SpongeBob Schwammkopf - Wikipedia

SpongeBob SquarePants ist eine amerikanische Zeichentrickserie, die von Stephen Hillenburg, einem Wissenschaftler für Meereswissenschaften, für Nickelodeon entwickelt wurde. Die Serie zeigt die Abenteuer und Bestrebungen der Titelfigur und ihrer verschiedenen Freunde in der fiktiven Unterwasserstadt Bikini Bottom. Die Popularität der Serie hat es zu einem Medien-Franchise gemacht, sowie zu der bestbewerteten Serie, die Nickelodeon jemals ausgestrahlt hat, und zur am weitesten verbreiteten Eigenschaft von MTV Networks. Ende 2017 hat die Medien-Franchise Merchandising-Einnahmen in Höhe von 13 Milliarden US-Dollar für Nickelodeon erzielt. ^[3]

Viele der Ideen für die Serie stammen von einem unveröffentlichten Comic mit dem Titel The Intertidal Zone ]die Hillenburg 1989 schuf. ^[4] Er begann SpongeBob SquarePants zu einer Fernsehserie zu entwickeln, nachdem Rockos Modern Life abgesagt worden war, und wandte sich an Tom Kenny, der mit ihm an dieser Serie gearbeitet hatte, um den Titel auszusprechen Charakter. SpongeBob sollte ursprünglich SpongeBoy heißen, und die Serie sollte SpongeBoy Ahoy! heißen, aber beide wurden geändert, da der Name bereits als Warenzeichen eingetragen war.

Nickelodeon hatte am 1. Mai 1999 eine Vorschau für die Serie in den Vereinigten Staaten, nachdem die Kids 'Choice Awards 1999 im Fernsehen ausgestrahlt worden waren. Die Serie wurde am 17. Juli 1999 offiziell uraufgeführt. Sie wurde seit ihrer Premiere weltweit hoch geschätzt und erlangte mit ihrer zweiten Staffel enorme Popularität. Ein Spielfilm, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie wurde am 19. November 2004 in den Kinos veröffentlicht, und eine Fortsetzung wurde am 6. Februar 2015 veröffentlicht. 2018 startete die Serie ihre zwölfte Staffel. ^[5]

Die Serie wurde mit verschiedenen Preisen ausgezeichnet, darunter sechs Annie Awards, acht Golden Reel Awards, vier Emmy Awards, 15 Kids 'Choice Awards und zwei BAFTA Children's Awards. Trotz ihrer weit verbreiteten Popularität war die Serie in mehrere öffentliche Kontroversen verwickelt, darunter auch eine, bei der es um Spekulationen über die beabsichtigte sexuelle Orientierung von SpongeBob ging. Im Jahr 2011 wurde eine neu beschriebene Pilzart, Spongiforma squarepantsii nach der Titelfigur der Karikatur benannt. Ein Broadway-Musical, das auf der Serie basiert, wurde im Jahr 2017 mit kritischem Erfolg eröffnet. ^[6]

Prämisse

Setting

Bikini Atoll, ein Korallenriff im Pazifischen Ozean. Nickelodeon hat dies als den realen Standort von Bikini Bottom bezeichnet.

Die Serie findet hauptsächlich in der benthischen Unterwasserstadt Bikini Bottom statt, die sich im Pazifik unter dem echten Korallenriff befindet, das als Bikini Atoll bekannt ist. ^{[7] [8] [9]} Im Jahr 2015 bestätigte Tom Kenny, dass die fiktive Stadt nach Bikini Atoll benannt wurde, bestritt jedoch eine Internet-Fan-Theorie, die die Charaktere der Serie mit den tatsächlichen Atombombentests im Atoll verband. ^[10] Die Bürger sind hauptsächlich bunte Fische, die in Gebäuden leben, die aus Schiffstrichtern bestehen, und verwenden als Transportmittel "Bootsmobile", Zusammenschlüsse von Autos und Booten. Wiederkehrende Standorte in Bikini Bottom umfassen die benachbarten Häuser von SpongeBob, Patrick und Thaddäus; zwei konkurrierende Restaurants, das Krusty Krab und der Chum Bucket; Mrs. Puff's Boating School, die einen Fahrkurs und ein versunkenes Leuchtturmgebäude umfasst; der Treedome, ein mit Sauerstoff angereichertes Glas, in dem Sandy lebt; Shady Shoals Rest Home; eine Seegraswiese namens Jellyfish Fields; und Goo Lagoon, ein unterirdischer Sole-Pool, der ein beliebter Strand-Treffpunkt ist. ^[11]

