Show Network). The channel formally ceased operations on December 31, 2007, and it was replaced by a short-lived 24-hour version of Noggin's teen-oriented block The N. However, an automated loop of Nick GAS continued to be carried on Dish Network due to unknown factors until April 23, 2009.     NickMom (stylized as nickmom) was a programming block launched on October 1, 2012, airing in the late night hours on the Nick Jr. Channel. The block aired its own original programming aimed at parents until 2014, then began to carry acquired films and sitcoms. Due to Viacom's 2015 cutbacks involving acquired programming and low ratings, the NickMom block and associated website were discontinued in the early morning hours of September 28, 2015.[33]     Nick 2 was the off-air brand for a secondary timeshift channel of Nickelodeon formerly available on the high-tier packages exclusively on cable providers as a complement to the main Nickelodeon feed, repackaging Nickelodeon's Eastern and Pacific Time Zone feeds for the appropriate time zone – the Pacific feed was distributed to the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and the Eastern feed was distributed to the Pacific and Mountain Time Zones – resulting in the difference in local airtimes for a particular program between two geographic locations being three hours at most, allowing viewers a second chance to watch a program after its initial airing on the Eastern Time Zone feed or to watch the show ahead of its airing on the Pacific Time Zone feed of the main channel (for example, the Nick at Nite block would respectively start at 9:00 p.m (Sundays-Fridays) & At 10:30 p.m (Saturdays) Eastern on Nick 2 Pacific or 12:00 p.m. (weekdays) 10:00 a.m (weekends) Pacific weeknights on Nick 2 Eastern). Nick 2 would never broadcast in high definition. The service existed from around 2000 until November 2018, launching as Nick TOO. Nick 2 logo (2010).svg The timeshift channel was originally offered as part of the MTV Networks Digital Suite, a slate of channels exclusive to high-tier cable packages (many of the networks also earned satellite carriage over time), and was the only American example of two feeds of a non-premium service being provided to cable and IPTV providers. A Nick TOO logo was used on the channel until 2004, when MTV Networks decided to stop using customized branding on the feed (a logo for Nick 2 was only used for identification purposes on electronic program guides as a placeholder image); most television listings thus showed the additional channel under the brandings "Nick Pacific (NICKP)/Nick West (NICKW)," or "Nick East (NICKE)." DirecTV and Dish Network also offer both Nickelodeon feeds, though they carry both time zone feeds of most of the children's networks that the providers offer by default. Viacom Media Networks discontinued the Nick 2 digital cable service on November 22, 2018, likely due to video on demand options making timeshift channels for the most part superfluous. Both time zone feeds continue to be offered on Xfinity, unbranded.[34]     NickRewind (TeenNick block) On July 25, 2011, TeenNick began airing The '90s Are All That, renamed The Splat in October 2015, a block of Nickelodeon's most popular 1990s programming, targeting the network's target demographic from that era.[35] After several name changes, the block was finally called "NickRewind" and focused on programming from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s (mainly the latter two), and aired nightly. On January 31, 2022, the block was discontinued, with TeenNick's overnight programming mainly consisting of regular reruns. Other services Service     Description Nick HD Logo.svg Nickelodeon HD     Nickelodeon HD is the high-definition simulcast feed of Nickelodeon that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format; the feed first began broadcasting in 2008.[36] Most of the network's original series since 2008 – mainly its live-action series and some animated content – as well as episodes of programs carried by Nick at Nite (that were either natively produced in HD after 2000 or were remastered in high definition) are broadcast in HD, along with feature films, Nickelodeon original movies made after 2005 and select episodes, films and series produced before 2008. Other programs unavailable in HD broadcast in pillarboxed 4:3 standard definition. As of 2018, many subscription providers carry the high-definition feed and downscale it for the standard-definition feed. Nickelodeon’s standard-definition feed uses a downscaled version of the high-definition feed, which is broadcast in 16:9 letterboxed to fit the 4:3 ratio. Nick on Demand     Nick on Demand is the network's video-on-demand service, which is available on most subscription providers. It carries Nickelodeon's live-action, animated and preschool programming. Nick at Nite has no on-demand service due to daypart-defined contractual limits for its programming, as its programs are exclusive to an evening timeslot. Noggin     Noggin launched as a TV channel in a partnership with Sesame Workshop on February 2, 1999. It has transformed into an educational mobile app aimed at preschoolers. The app launched on March 5, 2015.[37] Nick Pluto TV     Launched May 1, 2019, Nick Pluto is one of several free versions of ViacomCBS channels that were introduced on Pluto TV shortly after Viacom acquired the advertiser-supported service in January 2019. It carries mostly archival programs from Nickelodeon's library. Nick Jr. programming is its separate channel, while Nick at Nite programming is instead put under the TV Land branding, and only includes syndicated programming Paramount Global has full day rights to. Pluto TV used to carry additional Nickelodeon-branded networks, among them NickGames (containing the network's game show and reality competition library), and NickMovies (featuring movies produced by Nickelodeon), along with single full-time channels carrying one series and limited-run channels timed to an event or holiday.[38] Paramount+     The streaming service of Paramount Global, Paramount+ houses much of Nickelodeon's library, adding productions from the "classic" era such as You Can't Do That on Television and Double Dare following its rebrand from CBS All Access in 2021.[39] Production studios Nickelodeon Animation Studio Main article: Nickelodeon Animation Studio Nickelodeon Animation Studio (formerly Games Productions, Inc.) is a production firm with two main locations (one in Burbank, California, and the other in New York City).[40] They serve as the animation facilities for many of the network's Nicktoons and Nick Jr. series. Nickelodeon Productions Nickelodeon Productions is a live-action production studio in New York, that provides original sitcoms and game-related programs for Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon on Sunset Main article: Nickelodeon on Sunset Nickelodeon on Sunset was a studio complex in Hollywood, California which served as the primary production facility for Nickelodeon's series from 1997 until 2017; the studio is designated by the National Register for Historic Places as a historical landmark as a result of its prior existence as the Earl Carroll Theater, a prominent dinner theater. It served as the production facilities for several Nickelodeon series. Media See also: Nickelodeon Toys and Nickelodeon Rewind Nickelodeon Games Nickelodeon Games (formerly Nick Games from 2002 to 2009, from 1997 to 2002, Nickelodeon Software, and from 1993 to 1997, Nickelodeon Interactive) is the video gaming division of Nickelodeon. It was originally a part of Viacom Consumer Products, with early games being published by Viacom New Media.[41] They started a long-standing relationship with game publisher THQ. THQ's relationship with the network started off when THQ published their Ren & Stimpy game for Nintendo consoles in 1992,[42] followed by a full-fledged console deal in 1998 with several Rugrats titles,[43] and expanded in 2001, when THQ acquired some of the assets from Mattel Interactive, namely the computer publishing rights, and all video game rights to The Wild Thornberrys.[44] Nickelodeon also worked, alongside THQ on an original game concept, Tak and the Power of Juju.[45] Nick.com Main article: Nick.com Nick.com is Nickelodeon's main website, which launched in October 1995 as a component of America Online's Kids Only channel before eventually moving to the full World Wide Web.[46] It provides content, as well as video clips and full episodes of Nickelodeon series available for streaming. The website's popularity grew to the point where in March 1999, Nick.com became the highest rated website among children aged 6–14 years old. Nickelodeon used the website in conjunction with television programs which increased traffic.[47] In 2001, Nickelodeon partnered with Networks Inc. to provide broadband video games for rent from Nick.com; the move was a further step in the multimedia direction that the developers wanted to take the website. Skagerlind indicated that over 50% of Nick.com's audience were using a high speed connection, which allowed them to expand the gaming and video streaming options on the website.[48] Mobile apps Nickelodeon released a free mobile app for smartphones and tablet computers operating on the Apple and Android platforms in February 2013.[49] Like Nick.com, a TV Everywhere login code provided by participating subscription providers is required to view individual episodes of the network's series. Nickelodeon Movies Main article: Nickelodeon Movies Nickelodeon Movies is a motion picture production unit that was founded in 1995, as a family entertainment arm of Paramount Pictures (owned by Nickelodeon's corporate parent, Viacom).[50] The first film released from the studio was the 1996 mystery/comedy Harriet the Spy.[51] Nickelodeon Movies has produced films based on Nickelodeon animated programs including The Rugrats Movie and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, as well as other adaptations and original live-action and animated projects. Nickelodeon Magazine Main article: Nickelodeon Magazine Nickelodeon Magazine was a print magazine that was launched in 1993; the channel had previously published a short-lived magazine effort in 1990. Nickelodeon Magazine incorporated informative non-fiction pieces, humor (including pranks and parodical pieces), interviews, recipes (such as green slime cake), and a comic book section in the center of each issue featuring original comics by leading underground cartoonists as well as strips about popular Nicktoons.[52] It ceased publication after 16 years in December 2009, citing a sluggish magazine industry.[53] A new version of the magazine was published by Papercutz from June 2015[54] to mid-2016. Nick Radio Nick Radio was a radio network that launched on September 30, 2013, in a partnership between both the network and iHeartMedia (then called Clear Channel Communications), which distributed the network mainly via its iHeartRadio web platform and mobile app. Its programming was also streamed via the Nick.com website and on New York City radio station WHTZ as a secondary HD channel. Nick Radio focused on Top 40 and pop music (geared towards the network's target audience of children, with radio edits of some songs incorporated due to inappropriate content), along with celebrity interview features. In addition to regular on-air DJs, Nick Radio also occasionally featured guest DJ stints by popular artists as well as stars from Nickelodeon's original series.[55][56][57] Nick Radio shut down without warning on July 31, 2019, and was replaced by Hit Nation Junior, likely due to the network's general failure to establish any sustained "triple threat" artists/actors throughout the 2010s, along with the general failure of the children's-only radio format in the streaming age. It was also a non-prime asset in Viacom's current 'six prime networks' strategy, leaving it vulnerable to being terminated. Marketing and Experiences Nickelodeon Universe Main article: Nickelodeon Universe Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America is the second indoor theme park in the United States. On August 18, 2009, Nickelodeon and Southern Star Amusements announced that it would build a second Nickelodeon Universe in New Orleans, Louisiana on the site of the former Six Flags New Orleans by the end of 2010,[58] which was set to be the first outdoor Nickelodeon Universe theme park. On November 9, 2009, Nickelodeon announced that it had ended the licensing agreement with Southern Star Amusements.[59] Nickelodeon Universe has a second location at the American Dream Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that opened on October 25, 2019.[60] Upon opening the New Jersey Nickelodeon Universe became the largest indoor theme park in the western hemisphere, unseating the Minnesota Nickelodeon Universe who had the title from 2008 to 2019.[61] Theme park areas Main article: Nickelodeon in amusement parks Nickelodeon Studios as viewed from the Hard Rock Cafe in March 2004 before it closed All except three Nickelodeon-themed theme park areas now closed: Current attractions     Nickland is an area inside of Movie Park Germany featuring Nickelodeon-themed rides, including a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed "Splash Battle" ride, and a Jimmy Neutron-themed roller coaster. This area is currently being expanded to fill space formerly occupied with rides based on Warner Bros. characters.     Nickelodeon Land opened on May 4, 2011, at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, featuring several rides based on Nickelodeon series including SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dora the Explorer, and The Fairly OddParents.     Nickelodeon Land opened in September 2015 at Sea World, featuring multiple rides based on Nickelodeon programs including a SpongeBob junior roller coaster, and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed flyer.[citation needed]     Nickelodeon Universe, the largest indoor theme park in North America, opened on October 25, 2019, at the American Dream mall located in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[62] Closed areas     Nickelodeon Universe was also an area inside of Paramount's Kings Island featuring Nickelodeon-themed rides and attractions. It was one of the largest sections in the park and was voted "Best Kid's Area" by Amusement Today magazine from 2001 until its closure in 2009 after the park's sale to Cedar Fair (the Paramount Parks ended up with CBS Corporation in the 2006 CBS/Viacom split, which CBS immediately sold off as soon as possible as non-critical surplus assets for that company). In March 2008, another version of Nickelodeon Universe opened at Mall of America with many characters from the network's series including SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.     Nickelodeon Studios was an attraction at the Universal Orlando Resort that opened on June 7, 1990, and housed production for many Nickelodeon programs (including Clarissa Explains It All, What Would You Do? and All That). It closed on April 30, 2005, after Nickelodeon's production facilities were moved to New York City and Burbank, California. The building that formerly housed it was recently occupied by the Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre, closed in February 2021. Another Nickelodeon-themed attraction at the park, Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, opened in 2003 but closed in 2011 to make way for the new ride Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, which was based on the 2010 film Despicable Me. In 2012, a store based on SpongeBob SquarePants opened in Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone, replacing Universal's Cartoon Store.     Nickelodeon Central was an area inside of the Paramount Parks properties, including California's Great America, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and Dreamworld that featured shows, attractions and themes featuring Nickelodeon characters, all of which were wound down when CBS Corporation was given ownership of the theme parks in the Viacom/CBS split and eventually sold most of the properties to Cedar Fair without renewal of the Nickelodeon licensing agreements. The only Nickelodeon Central remaining in existence was at Dreamworld in Australia, which is not under Cedar Fair ownership. The license was revoked in 2011 and became "Kid's World" and later DreamWorks Experience.     Nickelodeon Blast Zone was an area in Universal Studios Hollywood that featured attractions inspired by Nickelodeon characters and themes. The four attractions that were present in the area were "Nickelodeon Splash", a waterpark-style area, "The Wild Thornberrys Adventure Temple", a jungle-themed foam ball play area, and "Nick Jr. Backyard", a medium-sized toddler playground. It ran from 2001 to 2007 and was rethemed as "The Adventures of Curious George" which closed in 2008 to make way for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Universal Studios Hollywood). Adjacent to Nickelodeon Blast Zone was the "Panasonic Theatre" which housed another Nickelodeon attraction called "Totally Nickelodeon", which was an audience participated game show which ran from 1997 to 2000. "Rugrats Magic Adventure", opened 2001 but closed in 2002 to make way for Shrek 4-D which ran from May 2003 to August 2017. It closed to make way for DreamWorks Theatre Featuring Kung Fu Panda which opened on June 15, 2018.     Nickelodeon Splat City was an area inside California's Great America (from 1995 to 2002), Kings Island (from 1995 to 2000) and Kings Dominion (from 1995 to 1999), that featured messy- and water-themed attractions. The slime refinery theme was carried out in the attractions such as the "Green Slime Zone Refinery", the "Crystal Slime Mining Maze", and the "Green Slime Transfer Truck". All of these areas were later transformed into either Nickelodeon Central or Nickelodeon Universe before being discontinued as mentioned above when sold off by CBS Corporation. Hotel brands     Nickelodeon Suites Resort was a Nickelodeon-themed hotel in Orlando, Florida, located near the Universal Orlando Resort and 1-mile (1.6 km) from Walt Disney World. It included one, two, and three-bedroom Nick-themed kid suites and various forms of entertainment themed after Nickelodeon shows. It also contained a Nick at Nite suite for adults. It got replaced with a Holiday Inn on June 1, 2016.     Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott was a proposed hotel chain similar to the Nickelodeon Suites Resort, featuring a 110,000-square-foot (10,000 m2) waterpark area and 650 hotel rooms. Announced in 2007,[63] the first location was scheduled to open in San Diego in 2010, however, the plans were canceled in 2009.[64] Plans for the remaining 19 hotels originally slated to open remain unclear.     Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts is a hotel chain that opened its first location in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in 2016, in association with Karisma Hotels and Resorts.[65] The second location opened in Riviera Maya, Mexico in 2021,[66] and a third location is currently in development for a 2027 opening in Garden Grove, California.[67] Cruises     Nickelodeon at Sea is a series of Nickelodeon-themed cruise packages in partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line. They feature special amenities and entertainment themed to various Nickelodeon properties.[68] This was later removed in 2015.[69]     Norwegian Cruise Line also hosted some Nickelodeon Cruises on the Norwegian Jewel and Norwegian Epic liners, as part of Nickelodeon at Sea.[70] International Further information: Paramount International Networks § Nickelodeon Between 1993 and 1995, Nickelodeon opened international channels in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany; by the later year, the network had provided its programming to broadcasters in 70 countries. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Nickelodeon as a brand has expanded into include language- or culture-specific channels for various other territories in different parts of the world including Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Canada, and has licensed some of its cartoons and other content, in English and local languages, to free-to-air networks and subscription channels such as KI.KA and Super RTL in Germany, RTÉ Two (English language) and TG4 (Irish language) in Ireland, YTV (in English) and Vrak.TV (in French) in Canada, Canal J in France, Alpha Kids in Greece, CNBC-e in Turkey and 10 Shake in Australia (which is a sister network to Nickelodeon). " (wikipedia.org) "SpongeBob SquarePants is an American multimedia franchise created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character and his aquatic friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Being the fifth-longest-running American animated series, its high popularity has made it a media franchise consisting of three animated television series, three animated feature films, comics, books, video games, home media, and soundtracks. It is the highest rated series to air on Nickelodeon as well as the most profitable property for Paramount Consumer Products, having generated over $13 billion in merchandising revenue as of 2019.[1] Many of the series' ideas originated in The Intertidal Zone, an unpublished educational comic book that Hillenburg created in 1989 to teach his students about undersea life.[2] He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996, and in 1997, a seven-minute pilot was pitched to Nickelodeon. The network's executives wanted SpongeBob to be a child in school, but Hillenburg preferred SpongeBob to be an adult character.[3] He was prepared to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, but he compromised by creating Mrs. Puff and her boating school, so that SpongeBob could attend school as an adult.... Development Early inspirations Aerial photograph of the Ocean Institute at Dana Point, California Before creating SpongeBob SquarePants, Stephen Hillenburg taught marine biology to visitors of the Ocean Institute (located in Dana Point, California).[5] Series' creator Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean as a child and began developing his artistic abilities at a young age. Although these interests would not overlap for some time—the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him—Hillenburg pursued both during college, majoring in marine biology and minoring in art. After graduating in 1984, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.[5][6] While Hillenburg was there, his love of the ocean began to influence his artistry. He created a precursor to SpongeBob SquarePants: a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone used by the institute to teach visiting students about the animal life of tide pools.[6] The comic starred various anthropomorphic sea lifeforms, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters.[7] Hillenburg tried to get the comic professionally published, but none of the companies he sent it to were interested.[6] A large inspiration to Hillenburg was Ween's 1997 album The Mollusk, which had a nautical and underwater theme. Hillenburg contacted the band shortly after the album's release, explaining the baseline ideas for SpongeBob SquarePants, and also requested a song from the band, which they sent on Christmas Eve. This song was "Loop de Loop", which was used in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied".[8][9][10] Conception While working as a staff artist at the Ocean Institute, Hillenburg entertained plans to return eventually to college for a master's degree in art. Before this could materialize, he attended an animation festival, which inspired him to make a slight change in course. Instead of continuing his education with a traditional art program, Hillenburg chose to study experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts.[6] His thesis film, Wormholes, is about the theory of relativity.[11] It was screened at festivals, and at one of these, Hillenburg met Joe Murray, creator of the popular Nickelodeon animated series, Rocko's Modern Life. Murray was impressed by the style of the film and offered Hillenburg a job.[11][12] Hillenburg joined the series as a director, and later, during the fourth season, he took on the roles of producer and creative director.[7][11][12][13] Martin Olson, one of the writers for Rocko's Modern Life, read The Intertidal Zone and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach.[6][11][14] He began to develop some of the characters from The Intertidal Zone, including the comic's "announcer", Bob the Sponge.[6] He wanted his series to stand out from most popular cartoons of the time, which he felt were exemplified by buddy comedies like The Ren & Stimpy Show. As a result, Hillenburg decided to focus on a single main character: the "weirdest" sea creature he could think of. This led him to the sponge.[6] The Intertidal Zone's Bob the Sponge resembles an actual sea sponge, and at first, Hillenburg continued to use this design.