SpongeBob SquarePants

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For other uses, see SpongeBob SquarePants (disambiguation).
SpongeBob SquarePants
File:SpongeBob SquarePants.gif
Clockwise from top left: Sandy Cheeks, SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, Mr. Krabs, Nickelodeon Fish, Squidward Tentacles, and Sheldon Plankton
Created byStephen Hillenburg
StarringTom Kenny
Bill Fagerbakke
Rodger Bumpass
Carolyn Lawrence
Clancy Brown
Lori Alan
Mary Jo Catlett
Doug Lawrence
Dee Bradley Baker
Sirena Irwin
Jill Talley
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes76½ (list of episodes)
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkNickelodeon
ReleaseMay 1, 1999 –
present

Template:Infobox TV ratings SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and media franchise. It is one of Nickelodeon's "Nicktoons". Although its original network is Nickelodeon, it is broadcast across the world (see International Following for more details). It was created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, and is produced through his production company, United Plankton Pictures Inc. Most episodes of the comedy, set in the Pacific Ocean, takes place in the city of Bikini Bottom and the surrounding lagoon floor. The pilot episode first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon after the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. The "official" series premiere followed on July 24, 1999 with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants".

Setting

The main character, SpongeBob SquarePants, is a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, while his octopus neighbor Squidward Tentacles lives in an Easter Island head. His other neighbor and best friend (on the other side of Squidward), is a pink starfish named Patrick Star, who lives under a rock. Squidward often gets annoyed when SpongeBob and Patrick bother him.

SpongeBob's house-pet is a snail named Gary, whose "meow" is similar to a housecat. Although Gary (maow) only speaks in a few episodes, the characters have shown an ability to understand him. In addition to this, underwater worms bark exactly like dogs, and are kept on chains. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees; buzzing, stinging, and producing delicious "jelly", mocking the name "jellyfish", while still referencing a bee's honey. The jellyfish are also collected and appreciated like butterflies, as shown in the episode Jellyfishing. Jellyfishes are ALWAYS let go after they are caught. Jellyfishing (using a net to catch jellyfish) is one of SpongeBob's favorite hobbies. Fish, as a rule, are not important characters, but are common in the community.[citation needed]

SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, a fast-food restaurant, as a fry cook with Squidward Tentacles who is a cashier. The Krusty Krab is owned by Mr. Eugene H. Krabs, commonly referred to as "Mr. Krabs". At the Krusty Krab, Spongebob makes Krabby Patties. [citation needed]

Sheldon J. Plankton (commonly referred to as "Plankton") is Mr. Krabs' arch rival who owns a low-rank fast-food restaurant called The Chum Bucket, and he spends most of his time plotting to steal the recipe for Krabs's popular Krabby Patty. [citation needed] Plankton's computer wife, Karen, alternately helps him in his schemes or bickers with him.

Sandy Cheeks is another friend of SpongeBob. She is a squirrel that lives in an underwater tree-dome in Bikini Bottom. Sandy has a Texas accent and is from the state itself. When not inside her tree-dome, she wears a diving suit with a globe helmet to protect her oxygen environment.

Perch Perkins is the news reporter of Bikini Bottom. He is 35 years old as of Once Bitten. He is fond of ice cream and news stories.

Popularity

SpongeBob is the only cartoon to consistently make the Top 10 list in the Nielsen ratings, and is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon, according to the network, to become extremely popular. Low-budget cartoons had not garnered as much esteem as higher-rated (and higher-budgeted) shows, such as Rugrats, although when SpongeBob aired in 1999, it had gained a significant enough viewers in the ratings to be considered popular, eventually becoming more popular than Rugrats had ever been. SpongeBob follows other Nickelodeon shows that have attracted "older" followers: The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, the Kablam! skits, Action League Now! and The Angry Beavers. Other shows have followed in this trend as well: Invader Zim and The Fairly OddParents won a similar fan base when they aired in 2001, and the latter is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity,[1] while the former attracted a cult following. At the time of writing, SpongeBob is the most popular cartoon on television, and it was considered to be the flagship cartoon for Generation Y.[citation needed] The show debuted in 1999, and during that time, Pokémon was still the biggest craze. SpongeBob did not gain its popularity until around 2000, and it has remained popular since then. SpongeBob SquarePants is the top TV series on Nickelodeon.