Als die Crew von SpongeBob die Serienproduktion der Serien begann, wurden sie mit der Konstruktion des Lagers beauftragt Orte, an denen "die Show immer wieder dorthin zurückkehren würde und an denen der Großteil der Aktionen stattfinden würde, wie das Ananashaus von Krusty Krab und SpongeBob". ^[12] Die Idee für die Serie war "alles nautisch halten", so dass die Crew eine Menge Seil, Holzplanken, Schiffsräder, Netze, Anker, Kesselplatten und Nieten verwendete, um die Kulisse der Show zu schaffen. Die Übergänge zwischen den Szenen sind durch Bläschen gekennzeichnet, die den Bildschirm auffüllen, begleitet von dem Rauschen des Wassers. ^[12]

Die Serie enthält "Sky Flowers" als Hauptsetzungsmaterial. ^[12] Sie erschienen zum ersten Mal im Piloten und sind seitdem in der gesamten Serie ein gemeinsames Merkmal. ^[12] Als Hintergrunddesigner Kenny Pittenger gefragt wurde, was sie waren, antwortete er: "Sie wirken wie Wolken, aber da die Show unter Wasser stattfindet, handelt es sich nicht wirklich um Wolken. Aufgrund des Einflusses der Tiki auf die Show ist dies der Hintergrund Maler verwenden viel Muster. " ^[12] Pittenger sagte, die Himmelsblumen sollten" das Aussehen eines hawaiianischen Blumendruck-Shirts hervorrufen ". ^[12]

Characters [19659015] Die Serie dreht sich um die Titelfigur und ein Ensemble seiner Wasserfreunde. SpongeBob SquarePants ist ein energetischer und optimistischer Seeschwamm, der physisch einem rechteckigen Küchenschwamm ähnelt. Er lebt in einer untergetauchten Ananas mit seiner Haustierschnecke Gary, die wie eine Katze miaut. SpongeBob hat eine kindliche Begeisterung für das Leben, die sich auf seine Arbeit als Frittenkoch in einem Schnellrestaurant namens Krusty Krab überträgt. Sein größtes Ziel im Leben ist es, eine Lizenz zum Fahren eines Bootsmobils zu erhalten. Zu seinen Lieblingsbeschäftigungen zählen das "Quallenfischen", bei dem Quallen mit einem Netz gefangen werden, ähnlich wie beim Fangen von Schmetterlingen, und Seifenblasen in ausgefeilte Formen geblasen werden.

Zwei Häuser von SpongeBob entfernt zu wohnen, ist sein bester Freund Patrick Star, ein düsterer, aber freundlicher rosafarbener Seestern, der unter einem Felsen lebt. Trotz seiner geistigen Rückschläge sieht sich Patrick immer noch als intelligent. ^[13] Thaddäus-Tentakeln, SpongeBobs nächster Nachbar und Mitarbeiter in der Krusty Krab, ist ein arroganter und schlecht gelaunter Krake, der in einem wilden Land lebt Osterinsel Moai. Er spielt gerne Klarinette und malt Selbstporträts, hasst aber seinen Job als Kassierer und mag es nicht, zwischen SpongeBob und Patrick zu leben, weil er so kindisch ist. Der Besitzer der Krusty Krab ist eine miserabel rote Krabbe namens Mr. Krabs, die wie ein Matrose spricht und sein Restaurant wie ein Piratenschiff führt. Mr. Krabs ist ein alleinerziehender Elternteil mit einer jugendlichen Tochter, einem Pottwal namens Pearl, an den er seinen Reichtum weitergeben möchte. Pearl will das Familienunternehmen nicht weiterführen und verbringt ihre Zeit lieber damit, Popmusik zu hören oder im örtlichen Einkaufszentrum zu arbeiten. ^[14] Ein weiterer Freund von SpongeBob ist Sandy Cheeks, ein aufregendes und sportliches Eichhörnchen aus Texas, das einen luftgefüllten Taucheranzug trägt, um unter Wasser zu atmen. ^[15] Sie lebt in einer Eiche, die in einer transparenten Glaskuppel eingeschlossen ist, die von einem luftdichten, von Hand gedrehten Siegel verschlossen wird. Sie ist Karateistin und Wissenschaftlerin.