[6][11][12][15] In determining the new character's behavior, Hillenburg drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis, and Pee-wee Herman.[6][12][16][17][18] He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge and realized this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly.[6][11][12] Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Squidward were the next characters Hillenburg created for the show.[19] To voice the series' central character, Hillenburg turned to Tom Kenny, whose career in animation had started alongside Hillenburg's on Rocko's Modern Life. Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed to develop the character further.[20] Initially, Hillenburg wanted to use the name SpongeBoy—the character had no last name—and the series was to have been called SpongeBoy Ahoy![15][20] However, the Nickelodeon legal department discovered—after voice acting had been completed for the original seven-minute pilot episode—that the name "SpongeBoy" was already in use for a mop product,[20] and a character of the same name was already trademarked by Flaming Carrot Comics creator Bob Burden.[21] In choosing a replacement name, Hillenburg felt he still had to use the word "Sponge", so that viewers would not mistake the character for a "Cheese Man". He settled on the name "SpongeBob". "SquarePants" was chosen as a family name after Kenny saw a picture of the character and remarked, "Boy, look at this sponge in square pants, thinking he can get a job in a fast food place."[16] When he heard Kenny say it Hillenburg loved the phrase and felt it would reinforce the character's nerdiness.[16][22] Assembling the crew Derek Drymon, who served as creative director for the first three seasons, has said that Hillenburg wanted to surround himself with a "team of young and hungry people."[17] Many of the major contributors to SpongeBob SquarePants had worked before with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life: this included: Drymon, art director Nick Jennings, supervising director Alan Smart, writer / voice actor Doug Lawrence (often credited as Mr. Lawrence), and Tim Hill, who helped develop the series bible.[17][18] Although Drymon would go on to have a significant influence on SpongeBob SquarePants, he was not offered a role on the series initially. As a late recruit to Rocko's Modern Life, he had not established much of a relationship with Hillenburg before SpongeBob's conception. Hillenburg first sought out Drymon's storyboard partner, Mark O'Hare—but he had just created the soon-to-be syndicated comic strip, Citizen Dog.[17] While he would later join SpongeBob as a writer,[23] he lacked the time to get involved with both projects from the outset.[17] Drymon has said, "I remember Hillenburg's bringing it up to Mark in our office and asking him if he'd be interested in working on it ... I was all ready to say yes to the offer, but Steve didn't ask; he just left the room. I was pretty desperate ... so I ran into the hall after him and basically begged him for the job. He didn't jump at the chance."[17] Once Hillenburg had given it some thought and decided to bring Drymon on as creative director, the two began meeting at Hillenburg's house several times a week to develop the series. Drymon has identified this period as having begun in 1996, shortly after the end of Rocko's Modern Life.[17] Jennings was also instrumental in SpongeBob's genesis.[24] Kenny has called him "one of SpongeBob's early graphics mentors".[18] On weekends, Kenny joined Hillenburg, Jennings, and Drymon for creative sessions where they recorded ideas on a tape recorder.[18] Kenny performed audio tests as SpongeBob during these sessions, while Hillenburg voice acted the other characters.[15][18] Hill contributed scripts for several first-season episodes (including the pilot)[25][26][27][28] and was offered the role of story editor, but turned it down—he would go on to pursue a career as a family film director.[29][30] In his stead, Pete Burns was brought in for the job. Burns hailed from Chicago and had never met any of the principal players on SpongeBob before joining the team.[17] Pitching     The execs from Nickelodeon flew out to Burbank, and we pitched it to them from the storyboards. We had squeezy toys, wore Hawaiian shirts, and used a boom box to play the Tiny Tim song ['Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight'] that comes on in the third act. We really went all out in that pitch because we knew the pilot lived or died by if the execs laughed. When it was over, they walked out of the room to discuss it. We figured they would fly back to New York and we'd hear in a few weeks. We were surprised when they came back in what seemed like minutes and said they wanted to make it. —Derek Drymon[17] While pitching the cartoon to Nickelodeon executives, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an "underwater terrarium with models of the characters", and played Hawaiian music to set the theme. The setup was described by Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman as "pretty amazing".[11] They were given money and two weeks to write the pilot episode "Help Wanted".[11] Drymon, Hillenburg, and Jennings returned with what was described by Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht as, "a performance [he] wished [he] had on tape".[11] Although executive producer Derek Drymon described the pitch as stressful, he said it went "very well".[11] Kevin Kay and Hecht had to step outside because they were "exhausted from laughing", which worried the cartoonists.[11] In an interview, Cyma Zarghami, then-president of Nickelodeon, said, "their [Nickelodeon executives'] immediate reaction was to see it again, both because they liked it and it was unlike anything they'd ever seen before".[31] Zarghami was one of four executives in the room when SpongeBob SquarePants was screened for the first time.[31] Before commissioning the full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless SpongeBob was a child who went to school, with his teacher as a main character.[32] Hillenburg recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school."[6] Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character.[6] He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, who is a boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love."[6] Television series Series    Season    Episodes    Originally released First released    Last released    Network SpongeBob SquarePants    1    20    May 1, 1999    March 3, 2001    Nickelodeon 2    20    October 26, 2000    July 26, 2003 3    20    October 5, 2001    October 11, 2004 4    20    May 6, 2005    July 24, 2007 5    20    February 19, 2007    July 19, 2009 6    26    March 3, 2008    July 5, 2010 7    26    July 19, 2009    June 11, 2011 8    26    March 26, 2011    December 6, 2012 9    26    July 21, 2012    February 20, 2017 10    11    October 15, 2016    December 2, 2017 11    26    June 24, 2017    November 25, 2018 12    26    November 11, 2018    April 29, 2022 13    26[33]    October 22, 2020    TBA Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years    1    26    March 4, 2021    TBA    Paramount+ The Patrick Star Show    1    26    July 9, 2021    TBA    Nickelodeon SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–present) Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants The series is set in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, and centers on the adventures and endeavors of SpongeBob SquarePants, an over-optimistic sea sponge that annoys other characters. Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021–present) Main article: Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years On February 14, 2019, it was announced that a SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off is in development.[34] On June 4, it was announced the spinoff will be titled Kamp Koral. The plot will focus on a 10-year-old SpongeBob and his friends at the titular camp located in the Kelp Forest, where they spend the summer catching jellyfish, building campfires, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck.[35][36] It serves as a tie-in to the animated film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.[36] It was confirmed production of the series began in June 2019.[34][35] Nickelodeon animation head Ramsey Naito said of the series, "SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for Kamp Koral is a testament to the strength and longevity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world." Like SpongeBob SquarePants, the series is co-executive produced by Marc Ceccarelli, Jennie Monica, and Vincent Waller. Kamp Koral is produced using computer animation rather than the digital ink and paint animation used for SpongeBob SquarePants.[36] On February 19, 2020, it was announced that the series had an official title of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, and would be premiering in July 2020.[37] On July 30, 2020, it was announced that the series would be released on CBS All Access (now Paramount+), the ViacomCBS streaming service, in early 2021.[38][39] On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 4, 2021.[40] The Patrick Star Show (2021–present) Main article: The Patrick Star Show On August 10, 2020, it was reported that a Patrick Star talk show titled The Patrick Star Show was in development with a 13-episode order. The show is similar to other talk shows such as The Larry Sanders Show and Comedy Bang! Bang!.[41][42] The series premiered on Nickelodeon on July 9, 2021,[43] with the series set to be available on Paramount+ later on.[44] Films Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants (film series) Film     Director(s)     Producer(s)     Writer(s) The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie     Stephen Hillenburg Mark Osborne (live-action sequences)     Stephen Hillenburg and Julia Pistor     Screenplay: Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer & Paul Tibbitt Story: Stephen Hillenburg The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water     Paul Tibbitt Mike Mitchell (live-action sequences)     Paul Tibbitt and Mary Parent     Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger Story: Stephen Hillenburg & Paul Tibbitt The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run     Tim Hill     Ryan Harris     Screenplay: Tim Hill Story: Tim Hill, Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) Main article: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie In this live-action animated comedy, Plankton's plan is to steal King Neptune's crown and send it to the dangerous Shell City, and then frame Mr. Krabs for the crime. SpongeBob and Patrick must journey to Shell City while facing several perils along the way to retrieve the crown to save Mr. Krabs from Neptune's wrath and Bikini Bottom from Plankton's tyranny. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) Main article: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water The plot follows a pirate named Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas), who steals the Krabby Patty secret formula using a magical book that makes any text written upon it come true. After Bikini Bottom turns into an apocalyptic cesspool and the citizens turn against SpongeBob, he must team up with Plankton to find the formula and save Bikini Bottom. Later, SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sandy and Plankton must travel to the surface to confront Burger Beard and get the formula back before Bikini Bottom is completely destroyed. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) Main article: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run The film depicts how SpongeBob met his friends for the first time at a summer camp. The film uses full CGI animation provided by Mikros Image for underwater sequences.[45] In development Untitled fourth SpongeBob film (2025) In August 2021, Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins, mentioned that "there's a new SpongeBob film in the works".[46] A fourth film was officially confirmed in February 2022, with a targeted theatrical release of the film.[47] On November 10, 2022, it was announced that the film will release in theaters on May 23, 2025.[48] Spinoff films In February 2022, it was announced that three character spinoff films were in development with intended streaming releases exclusively on Paramount+. The first untitled film is scheduled to release in 2023.[47] Saving Bikini Bottom (TBA) In May 2021, a spin-off Sandy Cheeks feature film was announced to be in development from Nickelodeon for streaming television, to be directed by Liza Johnson from a script written by Kaz and Tom J. Stern and described as a hybrid feature that will put the animated title character into a live-action setting.[49] On August 12, 2021, the title of the movie was revealed as Saving Bikini Bottom.[50] In August 2021, it was revealed that plans to film Saving Bikini Bottom in Los Alamos were scrapped due to rewrites of the script.[51][52] Fans′ Short films SpongeBob SquareShorts Nickelodeon launched the first global SpongeBob SquarePants-themed short film competition, SpongeBob SquareShorts: Original Fan Tributes, in 2013.[53][54] The contest encouraged fans and filmmakers around the world to create original short films inspired by SpongeBob for a chance to win a prize and a trip for four people to a screening event in Hollywood. The contest opened on May 6 and ran through June 28, 2013.[55][56] On July 19, 2013, Nickelodeon announced the competition's finalists.[57][58][59] On August 13, 2013, the under 18 years of age category was won by David of the United States for his The Krabby Commercial, while the Finally Home short by Nicole of South Africa won the 18 and over category.[60] Video games Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants video games Numerous video games based on the series have been produced. Some of the early games include: Legend of the Lost Spatula (2001)[61] and SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (2003). In 2013, Nickelodeon published and distributed SpongeBob Moves In!, a freemium city-building game app developed by Kung Fu Factory for iOS and Android.[62][63][64][65] On June 5, 2019, THQ Nordic announced SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated, a full remake of the console versions of the original 2003 game.[66][67][68] The game was released 1 year later on June 23, 2020[69][70] and includes cut content from the original game.[71] On May 28, 2020, Apple Arcade released a game called Spongebob Squarepants: Patty Pursuit.[72] In 2021, EA Sports introduced a SpongeBob-themed level to the Yard section of its Madden NFL 21 video game.[73] On September 17, 2021, THQ Nordic announced SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake, a new original game based on the franchise.[74] Comic books Main article: SpongeBob Comics The 32-page bimonthly comic book series, SpongeBob Comics, was announced in November 2010[75] and debuted the following February.[76] Before this, SpongeBob SquarePants comics had been published in Nickelodeon Magazine,[75][77][78] and episodes of the television series had been adapted by Cine-Manga,[75][79] but SpongeBob Comics was the first American comic book series devoted solely to SpongeBob SquarePants.[75][77][78] It also served as SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg's debut as a comic book author.[76][77][78] The series was published by Hillenburg's production company, United Plankton Pictures, and distributed by Bongo Comics Group.[75][77][78] Hillenburg described the stories from the comic books as "original and always true to the humor, characters, and universe of the SpongeBob SquarePants series." Leading up to the release of the series, Hillenburg said, "I'm hoping that fans will enjoy finally having a SpongeBob comic book from me."[77][78] Chris Duffy, the former senior editor of Nickelodeon Magazine, serves as managing editor of SpongeBob Comics.[77][78] Hillenburg and Duffy met with various cartoonists—including James Kochalka, Hilary Barta, Graham Annable, Gregg Schigiel, and Jacob Chabot—to contribute to each issues.[77][78] Retired horror comics writer and artist Stephen R. Bissette returned to write a special Halloween issue in 2012, with Tony Millionaire and Al Jaffee.[80] In an interview with Tom Spurgeon, Bissette said, "I've even broken my retirement to do one work-for-hire gig for SpongeBob Comics so I could share everything about that kind of current job."[81] In the United Kingdom, Titan Magazines published comics based on SpongeBob SquarePants every four weeks from February 3, 2005,[82] through November 28, 2013.[83] Titan Magazines also teamed up with Lego to release a limited edition SpongeBob-themed comic.[84] Music Title     Released SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights     August 14, 2001[85] The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More...     November 9, 2004[86] The Yellow Album     November 15, 2005[87] The Best Day Ever     September 12, 2006[88] The Sponge Who Could Fly     May 11, 2007 SpongeBob's Greatest Hits     July 14, 2009[89] It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Album     November 6, 2012 Music from "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" EP     January 27, 2015 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (Original Motion Picture Score)     March 23, 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants: The New Musical (Original Cast Recording)     September 22, 2017 Collections of original music featured in the series have been released on the albums SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights (2001), SpongeBob's Greatest Hits (2009), and The Yellow Album (2005). The first two charted on the US Billboard 200, reaching number 171 and 122, respectively.[90][91] Several songs have been recorded for the purpose of a single or album release, and have not been featured on the show. The song "My Tidy Whities" written by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley was released only on the album The Best Day Ever (2006). Kenny's inspiration for the song was "underwear humor,"[92] saying: "Underwear humor is always a surefire laugh-getter with kids ... Just seeing a character that odd wearing really prosaic, normal, Kmart, three-to-a-pack underwear is a funny drawing ... We thought it was funny to make a really lush, beautiful love song to his underwear."[92] A soundtrack album The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More..., featuring the film's score was released along with the feature-length film in November 2004. Various artists including the Flaming Lips,[93] Wilco,[94] Ween,[95] Motörhead,[96] the Shins,[97] and Avril Lavigne[98] contributed to the soundtrack that reached number 76 on the US Billboard 200.[99] Theater Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants (musical) SpongeBob SquarePants was adapted as a stage musical in 2016 by director Tina Landau. SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical premiered in Chicago in 2016 and opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on December 4, 2017.[100] The musical opened to critical acclaim,[101] and tied for most-nominated production at the 2018 72nd Tony Awards with twelve Tony nominations.[102] Theme park rides Photograph of the entrance and lift hill of the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge ride at the Mall of America. Entrance and lift hill of SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge ride at the Mall of America The SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D film and ride opened at several locations including Six Flags Over Texas, Flamingo Land Resort, and the Shedd Aquarium.[103] The ride features water squirts, real bubbles, and other sensory enhancements. In 2012, Nickelodeon teamed up again with SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment and Super 78 to produce SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D: The Great Jelly Rescue.[104] The attraction opened in early 2013 at the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration.[105] It was also installed at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Orlando, Florida.[106][107][108] The seven-minute film follows SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy rescuing the jellyfish of Jellyfish Fields from Plankton's evil clutches.[105] On May 23, 2015, an interactive 3D show titled SpongeBob SubPants Adventure opened in Texas at Moody Gardens.[109] A variety of SpongeBob SquarePants-related attractions are currently located within Nickelodeon themed-areas at Movie Park Germany, Pleasure Beach Blackpool, Sea World, American Dream Meadowlands, and Mall of America, which includes the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge euro-fighter roller coaster. Merchandise Further information: List of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise The popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants inspired merchandise from T-shirts to posters.[110] It was reported that the franchise generated an estimated $8 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon.[111] It is also the most distributed property of ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks.[95] SpongeBob is viewed in 170 countries speaking 24 languages, and has become "a killer merchandising app".[112] The title character and his friends have been used as a theme for special editions of well-known family board games, including Monopoly,[113] Life,[114] and Operation,[115] as well as a SpongeBob SquarePants edition of Ants in the Pants,[116] and Yahtzee.[117] In April 2019, Nickelodeon released Masterpiece Memes, a series of toys adapted from various SpongeBob Internet memes." (wikipedia.org) "Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams.[3] From 1996 to 2019, the company was the primary sponsor of the annual Warped Tour music festival. History Paul Van Doren; his brother, James; and Gordon C. Lee opened the first Vans store as "The Van Doren Rubber Company" on March 16, 1966, at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California.[4] The business manufactured shoes and sold them directly to the public. Upon opening, twelve customers purchased Vans deck shoes (now called "Authentic"), similar to those manufactured by Keds but with a thicker sole. The store had display models of three styles of shoes, priced between US$2.49 and US$4.99, but did not have any inventory ready to sell and Paul Van Doren did not have change to give customers; customers took their shoes home and came back the next day to pay.[5] The original Vans skateboard logo was designed in Costa Mesa, California, in the 1970s by Mark Van Doren, son of then-President and co-owner James Van Doren, at age 13; Mark's design was a stencil, allowing the logo to be spray-painted onto his skateboards. The design was incorporated into the heel tab on Style 95, an early Vans skateboard shoe. Mark's interest in skateboarding is what led Vans to manufacture skateboarding shoes.[6] In 1976, Vans began using its "Off The Wall" motto, a slang phrase used by skateboarders while doing tricks in empty pools. Around this time, Vans released its Vans Side-stripe and Vans #36, also known as the "Old Skool" design.[6][7] In 1984, facing heavy competition and a market flooded with Vans counterfeits, Vans lowered its prices and eventually filed for bankruptcy protection.[6] In 1988, Van Doren and Lee sold the company to banking firm McCown De Leeuw & Co. for US$74.4 million. In 1989, many Vans counterfeiters were apprehended by the U.S. and Mexican governments and ordered to cease production.[5] By 1991, the company's shoes were highly desired due to high demand and low supply. The company expanded internationally; released new models, including snowboard shoes; and was renamed Vans, Inc. to reflect its customers calling the shoes "Vans" for short. The same year, Vans went public at US$14 per share on NASDAQ.[6] In 2004, Vans merged with North Carolina-based VF Corporation.[8] In 2016, in celebration of its 50th anniversary, Vans released a new logo and launched a campaign to target a wider audience.[7] In 2022, Vans launched the new VR3 product line where 30% of the product is renewable, recycled or regenerative. VF Corporation will expand the VR3 product collection to more footwear and apparel categories.[9] Event sponsorship Since 1999, Vans has sponsored and supported Warped Tour, the longest-running touring music festival to date in North America.[10] In 2001, Warped Tour was rebranded as Vans Warped Tour.[11] Vans became the title sponsor of the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California, in 2014,[12] and in 2010, the company sponsored the Duct Tape Invitational.[13][14] In 2022, to commence the US Open of Surfing period, Vans hosted the BMX Waffle Cup, a freestyle BMX invitational tournament. Their Huntington Beach skate park's course was modified by BMX riders for the tournament, and was themed after the US Open.