Merchandising and Marketing

File:Lego Spongebob 2006 sets.jpg
LEGO SpongeBob SquarePants

Merchandise based on the show ranges from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Kraft SuperMac & Cheese, Kellogg's cereal, and video games to boxer shorts, thongs, pajamas and t-shirts. A line of SpongeBob SquarePants was even produced. The show also spawned a large and popular merchandise line at Hot Topic, Claire's, RadioShack, Target, Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us stores. There have been kids meal tie-ins at Wendy's for SpongeBob's House Party Special in 2002 and at Burger King restaurants in 2001, 2003, and for the movie in 2004. In 2006, another kids meal tie-in for Burger King was introduced for the Lost in Time special. SpongeBob was also featured on VH1's I Love the 90s: Part Deux: 1999 as part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black. A tie-in beverage for 7-Eleven convenience stores has been created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee. Events in the past with the SpongeBob SquarePants theme include an exhibit at Underwater Adventures Aquarium in the Mall of America called SeaCrits of Bikini Bottom during the summer of 2003. In October 2004, a NASCAR Busch Series race was named The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300, presented by Lowe's and broadcast on TNT featuring Jimmie Johnson's #48 Lowe's stock car and Kyle Busch's #5 stock car painted for the race with the SpongeBob Movie paint schemes. There were contests tied in with the movie where fans could win SpongeBob-related items or a trip to the Cayman Islands. The motion simulator/interactive movie ride "Escape from Dino-Island 3D" at Six Flags Over Texas was turned into "SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D", with water squirts, real bubbles, and other sensory enhancements. LEGO received license to produce SpongeBob SquarePants building sets, beginning to sell them in May 2006. Other items featuring SpongeBob include a special edition Monopoly board game and Life board game as well as a SpongeBob SquarePants edition of Ants in the Pants and Yahtzee. SEGA Corporation introduced a ticket redemption game based on the show that has become popular with most video arcades.[2] The SpongeBob SquarePants market saturation has become something of a joke. In the comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon", Hawthorne the crab is showing off a small nuclear (Junior) reactor, and Herman the shark says "Boy, that SpongeBob will endorse anything!" There was even Spongebob Cine-Manga released by Viz-Media, along with The Fairly OddParents.

History

Development (1993–1999)

SpongeBob's history can be traced back to 1993 when Rocko's Modern Life first aired. One of the producers was Stephen Hillenburg, a cartoon worker/marine biologist who loved both his careers. When Rocko's Modern Life was cancelled in 1996, Hillenburg began working on SpongeBob (although sketches trace back to 1987). He teamed up with creative director Derek Drymon, who had worked on shows such as Doug, Action League Now!, and Hey Arnold!. Drymon had worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life as well, as did many SpongeBob crew members, including writer-directors Sherm Cohen and Dan Povenmire, writer Tim Hill, voice actors Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence (aka "Mr. Lawrence"), actor-writer Martin Olson and animation director Alan Smart. Another crew member with previous Nickelodeon cartoon experience was former Angry Beavers story editor Merriwether Williams, who worked on that show for its first few seasons and switched to SpongeBob in July 1999.

During production of the show, Bobson provided a concept of short comics with the same style of the show, but the characters looked different. SpongeBob used to be named SpongeBoy,[3] and used to wear a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie. The name "SpongeBoy" did not make it into the show since the name was already officially trademarked by Bob Burden, creator of Flaming Carrot. Hillenburg later chose the alternative name "SpongeBob". The original name was once referenced in the show by Mr. Krabs' line, "SpongeBoy, me Bob!." The Krusty Krab was originally spelled with the letter C rather than K, but Stephen Hillenburg thought Ks were funnier and it would fit his Ukrainian heritage.

Debut (1999–2000)

File:Reef Blower.jpg
SpongeBob blowing sand off Squidward (Reef Blower)

On May 1, 1999, SpongeBob aired its first episode, "Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome", after the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. At this time, Rugrats was at the height of its popularity and had already outlived dozens of other lower-budget cartoons. SpongeBob, with its generally lower-class animation and humor style more rooted in clever word-play and culture-references unlike the potty humor that made Rugrats so popular, was expected to be just another one of those shows. Following early struggles, its ratings soared, and a year after release, it surpassed Rugrats as Nickelodeon's highest rated show. SpongeBob's signature voice (provided by Tom Kenny) and humorous style was enjoyable to both younger and older audiences.

Peak years (2000–2003)

The show began airing its second season in 2001 with more high-quality animation and even more popular episodes.

The first part of 2002 saw SpongeBob at its peak. The beginning of the third season produced a lot of classic episodes and focused on the same style and animation concepts.

Unfortunately things changed late in the year. Due to rumors of a movie, there was high speculation that the show would be cancelled and that 2003/2004 would feature the last season of new episodes. Fans were devastated and online petitions were widely distributed to convince Nickelodeon to produce more episodes by showing continuing fan support. "SpongeBob Meets The Strangler/Pranks A Lot" was the last episode of this season, and aired in October 2004. It was also released on DVD at the end of 2003. Following this, the movie was released in November of that year.

File:Spongebob Squarepants Movie poster.jpg
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie poster.