Gegenüber der Krusty Krab liegt ein erfolgloses Rivalen-Restaurant namens Chum Bucket. ^[16] Es wird von einem kleinen grünen Copepod ^[17] mit dem Namen Plankton und seinem Supercomputer Karen betrieben. Plankton versucht ständig, das Geheimrezept für Krabby Patty, die Krabby Patty-Burger von Herrn Krabs zu stehlen, in der Hoffnung, die Oberhand zu gewinnen und den Krusty Krab aus dem Geschäft zu werfen. ^[18] Karen liefert ihm böse Pläne, um die Formel zu nehmen, aber ihre Bemühungen sind nie erfolgreich und ihr Restaurant bekommt selten Kunden. ^[19] Wenn SpongeBob nicht im Krusty Krab arbeitet, nimmt er oft Bootfahrstunden bei Mrs. Puff, einer paranoiden, aber sehr geduldigen Kugelfisch. SpongeBob ist Mrs. Puffs sorgfältigster Schüler und kennt jede Antwort auf die mündlichen Prüfungen, die er ablegt, aber er gerät in Panik und stürzt ab, wenn er versucht, ein echtes Boot zu fahren. ^[20] Wenn Mrs. Puff einen Absturz von SpongeBob erleidet oder auf andere Weise verängstigt ist, pustet sie zu einem Ball. ^[21]

Spezielle Episoden der Show werden von einem Live-Action-Pirat namens Patchy und seinem Papagei Potty gehostet. deren Segmente in einer doppelten Erzählung mit den animierten Geschichten dargestellt werden. ^[22] Patchy wird als Präsident eines fiktionalen SpongeBob -Fanclubs dargestellt und sein größter Wunsch ist es, SpongeBob selbst zu treffen. Potty macht sich gern über Patchys Enthusiasmus lustig und bereitet ihm Ärger, während er versucht, die Show zu moderieren. Eine unsichtbare Figur, die französische Erzählerin genannt wird, führt häufig Episoden ein und erzählt die Zwischentitel, als ob die Serie eine Naturdokumentation über das Meer wäre. Seine Rolle und seine unverwechselbare Art zu sprechen sind Hinweise auf den Meeresforscher Jacques Cousteau. ^[23]

In der gesamten Serie tauchen wiederkehrende Gastfiguren auf, wie die pensionierten Superhelden Mermaid Man und Barnacle Boy, die von SpongeBob und Patrick vergöttert werden ; ein Piratengespenst, bekannt als Flying Dutchman; der muskulöse Rettungsschwimmer der Goo Lagoon, Larry the Lobster; und der merman gott des meeres, könig neptun.