[15] Public skate parks Vans shoes in use on a skateboard Vans opened its first skate park in 1998 at The Outlets at Orange, in Orange, California. It features a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) indoor street course, 12 feet (3.7 m) deep combo pool, area for amateurs, mini ramps, outdoor street course, and arcade. The park was updated in 2009.[16] It has remained closed since March 2020, when BMX rider Tyler Kanarr died after sustaining major injuries in the park.[17] The company built its second skate park in Huntington Beach, California, which opened to the public in 2010. It includes a 17,500-square-foot (1,630 m2) skate bowl and a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) skate plaza. The park is 42,500 square feet (3,950 m2), and Vans pays the city US$1 per year for its 20-year lease.[18][19] There is a skate park in London, in The Old Vic Tunnels, called House of Vans.[20] In pop culture Vans' shoes have often been customized cosmetically by wearers, with many of their painting and drawing patterns being adopted by the company for their official models. Most notably, the checkerboard pattern, popular in ska and punk culture, was adopted after the company noticed skateboarders drawing it on their shoes.[21] In 1982, Sean Penn wore a pair of Vans checkerboard slip-ons as character Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.[6] In 2016, the internet meme "Damn Daniel", featuring California teen Daniel Lara wearing Vans, went viral. In appreciation, the company gave Lara a lifetime supply of Vans shoes." (wikipedia.org) "Skate shoes or skateboard shoes are a type of footwear specifically designed and manufactured for use in skateboarding.[1] While numerous non-skaters choose to wear skate shoes as they are popular in fashion, the design of the skate shoe includes many features designed especially for use in skateboarding, including a vulcanized rubber or polyurethane sole with minimal tread pattern or no pattern, a composition leather or suede upper, and double or triple stitching to extend the life of the upper material.[2] A low, padded tongue is often included for comfort.[3][1] The most important aspect of skate shoes is that they have flat soles which allow the skater to have better board control. Features Skate shoe companies have integrated a number of special features into their shoes. These innovations have various functions, including preventing "heel bruises" (damage to the heel area of the foot caused by harsh landings from high distances), enhancement of "skateboard feel" through increased flexibility, and increased grip traction conceptually allowing the user to gain a reliable way of sensing the variety of impacts that the skateboard may encounter which in turn theoretically should lead to more predictable handling of the board while in motion. These include but are not limited to:     Ollie patch (Vision Street Wear/Airwalk - 1980's)     Cup soles     Vulcanized rubber soles     DURACAP (Vans)     Air pockets in the heels     Canvas     Shoelace protectors     Dynamic Grip Technology (DGT) (DC Shoes)[4]     Super Suede (DC Shoes)[5]     System G2 Cushioning (etnies, Emerica, éS)[citation needed]     STI foam (etnies, Emerica, éS)[citation needed]     Lace Loops that "hide" shoelaces     Action Leather     Thermoplastic Toe Box Reinforcement     EVA Mid Sole[6]     Fusion Grip Rubber Outsole     Asymmetric stabilizer     Silicone Rubber makes shoes last longer (SiRC)     Stash Pockets (under sole or tongue) (DVS,[7] Ipath[8] and Supra[9])     Shock-Absorbing insoles (Nike SB)     Kevlar-reinforced laces (Nike SB)[10]     Cold Grip Technology (CGT) (DVS)[11]     Lunarlon (Nike SB)[12] Many features of a skate shoe are designed to increase its durability. Skate shoes are subjected to the abrasiveness of a skateboard's grip tape on a regular basis when used for skateboarding. This is why skaters tend to go through shoes quickly. Super suede, action leather, and plastic underlying the toe cap help to extend the life of a skate shoe. Lace loops and protectors are designed to prevent laces from ripping by shielding the most common areas that come into contact with grip tape. Other common features include triple stitching with thicker treads to prevent ripping, more width so that there is more contact with the board with thicker tongues and sides to compensate, and deep sole patterns for grip. Examples of popular skate shoe brands     Adidas Skateboarding     Adio     Airwalk     Circa     Converse     DC Shoes     DVS Shoe Company     Emerica     Element Skateboards     éS Footwear     Etnies     Fallen Footwear     Globe International     I-Path     Lakai Limited Footwear     New Balance Numeric     Nike Skateboarding     Osiris Shoes     Puma SE     Reebok     Supra     Vans     Vision Street Wear     World Industries     Zoo York" (wikipedia.org) "Patrick Star is a fictional character in the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. He is voiced by actor Bill Fagerbakke and was created and designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. He first appeared in the series' pilot episode "Help Wanted" on May 1, 1999. In addition to his supporting role on SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick also serves as the main protagonist of The Patrick Star Show, which premiered in 2021.[3] An overweight pink starfish, Patrick lives underneath a rock in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, right next door to Squidward Tentacles' moai. His most significant character traits are his laziness and low intelligence, although he occasionally shows that he is smarter than he seems. His ignorance often gets him and his best friend, SpongeBob SquarePants, into trouble. Patrick is unemployed and a self-proclaimed expert in the "art of doing nothing". The character has received positive reactions from critics and fans alike. Patrick has been included in various SpongeBob SquarePants-related merchandise, including trading cards, video games, plush toys, and comic books. He is also a leading character in the three films based on the franchise. Role in SpongeBob SquarePants Patrick is the ignorant but humorous best friend of SpongeBob SquarePants. He is portrayed as being an overweight pink starfish, who serves as the village idiot of the underwater city of Bikini Bottom.[4] Patrick gets dumber throughout the series and has been shown to make many ludicrous mistakes. Despite this, he has occasionally been portrayed as a savant, with articulate observance to certain subjects in specific detail. However, he always reverts quickly back to his usual, unintelligent self after displaying a moment of wisdom.[5] He holds no form of occupation except for several very brief stints working at the Krusty Krab and at the Chum Bucket in a variety of positions,[6] and mostly spends his time either clowning around with SpongeBob, catching jellyfish with him, or lounging beneath the rock under which he resides. At home, Patrick is usually depicted either sleeping, watching TV, or engaged in the "art of doing nothing", at which he is an expert.[7] All the furnishings in the space under his rock are made of sand, and Patrick can simply opt to quickly build up furniture as needed; even so, his living space is sparse and contains only the barest essentials.[8] Aside from his best friend SpongeBob, who is often impressed by Patrick's capacity to come up with naïve yet genius plans or solutions,[9] Patrick frequently irritates those around him and is confounded by the simplest of questions or subjects.[10] The characters of Mr. Krabs and Squidward have no patience for Patrick's stupidity, and the former does not pay him much regard; Clancy Brown, who provides Mr. Krabs' voice, said, "The only person that he [Mr. Krabs] doesn't hire is Patrick because Patrick is just too stupid to work for nothing."[11] Sandy often gets annoyed by Patrick, but still sees him as a friend.[12] Character Creation and design Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean and began developing his artistic abilities as a child. During college, he majored in marine biology and minored in art. He planned to return to college eventually to pursue a master's degree in art. After graduating in 1984, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.[13][14] While he was there, he initially had the idea that would lead to the creation of SpongeBob SquarePants: a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone.[15] In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue a career in animation.[15][16] A few years after studying experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts,[16] Hillenburg met Joe Murray, creator of the Nickelodeon series Rocko's Modern Life, at an animation festival, and was offered a job as a director of the show.[15][17][18][19] Martin Olson, one of the writers for Rocko's Modern Life, read The Intertidal Zone and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach.[14][20][21] Production on Rocko's Modern Life ended in 1996.[22] Shortly afterwards, Hillenburg began working on SpongeBob SquarePants.[14] Early drawings of Patrick from Stephen Hillenburg's bible. For the show's characters, Hillenburg started to draw and used character designs from his comic book—including starfish, crab, and sponge.[14] He described Patrick as "probably the dumbest guy in town".[23] The character was conceived as a starfish to embody the animal's nature; according to Hillenburg, starfish look "dumb and slow", but they are "very active and aggressive" in reality, like Patrick.[24] Hillenburg incorporated character comedy rather than topical humor on the show to emphasize "things that are more about humorous situations and about characters and their flaws."[25] He designed Patrick and SpongeBob as such because "they're whipping themselves up into situations—that's always where the humor comes from. The rule is: Follow the innocence and avoid topical humor."[26] In spite of being depicted as having a good temperament or state of mind, Patrick has been shown in some episodes to have a tantrum. Patrick's emotional outbreak was originally written only for the first season episode "Valentine's Day", where SpongeBob and Sandy try to give Patrick a Valentine's Day gift, and "was supposed to be a one-time thing".[27] However, according to episode writer Jay Lender, "when that show came back it felt so right that his dark side started popping up everywhere. You can plan ahead all you want, but the characters eventually tell you who they are."[27] Every main character in the show has its own unique footstep sound. The sound of Patrick's footsteps is recorded by the show's Foley crew, with a Foley talent wearing a slip-on shoe. Jeff Hutchins, show's sound designer said, "[Going] barefoot makes it tough to have much presence, so we decided that Patrick would be performed with shoes on."[28] Voice Bill Fagerbakke, the voice of Patrick Patrick's voice is provided by actor Bill Fagerbakke, who also does the voices of numerous other characters on SpongeBob SquarePants. While creating the show and writing its pilot episode in 1997, Hillenburg and Derek Drymon, the show's then-creative director, were also conducting auditions to find voices for the show's characters.[29] Fagerbakke auditioned for the role of Patrick after Tom Kenny, SpongeBob's voice actor, had been cast. Fagerbakke said, "Steve is such a lovely guy, and I had absolutely no feeling for the material whatsoever." He described his experience in the audition, saying "I was just going in for another audition, and I had no idea what was in store there in terms of the remarkable visual wit and really the kind of endearing child-like humanity in the show. I couldn't pick that up from the audition material at all. I was just kind of perfunctorially trying to give the guy what he wanted."[30]     Steve Hillenburg actually played for me a portion of Tom [Kenny]'s performance as the character, and they were looking for a counterpoint. And I do the big dumb stuff. That's my deal ... that's what I do [sic]. It was such a neat experience. Typically, when you audition for any kind of voiceover stuff, you're in a studio, but as I remember it, this was, like, in a weird conference room somewhere, and he had one of those little old cassette decks that's about half the size of a shoebox, and there was something so endearing about it.     — Fagerbakke, on his audition for the role.[30] Fagerbakke referred to Patrick as "AquaDauber" (a reference to his role as Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the 1990s sitcom Coach) in the first few years of working on the show.[31] Patrick is "enormously entertaining to portray" because, according to Fagerbakke, "when I'm performing Patrick, there are many secrets that I could never divulge".[32] Fagerbakke's approach in voicing Patrick is "much the same way I would do [to] any kind of character."[30] "I'm always looking for opportunities to explore that freewheeling imagination and insanity of children. To be able to plug in to that and let that carry you in to a performance is such a gas, I have so much fun with that. I love kids; I raised two girls and I love being a parent," he said.[31] The cast members record as a whole cast. Fagerbakke says that the situation improves his performance as a voice actor because "there is something remarkable that happens when people are working together that is unique to that."[31] Fagerbakke modeled his performance whenever Patrick is angry after that of American actress Shelley Winters.[33] Fagerbakke has been compared to Patrick's character, which he concurs with. Kenny said that "Bill [Fagerbakke] is a big guy. The world is almost too small for him. He's a force of nature, like Patrick."[34] Writer Jay Lender said, describing Fagerbakke in the recording studio, "Bill Fagerbakke is the most thoughtful performer I've ever seen in the booth—he was always asking questions and really trying to get into the mindset, such as it is, of Patrick."[27] Writer Kent Osborne said of Fagerbakke, "He is this big guy, and he plays Patrick so well. He's just this big guy, and he lumbers around."[35] Fagerbakke said, "I'm clumsy. I'm goofy. I make mistakes all the time" and agreed that "I guess I'm a lot of Patrick."[32] Reception Critical response Critical reception for the character from both professionals and fans has been positive. In his DVD review for DVD Verdict, Bill Treadway called Patrick "the village idiot, who sometimes gives SpongeBob some really bad advice, but he is a loyal friend and that's something we don't see much of these days." He said, "Patrick is the definition of stupid and his antics will have you laughing out loud."[36] In a review published in 2007, Peter Keepnews of The New York Times said, "Patrick is a popular character, and the new episodes illustrate why: He is unfailingly enthusiastic, touchingly loyal and absolutely undeterred by his intellectual limitations. Hilariously voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, he is not just an endearing comic creation but a role model for idiots everywhere."[37] Nancy Basile of About.com called Patrick "one of the silliest characters on SpongeBob SquarePants". In her DVD review of "SpongeBob and Friends: Patrick SquarePants", a Patrick-themed SpongeBob SquarePants home video release, Basile said, "The episodes included [...] are hilarious. They're not only some of Patrick's best episodes, but also some of the show's classic episodes." She ranked "That's No Lady" as Patrick's best episode and said, "I was remiss not to include this episode in my top ten [SpongeBob SquarePants episodes] list." She cited her favorite scene from the episode, where "Patrick can't read the number on Mr. Krabs' table, saying, 'Ford knee.' Mr. Krabs replies, 'That's a seven, Patricia.'"[38] The Kids' Choice Awards, an annual awards show presented by Nickelodeon, added several new categories, including "Favorite Animated Animal Sidekick", in its 2014 ceremony.[39] Patrick received the Kids' Choice Award Blimp for the category, winning to Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb), Sparky (The Fairly OddParents) and Waddles (Gravity Falls).... In other media Patrick has appeared in other SpongeBob SquarePants-related media, including board games, comic books, keychains, plush toys, trading cards and video games.[53] Patrick has a major role in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the first feature-length film adaptation of the show. The film was released on November 19, 2004 and has been a financial success, grossing over $140 million worldwide.[54] He has also appeared in the film's sequel, which was released in theaters on February 6, 2015. In the second film, Patrick (along with SpongeBob, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton) is rendered in 3D (using CGI) in the live action scenes. The group becomes an "Avengers-type team"; Patrick transforms to Mr. Superawesomeness.[55] In 2009, actor John Fricker portrayed Patrick in the musical adaptation of the third season episode "The Sponge Who Could Fly".[56] Fricker and the musical itself were well received by most critics. Gordon Barr and Roger Domeneghetti of the Evening Chronicle described the musical as "a silly riot of colour [...] as you'd have to expect from an adaptation of a cartoon TV show",[57] while Viv Hardwick of The Northern Echo said that Fricker and Martin Johnston (Mr. Krabs) "win the biggest costume contest."[58] A critic from the Chichester Observer wrote, "John Fricker is in his element as the simple but lovable Patrick Star".[59] The character of Patrick has become viral in the Internet in the forms of memes or image macros. A still from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which displays Patrick in a drop-jawed look, inspired a YouTube user to create a presentation of Patrick's expression using a number of different filters. Following this, a YouTube user uploaded another video featuring Patrick reacting to Canadian singer Justin Bieber's 2010 single, "Baby". The meme called "Surprised Patrick" started to disseminate, with one of the first images was posted to Reddit by SeannyOC, and then reblogged onto I Can Has Cheezburger?'s Memebase.[60] Comedy websites—including BiteTV,[60] CollegeHumor,[61] Mashable[62] and Smosh[63]—have published their own "Best of" lists and compilations, covering the "Surprised Patrick" meme's popularity. Mashable's Nena Prakash said, "For years, Patrick Star helped hold down Bikini Bottom while SpongeBob was flippin' burgers at [t]he Krusty Krab. But now it's time for Patrick to come out from under that rock and take a seat upon his royal meme throne, because he's an Internet star(fish)."[62] Another popular meme based on the character is the "Push It Somewhere Else Patrick" image macro, which was taken from the second season episode "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm", based on a scene where Patrick suggests that the town should relocate itself in order to deal with an Alaskan Bull Worm.[64] A CGI version of Patrick was part of Nickelodeon's 2022 Christmas Day National Football League game between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams, with Fagerbakke providing real-time commentary for the character. Patrick's most notable call came during a Russell Wilson interception. "That's not what he wanted to cook," Patrick said, mocking the "let Russ cook" slogan adopted by fans of the Denver quarterback.[65] The Patrick Star Show Main article: The Patrick Star Show On August 10, 2020, it was reported that a Patrick Star talk show titled The Patrick Star Show was in development with a 13-episode order.[66] The show, which will feature Patrick hosting an imaginary talk show in his parents' house, was officially announced by Nickelodeon on March 4, 2021, with a premiere on the network later in the summer.[67] Legacy In 2020, a new species of starfish from northwest Pacific seamounts was named Astrolirus patricki in honor of Patrick Star. All known specimens of A. patricki were found closely associated with hexactinellid sponges, and the species was thus named after the character Patrick Star as a reference to his friendship with SpongeBob." (wikipedia.org) "Sheldon J. Plankton and Karen Plankton are the main antagonists in SpongeBob SquarePants, the Nickelodeon animated television series. They are respectively voiced by Mr. Lawrence and Jill Talley. Their first appearance was in the episode "Plankton!" that premiered on July 31, 1999. They were created and designed by the marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the series. Hillenburg named Karen after his wife, Karen Hillenburg (née Umland).[5] Plankton and Karen are the married owners of the unsuccessful Chum Bucket restaurant. Plankton is an intellectual planktonic copepod and Karen is a waterproof supercomputer. Plankton shares a rivalry with Mr. Krabs, who owns the far more profitable Krusty Krab restaurant and sells a fictional burger called the Krabby Patty. Plankton and Karen often devise schemes to steal the secret Krabby Patty recipe, but their efforts are always thwarted by Krabs and his employees. Critics have praised the characters’ voices and dialogue together. They began as minor characters, but Lawrence developed their personalities throughout the show's early seasons and they eventually became the franchise's main antagonists. The Planktons play central roles in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which promoted them both to main cast members in its credits, and in the 2015 film. They have also been featured in a variety of spin-off media, including tie-in publications, playsets and other merchandise. Plankton Role in SpongeBob SquarePants     [Plankton is a] complex, wounded character who is really looking for a friend in a way, but can't let that happen because of his evil front. He carries deep hurt underneath and doesn't want to let anybody know that. — Mr. Lawrence on the character of Plankton[6] Plankton is the nemesis and former best friend of Mr. Krabs.[7] He is the owner of the Chum Bucket, a fast food restaurant located directly across the street from Krabs' restaurant, the Krusty Krab.[8] The Chum Bucket primarily sells chum (bait consisting of fish parts), which is considered mostly inedible by the other characters. As a result, his restaurant is a commercial failure. Plankton's primary goal in the series is to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula so he can sell Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket. His villainous efforts to do this are widely known within the show; fellow character Squidward Tentacles refers to Plankton as "the most hated thing in Bikini Bottom".[9] A running gag throughout the series is the fact that Plankton is smaller than the other regular characters. He is easily stepped on and sent flying back to the Chum Bucket with a mere flick of the finger.[10] His small size has led him to develop a Napoleon complex, which is occasionally manifested as a desire for global domination.[11] He is a skillful inventor and regularly builds machines, both to help him in his plots, and for his own personal gain. Although he uses his intellect for evil, Plankton did not start out as a villainous scientist; he built Karen, his first invention, when he was friends with Mr. Krabs in grade school.[7] Prominent in his earliest appearances, Plankton's catchphrase is "I went to college!"[12] He also has a pet amoeba named Spot who at first was a guard dog, but later became a retriever.[13] Plankton's roles are not exclusively antagonistic. Outside of business, he seems to have a somewhat friendly relationship with SpongeBob. In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Plankton allies himself with SpongeBob, initially to protect himself from an angry mob, but gradually warms up to SpongeBob throughout the movie. The movie has been described by The Guardian as a "buddy film" between Plankton and SpongeBob.[14] Series creator Stephen Hillenburg considered Plankton to be "more of a caricature of a villain" than a truly evil character.[15] Development When SpongeBob SquarePants premiered, Plankton was not part of the series' main cast. Plankton's voice actor, Mr. Lawrence, has stated that after producing Plankton's debut episode in the late 1990s, creator Stephen Hillenburg was unsure if he would continue to use the character. After recording it, Hillenburg was noncommittal, telling Lawrence: "We'll probably do another [Plankton episode] next year," [16] Lawrence summarized Plankton's origins in 2015, saying that he "was only supposed to be in one or two episodes, but I was a writer on the show and I really liked this character".[17] Following his first voice recording as Plankton, Lawrence drafted some of his own ideas for the character and passed them to Hillenburg. From then on, Plankton began to appear more often. Lawrence considers the third season the first in which Plankton is a main character.