Hiatus and movie era (2003–2005)

A hiatus from 2003 to 2005 challenged viewer loyalty, as only about 7 new episodes were shown while the previous two-year span, from 2003-2004, aired 20. This led to the program's lowest ratings ever, causing speculation that the show might even be cancelled after the feature's release.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie achieved over $85,000,000 in revenue in the United States, considered to be under-expectations: People assumed that the show's popularity showed something of a decline at the time of its release. The Rugrats Movie, on the other hand, earned $100,494,685 in the United States. It was around this time that the animated series which it is based on, Rugrats, was at the height of its popularity. Interestingly, that movie would also be considered Rugrats' jump the shark moment by fans,[citation needed] while the SpongeBob movie was actually generally well received by fans who saw it.[citation needed]

It was announced late in 2004 that SpongeBob would be continuing with a new session due in 2005. Hillenburg, despite the rumors, did not actually leave the show but has resigned from his position as the show's executive producer (this job now belongs to Derek Drymon, with Paul Tibbitt taking over Drymon's job as creative director).

Comeback (2005–2006)

File:Fear of a Krabby Patty.jpg
The Fear of a Krabby Patty DVD.

TV advertisements for SpongeBob's fourth season first aired publicly during the 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The new episodes began airing on May 6, 2005. The first new episode of Season 4 was "Fear of a Krabby Patty"/"Shell of a Man". After airing three new episodes on Fridays from May 6-May 20, Nickelodeon showed no new episodes until September 2005.

For the first time in the series' run, Nickelodeon began airing 11-minute segments of new episodes separately, spread over two weeks. This practice began with the airing of the episode "Selling Out" on September 23; its companion episode, "Funny Pants," premiered the following week.

The Star Online eCentral reported in December 2005 that Nickelodeon had ordered 20 more episodes, bringing the show’s total to 100.[4]

Spongebob SquarePants has been approved for a sixth season, which consists of thirteen episodes. [1]

In November 2005, Nickelodeon aired the special "Have You Seen This Snail?" and did not air new episodes until February 2006, when they showed the special "Dunces and Dragons". The show was sponsored by Burger King, and got 8.5 million viewers, one of the highest in SpongeBob's history. They then showed new episodes until June 2 2006. On September 23, 2006 Nickelodeon began to air new episodes, which included "New Leaf", "Once Bitten" in September. SpongeBob also aired 2 October episodes and the November episodes include "The Best Day Ever", which featured a 24-hour marathon before its premiere. This drew 6.7 million viewers on November 9 along with "Wigstruck" (Originally October 20) and "That's No Lady," which aired late the same month.

In the United Kingdom, new episodes started airing on November 13, and because it looks like it will go to the end of the season, it might show an episode before the United States.

Episodes

Template:Spoiler

Season 1: 1999- 2000

# Airdate Title Card Title

Overview

1 May 1, 1999 File:Help Wanted title.jpg [[Help Wanted (SpongeBob SquarePants) Help Wanted]] SpongeBob attempts to get a job at the Krusty Krab.

File:SBReefBlowerTitleEp1B.JPG

Reef Blower SpongeBob attempts to rid his lawn of a shell (3 minute long).

International following

File:Spongebob im moviepark.png
SpongeBob at a movie park in Germany.
Main article: International following of SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants has earned an international following. It is also shown in Canada, Middle East, South America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters

Guest voices

Crew

Awards

The following list shows the awards the show has won:

Annie Awards
Best Animated Television Production (2005)
Best Writing in an Animated Television Production (2006)
Kids Choice Awards
Best Cartoon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Golden Reel Award
Best Sound Editing in Television Animation - Music (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
Best Sound Editing in Television Animation - Music (2000, 2003, 2004)
Television Critics Association Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming (2002)

Episodes

Episodes:

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes

Media Releases

Film:

Shorts:

Cultural references

Music

Trivia

  • According to the book SpongeBob Exposed, series creator Stephen Hillenburg said that the policy of the show is to not do jokes about or make references to pop culture and current events. In order for the cartoon to be timeless, he even says that Bikini Bottom is isolated from the real world, being under the Pacific Ocean.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants is the very first American cartoon to be broadcast in Iraq and Afghanistan after their US-led invasions.
  • TNN (now SpikeTV) offered once to Stephen Hillenburg to make a mature version of the cartoon for its block of Adult cartoons like Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon. However, Stephen refused and Nick refused to sell its rights to them.

References

  1. ^ "www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&sql=1:43920". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  2. ^ "www.segaarcade.com/pr/SpongeBob.asp". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  3. ^ "SpongeBob Exposed! The Insiders Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants" book
  4. ^ "www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/12/27/tvnradio/12578379&sec=tvnradio". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
  5. ^ "www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_feature.asp?id=8". Retrieved 2007-01-22.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to SpongeBob SquarePants.





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