[16] During production on SpongeBob's early seasons, Lawrence was the only staff member writing premises and outlines involving Plankton. At the time, he felt he "had to prove Plankton could survive as more than a one-note character".[6] Since then, multiple writers have written for Plankton without Lawrence's involvement, including the teams of writers responsible for Plankton's starring roles in both SpongeBob films. Lawrence continues to write Plankton episodes, having said in 2015, "I'm not just his voice. I get to create how the character is written and how he evolves over time."[17] Preliminary design sketches for Plankton depict him in a robotic suit, with Karen's system built into it; that suit has yet to appear in the series.[18] The suit functioned as a way to increase Plankton's presence, as one of Hillenburg's original intentions was for the character to be too small to see without a magnifying glass.[19] As the series progressed, the animators enlarged Plankton's size, feeling that being microscopic was "not conducive to him interacting with other characters".[19] Voice Mr. Lawrence (right) and Jill Talley (left), the voices of Plankton and Karen. Plankton's voice is provided by show writer and actor Doug Lawrence, normally credited as "Mr. Lawrence". The voice originated as an imitation of one of his deep-voiced high school friends.[17] On television, Lawrence first used this voice for incidental characters on Rocko's Modern Life. Fellow voice actor Tom Kenny found it amusing, leading to Lawrence's decision to use it when auditioning for roles on SpongeBob.[6] Lawrence initially tried out for the role of SpongeBob during the series' pre-production, but Stephen Hillenburg wanted a more innocent voice for the character and turned him down.[17] Lawrence continued to work on the show, voicing minor characters, eventually leading to him being offered the role of Plankton in his debut episode, "Plankton!".[17] He describes Plankton's voice as a "combination of Gregory Peck and Tony the Tiger."[6] When "Plankton!" was pitched to Nickelodeon, Hillenburg had already decided that he wanted Lawrence to play Plankton. However, network executives wanted a guest star to provide his voice since he was set to appear in only one episode.[20] Lawrence mentioned in an interview with fellow SpongeBob actor Thomas F. Wilson that the studio said, in his words, "'we could stunt-cast this. You know, we could have Bruce Willis do this voice.' And Steve [Hillenburg] was just like, 'it's Doug, don't you hear it? This is the character! '"[20] Reception Critical response The Plankton character has received a generally positive reception. In his review of the fourth season, Paul Mavis of DVD Talk stated that adult viewers would likely find Plankton more amusing than others, praising his "hilariously stentorian" voice.[21] In his review of the season six episode "Clash of Triton," Mavis called Plankton "the only secondary SpongeBob character who can [successfully] anchor his own short".[22] Bettijane Levine of The Los Angeles Times wrote positively of Plankton's portrayal, calling it poignant rather than genuinely immoral, describing him as a "town meanie... but mean is different than evil. There is no evil, not even a sense of menace, in SpongeBob's soggy, safe world."[23] Ann Hagman Cardinal of Blogcritics praised the character, rhetorically asking in a 2007 review, "who isn't tickled by the tight-jawed, Kirk Douglas-voiced Plankton with his silent moviesque evil plans to steal the secret recipe for the Krabby Patty?"[24] Boston.com writer Jamie Loftus had mixed feelings about Plankton in a 2015 article, asserting that while "almost every episode featuring tiny supervillain Plankton is highly formulaic," he never "gets old".[25] James Poniewozik of Time magazine commented on Plankton in a 2001 article. He noted that "no one thinks it's strange that the town villain, the megalomaniacal Plankton, is a one-celled organism" as part of the "colorful, goofy" atmosphere of the program.[26] In an article for The A.V. Club, Zack Handlen stated that "the humor of Plankton comes from how his operative ambitions are constantly thwarted by a naïve, trusting kid".[27] In 2015, Entertainment Weekly's Hillary Busis named Plankton one of the most devious characters on television, adding in her commentary that he is "voiced to wicked perfection by Doug Lawrence".[28] José Antonio Gómez Marín of El Mundo favorably compared Plankton's plans to the stories of Georges Simenon in a 2013 article.[29] In his 2011 book SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy, political scientist Joseph J. Foy argues that "Plankton may actually be the unsung hero of the series, and SpongeBob the true villain." He compares the character to the Nietzschean Übermensch, taking note of his mental superiority compared to the other characters in the show, and questions how Plankton is only "judged as bad because, no matter how many great things he accomplishes, his intentions are deemed ignoble". Foy concludes his analysis by criticizing the fact that "SpongeBob is praised as noble for trying to hold Plankton back."[30] Karen Karen's original design was a large, immobile monitor on the wall. Role in SpongeBob SquarePants Plankton is married to a waterproof computer named Karen, who is also his sidekick and best friend.[31] Karen is Plankton's own invention, assembled from a calculator and a mass of wires.[8] She was Plankton's first invention when he was in grade school, and they dated before he became evil.[7] Her system is built into most of Plankton's machines (including the Chum Bucket itself) so that she and Plankton can communicate while the latter is on a mission. She is a Mark II Surplus UNIVAC with 256 gigabytes of random-access memory.[32] Karen takes on various jobs at the Chum Bucket, including busser, chef and cashier; she rarely has to fulfill them because of the restaurant's unpopularity. She also tends to stay more focused than Plankton on the core mission of stealing Krabs' formula. Karen often reminds him to stay on task[9] and encourages him to keep going when he loses confidence.[10] Since she lacks a heart, Karen is usually unable to feel empathy for the people around her.[7] Her interactions are not limited to helping Plankton, however; she is a friend of Sandy Cheeks, who is also intelligent and interested in science.[33] Karen is more competent than Plankton in formulating plots to steal the Krabby Patty recipe. Most of his effective plans have come from Karen, including "Plan Z"—the only scheme to result in Plankton successfully stealing the formula and using it to his advantage—in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Nonetheless, he tends to take credit for them, much to her dismay. Karen has effortlessly stolen Krabs' formula without Plankton's help on many occasions, but her husband always inadvertently gets in the way.[32] Because of their contrasting behaviors, Plankton and Karen have a tendency to argue. Tom Kenny, SpongeBob's voice actor, has called their marriage "Honeymooners-like," comparing them to the bickering couple from the sitcom The Honeymooners.[34] As a computer on the ocean floor, Karen's ability to operate underwater has not been explained in any of the series' episodes. Tom Kenny addressed this in a 2004 interview with the Associated Press, stating that Karen's functionality is a "don't-ask-why" aspect of SpongeBob and that "logic doesn't have a place" in the series' universe.[35] Development Karen was also created by Stephen Hillenburg, who named the character after his wife, Karen Hillenburg (née Umland).[5] Hillenburg initially designed a laboratory for Plankton to convey the character's technological abilities, leading to Karen's development as his lab's central computer system.[18] Like Plankton, she was not initially intended to be a main character; her role in the series grew as Lawrence wrote ideas to give the Planktons more personality. Throughout the series' first and second seasons, Karen is not defined as Plankton's wife; Plankton's official biography from 2000 simply states that he works "with the help of his computer, Karen".[36] In the series' third season opener, 2002's "The Algae's Always Greener," Plankton refers to Karen as his wife for the first time.[37] Aspects of their marriage, like their anniversary and their honeymoon, have become the frequent focus of episodes since then.[38] In early episodes, Karen is always supportive and friendly toward her husband. As the series progresses, she becomes more cynical and sarcastic because of Plankton's relentless obsession with the Krabby Patty formula.[39] However, she remains loving and affectionate toward him. Many episodes written by Lawrence develop and explore the relationship between Karen and her husband. Lawrence has stated that he feels Karen makes Plankton-focused episodes more humorous and that her presence helps portray him as a multidimensional character. In a 2009 interview with Andy Goodman, he said, "I want more Karen on the show ... The married life of an evil genius is the funniest thing to me, so in that regard [Karen] definitely enhances Plankton's stories, making him more than just your typical bad guy."[40] For the first three seasons, Karen was usually depicted as a large, blue monitor in the Chum Bucket's laboratory;[41] at other times, only her voice is heard from within Plankton's robotic creations.[42] When Karen was promoted to a main character in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, a mobile unit was introduced to allow her to interact more easily with other characters.[43] Showrunner Vincent Waller stated that the mobile unit was introduced because having Karen able to move was more convenient for storytelling purposes.[44] Karen alternates between her multiple forms in most episodes produced after the film. As of the tenth season, her wall monitor is no longer used and her mobile form is always equipped with a pair of robotic arms.[45] Voice Karen is voiced by American actress Jill Talley, who is married to SpongeBob's voice actor, Tom Kenny. Talley, a Chicago native, uses a Midwestern accent for the character.[46] Whenever Karen talks, her voice is mixed over electronic sound effects by the series' audio engineers to create a robotic sound.[47] Her voice, which was more monotonous in earlier episodes, has been described as "deadpan" by the Associated Press.[35] Some of Karen's conversations with Plankton are improvised between Talley and Lawrence. The latter described this improvisation as his "favorite part of the voice over" in 2009.[40] He elaborated in a 2012 interview, saying, "I always enjoy the back-and-forth. [Talley and I] start to actually overlap so much talking to each other that [the voice directors] have to tell us, 'hey, stop doing that, separate what you're saying!'"[20] Lawrence also feels that voicing the characters for so long has built a close relationship between the two actors. On the topic, he said, "This on-TV marriage we have, the whole world knows us being married ... We start becoming a married couple [when recording]."[20] Reception Critical response Karen has received generally positive reactions from critics. In a 2010 review of SpongeBob's Last Stand, DVD Talk's Paul Mavis wrote highly of Karen and Plankton's dialogue, stating that the two "could have their own sitcom".[48] Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media praised the amount of screen time given to Karen in Sponge Out of Water, calling her "hilarious".[49] In 2015, Boston.com's Jamie Loftus cited Karen as her reason for naming 2002's "Welcome to the Chum Bucket" one of the sixteen greatest SpongeBob episodes.[25] Gizmodo's Ryan Lufkin wrote in 2016 that SpongeBob's "90s-level weirdness" is proven by characters like Plankton and Karen.[50] The About Group's Nancy Basile commended Jill Talley's portrayal of the character, saying that it is "no surprise she plays [the role] so well" due to her earlier work with Second City and Mr. Show.[46] In an analysis of how the show has changed throughout its run, Channel Frederator argued that the main characters of SpongeBob–specifically Sandy, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Squidward and Karen–have been reduced from multidimensional to reliant on single traits. According to this view, "Karen is now a full-blown nag" in newer episodes.[51] This aspect of Karen's character has also been criticized by author Joseph J. Foy, in his book SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy. He considers this trope one of several harmful stereotypes present on the program, writing that "the motif of the nagging wife is certainly an issue worthy of dissection in dealing with a young audience, along with the spoiled teen daughter [Pearl] and the stupid best friend [Patrick]".[39] Lampooning a controversy surrounding SpongeBob's sexuality, essayist Dennis Hans wrote a 2005 satirical piece for the National Catholic Reporter focusing on the marriage of Plankton and Karen. He remarked, in jest, that SpongeBob's sexual orientation was a lesser issue compared to the positive representation of Plankton's "technosexuality". Hans identified instances where both Planktons were portrayed as a loving couple and joked: "the subliminal message from SpongeBob's insidious creators ... [is that] the technosexual lifestyle means bonding forever with your one true love".[52] In other media Plankton and Karen have been featured in various forms of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise, including video games and action figures.[53] In 2006, Ty Inc.'s Beanie Babies introduced a plush toy based on Plankton.[54] A Lego building set based on the Chum Bucket, including a Plankton minifigure and his laboratory with Karen, was released in 2007.[55] The fourteenth issue of SpongeBob Comics, titled "Plankton Comics," is centered around the Planktons and includes six original stories set at the Chum Bucket.[56] The 2013 video game Plankton's Robotic Revenge is Plankton-themed and features Lawrence and Jill Talley reprising their voice roles from the show as Plankton and Karen.[57] A float featuring Plankton and Karen at Sea World in Southport, Queensland A replica of Plankton's laboratory in Zhongzheng District, Taipei. Plankton and Karen appear in several Nickelodeon crossover works, including 2005's Nicktoons Unite! game[58] and one of its sequels, Nicktoons: Globs of Doom.[59] Both games feature the Chum Bucket as a playing location and in the latter, Plankton is a player character.[60] Additionally, Plankton and Karen are both mentioned by Eric Lange (as his character Sikowitz) in "Tori Goes Platinum," an episode of Nickelodeon's sitcom Victorious.[61] Sea World Australia's "SpongeBob ParadePants" event, which opened in December 2011, included a float featuring Karen and a talking Plankton.[62] In 2015, a recreation of Plankton's laboratory was constructed for a SpongeBob event at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Zhongzheng District, Taipei.[63] It included a replica of Karen's monitor, functioning as a television, screening episodes of SpongeBob, and a miniature Plankton statue.[64] The Flaming Lips' song "SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy," recorded for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, closes with several lines about Plankton and Karen. The song characterizes Plankton as a confused faultfinder who would be much happier if he stopped focusing on his failures and complaining to Karen.[65][66] Plankton sings a track on the novelty album The Best Day Ever titled "You Will Obey," on which Elvis Presley's former guitarist James Burton played guitar.[67] Of the album, Tom Kenny said "one of our hidden Easter eggs that hopefully more than three people in the world will get is during the guitar solo when Plankton says 'Take it, James', which was what Elvis said in every one of those concert movies".[67] Film composer John Debney produced Plankton's theme music for the second SpongeBob movie, using trombones.[68] The film's score includes several tracks named after Plankton, including "Plankton Rescues Karen," which is used during a scene highlighting Plankton's cooperation with hero SpongeBob.[69][70] Plankton and Karen are the main antagonists in the show's Broadway adaptation.[71] They were portrayed by Wesley Taylor and Stephanie Hsu.[72] In addition to wearing costumes inspired by the characters, Taylor and Hsu are accompanied by a Plankton puppet and a replica of Karen's mobile form, respectively. The two also sing a musical number titled "When the Going Gets Tough" (composed by T.I.). The plot features them attempting to hypnotize the residents of Bikini Bottom into liking the food they serve at the Chum Bucket." (wikipedia.org) "SpongeBob SquarePants (born July 14, 1986[8]) is the main protagonist of the animated series of the same name. He was designed by show creator and former marine biologist, the late Stephen Hillenburg. Hillenburg based SpongeBob on Bob the Sponge, a character he had created for his educational book The Intertidal Zone in the late 1980s. SpongeBob is a childish, joyful, and clumsy sea sponge who lives in a pineapple with his pet snail Gary in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob's house. He works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, a job which he is exceptionally skilled at and enjoys thoroughly. He attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, and his greatest dream in life is to receive his boating license. Unfortunately, he tenses up whenever he has to drive a boatmobile, and he drives recklessly. SpongeBob is very good-natured and loves to hang out with his best friend, Patrick. His teacher is Mrs. Puff and his boss is Mr. Krabs. In The SpongeBob Musical, SpongeBob's exact species of sea sponge is identified: Aplysina fistularis, a yellow sea sponge that is commonly found in open waters.[9] SpongeBob appears in some form in every episode of the series, beginning with the series' debut episode, "Help Wanted." He is voiced by Tom Kenny, who is married to Karen Plankton's voice actress, Jill Talley.... Production details SpongeBob is a poriferan, better known as a sea sponge. In this promo art, he is shown with his scientific classification. SpongeBob with his real-life counterpart, as seen in the book Underwater Friends. While Stephen Hillenburg worked as a teacher of marine science at the Ocean Institute in California, he created an educational book called The Intertidal Zone. The book was intended for children and taught about the behaviors of different sea creatures. Bob the Sponge, a natural sea sponge with sunglasses, was the "host" of the book. Hillenburg revisited the concept of The Intertidal Zone in 1996 when he started sketching concepts for a cartoon series about undersea life. He wanted the title character to be an under-represented creature, with the rest of the main characters being iconic and easily recognizable sea animals: a crab, a whale, and a starfish. "What's the weirdest animal? The sponge came to mind," he recalled in 2012.[10] As he drew a sea sponge character, he originally wanted to use the shape of a natural sponge, but later decided that a "squeaky-clean square" would better portray a nerdy personality. An early colored sketch portrayed SpongeBob as wearing a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie. SpongeBob's look gradually progressed to brown pants that were used in the final design. SpongeBob was designed to be a kid-like character who was goofy and optimistic in a style similar to that made famous by Jerry Lewis.[11] The character was initially going to be named "SpongeBoy," but the name was already in use by other products including a pencil. This was discovered after voice acting for the original seven-minute pilot was recorded in 1997.[12] Upon finding this out, Hillenburg decided that the character's name still had to contain "Sponge" so that viewers would not mistake the character for a "Cheese Man," and decided to use the name "SpongeBob." He chose "SquarePants" as a family name since it referred to the character's square shape and it had a "nice ring to it."[13] SpongeBob driving with Mrs. Puff When Hillenburg pitched SpongeBob to Nickelodeon in 1997, the network gave him an order: they would only produce the show if SpongeBob was a kid who went to school, like "Arnold from Hey Arnold! under the sea."[14] Hillenburg was prepared to "walkout" on Nickelodeon, as writing SpongeBob as a school-aged child went against his creative vision.[15] However, he came up with Mrs. Puff and her Boating School as a compromise, allowing SpongeBob to attend school as an adult. Hillenburg was very fond of the "way things worked out," as Nickelodeon's order brought in a whole new main character, "Mrs. Puff, who I love."[15] SpongeBob is voiced by veteran voice actor Tom Kenny. Kenny had previously worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life, and when Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants, he approached Kenny to voice the character. Hillenburg used Kenny's and other actors' personalities to help create the personality of SpongeBob.[12] Kenny first used the voice for SpongeBob for a minor female alligator character named Al on Rocko's Modern Life, who appeared in the episode "Dear John." This is also the first time Kenny and Stephen Hillenburg worked together. Hillenburg wanted Kenny to use that voice for SpongeBob, so he showed him a clip of Al in Rocko's Modern Life to remind Kenny of the voice.[12] Kenny says that SpongeBob's high-pitched laugh was specifically aimed at being unique, stating that they wanted an annoying laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker.[16] In ''SpongeBob SquarePants''' broadcast in non-English languages, the voice actors dubbing SpongeBob's voice use Tom Kenny's rendition of the character as a starting point but also add unique elements. For example, the French version has SpongeBob with a slight Daffy Duck-style lisp.[12] Biography SpongeBob's character file. According to his driver's license in the episode "Sleepy Time," SpongeBob SquarePants was born on July 14, 1986. SpongeBob's license is seen again with this birthdate in "No Free Rides," but all further appearances of it remove the birthdate. He celebrates four respective unspecified birthdays in the episodes "I Had an Accident," "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler," "Waiting," and "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout." In the latter, he nearly reveals his age but is narrowly cut off by the episode's ending, making it a mystery. Stephen Hillenburg once joked that SpongeBob is 50 in "sponge years." Taking into account the average lifespan of a yellow tube sponge being just over 100 years, this would make him middle-aged. Jokes aside, Hillenburg explained that SpongeBob actually has no specific age, but that "he is old enough to be on his own and still be going to driving school," firmly confirming him to be an adult. He lives with his pet sea snail Gary in a large pineapple-shaped house on 124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom. His next-door neighbor, Squidward Tentacles, who lives in an Easter Island head, is constantly annoyed by his antics. SpongeBob is oblivious to this and believes Squidward to be his friend. Beside Squidward's house is the home of SpongeBob's best friend, Patrick Star, who lives under a rock. SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, Bikini Bottom's most popular restaurant, where he is a fry cook and prepares all food served at the restaurant, most notably Krabby Patties. In "Help Wanted," SpongeBob applied for this job. He says that it has been his lifelong dream to join the Krusty Krew and that only now is he "ready." When he applies for the job, Squidward and Mr. Krabs, wanting no part of him, send him on a fool's errand for a "hydro-dynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments and turbo drive." While he is out searching for one at Barg'N-Mart, several hundred hungry anchovies arrive and overwhelm Squidward and Mr. Krabs. SpongeBob soon returns, having found a hydrodynamic spatula, and saves their lives by feeding the anchovies, showing off his amazing cooking skills in the process. SpongeBob's house is an orange pineapple with fully furnished windows and doors and has a gas pipe. When he first moved to Bikini Bottom, he viewed many different houses, but none seemed to his liking. Just as he was about to give up, a pineapple from a boat above the water falls into the sea and lands onto the space that was Squidward's garden where Squidward was still gardening. SpongeBob loves the house and buys it, leaving Squidward in misery by losing his garden and having SpongeBob living next to him. However, in The Patrick Star Show episode "Who's a Big Boy?," SpongeBob bumps into his future house as a teenager while it's still under construction and already under the water, along with Squidward's house. While not working, SpongeBob spends much of his time playing with his best friend, Patrick Star. The two have known each other since their early childhood, and are members of the "Best Friends Forever Club."[17] Their usual activities include jellyfishing, bubble blowing, and various others. The two's antics are of constant annoyance to their next-door neighbor, Squidward, and he has been repeatedly put into harm's way as a result of their actions. This is shown when SpongeBob innocently sends DoodleBob to prank Squidward, only for the drawing to beat up Squidward in "Frankendoodle." Because of their annoyance, Squidward has tried to move away numerous times, but always ends up returning.[18] Despite Squidward claiming to hate SpongeBob and Patrick, they are completely oblivious to this and believe they are his best friends. Squidward is usually shown to dislike SpongeBob in particular, but the two share a close relationship. Squidward has hinted that he likes SpongeBob a lot more than he lets on. In "Graveyard Shift," he admits this when he tells SpongeBob, "No matter what I've said, I've always sort of liked you!" Also, in "SB-129," he misses SpongeBob after becoming trapped in a blank dimension. In "Dying for Pie," he shows sadness over SpongeBob being set to explode at sunset from eating the exploding pie, although this doesn't happen since SpongeBob kept the pie in his pocket the whole time and didn't eat it. One of SpongeBob's good friends is a squirrel from Texas named Sandy Cheeks, who wears a special suit and helmet to survive underwater. When SpongeBob first met Sandy, she invited SpongeBob to her airtight home, and SpongeBob, not knowing what air is, accepted. After giving in to his need to breathe water, SpongeBob and Patrick got bowls of water to wear over their heads from Sandy, which they typically wear whenever they visit the treedome. Sandy enjoys SpongeBob's company and they enjoy doing extreme sports together, most notably karate. SpongeBob's skills in karate are shown to vary quite considerably; for example, in "Karate Choppers," he equals and even outmatches Sandy in skill. However, at most other times he is so weak to the point where Sandy can send him flying a considerable distance with a single punch, which happens in "No Weenies Allowed." In "Karate Island," Sandy openly states that her karate skills are better than SpongeBob's by "a country mile." Another of SpongeBob's friends is Mr. Krabs' whale daughter, Pearl Krabs. According to "Bossy Boots," Pearl thinks SpongeBob is "full of style," "oozes fashion," and most importantly, "is a great pal." Pearl goes to prom with SpongeBob in "The Chaperone" to make her feel better over being dumped by her boyfriend. In "Tunnel of Glove," it is revealed that Pearl's classmates think SpongeBob is her boyfriend, and SpongeBob inadvertently supports this by saying "Well, I am a boy, and I am her friend." The two then go on the Tunnel of Glove ride together. In "A Cabin in the Kelp," Pearl uses SpongeBob as a way to prank the Gal Pals, as her suspicion detects that the titular group will prank her first and is utterly saddened by the fact SpongeBob is missing. She is later delighted about how SpongeBob is safe but is just lost within a forest. SpongeBob attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, where he is taught by his idolized teacher Mrs. Puff. He studies extremely hard for school and knows every answer to the oral exam, but he becomes extremely nervous when actually behind the wheel of a boat, causing him to fail the final exam every time. According to the episode "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," SpongeBob has failed the exam 1,258,056 times, and is the only creature in the history of the school to fail the test. Despite his inability to drive a boatmobile properly, SpongeBob is able to drive/ride various other things capably, including a rock, a rocket ship, a sandwich car, and a submarine. SpongeBob claims that he does know how to drive, but simply panics behind the wheel and cannot concentrate. In "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," SpongeBob receives extremely good training from Mrs. Puff's very tough military-like replacement and learns how to drive capably, but can only do so while blindfolded due to the teacher's strict drills and very specific teaching methods. Description SpongeBob's official color palette (top) includes 16 colors, plus black and white. SpongeBob is a sea sponge with a rectangular shape. He is light yellow (whose exact shade of yellow is designated by Pantone to be SpongeBob Yellow[19]) with a light olive-green outline. In earlier episodes, he is wider near the top and gets skinnier going further down, akin to that of a trapezoid. However, in the more recent episodes, he is more of a regular square shape. SpongeBob has light olive-green pores, dimples with three freckles on each cheek, a large mouth with two prominent front buck teeth, a long, slightly curved nose, and large light blue eyes. His eye color seems to be, uniquely, a shade of pacific blue complimenting the blue ocean background. He has three exceptionally wide, exposed, and effeminate eyelashes on each eye, which have sometimes been shown to be numerous eyelashes akin to a human, which is best prominent in "Tutor Sauce" when he is seen breathing heavily during a close-up. Although rarely seen in the series, he has light yellow hair that goes hand-in-hand with his skin color, as seen on his driver's license, the spin-off series The Patrick Star Show, and in the episode "The Sponge Who Could Fly." However, in the episode "Krusty Krab Training Video," he instead has a simple strand of black hair. He typically wears a white shirt with a scarlet-red tie, black leather shoes with white shoelaces, white socks with blue and red stripes, and brown rectangular pants with a black belt. While working at the Krusty Krab, he wears a tall, white hat with a small blue anchor illustration as a uniform. SpongeBob usually sleeps in his briefs, and at other times-beginning with season 5-his pajamas. However, he occasionally sleeps with his entire outfit on, which was more common in season 1, most notably the episode "Sleepy Time." In various spin-off media, he is slightly redesigned. In Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, his outfit stays mostly the same as in the original show, but now he wears a red cap and a handkerchief, as well as brown boots. In The Patrick Star Show, SpongeBob has a bit of yellow hair on his head, wears a bow tie, and black-and-white saddle shoes. Though SpongeBob has always been voiced by Tom Kenny, his voice has changed throughout the series; his voice is lower than normal in season 1. After the first movie, his voice noticeably changes, increasing in pitch, along with other changes. After season 9, his voice slightly decreases in pitch. Even though he is a sea sponge, he has legs and is able to move, just like the other sponges in the show. This is pointed out in "I Had an Accident," when he says that he will stay in his house forever, and he shouldn't have even been walking in the first place because he's a sponge. Health While SpongeBob is generally lucky in life and healthy, he has on several occasions faced health problems in the series, which are usually caused by his tendency to fall for antagonists' manipulation or simply by accident. On a side note, he is an invertebrate and thus lacks bones, making him immune to physical harm; however, this varies greatly by episode, as sometimes SpongeBob is depicted as having bones and thus prone to suffering injuries, while in other episodes, most notably "The Bully," he has none and is, therefore, accepting of his said injuries. Like most other characters from the show, he has faced many fatal injuries and near-death experiences. However, due to cartoon physics and negative continuity, he sometimes recovers immediately afterward without medical support. Such instances are played for comedy and do not affect the plot, therefore they will be overlooked when taking into account SpongeBob's health. However, SpongeBob has on more than one occasion faced ongoing medical conditions and injuries that have even been the core of the plot. The first prominent instance of SpongeBob's health deteriorating is in "Tea at the Treedome," where he for the first time enters an air pollution, Sandy's treedome, after meeting a new friend. Due to the insufficient amount of water in her house, he starts to shrivel up before eventually passing out--along with Patrick--on the ground from hypothermia. Both he and Patrick are subsequently revived by Sandy's new creation, water helmets. Towards the end of "Jellyfishing," he and Patrick get stung by the Queen Jellyfish and are left covered in bandages. In "Plankton!," Plankton takes control of SpongeBob by entering into his head at night and using a control on his brain to control SpongeBob's body movements as a means of obtaining the Krabby Patty secret formula for Plankton to hear out loud. In "Pickles," after Bubble Bass tells SpongeBob he forgot to put pickles on his Krabby Patty, SpongeBob falls into a state of despair as he loses his confidence. He starts doing everything backwards, like talking improperly, walking backwards, and hammering a piece of toast into his kitchen counter. He is cured from the state once he abruptly makes a Krabby Patty while listing all the ingredients as he puts them together in that order, which was an angry attempt to prove Mr. Krabs that he can't make one contrary to Krabs' encouragement. In "I Was a Teenage Gary," Squidward accidentally injects SpongeBob with the snail plasma when he meant to inject it into Gary. This causes SpongeBob to transform into a snail and say nothing but "Meow" as he chases Squidward around. Instead of being cured, Squidward himself gets injected with the needle too and sings with Snail-SpongeBob and Gary on the fence towards the end. In "Fools in April," he gets his leg tied to a rope while cleaning up a mustard stain on the floor of the Krusty Krab as part of Squidward's prank. SpongeBob gets sent flying into several poles, windows, and bags of flour, and ends up in a trash can covered in garbage. This causes him to cry and run home, falling into a state of depression afterwards. SpongeBob's sickness is a plot point of "Suds," where he becomes infected by the eponymous disease which gives him a cold and causes him to sneeze pink bubbles through his pores. He caught it from accidentally leaving his freezer open overnight and falling asleep in the kitchen. "Doctor Patrick" tries to cure SpongeBob by using many ridiculous methods which only worsen his condition and inflate him into a giant ball, causing him to roll down a hill and crash into the Krusty Krab, which makes him sneeze a massive number of bubbles and deflate, albeit still with a cold. He is eventually cured by Incidental 116 utilizing a special treatment for sponges. In "Something Smells," he gets bad breath from eating a sundae with ketchup, onions, and his peanut plant. Everyone in town turns away from him vehemently, which Patrick thinks is because he's ugly, but they find out in the end that it was the sundae when Patrick develops rancid breath from eating it too. In "Prehibernation Week," Sandy takes SpongeBob on numerous increasingly dangerous adventures where they participate in extreme sports games, drastically injuring SpongeBob and taking a toll on his health. At the end of "Survival of the Idiots," Sandy, having had her fur ripped off by the duo, uses SpongeBob and Patrick's bodies as a replacement; since the two are in her treedome and have no provision of water, they nearly die from hypothermia again. In "Squirrel Jokes," SpongeBob suffers from hypothermia yet again upon entrance of Sandy's treedome and is given too much water by her through a hose, inflating him to the point of taking up the dome's capacity. SpongeBob's health is put at risk in "The Bully" when a new classmate, Flats the Flounder, joins and threatens to kick SpongeBob's butt. Concerned for his safety, SpongeBob pulls off many attempts to hide from the bully and expose him, but no one in town can help him. As a result, SpongeBob comes to terms with Flats harming him and lets him "kick [his] butt." However, SpongeBob's body simply absorbs Flats' punches, leading to no harm whatsoever; in fact, SpongeBob lets Flats harm him routinely everyday until Flats passes out unconscious in class one day. In "No Weenies Allowed," he breaks his fingers after a failed attempt to crack his knuckles and soaks them in an ice cream sundae to heal them. Towards the end of the episode, after his goal of being tough enough to enter The Salty Spitoon is finally achieved, he slips on an ice cube and falls to the ground, having to be sent into an ambulance afterward. Due to him describing his condition as "boo-boos," the Purple Doctorfish suggests he seek care at Weenie Hut General. In "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V," SpongeBob and the rest of IJLSA (The International Justice League of Super Acquaintances) team were left injured and hospitalized following their battle with the E.V.I.L. (Every Villain Is Lemons). SpongeBob has to use a wheelchair and wear a cast over his head to counteract his injury. In "I Had an Accident," SpongeBob faces a sandboarding accident in which he severely injures his buttocks and is sent to the hospital. His injury was nearly fatal as each piece of his buttocks was glued back together and taped, and he would have been permanently subject to the Iron Butt under much worse circumstances. In "Krabby Land," he suffers much harm which includes getting bubble soap in the eye, being beaten up by tough fish, and being forced to eat lima beans while entertaining the children. In The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, SpongeBob and Patrick are kidnapped by the Cyclops and placed on a table where a lamp sits. Due to the pressure of the lamp's heat, SpongeBob and Patrick start to shrivel up and eventually pass away. However, the tear they shared beforehand finds its way into a power outlet and activates the ceiling sprinkler system, subsequently reviving them. Sometime during the events of "Funny Pants," SpongeBob underwent surgery to have his laugh box transplanted to Squidward out of sympathy for the latter rupturing his own. In "Krusty Towers," SpongeBob alongside Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward are sent to the hospital and treated in medical beds following the fatal destruction of the eponymous hotel, which the group was in during the incident. In "Fungus Among Us," SpongeBob finds a suspicious green substance known as "ick" on his bedroom floor and attempts to clean it up, but fails and as a result, the ick contaminates him and becomes contagious. Due to his unhealthy status, the SWAT Team arrives at the Krusty Krab and quarantines SpongeBob in a plastic bubble in his house, which is eventually popped by Patrick swinging a pirate hook. He is cured towards the end of the episode when Gary uses his slime to rid everyone of the ick. In "The Splinter," SpongeBob trips and falls off of the ceiling of the Krusty Krab kitchen in a failed attempt to retrieve his spatula. He falls on the wooden ground and gets a splinter lodged into his thumb. He goes to Patrick for help; however, due to his unprofessional remedies and lack of a medical license, Patrick only makes matters worse by hammering the splinter further into SpongeBob's thumb and healing his wound with garbage from the dumpster, which not only causes SpongeBob more pain but also causes his thumb to swell up severely and produce pus. He is finally cured when Mr. Krabs, with his strength and claws, simply pulls it out, removing SpongeBob's injury and returning his thumb back to normal. In "A Life in a Day," Patrick's obsession with copying Larry the Lobster goes to his head and prompts him to bring SpongeBob along to perform the most extreme stunt yet: crashing into Ripper's Reef, an island consisting of stalagmites. The aftermath of this stunt lands the duo along with Larry--who got injured while trying to save them--in the hospital, covered in bandages and wearing casts over their heads. In "Stuck in the Wringer," SpongeBob gets stuck in his bathroom wringer while trying to rinse himself off and calls Patrick for help. However, instead of helping him, Patrick surrounds the wringer with superglue, impeding SpongeBob's escape. Throughout the episode, SpongeBob uncontrollably moves very clumsily and eventually gets kicked out while trying to do his job at the Krusty Krab. His health continues to deteriorate, as he is unable to consume food or drink due to the wringer's blockage of his digestive system, and gets a black eye at the carnival. He is cured at the end of the episode when both he and Patrick cry an abundance of tears to dissolve the glue, which facilitates his escape from the wringer. In "Earworm," SpongeBob gets addicted to a song he hears on the radio called "Musical Doodle." His addiction is revealed to be an infectious earworm that takes over his entire body. At the end of the episode, it leaves SpongeBob after being driven away by Squidward's clarinet playing, and infects Squidward instead. In "The Hot Shot," he gets into a boat accident which leads to him getting injured and being in a body cast at the end of the episode. SpongeBob has also been shown to have some mental health problems before. This becomes evident in "InSPONGEiac" after he fails to fall asleep and develops insomnia as a plot point. Previously, in "Krab Borg," he suffered serious psychological trauma from watching a horror movie on TV about a robot chasing a man and started to hallucinate ordinary items in the Krusty Krab kitchen as robots, eventually starting to believe that Mr. Krabs is a robot after hearing him talk like one, which also displays SpongeBob's conflation of fantasy with reality. SpongeBob's obsessions have also gone to unhealthy extents: In "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic," he tries to impress his idol Kevin C. Cucumber by injuring himself in ways such as punching himself in the face and jumping off a building. In "Bummer Vacation," SpongeBob struggles to get his mind off his job at the Krusty Krab while on vacation from it and is replaced with Patrick for the time being; SpongeBob seeks his revenge on Patrick by waiting for him to get home and cornering Patrick in his rock while making threatening faces and noises giving the implication he's going to eat him. SpongeBob sabotages Patrick by quarantining him in his house and forcing him to watch static on his TV screen, then disguises himself as Patrick in the kitchen to get his job back. In "Squid's Visit," SpongeBob persuades Squidward to visit his house by redecorating his own pineapple into an exact replica of Squidward's Easter Island Head, getting every detail right including a crack in the wall. In "Sentimental Sponge," SpongeBob develops a sentiment for his thrown-away garbage due to the memories they bring and nostalgically preserves the trash in his house. He even collects jars of grill grease and his own sweat, with the epitome reaching once he begins to dress up in used garbage, names it, and takes up so much capacity in his house with it that the trash finds its way onto Squidward's property. In "SpongeBob's Bad Habit," he develops an obsessive routine of biting his own and others' fingernails. In "Two Thumbs Down," after giving so many people thumbs-ups, SpongeBob eventually develops sore thumbs and ultimately loses the use of them, having to put them in mini wheelchairs to counteract his injury at the hospital. In "Unreal Estate," after Squidward invades his house at night and covers it in pepper, the resulting reactions make SpongeBob believe that he is allergic to his own home and set up the conflict of him having to go find a new one. In "Mimic Madness," SpongeBob begins to copy people to their amusement, but eventually gets physically addicted to it through a disease called Mocking Mimicry Madness, and cannot remember his own identity. After all his friends help him by imitating SpongeBob's personality, he regains his old identity but unfortunately all of his friends catch it. In "House Worming," Prickles the worm and his friends land inside of SpongeBob and throw parties inside of him. It is not much of a problem at first, but it eventually takes control of him and drives him insane. However, they get annoyed by his laughter and go to Squidward at the end of the episode. In "Sportz?," Squidward forces SpongeBob and Patrick to engage in many increasingly excruciating sports games in an attempt to get them killed. Near the end they pass out severely injured on the sports field before Squidward's karma is served. In "Cuddle E. Hugs," he becomes sick after eating an Aged Patty and begins to hallucinate a giant hamster as a side-effect. ... Personality SpongeBob is a fun-loving, hyperactive, clueless, and childish sea sponge with a happy-go-lucky personality. Despite being portrayed this way, he is relatively smart and knows right from wrong, an example being telling Patrick not to draw his picture of calling Mrs. Puff a "big, fat, meanie" because she's a teacher. He is extremely determined and will often stop at nothing to accomplish a task. He is also somewhat dramatic to the people who are kind to him: for example, to the mailfish.[20] He is also over-confident. Sometimes, though, he shows his devious side when trying to get Mr. Krabs and Plankton to work together.[21] He sometimes makes mountains out of molehills, such as losing his name tag.[22] It is also suggested that he deceived the Tattletale Strangler in an elaborate plot to get him back to jail. When he first met Plankton, he was almost quick to befriend him, but quickly realized Plankton's true intention was to take advantage of him to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. Plankton himself is surprised that SpongeBob was smart enough to see through his manipulation, telling him, "Gee, and I thought you were stupid." SpongeBob singing the "Best Day Ever" song. SpongeBob is very kind-hearted and innocent, and very rarely acts openly naughty to anyone, even those who find him an annoyance and act cruelly to him. He is a very selfless and loyal person, especially towards those close to him. His selfless nature is most notably shown in "Best Day Ever," where he sacrifices his "perfect day" to help his friends. Despite his well-meaning intentions, SpongeBob's actions often annoy and cause trouble for those around him, most notably his next-door neighbor, Squidward. SpongeBob can become scared easily and usually panics when frightened. He is afraid of the dark[23] and clowns[24]. He also hates hot sauce.[25] Occasionally, SpongeBob is too ignorant to notice impending danger and his unworldly thinking may put himself or others in peril. He also cannot detect lies or malice as easily as the other characters, mainly due to his naïvety. This is particularly evident in episodes featuring Squidward, such as "Giant Squidward," "Good Neighbors," "Squid's Visit," and "Tentacle-Vision." In these episodes, as well as many others, SpongeBob believes he is making Squidward happy, even though he's actually making him miserable. One non-Squidward example is in "A Pal for Gary," when Gary is being violently attacked and nearly eaten by Puffy Fluffy, SpongeBob takes no action and instead accuses Gary of harassing Puffy. Another example is "Home Sweet Rubble," when it takes SpongeBob a few moments to realize that his house is in serious need or repair. Furthermore, SpongeBob also goes to great lengths to impress others and achieve his goals, even if they involve malice, as seen in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II," where SpongeBob wrongly attacks an innocent Atomic Flounder to impress Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. SpongeBob attempts to steal Patrick's secret box in "The Secret Box." He also tries to steal Betsy Krabs' underwear along with Patrick and Mr. Krabs in "Mid-Life Crustacean" as part of the "panty raid." In "Doing Time," SpongeBob and Patrick force the receptionist of the local bank to give them all his money; this was done in an attempt to get arrested and free Mrs. Puff from jail. In "Hall Monitor," SpongeBob enters the window of a couple's house and disturbs them while on hall monitor duties; this was done to show them the consequences of leaving a window open. In "The Great Snail Race," SpongeBob overexerts Gary to prepare him for the following snail race. This causes extreme discomfort to Gary and eventually results in him collapsing on his way to the finish line; however, SpongeBob eventually noticed the error in his ways. SpongeBob traps Squidward in a bottle in the episode "Employee of the Month." In "Employee of the Month," SpongeBob sets up many traps on Squidward in an attempt to sabotage his Employee of the Month Award. In "Just One Bite," SpongeBob handcuffs himself to Squidward, forcing him to eat a Krabby Patty. In "Shuffleboarding," he and Patrick, while dressed as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy respectively, go around arresting citizens for actions that do not count as crimes, such as chewing gum too loudly and being too old. In "SpongeBob's Last Stand," SpongeBob and Patrick resist the government-sanctioned construction of the Shelly Superhighway and encourage the rest of the town to join their protest through a song. The police eventually notice the boys rebelling against the government's authority and imprison them in the middle of nowhere. However, on SpongeBob's part, his arrest was for playing the sitar without a license. SpongeBob also feels the need to impress Mr. Krabs and to protect the Krusty Krab and the Krabby Patty secret formula at all costs. In "Call the Cops," SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs impersonate police officers in hopes of retrieving the secret formula. He also likes to impress his boating teacher, Mrs. Puff, despite his reckless driving. Beginning with "Boating School," an ongoing plot point is SpongeBob failing his driver's test due to his inability to drive safely. His poor driving skills have caused him to run over pedestrians, rapidly switch lanes, drive on the sidewalk, crash into buildings and property, harm his passengers, and lastly damage his vehicle. Despite all the damage he causes, SpongeBob is never arrested or charged for his dangerous driving; instead, Mrs. Puff is, who the authorities believe is failing to educate him. These actions can often lead to SpongeBob entering by trespassing. SpongeBob and Patrick have a frequent tendency to enter Squidward's house without his consent, which reaches its epitome in "Good Neighbors" and becomes a plot point of the said episode. Additionally, in "Survival of the Idiots," he and Patrick invade Sandy's treedome during the winter with little regard to the "Keep Out" sign on her door. In "The Thing," after getting caught by the SWAT Team, SpongeBob and Patrick hide from them by trespassing into the sewers. SpongeBob also invades the sewers with Squidward in "The Sewers of Bikini Bottom," although they did it to retrieve the safe, so this can be justified. In "Toy Store of Doom," SpongeBob and Patrick stay in Toy Barrel past its open hours and hide in a dollhouse so as not to be caught by the security guard. SpongeBob in jail in the episode "Driven to Tears." SpongeBob's personality trait of wanting to impress others and achieve his goals has led to him having a criminal history. However, due to his naivety and gullibility, a lot of these crimes have been committed unintentionally or through the manipulation of others, mainly Squidward, Plankton, Karen, or Mr. Krabs. He has been arrested a total of seven times: for "stealing" a balloon in "Life of Crime," failing to invite the police to his party in "Party Pooper Pants," littering Patrick's driver's license in "Driven to Tears," playing sitar without a license in "SpongeBob's Last Stand," falsely accused public disturbance in "Cave Dwelling Sponge," impersonating a police officer in "Call the Cops," and unintentionally terrorizing a majority of Bubbletown in the episode of the same name. SpongeBob's innocence also makes him overly trusting and very gullible[26], easily manipulated by people who intend to use and/or harm him, such as Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton, and he is clumsy. In "Walking Small," SpongeBob assists Plankton in driving the attendants at Goo Lagoon away to make an unauthorized development to its property. However, this was done out of manipulation, and SpongeBob regrets his actions after learning Plankton's motive, therefore returning the beach to its previous state. In "Sandy's Rocket," SpongeBob and Patrick go around capturing everyone in Bikini Bottom and trapping them in the spaceship, believing that the entire population is formed of aliens. Even though he is generally good-natured and easygoing, SpongeBob can get angered easily. When frustrated and angered, SpongeBob can be sarcastic, rude, and condescending to his friends, even Mr. Krabs[27], whom he treats as a father figure. Squidward is the only character whom SpongeBob never insults when he is angry, except for the episodes "Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Breath of Fresh Squidward." In "Hooky," SpongeBob is encouraged by {Patrick to ditch work during his shift, which causes the unsupervised grill to produce mass amounts of smoke. He believed King Neptune's trident was his spatula and decided to help all of Bikini Bottom when he was destroying the town after going mad with power in "Trident Trouble." In "Hall Monitor," he lets his rank of hall monitor go to his head and becomes known as the maniac for his destruction of the city before receiving a scolding from his teacher who was arrested for it. During "Ditchin'," SpongeBob ditches boating school to attend the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy meet and greet, which affects his driver's education and eventually gets Mrs. Puff arrested. Even stated in "Goons on the Moon" that he is a menace despite his good nature. Despite his overall kindness, SpongeBob occasionally shows a lack of empathy for others and forces people into situations against their will. In the episode "Rodeo Daze," he kidnaps the Bikini Bottomites with bubbles in persuasion for them to save Sandy from a rodeo. Additionally, in the episode "A SquarePants Family Vacation," he sends his friends letters promising that everything they love will be at his house, only for it to be a hoax and a plea for them to view his slideshow. Although SpongeBob has several friends, and many of the citizens of Bikini Bottom often treat him quite friendly, most, if not all, citizens of the city have been shown to have some degree of dislike for him. In the episode "Gone," it is shown that a holiday called "National No SpongeBob Day" has been started by the citizens of Bikini Bottom. As its name suggests, it is an entire day dedicated to getting away from SpongeBob, where the people leave Bikini Bottom for the day. Even Patrick goes, stating that everyone needs at least one day away from SpongeBob's laughter. In the ceremony, they build a giant wooden effigy of SpongeBob, burn it down, dance on the ashes, and depart Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is more honored than insulted by this, as he was the "inspiration" for the holiday. Dedication to his job SpongeBob crying over being fired from his job SpongeBob is not only extremely good at his job, being able to produce a Krabby Patty within seconds, but also has a strong passion and an abnormal love for it; something of a workaholic, he enjoys his job more than any other activity and is saddened whenever he cannot be at work. He even views closing time as the saddest part of the day[28] and gleefully embraces the 24-hour business of the restaurant in the episodes "Graveyard Shift" and "Fear of a Krabby Patty." In "Welcome to the Chum Bucket," he is briefly employed at the Chum Bucket but fails to do any successful work, and struggles to adapt to the new changes of the kitchen, demanding that Plankton redesign the restaurant to be an exact replica of the Krusty Krab. In "Squid on Strike," he struggles to throw his Krusty Krab hat on the ground due to his attachment to the job, with the hat sticking to his hand. In "Bummer Vacation," he cannot preoccupy himself while on vacation from the Krusty Krab and attempts many failed plans to regain access to his job while Patrick is substituted for fry cook, only for Mr. Krabs to send SpongeBob back home each time. SpongeBob goes as far as to quarantine Patrick in his own rock forcing him to watch a static-y TV and wears Patrick's disguise to get his job back immediately, which finally happens as his vacation time expires. In "Model Sponge," SpongeBob seemingly hears he was to be let go but has mistaken himself as the person to vacate his current life. Throughout his unemployed life during the episode, he tries to apply for many jobs, but is not qualified for them, as he is meant for the fry cook role at the Krusty Krab. In "SpongeBob You're Fired," SpongeBob floods the Krusty Krab with his crying after being broken the news from Mr. Krabs that he has been fired. This makes him depressed and mourn his job with a five 'o clock shadow, until he gets motivation to apply for fry cook at a new restaurant. However, SpongeBob is fired from each restaurant because he keeps cooking Krabby Patty variations of the restaurants' main foods. This had previously occurred in "Le Big Switch," where SpongeBob becomes a temporary fry cook at the Fancy! restaurant but cannot cook any of the foods served there and turns everything he cooks into Krabby Patties, even when he simply cracks an egg. When he tries to make a milkshake at the Milkshake Academy in "License to Milkshake," he pours out a Krabby Patty instead. He is very good at his job because he is the "Vice Assistant General Manager of Certain Things"[3]. He also has been shown making a perfect Krabby Patty on his first try when he was a baby.[29] SpongeBob's skills as a fry cook could be described as superhuman; in episodes such as "Help Wanted" and "Employee of the Month," he is seen making them at rates of hundreds or even thousands per minute. He has won 374 consecutive Employee of the Month awards at the Krusty Krab. In "Neptune's Spatula," he can pull the golden spatula from the grease, making him the "chosen one" of King Neptune. In that same episode, it is shown that the burgers made by Neptune himself are horrible compared to SpongeBob's. SpongeBob is also obsessed with Krabby Patties themselves; on numerous occasions, he has proclaimed them the best food in the world, and in "Just One Bite" and "Shuffleboarding," he is shocked and horrified to see one thrown away, also persuading Squidward to eat one continuously in the former episode. They are revealed to be his favorite food during the Simple-Ton magazine best-friend quiz he takes with Patrick in "You Don't Know Sponge." Abilities and talents SpongeBob's broken bones in "I Had an Accident." SpongeBob has been shown to have numerous extraordinary abilities and attributes throughout the series.     Absorbency: Being a sponge, he is also absorbent, and can expand his body by absorbing liquids. Sometimes when SpongeBob cries, he re-absorbs his tears. An example is in "The Bully" when Flats the Flounder kept on hitting him, but SpongeBob just absorbed all of his blows; however, he does not absorb blows on occasion, specifically Patrick's punch in the face in "No Weenies Allowed." Also, in "I Had an Accident," he filter feeds through his holes, as he is a sponge.     Boneless: SpongeBob is usually shown to be boneless since sea sponges are invertebrates. However, in some episodes, such as "I Had an Accident," bones are shown on his X-rays. He also has bones when his skin is ripped off in "Atlantis SquarePantis" and "The Splinter." He can also squeeze through and fit in things.     Bubble blowing: SpongeBob can perform extraordinary moves with bubbles, most notably exhibited in "Bubblestand." It is considered along with jellyfishing as his and Patrick's favorite hobby.     Destruction: SpongeBob has a degree of talent in destruction, but most of the cases show that he mostly performed this involuntary due to his gullible and reckless personality, Although he does not know it and thanks to his poor driving skills, SpongeBob is skilled at demolition derbies. This is shown in "Demolition Doofus," as SpongeBob manages to defeat five other competitors, although inadvertently, also surviving Mrs. Puff's murderous attack.     Culinary Creativity: He has made variations of Krabby Patty, even disgusting ones: "The Nasty Patty," "Secret Patty," "The Nature Patty," "Double Krabby Patty With Everything," "Crying Johnny," "Double Triple Bossy Deluxe Patty," "Krabby Patty Pizza," "Krabby Patty with Jellyfish Jelly"... just to name a few.[30][31]     Driving (anything but a boatmobile): He can drive certain objects perfectly, but his nerves get the best of him when driving boats at Mrs. Puff's Boating School. On several occasions, he has been able to conquer his nervousness and demonstrate good driving skills, but he always loses this confidence by the end of the episode.     Fry cooking: SpongeBob has a job cooking Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab.     Jellyfishing: SpongeBob and Patrick jellyfish at Jellyfish Fields in several episodes. In "Jellyfish Hunter" he catches every single jellyfish in the fields.     Karate: He trains for karate with Sandy and, in "Karate Choppers," is seen to be quite evenly matched with her.     Limb range: Like most characters in this series, SpongeBob can stretch his body to unusual extents. He can also extend his arms and legs to any length he wants.     Detachable limbs: SpongeBob's body parts, mainly his arms, are shown to be detachable, usually as a gag. This happens in episodes such as "Big Pink Loser," "Graveyard Shift," "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," and "Sing a Song of Patrick."     Regeneration: It is shown that he can quickly regenerate parts of his body that are injured or removed as this is natural for real sponges. He can also clone himself and reproduce by budding, most notably in "Pressure."     Enhanced reflexes: SpongeBob possesses faster-than-lightning reflexes, being able to react to dangers instantly. Hence, SpongeBob can dodge and react to projectiles and enemy attacks moving at high speeds, such as lasers, arrows, shock waves, bullets, and even lightning. Additionally, SpongeBob's sharp reflexes allow him to react to attacks outside his field of vision.     Stamina and endurance: In games such as Battle for Bikini Bottom, Nicktoons Unite!, Plankton's Robotic Revenge, etc., SpongeBob has demonstrated very high stamina, capable of exerting himself to his peak performance for several hours without signs of fatigue. SpongeBob is extremely durable, having survived life-threatening situations multiple times most likely due to his soft and flexible body figure. He has survived multiple traffic collisions, getting caught in the crossfire from all angles from Plankton's Robots, withstand the force of a building collapse, and being struck by opponents with super strength. Additionally, SpongeBob has more than once survived impacts from falls from extreme heights, withstand the force of a nuclear explosion (like how Plankton did once), and being struck by fire, electricity, and frozen by ice.     Super speed: As the Quickster, he can move very fast. Although he is certainly able to run faster than Patrick when he's about to tell Mr. Krabs in "Sailor Mouth" and Squidward when he's about to chase SpongeBob about the pizza in "Pizza Delivery."     Leadership: SpongeBob is a great natural leader for all of his friends in Bikini Bottom.     Teleportation: SpongeBob is capable of teleporting in various episodes. Like in "The Wreck of the Mauna Loa" when he is chasing Patrick in a game of tag, Patrick is looking back at SpongeBob in the other direction, when he imminently bumps into SpongeBob in front of him and in "Born to Be Wild" he was able to teleport to the Krusty Krab by riding through the bubble transition.     Ghost physiology: After he and Patrick accidentally shave the Flying Dutchman's beard, the powerful ghost curses SpongeBob and Patrick by stripping them from their flesh and blood, turning them into ghosts. This gives them various ghost powers including intangibility, flight, ectoplasm creation, and turning inanimate objects into the said object's ghost version (SpongeBob creates a ghost version of his spatula by breaking the original one, in which ghost version of the said spatula materializes from its remains). Eventually, the Flying Dutchman has to restore SpongeBob and Patrick to normal due to their newfound cursed powers proving too much for them to handle (SpongeBob can't interact with the realm of the living as he normally would and accidentally passes through the earth's crust while sleeping).     Sneaking: SpongeBob can be very sneaky, as seen in "Employee of the Month." In other instances, however, such as in "The Secret Box," his feet make a lot of noise while he tries to be stealthy.     Levitation: SpongeBob can levitate infinitely.     Climbing: SpongeBob can climb, as seen in "Party Pooper Pants" where he climbed on his house.     Singing and nose-playing: SpongeBob is shown to possess a fantastic singing voice. He uses his nose as a flute, in which he is very talented. He is also the lead singer in "Band Geeks." Later, he uses his nose flute in "Best Day Ever" to drive away from the nematodes from the Krusty Krab. His nose flute is notably played as a closing note of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.     Whistling: He can whistle due to his gap in his buck teeth. This ability is put on display in "Mind the Gap."     Comedy: SpongeBob can do comedy as telling jokes. This is seen well in "Squirrel Jokes."     Ventriloquism: SpongeBob can play around with Mini Squidward in the episode "Squid Wood."     Magic tricks: SpongeBob is talented at magic tricks in "One Trick Sponge."     Ice skating: SpongeBob can ice skate. This ability is put on display in "Shanghaied" and "Krabs à la Mode."     Roller skating: He has shown that he can roller skate as seen in "Things to Do When Encountering a Legendary Creature" and "Sportz?"     Dancing: SpongeBob has shown that he can dance. This ability is put on display in "Cave Dwelling Sponge."     Ukulele playing: SpongeBob is very good at playing his ukulele.     Guitar playing: SpongeBob would play guitar in a few episodes. He owns both acoustic and electric guitars.     Soft pliable body: Due to his soft, pliable frame, he is capable of shape-shifting, has some degree of invulnerability, being able to absorb many types of physical impact, shown most notably in the episode "The Bully."     Body part changing: He can change his body parts into objects as well as shapeshifting.     Multiplying body parts: He can multiply his body parts due to his regeneration.     Multitasking: To a certain degree, but it is especially true when he cooks. He can pump out the entire restaurant full of diners with Krabby Patties. He is not so well at it when driving as he gets distracted.     Cloning: He can clone minions of himself by slicing his skin into layers.     Multilingual: In the episode "Sold!," SpongeBob is shown to be able to speak fluent German.     Mimicking: He can mimic someone else by shapeshifting. In "Mimic Madness," he mimics his friends.     Survival skills: In "To Save a Squirrel," SpongeBob and Patrick almost eat each other to survive. Eventually, they are saved by Sandy and no longer had to resort to the desperate measure.     Water breathing: Being a sea creature means he can breath underwater.     Reef blower (machine): SpongeBob can use a reef blower to suck or blow things, like when he sucked up all the water in Bikini Bottom in "Reef Blower."     Tongue-boarding: SpongeBob tongue-boards in "Prehibernation Week," as well in the video games Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (video game), SpongeBob's Truth or Square, Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom and Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated and the book Tales from Bikini Bottom.     Magic Pencil: The pencil grants the user god-like abilities. The user can create anything and erase anything at will. Weaknesses     Lack of physical strength: Due to his physiology, SpongeBob's natural physical strength appears to be below average. Even one instance exaggerated this whereupon close inspection, his hand was depicted in the emaciated state as if it was only skin and bone. Although, SpongeBob can sometimes build up strengths he normally isn't capable of possessing by sheer force of will, with his prowess dependent on the writers of the episode.     Fighting: Besides in "Karate Choppers" and "Dunces and Dragons," SpongeBob is very bad at fighting. This is best exemplified in "Extreme Spots."     Gullibility: SpongeBob's gullible personality makes him prone to manipulation of others who use him for their gain or make him unknowingly hurt others, physically and emotionally.     Cowardice: SpongeBob often lacks the willpower to stand up for himself. Even his arch-nemesis Plankton points this out in "Walking Small" when beachgoers were walking all over SpongeBob (ironically enough, Plankton himself was forcing SpongeBob to do his bidding in the same episode). Patrick even takes advantage of SpongeBob in "Suds," "Hooky," and "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve." He's also shown to have numerous irrational fears such as the fear of clowns or the dark.     Driving (boatmobile): He is not good at driving because he always crashes into buildings and/or hits people with his boat. Family     Main article: SquarePants family SpongeBob has many relatives, most notably his parents, who appear in several episodes. Unlike SpongeBob, who is rectangular, most of SpongeBob's relatives better resemble actual sea sponges, being round in shape and brownish. In "SB-129," a robotic descendant of SpongeBob named SpongeTron is seen, as well as a primitive ancestor. "Ugh" features a caveman version of SpongeBob known as SpongeGar. SpongeGar is distinctly different from the primitive sponge seen in "SB-129," being more evolved and closer to his modern counterpart. "Pest of the West" features SpongeBuck SquarePants, an ancestor who saved Dead Eye Gulch in what is now Bikini Bottom from Dead Eye Plankton in 1882. Occupation For the majority of the series, SpongeBob takes the job of fry cook in the Krusty Krab. Acting like a workaholic, he treats his career seriously and with dignity. Primarily, he works as the janitor and fry cook, but occasionally takes the role of the cashier and manager.[32] SpongeBob also has been shown to take other jobs, such as the mayor of New Kelp City after saving the citizens from The Bubble Poppin' Boys in the episode "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" He creates the Pretty Patties and opens his store for them in "Patty Hype," which ends up being highly successful. Later, the painted food poisons the many consumers who once admired the creation. He also works at Fancy! during the worker switch in "Le Big Switch." Reception Throughout the run of SpongeBob SquarePants, the title character has become very popular with both children and adults and is viewed as Nickelodeon's unofficial mascot. The character's popularity has spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of six to eleven-year-olds, to teenagers and adults,[33] including college campuses and celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis.[34] Salon.com indicates that the unadulterated innocence of SpongeBob is what makes the character so appealing.[35] SpongeBob has also become popular with gay men, despite Stephen Hillenburg saying that none of the characters are homosexual.[36] The character draws fans due to his flamboyant lifestyle and tolerant attitude.[37] The popularity of SpongeBob translated well into sales figures. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week, which was faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time.[11] SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Parent company Viacom purposefully targeted marketing at women in the country as a method of building the SpongeBob SquarePants brand. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan as the character's design is very different from already popular designs. However, not all reception for SpongeBob has been positive. AskMen's Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters ranked SpongeBob at number four. The publication said that his well-meaning attitude is "extremely annoying."[38] The character has also been involved in several controversies, including some about his sexual orientation. Multiverse An alternate SpongeBob exists in a world where Plankton was successful. Like his mainstream counterpart, he likes his career, likes promotions, and gets sad when he makes an error in somebody's order. The most significant difference is that he is made co-cashier by Plankton and is employed by him. An alternate SpongeBob is mentioned in the "What if SpongeBob Was Gone?" shorts. Without SpongeBob, Gary throws a humongous party that ends in disaster, Patrick cannot hunt jellyfish properly, Sandy gets injured when playing karate, and the Krusty Krab ends up in ruins. All would say except Gary, that everything is better with SpongeBob. Appearances in other media Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants in popular culture See also: SpongeBob SquarePants (character)/gallery#In other media Trivia SpongeBob with his jellyfishing glasses.     On some occasions, SpongeBob wears glasses, such as for protection against jellyfishing or reading. These are similar to the glasses worn by his voice actor, Tom Kenny.     In season 1 and season 2, his eyes are larger compared to later seasons, and his pupils are smaller.     SpongeBob sometimes appears with eyebrows that block his eyelashes. However, they do not appear in every episode.     If not counting the French Narrator, SpongeBob was the first character to speak in the series.     "Reef Blower," "Whale Watching," "Lockdown for Love," and "A Skin Wrinkle in Time" are the only episodes without a verbal line by SpongeBob. He silently mouths a "You!" subtitle in the first, laughs in the second, and is heard briefly panting in a crowd in the third. "A Skin Wrinkle in Time" is currently the only episode where he makes no noise at all.     SpongeBob plays his smallest roles in the episodes "Shell Games," "Lockdown for Love," and "Slappy Daze," making short cameo appearances in each of them.     The URL "spongebob.com" redirects to "Nick.com."     In "Help Wanted," it is revealed that SpongeBob's first words were "May I take your order?"         However, his first words as a fetus as shown in a flashback in "Truth or Square" are revealed to be "Krabby Patty!"     During the talk screens in the DS version of Creature from the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob has green eyes instead of blue.     A cut origin story was originally planned for SpongeBob. It was meant to explain his square shape as SpongeBob began life as a natural yellow sponge that cyclops harvested and cut into squares in a factory on land.[39]     In "Suds," SpongeBob suffers from the flu. Coincidentally, Tom Kenny was very sick the day he came to record his lines for this episode.[40]     On the cover of the SpongeBob's Box of Books box set, SpongeBob's mouth is dark purple when it is normally maroon.     SpongeBob's teeth were based on Stephen Hillenburg's teeth when he was a kid.[41]     SpongeBob hates Barnacle Chips, as revealed in "Chocolate with Nuts."     SpongeBob has appeared on a few pictures on iCarly.com.     SpongeBob is a mascot of Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Movies.     In "Squid on Strike," SpongeBob is given a ten-dollar paycheck on Monday. It is a raise from starting out being paid as nothing then receiving underwear.     In "I Was a Teenage Gary," SpongeBob is left-handed, but in later episodes, he is ambidextrous, revealed in "The Splinter" and "You Don't Know Sponge."         SpongeBob is said to be right-handed, but in "Neptune's Spatula," he approves that he has two left hands.     SpongeBob is considered the most popular and iconic character on Nickelodeon.     SpongeBob is sensitive to yelling, which is revealed in the episodes "The Lost Mattress," "A Day Without Tears," and "Larry the Floor Manager."     Beginning in "My Pretty Seahorse" and heavily used in post-season 5 episodes, SpongeBob's nose usually droops down when he is sad, much like Squidward's nose is normally.     SpongeBob's head has gotten bigger in each season and his waist has gotten wider. In some early season 2 episodes, such as "Big Pink Loser," he has a narrow waist.     SpongeBob's pupil and cornea have gotten larger and more elliptical in each season. Before that, they were just pure circles.     SpongeBob's prototype name, "SpongeBoy," is referenced by Mr. Krabs in the episode "Squeaky Boots," with the quote "SpongeBoy, me Bob!"     Even though Mr. Krabs is the creator of the Krabby Patty, in "Are You Happy Now?," the narrator says that SpongeBob is the creator, referencing how he is the fry cook.     When he goes to Goo Lagoon, he often wears swim trunks; in earlier episodes, they are blue, but they change to red in later episodes. They were also seen orange once. This is first seen as a cameo in "Clams," but is very noticeable in newer seasons.     It is revealed in "Love That Squid" that SpongeBob is allergic to tulips.     It is revealed in "You Don't Know Sponge" that SpongeBob's favorite ice cream flavor is plain vanilla, he has an outie belly button, and his favorite color is beige.     SpongeBob has about 40 holes.[42]         Twelve front holes (five normally covered by his clothing)         Nine back holes         Five holes on his left         Five holes on his right         Five holes on top         His birthmark and 3 moles.         Four holes on the bottom         In "Help Wanted," he is shown with fewer holes.     In "Truth or Square," SpongeBob is revealed to have three moles and a birthmark on his back.     In "Krabby Patty Creature Feature," he is the only citizen of Bikini Bottom not affected by the zombie outbreak. He manages to save all the citizens using chum.     SpongeBob's horoscope is Cancer.     SpongeBob is sometimes shown naked but in some episodes he leaves his shoes and socks on, such as "Ripped Pants," "Nature Pants," "Hooky," "Pranks a Lot," "Rise and Shine," and "Model Sponge."     "Appointment TV" and "SpongeBob's Bad Habit" show that SpongeBob wears dentures.     The gap in between his teeth becomes a plot point of "Mind the Gap," where Squidward joins his two gapped teeth together via oral surgery, giving him a deeper voice and creating his alter-ego, Cool SpongeBob. SpongeBob with braces.     SpongeBob wore braces when he was younger.[43]     On certain occasions, SpongeBob has been referred to as Robert, as seen in episodes such as "SpongeBob LongPants" and "Patrick SmartPants."     In most episodes that flashback to SpongeBob as a kid and in Kamp Koral, his voice sounds similar to his modern adult one, if not done with a somewhat higher pitch. However, in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, he has a more realistic-sounding voice that sounds like a young boy.     In the earlier seasons, SpongeBob rarely had his modern cheek which leaves a gap on the left or right, but in the modern seasons, SpongeBob now rarely has his original cheek where the outline would leave a gap on the bottom.     According to Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob is "almost asexual," meaning he has no sexual desire, though he can fall in love.         This is supported in "Pressure," where SpongeBob shows that he can reproduce by budding, much like a real sea sponge.     In early episodes, such as "Help Wanted," "F.U.N.," and "Christmas Who?," he did a dance where his arms and legs were curly. He doesn't seem to do the dance anymore.     On occasion, to express shock, SpongeBob's pupil would shrink, and his eyes would turn into circles, with his irises briefly disappearing. Sometimes, this is reversed, as his pupils would disappear and his irises become shrunken. SpongeBob's cameo in Bubble Guppies.     He made a cameo as a costume in the Bubble Guppies episode "Trick-or-Treat Mr. Grumpfish."     SpongeBob has been put in a jar on at least three occasions:         In "Nature Pants," Patrick unsuccessfully attempts to put him in a jar.         In "Jellyfish Hunter," No Name puts him in a jar.         In "Picture Day," he puts himself in a jar.     In 2009, SpongeBob made an appearance in Peter Kay's Official BBC Children in Need Medley. He appeared in "Gullible Pants" footage on Big Chris' phone.     He is one of the three male characters in The Patrick Star Show to have hair, not counting facial hair, following Cecil and Slappy Laszlo.     The only two episodes he doesn't appear in are "The Algae's Always Greener" and "Welcome to Binary Bottom," where Alternate-Universe SpongeBob and SpongeBot take his place respectively. While the former counterpart is his exact likeness, the latter uses a completely different character design.     When SpongeBob dries, a black ring appears around his eyes, like in "Tea at the Treedome," but this also can happen because of his body's response, like in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run." (spongebob.fandom.com) "An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either a finite number of episodes like a miniseries, a definite end, or be open-ended, without a predetermined number of episodes. They can be broadcast on television, shown in movie theatres, released direct-to-video or on the internet. Like other television series, films, including animated films, animated series can be of a wide variety of genres and can also have different demographic target audiences, from males to females ranging children to adults. Television See also: Lists of animated television series Animated television series are regularly presented and can appear as much as up to once a week or daily during a prescribed time slot. The time slot may vary including morning, like saturday-morning cartoons, prime time, like prime time cartoons, to late night, like late night anime. They may also be broadcast on weekdays (weekday cartoons) or only on weekends. The duration of each episode varies depending on the series. Traditionally, series are produced as complete half-hour or nearly half-hour programs; however, many are produced as animated shorts of 10–11 minutes, which can also be paired with other shorts to fill a set time period. If pairing between two or more shorts is done, then said shorts may be called "segments". If on television 15-20 minutes based on commercial time. A full half hour would cut into advertisement time frames. Note that Netflix and other streaming companies that don't show commercials may require a full 30 minute cartoon the length depends on the company that airs the cartoon. There are also some short series with a length of approximately five minutes; these have recently become more common in Japanese animation. They are sometimes grouped together according to network programming demands. Thus a particular series may appear in a number of formats or time blocks. Animated television series had historically been used for comedy, like the cartoons, a piece of art, usually developed for humorous intent, and so, called cartoon series. However, more recently animated television series have fallen into other genres, such as action / adventure series like Speed Racer and G.I. Joe. The first animated television series was Crusader Rabbit. Animated sitcoms first appeared in the 1960s, with The Flintstones (1960–1966), followed by The Jetsons (1962–1987). From 1972 to 1974, Hanna-Barbera produced Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, an adult-oriented Animated sitcom in the style of All in the Family. Broadcast network The 1980s and 1990s was a renaissance of the animation children's television series and adult's television series. Various broadcast networks and media companies began creating television channels and formats designed specifically for airing cartoon and anime series. Companies that already had these types of formats in place began to revamp their existing models during this time. Most of the animations were American based or Japanese Anime. Examples of current networks are: Channels that include animated programs     Fox     TV Tokyo (Japan)     Kids Station (Japan)     Tokyo MX (Japan)     Discovery Family     Nickelodeon     Nick Jr.     TeenNick     MTV     Comedy Central     Disney Channel     Disney XD     Disney Junior     Treehouse TV (Canada)     Universal Kids     CITV (UK)     CBeebies (UK)     CBBC (UK)     PBS Kids     Pop (UK)     Tiny Pop (UK)     ABC Kids (Australia) Animation-focused channels - Despite some of them aired live-action programs occasionally.     AT-X (Japan)     Tooniverse (South Korea)     Aniplus (South Korea)     AniBox (South Korea)     Anione (South Korea)     Cartoon Network         Cartoonito         Adult Swim     Boomerang     Teletoon (Canada)     YTV (Canada)     Nicktoons During the 1990s, more mature content than those of traditional cartoon series began to appear more widely, extending beyond a primary audience of children. These cartoon series included The Simpsons, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, Duckman, South Park and Family Guy. Canadian computer-animated series ReBoot, which began as a child-friendly show, shifted its target age group to ages 12 and up, resulting in a darker and more mature storyline.[1] Classification     Completely original         TV Animation: Mobile Suit Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tenchi Muyo!, ...         web animation Theatrical See also: List of animated short series Animated series shown in movie theatres include the Tom and Jerry animated cartoon short films that appeared in movie theaters from 1940 to 1967. Video See also: List of animated direct-to-video series Direct-to-video animated series include most Japanese original video animations (OVAs). The first OVA series (and also the first overall OVA) was Dallos (1983). Almost all hentai (pornographic) anime series are released as OVAs. Web series Animated web series are animated series designed and produced for streaming services and called "web series". Examples include Happy Tree Friends from 1999 and Eddsworld in 2004. They can also be released on YouTube, such as Asdfmovie, which debuted in 2008." (wikipedia.org) "Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags, electronic device cases, and shoes. It is popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame. Modern canvas is usually made of cotton or linen, or sometimes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), although historically it was made from hemp. It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as denim, in being plain weave rather than twill weave. Canvas comes in two basic types: plain and duck. The threads in duck canvas are more tightly woven. The term duck comes from the Dutch word for cloth, doek. In the United States, canvas is classified in two ways: by weight (ounces per square yard) and by a graded number system. The numbers run in reverse of the weight so a number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4. The word "canvas" is derived from the 13th century Anglo-French canevaz and the Old French canevas. Both may be derivatives of the Vulgar Latin cannapaceus for "made of hemp", originating from the Greek κάνναβις. For painting See also: Support (art) Canvas on stretcher bar Canvas has become the most common support medium for oil painting, replacing wooden panels. It was used from the 14th century in Italy, but only rarely. One of the earliest surviving oils on canvas is a French Madonna with angels from around 1410 in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Its use in Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello in about 1470,[4] and Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus in the 1480s was still unusual for the period. Large paintings for country houses were apparently more likely to be on canvas, and are perhaps less likely to have survived. It was a good deal cheaper than a panel painting, and may sometime indicate a painting regarded as less important. In the Uccello, the armour does not use silver leaf, as other of his paintings do (and the colour therefore remains undegraded).[5] Another common category of paintings on lighter cloth such as linen was in distemper or glue, often used for banners to be carried in procession. This is a less durable medium, and surviving examples such as Dirk Bouts' Entombment, in distemper on linen (1450s, National Gallery) are rare, and often rather faded in appearance. Panel painting remained more common until the 16th century in Italy and the 17th century in Northern Europe. Mantegna and Venetian artists were among those leading the change; Venetian sail canvas was readily available and regarded as the best quality. Canvas stretched on wooden frame Canvas is usually stretched across a wooden frame called a stretcher and may be coated with gesso prior to being used to prevent oil paint from coming into direct contact with the canvas fibres which would eventually cause the canvas to decay. A traditional and flexible chalk gesso is composed of lead carbonate and linseed oil, applied over a rabbit skin glue ground; a variation using titanium white pigment and calcium carbonate is rather brittle and susceptible to cracking. As lead-based paint is poisonous, care has to be taken in using it. Various alternative and more flexible canvas primers are commercially available, the most popular being a synthetic latex paint composed of titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate, bound with a thermo-plastic emulsion. Many artists have painted onto unprimed canvas, such as Jackson Pollock,[6] Kenneth Noland, Francis Bacon, Helen Frankenthaler, Dan Christensen, Larry Zox, Ronnie Landfield, Color Field painters, Lyrical Abstractionists and others. Staining acrylic paint into the fabric of cotton duck canvas was more benign and less damaging to the fabric of the canvas than the use of oil paint. In 1970 artist Helen Frankenthaler commented about her use of staining:     When I first started doing the stain paintings, I left large areas of canvas unpainted, I think, because the canvas itself acted as forcefully and as positively as paint or line or color. In other words, the very ground was part of the medium, so that instead of thinking of it as background or negative space or an empty spot, that area did not need paint because it had paint next to it. The thing was to decide where to leave it and where to fill it and where to say this doesn't need another line or another pail of colors. It's saying it in space.[7] Bleaching-fields covered with sheets of new-made textiles, probably linen, very possibly canvas, 1670s near Haarlem in the Netherlands Early canvas was made of linen, a sturdy brownish fabric of considerable strength. Linen is particularly suitable for the use of oil paint. In the early 20th century, cotton canvas, often referred to as "cotton duck", came into use. Linen is composed of higher quality material, and remains popular with many professional artists, especially those who work with oil paint. Cotton duck, which stretches more fully and has an even, mechanical weave, offers a more economical alternative. The advent of acrylic paint has greatly increased the popularity and use of cotton duck canvas. Linen and cotton derive from two entirely different plants, the flax plant and the cotton plant, respectively. Gessoed canvases on stretchers are also available. They are available in a variety of weights: light-weight is about 4 oz/sq yd (140 g/m2) or 5 oz/sq yd (170 g/m2); medium-weight is about 7 oz/sq yd (240 g/m2) or 8 oz/sq yd (270 g/m2); heavy-weight is about 10 oz/sq yd (340 g/m2) or 12 oz/sq yd (410 g/m2). They are prepared with two or three coats of gesso and are ready for use straight away. Artists desiring greater control of their painting surface may add a coat or two of their preferred gesso. Professional artists who wish to work on canvas may prepare their own canvas in the traditional manner. One of the most outstanding differences between modern painting techniques and those of the Flemish and Dutch Masters is in the preparation of the canvas. "Modern" techniques take advantage of both the canvas texture as well as those of the paint itself. Renaissance masters took extreme measures to ensure that none of the texture of the canvas came through. This required a painstaking, months-long process of layering the raw canvas with (usually) lead-white paint, then polishing the surface, and then repeating.[8] The final product had little resemblance to fabric, but instead had a glossy, enamel-like finish. With a properly prepared canvas, the painter will find that each subsequent layer of color glides on in a "buttery" manner, and that with the proper consistency of application (fat over lean technique), a painting entirely devoid of brushstrokes can be achieved. A warm iron is applied over a piece of wet cotton to flatten the wrinkles. Canvas can also be printed on using offset or specialist digital printers to create canvas prints. This process of digital inkjet printing is popularly referred to as Giclée. After printing, the canvas can be wrapped around a stretcher and displayed. For embroidery Canvas is a popular base fabric for embroidery such as cross-stitch and Berlin wool work.[9] Some specific types of embroidery canvases are Aida cloth (also called Java canvas[10]), Penelope canvas, Chess canvas, and Binca canvas.[11][12][13] Plastic canvas is a stiffer form of Binca canvas.[14] As a compound agent Canada Post canvas bags Stretching canvas on a canoe From the 13th century onward, canvas was used as a covering layer on pavise shields. The canvas was applied to the wooden surface of the pavise, covered with multiple layers of gesso and often richly painted in tempera technique. Finally, the surface was sealed with a transparent varnish. While the gessoed canvas was a perfect painting surface, the primary purpose of the canvas application may have been the strengthening of the wooden shield corpus in a manner similar to modern glass-reinforced plastic. Splined canvas, stretched canvas and canvas boards Splined canvases differ from traditional side-stapled canvas in that canvas is attached with a spline at the rear of the frame. This allows the artist to incorporate painted edges into the artwork itself without staples at the sides, and the artwork can be displayed without a frame. Splined canvas can be restretched by adjusting the spline. Stapled canvases stay stretched tighter over a longer period of time, but are more difficult to re-stretch when the need arises. Canvas boards are made of canvas stretched over and glued to a cardboard backing, and sealed on the backside. The canvas is typically linen primed for a certain type of paint. They are primarily used by artists for quick studies. Types     Dyed canvas     Fire-proof canvas     Printed canvas     Stripe canvas     Water-resistant canvas     Waterproof canvas     Waxed canvas     Rolled canvas Products     Wood-and-canvas canoes (see photo of canvas being stretched on a canoe)     Bags, including coated canvas (e.g. Goyard)     Covers and tarpaulins     Shoes (e.g. Converse, Vans, Keds)     Tents     Martial arts uniforms (e.g. Tokaido, Shureido, Judogi)     Canvas Prints     Wrestling canvas, used in WWE and other Sports Entertainment promotions" (wikipedia.org) "A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to "draw" (gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the drawstring in place (and simultaneously close an opening). Alternatively, it may be kept drawn using a cordlock. Typically, the drawstring is loose when not being used and tightened when needed during use. A drawstring may be threaded through a hem or casing (a continuous tube of material) or laced through holes, which may be lined with eyelets.[1] A shoelace is a drawstring. It may also be laced through loops attached to the material, in the same way that belt loops are. A belt is a usually flat drawstring. ... Similarity in nature In biology, a type of protein in the Rho family of GTPases heals wounds by contraction, much like a draw-string being pulled to close a bag.[4] Ojime (緒締め), a marking on a kohaku (an ornamental koi/carp fish), is named after the Japanese word for the drawstring of a pouch or purse." (wikipedia.org) "SpongeBob SquarePants Theory: Those Aren't Flower Clouds Above Bikini Bottom By Nicholas Brooks Published Aug 14, 2021 SpongeBob SquarePants' flower clouds add lovely color to the Nickelodeon series. However, one theorist believes these flowers aren't clouds at all. Spongebob Squarepants sky boat propellor SpongeBob SquarePants is a classic cartoon that's been airing for over two decades while putting a fun twist on undersea life. The Nickelodeon cartoon is stylized to evoke the feeling of summer vacation on an island getaway, complete with a house that looks like an Easter Island head. The series also satirizes some common ocean activities, including fishing, where SpongeBob and Patrick risk their lives swinging on fish hooks. However, one theory suggests that the flower clouds in the "sky" are another clever nod to the surface world. The Reddit theory suggests that the flower clouds are not clouds at all but boat propellers. At first, the idea seems outlandish and a bit of a stretch, but upon closer inspection actually makes a lot of sense. For starters, each flower cloud has leaves that vary in number from three to five. Most boat propellers also have the same amount of fins. Even though the clouds don't look like propellers in the cartoon, science may have an answer for that. RELATED: REPORT: Netflix's Live-Action Avatar Casts Aang, Katara, Sokka And Zuko Sandy the Squirrel from SpongeBob SquarePants. The flower clouds are distorted and reflect different colors, but this could easily be explained by the light refracting the propellers and bending the shapes as a result. Its colors could also be explained as algae or the prism of light being reflected thanks to the sun. The spacing between the flowers and size also justify them being propellers because they are often spread out and incredibly huge compared to the much smaller characters in the show. Further adding evidence to this theory are a handful of episodes that showcase how the propellers are more than just flowers. A couple of episodes feature the flower clouds as solid objects that could even be dangerous if mishandled. One example is in the episode "Karen's Virus," where Plankton's computer wife develops a virus that changes her personality. During a violent outburst, Karen throws a boat mobile at one of the flowers, causing it to fall out of the sky. The film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water also shows flower clouds falling from the sky in greater numbers. While accidents with boat propeller malfunctions aren't common, they aren't impossible. Theoretically, it's logical that the characters interacting with the flower cloud propellers could cause them to fall off the boat and onto the ocean floor. RELATED: Why Pixar's Luca Remains A Streaming Juggernaut Spongebob & Squidward delivering the Krusty Krab Pizza in SpongeBob SquarePants Possibly the best example of the theory is in the episode "SB-129," when Squidward travels through time. When trying to escape the future, he is sent too far back and ends up in the prehistoric era. Walking out, the background is a greenish-brown without a single flower cloud in sight. According to the theory, this is because boats and propellers didn't exist in this timeframe. For now, the truth behind the flower clouds has not been confirmed. While SpongeBob SquarePants' characters also acknowledge them as flowers, it's hard to deny the subtle evidence suggesting that there's more to them than meets the eye. Considering that boats and humans have interacted with the SpongeBob universe on more than one occasion, it's entirely possible that the lovely flowers in the sky are just distorted boat propellers attached to ships. This would also justify why there were so many fish hooks for SpongeBob and Patrick to swing from. For the most part, the flower clouds are unimportant to the many stories within the series. But on the rare occasions that they play a role in the narrative, it becomes harder to discredit that they may be attached to something much larger." (cbr.com) "Vans and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants are back yet again with a special delivery of prints and patterns that are available exclusively on Vans’ Customs platform. Vans Customs have been a tradition since 1966, allowing customers to enable their creativity and put their own spin on Vans Classic footwear. This June, Vans’ favorite cast of Bikini Bottom characters are set to release four exclusive custom swatches and two sidewall prints giving fans an endless amount of creativity to design their own Vans x SpongeBob footwear. Joining the expansive lineup of Vans x SpongeBob product, Vans customs is set to launch four exclusive swatches including SpongeBob SquarePants and his many expressions encapsulated in bubbles inspired by Vans iconic checkerboard print. You can also catch SpongeBob in a print inspired by his many adventures throughout Jellyfish Fields. Patrick Star receives his own print that is collaged with some of his most memorable reactions, and if you want to sport the entire Bikini Bottom cast, the fourth print is an all-over execution with all of the series most beloved characters. Fans can choose from any of the four swatches and customize them with various prints and materials atop any of Vans Classic footwear styles. The Customization doesn’t stop there! To complete your Vans custom design is an exclusive sidewall print featuring a SpongeBob checkerboard tape to dress up the sidewall of your sneakers. Each pair of Vans x SpongeBob Customs will be complete with a yellow sock liner graphic. Customize your own Vans x SpongeBob footwear beginning June 4 on Vans.com/spongebob." (kicksonfire.com) " You Can Soon Customize Your Own 'SpongeBob SquarePants' x Vans Sneaker On the brand’s classic silhouettes, including the Authentic Checker and Old Skool. Earlier this month, Vans revealed its upcoming collaboration with designer Sandy Liang and SpongeBob SquarePants. Expanding its partnership with the iconic Nickelodeon cartoon show, the footwear brand is set to drop custom classic sneakers featuring SpongeBob and his friends. Graphics arrive in the form of SpongeBob encapsulated in Bikini Bottom bubbles, a design inspired by SpongeBob’s Jellyfish Fields adventures, a Patrick Star-themed repeating pattern, and an all-over print starring the entire cast. As for the customizable element of this release, customers can choose from the four prints and place their design of choice onto any Vans classic footwear, including the Authentic Checker and Old Skool. All custom silhouettes will be rounded off with a yellow sock liner. You will also have the option to add an exclusive sidewall print featuring a SpongeBob checkerboard tape. Take a closer look at the offerings above. SpongeBob SquarePants x Vans’ Customs collection will be available on June 4 online. " (hypebae.com) "SpongeBob SquarePants is the protagonist of the American animated television series of the same name. Voiced by Tom Kenny, he is characterized by his optimism and childlike attitude. SpongeBob is commonly seen hanging out with his friend Patrick Star, working at the Krusty Krab, and attending Mrs. Puff's Boating School. SpongeBob was created and designed by Stephen Hillenburg, an artist and marine science educator. The character's name is derived from "Bob the Sponge", the host of Hillenburg's unpublished educational book The Intertidal Zone. He drew the book while teaching marine biology to visitors of the Ocean Institute during the 1980s. Hillenburg began developing a show based on the premise shortly after the 1996 cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life, which Hillenburg directed. SpongeBob's first appearance was in the pilot, "Help Wanted", which premiered on May 1, 1999. SpongeBob SquarePants has become popular among children and adults. The character has garnered a positive response from media critics and is frequently named as one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time. He has, however, been involved in a controversy with some conservative social groups for allegedly promoting homosexuality, although Hillenburg has described the character as biologically asexual (as real-life sea sponges are)..... Role in SpongeBob SquarePants SpongeBob is a good-natured, naive, and enthusiastic sea sponge. In The SpongeBob Musical, his exact species of animal is identified: Aplysina fistularis, a yellow tube sponge that is common in open waters.[3] He resides in the undersea city of Bikini Bottom with other anthropomorphic aquatic creatures. He works as a fry cook at a local fast food restaurant, the Krusty Krab, to which he is obsessively attached, showing devotion to it above other restaurants.[4] His boss is Eugene Krabs, a greedy crab who nonetheless treats SpongeBob like a son.[5] Squidward Tentacles, an octopus,[6] and SpongeBob's ill-tempered, snobbish neighbor, works as the restaurant's cashier. SpongeBob's hobbies include fishing for jellyfish, practicing karate with his friend Sandy Cheeks (a squirrel from Texas),[7] and blowing bubbles.[8] SpongeBob is often seen hanging around with his best friend, starfish Patrick Star, one of his neighbors. SpongeBob lives in a submerged pineapple with his pet snail, Gary. His unlimited optimistic cheer often leads him to perceive the outcome of numerous endeavors and the personalities of those around him as happier than they really are. He believes, for instance, that Squidward Tentacles enjoys his company even though he clearly harbors an intense dislike for him (though they have been shown to get along on rare occasions).[9] SpongeBob's greatest goal in life is to obtain his driver's license from Mrs. Puff's boating school, but he often panics and crashes when driving a boat.[10] Character Conception Stephen Hillenburg stands holding a book looking off to his right. Stephen Hillenburg, creator of SpongeBob SquarePants Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean as a child. He began developing his artistic abilities at a young age. During college, he studied marine biology and minored in art. He planned to return to graduate school and eventually to pursue a master's degree in art. After graduating in 1984 from Humboldt State University, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.[11] While he was there, he had the initial idea that would lead to the creation of SpongeBob SquarePants—a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone. The host of the comic was "Bob the Sponge" who, unlike SpongeBob, resembled an actual sea sponge.[12] In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue an animation career.[12][13] A few years after studying experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts,[13] Hillenburg met Joe Murray, the creator of Rocko's Modern Life, at an animation festival, and was offered a job as a director of the series.[12][14][15][16] While working on the series, Hillenburg met writer Martin Olson, who saw his previous comic The Intertidal Zone.[17] Olson liked the idea and suggested Hillenburg create a series of marine animals, which spurred his decision to create SpongeBob SquarePants. Hillenburg did not think of making a series based on The Intertidal Zone at the time, later telling Thomas F. Wilson in an interview, "a show ... I hadn't even thought about making a show ... and it wasn't my show". Hillenburg later claimed it was "the inspiration for the show".[18] An illustration of a somewhat roundish Bob the Sponge with no arms or legs wearing sunglasses Bob the Sponge, the host of The Intertidal Zone Rocko's Modern Life ended in 1996.[19] Shortly afterwards, Hillenburg began working on SpongeBob SquarePants. He began drawing and took some of the show's characters from his comic—like starfish, crab, and sponge.[18] At the time, Hillenburg knew that "everybody was doing buddy shows"—like The Ren & Stimpy Show. He stated, "I can't do a buddy show," so he decided to do a "one character" show instead.[18] He conceived a sponge as the title character because he liked its "versatility ... as an animal."[20] Hillenburg derived the character's name from Bob the Sponge, the host of his comic strip The Intertidal Zone, after changing it from SpongeBoy because of trademark issues.[12][21] Creation and design A black and white drawing of Spongeboy with arms and feet wearing a hat. It wears a goofy grin in with a light grey shirt and darker grey pants. An early drawing of the character by Hillenburg with the original name Hillenburg had made several "horrible impersonations" before he finally conceived of his character.[22] He compared the concept to Laurel and Hardy and Pee-wee Herman[12] saying, "I think SpongeBob [was] born out of my love of Laurel and Hardy shorts. You've got that kind of idiot-buddy situation – that was a huge influence. SpongeBob was inspired by that kind of character: the Innocent – à la Stan Laurel."[22] The first concept sketch portrayed the character wearing a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie. SpongeBob's look gradually changed. He also wore brown pants used in the final design.[21] SpongeBob was designed to be a childlike character who was goofy and optimistic in a style similar to that made famous by Jerry Lewis.[23] Originally, the character was to be named SpongeBoy (and the series named SpongeBoy Ahoy!),[24] but this name was already in use for another product. This was discovered after voice acting for the original seven-minute pilot was recorded.[25] Upon learning this, Hillenburg knew that the character's name still had to contain "Sponge" so viewers would not mistake him for a "Cheese Man". In 1997, he decided to use the name "SpongeBob" with "SquarePants" as a family name, with the latter referring to the character's square shape and having a "nice ring to it".[15] Before commissioning SpongeBob as a full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless the main character was a child who went to school.[26] Stephen Hillenburg recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school."[18] Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character. He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, who is SpongeBob's boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love."[18] Episodes from 2000 and 2001 have given SpongeBob's birthdate as July 14, 1986,[1] although his age is left unclear throughout the series.[27] SpongeBob has demonstrated an ability to shapeshift, for example into the shape of Texas[28] or his friends.[29] Voice Tom Kenny, a tall White man with brown, curly hair and glasses, seats at a microphone looking off to his left Tom Kenny provides the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants SpongeBob is voiced by veteran voice actor Tom Kenny who had worked previously with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life. When Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants, he approached Kenny to voice the character.[30] Hillenburg used Kenny's and other people's personalities while creating SpongeBob's.[25] Kenny said in an episode of WTF with Marc Maron that the voice was based on an angry dwarf actor he encountered while auditioning for a television commercial.[31] Kenny had originally used SpongeBob's voice for a minor background character in Rocko's Modern Life. At first, Kenny forgot the voice because he had used it only on that occasion. Hillenburg remembered it when he was coming up with SpongeBob, however, and played a video clip of the Rocko episode to remind Kenny of the voice.[25] When Hillenburg heard Kenny do the voice, he said, "That's it—I don't want to hear anybody else do the voice. We've got SpongeBob."[32] Kenny recalled that Nickelodeon was unsure of his casting and said, "Well, let's just listen to 100 more people."[32] The network hoped to find a celebrity for the part. Kenny noted: "But one of the advantages of having a strong creator is that the creator can say, 'No, I like that—I don't care about celebrities'." Kenny recalls Hillenburg "let them know that in no uncertain terms."[32] SpongeBob's high-pitched laugh was specifically designed to be unique according to Kenny. They wanted an annoying laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker.[33] Throughout the series, SpongeBob's voice evolved from "low-key" to high-pitched. Kenny said, "I hear the change... It's mostly a question of the pitch."[32] He said that, "It's unconscious on my part" because "I don't wake up and think, 'Hmm, I'm going to change SpongeBob's voice today, just for the hell of it'." He described it as "like erosion: a very slow process. As time goes on, you need to bring him to different places and more places, the more stories and scripts you do."[32] Contrasting first-season episodes to those of the seventh season, Kenny said that "there's a bit of a change [in the voice], but I don't think it's that extreme at all."[32] When SpongeBob SquarePants was prepared for broadcast in languages other than English, the voice actors dubbing SpongeBob's voice used Tom Kenny's rendition of the character as a starting point but added unique elements. For example, in the French version of the series, SpongeBob speaks with a slight Daffy Duck-style lisp.[25] Reception Critical reception Throughout SpongeBob SquarePants' first run, the SpongeBob character became popular with both children and adults. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named him one of the "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years".[34] TV Guide listed SpongeBob SquarePants at number nine on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.[35] James Poniewozik of Time magazine considered the character "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match–conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him."[36] The New York Times critic Joyce Millman said, "His relentless good cheer would be irritating if he weren't so darned lovable and his world so excellently strange ... Like Pee-wee's Playhouse, SpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet."[37] Robert Thompson, a professor of communications and director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told The New York Times:     There is something kind of unique about [SpongeBob]. It seems to be a refreshing breath from the pre-irony era. There's no sense of the elbow-in-rib, a tongue-in-cheek aesthetic that so permeates the rest of American culture–including kids' shows like the Rugrats. I think what's subversive about it is it's so incredibly naive–deliberately. Because there's nothing in it that's trying to be hip or cool or anything else, hipness can be grafted onto it.[38] In a 2007 interview with TV Guide, Barack Obama named SpongeBob his favorite TV character, saying SpongeBob SquarePants was "the show I watch with my daughters".[39][40] Criticism and controversy In 2005, a promotional video which showed SpongeBob along with other characters from children's shows singing together to promote diversity and tolerance,[41] was criticized by a Christian evangelical group in the United States because they felt the SpongeBob character was being used as an advocate for homosexuality, though the video contained "no reference to sex, sexual lifestyle or sexual identity."[42][2] James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the video's makers of promoting homosexuality because a gay rights group had sponsored the video.[2] The incident led to the question whether SpongeBob is a homosexual character. In 2002, when SpongeBob's popularity with gay men grew, Hillenburg denied the suggestion. He clarified that he considers the character to be "somewhat asexual."[43][44] SpongeBob has been shown in various episodes to regenerate his limbs and reproduce by "budding", much like real sponges do.[45] After Dobson's comments, Hillenburg repeated his assertion that sexual preference was never considered during the creation of the show.[46] Tom Kenny and other production members were shocked and surprised that such an issue had arisen.[25] Dobson later said that his comments were taken out of context and that his original complaints were not with SpongeBob or any of the characters in the video but with the organization that sponsored it, the We Are Family Foundation. Dobson noted that the foundation had posted pro-homosexual material on its website, but later removed it.[47] After the controversy, John H. Thomas, the United Church of Christ's general minister and president, said they would welcome SpongeBob into their ministry. He said, "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."[48] Jeffrey P. Dennis, author of the journal article "The Same Thing We Do Every Night: Signifying Same-Sex Desire in Television Cartoons", argued that SpongeBob and Sandy are not romantically in love while adding that he believed that SpongeBob and Patrick "are paired with arguably erotic intensity." Dennis noted the two are "not consistently coded as romantic partners," since they live in separate residences, and have distinct groups of friends but claimed that in the series, "the possibility of same-sex desire is never excluded."[49] Martin Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Dennis's comments regarding SpongeBob and Patrick as "interesting".[50] In April 2009, in a tie-in partnership with Burger King and Nickelodeon, Burger King released an advertisement featuring SpongeBob and Sir Mix-a-Lot singing "Baby Got Back".[51] Angry parents and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood protested the ad for being sexist and inappropriately sexual, especially considering SpongeBob's fan base includes pre-schoolers.[52] Susan Linn, the director of the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood said: "It's bad enough when companies use a beloved media character like SpongeBob to promote junk food to children, but it's utterly reprehensible when that character simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women."[53][54] In an official statement released by Burger King, the company claimed the campaign was aimed at parents.[55] After Nickelodeon shared a celebratory Pride Month tweet featuring SpongeBob SquarePants wearing a rainbow-colored tie in June 2020, users online believed it was the network's way of quietly announcing that the TV cartoon character was gay. The tweet read, “Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month Rainbow,” and along with SpongeBob, included photos of transgender actor Michael D. Cohen, who plays Schwoz Schwartz on Henry Danger, and Korra from the Avatar spin-off show Legend of Korra, who's in a same-sex relationship in the series, are presented in a rainbow color collage, appearing as if they are all part of the same LGBTQ community. This tweet received large amounts of backlash from upset parents.[56] Cultural impact and legacy SpongeBob SquarePants wax statue with its left arm raised and a big smile on its face SpongeBob SquarePants wax statue in the National Wax Museum Plus, in Dublin, Ireland Throughout SpongeBob SquarePants' run, the SpongeBob character became very popular with viewers of all ages. His popularity spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of two- to eleven-year-olds, to teenagers and adults,[57] was popular on college campuses and with celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis.[58] Salon.com's Stephanie Zacharek feels that the unadulterated innocence of SpongeBob is what makes him so appealing.[59] SpongeBob also became popular with gay men, despite Stephen Hillenburg asserting that none of the series' characters are homosexual, attracting fans with his flamboyant lifestyle and tolerant attitude.[60] Spongiforma squarepantsii In July 2009, the Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York unveiled a wax sculpture of SpongeBob,[61] the first fictional character to be featured there.[61] In May 2011, a new species of mushroom, Spongiforma squarepantsii, named after SpongeBob, was described in the journal Mycologia.[62] The authors note that the hymenium, when viewed using scanning electron microscopy, somewhat resembles a "seafloor covered with tube sponges, reminiscent of the fictitious home of SpongeBob."[62] Although the epithet was originally rejected by Mycologia's editors as "too frivolous", the authors insisted that "we could name it whatever we liked."[63] Since 2004, SpongeBob has appeared as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The character also became a fashion trend. In 2008, American fashion designer Marc Jacobs donned a SpongeBob tattoo on his right arm. He explained that, "I just worked with Richard Prince on the collaboration and Richard has done a series of paintings of SpongeBob. He had brought up in our conversation how he saw the artistic value of SpongeBob as the cartoon and I kind of liked it, so I did it." He added that "It's funny."[64] In the same year, A Bathing Ape released SpongeBob-themed shoes.[65] Singer Pharrell Williams backed a line of SpongeBob T-shirts and shoes targeted at hip adults.[66] In 2014, the character was among the popular culture icons referenced by American fashion designer Jeremy Scott in his Moschino debut collection at the Milan Fashion Week.[67][68] In Egypt's Tahrir Square, after the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SpongeBob became a fashion phenomenon, appearing on various merchandise items from hijabs to boxer shorts.[69][70][71] The phenomenon led to the creation of the Tumblr project called "SpongeBob on the Nile", founded by American students Andrew Leber and Elisabeth Jaquette, that attempts to document every appearance of SpongeBob in Egypt.[72] Sherief Elkeshta cited the phenomenon in an essay about the incoherent state of politics in Egypt in an independent monthly paper titled Midan Masr. He wrote, "Why isn't he [SpongeBob] at least holding a Molotov cocktail? Or raising a fist?"[73] The phenomenon has even spread to Libya, where a Libyan rebel in SpongeBob dress was photographed celebrating the revolution.[74] Merchandising SpongeBob's translated well into related merchandise sales. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week, which was faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time.[23] SpongeBob was popular in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted its marketing at women there as a way to build the SpongeBob SquarePants brand. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan as the character's design is very different from the already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu.[75] The character inspired a soap-filled sponge product manufactured by SpongeTech.[76] In early 2009, the Simmons Jewelry Co. released a $75,000 diamond pendant as part of a SpongeBob collection.[66] On May 17, 2013, Build-A-Bear Workshop introduced a new SpongeBob SquarePants collection in stores and online in North America.[77][78] SpongeBob also inspired an automobile design. On July 13, 2013, Toyota, with Nickelodeon, unveiled plans for a SpongeBob-inspired Toyota Highlander.[79] The 2014 Toyota Highlander concept vehicle was launched as part of a SpongeBob Day promotion at that day's game between the Giants and Padres in San Diego,[80][81] and subsequently visited seven U.S. locations including the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Florida." (wikipedia.org)
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