Produktion

Entwicklung

Frühe Inspirationen

Der Schöpfer der Serie, Stephen Hillenburg, war schon als Kind vom Meer fasziniert. Bereits in jungen Jahren begann er seine künstlerischen Fähigkeiten zu entwickeln. Obwohl diese beiden Interessen sich lange Zeit nicht überschneiden würden - die Idee, Fische zu zeichnen, erschien ihm langweilig -, verfolgte Hillenburg beide während des Studiums und erhielt einen Major in Meeresbiologie und einen Nebenfach in Kunst. Nach seinem Abschluss im Jahr 1984 trat er dem Ocean Institute bei, einer Organisation in Dana Point, Kalifornien, die sich der Aufklärung der Öffentlichkeit über Meereswissenschaften und maritime Geschichte widmet. ^{[24] [25]}

Während Hillenburg dort war begann seine Liebe zum Ozean seine Kunst zu beeinflussen. Er schuf einen Vorläufer für SpongeBob SquarePants : ein Comic mit dem Titel The Intertidal Zone mit dem das Institut Gastschüler über das Tierleben der Gezeitenbecken unterrichtete. ^[25] Der Comic spielte verschiedene anthropomorphe Meereslebensformen, von denen sich viele zu SpongeBob SquarePants Figuren entwickelten. Hillenburg versuchte, den Comic professionell zu veröffentlichen, aber keines der Unternehmen, an die er es schickte, war interessiert. ^[25]

Conception

Während seiner Tätigkeit als Stabskünstler am Ocean Institute unterhielt Hillenburg Pläne kehrte schließlich für ein Master-Studium der Kunst an die Universität zurück. Bevor dies geschehen konnte, besuchte er ein Animationsfestival, das ihn zu einer leichten Kursänderung veranlasste. Anstatt seine Ausbildung mit einem traditionellen Kunstprogramm fortzusetzen, entschied sich Hillenburg für ein Studium der experimentellen Animation am California Institute of the Arts. ^[25] In seiner Diplomarbeit Wormholes geht es um die Relativitätstheorie. ^[27] Es wurde auf Festivals gezeigt, und auf einem davon traf Hillenburg Joe Murray, den Schöpfer der beliebten Nickelodeon-Zeichentrickserie, Rocko's Modern Life . Murray war von dem Stil des Films beeindruckt und bot Hillenburg einen Job an. ^{[27] [28]} Hillenburg trat der Serie als Regisseur bei und übernahm später während der vierten Staffel die Rollen des Produzenten und Kreativdirektors. ^{[27] [28] [29]}

Martin Olson, einer der Autoren für Rockos Modernes Leben las The Intertidal Zone und ermutigte Hillenburg, eine Fernsehserie mit einem ähnlichen Konzept zu erstellen. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte Hillenburg noch nicht einmal daran gedacht, eine eigene Serie zu erstellen. Er erkannte jedoch, dass dies der beste Ansatz wäre, wenn er es jemals tun würde. ^{[25] [27]} Er begann einige der Figuren aus The Intertidal Zone weiterzuentwickeln, einschließlich des "Ansagers" des Comics, Bob the Sponge. ^[25] Er wollte, dass sich seine Serie von den populärsten Cartoons der Zeit abhebt, die sich seiner Meinung nach in Kumpelkomödien wie The Ren & Stimpy Show zeigen. Daher beschloss Hillenburg, sich auf eine einzige Hauptfigur zu konzentrieren: die "verrückteste" Meeresbewohner, an die er denken konnte. Dies führte ihn zu dem Schwamm. ^[25] Die Gezeitenzone ' s Bob, der Schwamm, ähnelt einem echten Seeschwamm, und Hillenburg setzte dieses Design zunächst fort. ^{[25] [27] [28]} Bei der Bestimmung des Verhaltens des neuen Charakters ließ Hillenburg sich von unschuldigen, kindlichen Gestalten wie Charlie Chaplin, Laurel und Hardy, Jerry Lewis und Pee-wee Herman inspirieren. ^{[25] [28] [28] 19659038] [33] [34]} Dann überlegte er sich, die Figur nach einem Küchenschwamm zu modellieren, und erkannte, dass diese Idee perfekt zu der quadratischen Persönlichkeit der Figur passt. ^{[25] [27] [28] [28]} Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Pearl und Thaddäus waren die ersten anderen Figuren, die Hillenburg für die Show geschaffen hatte. ^[35]

Um die zentrale Figur der Serie zu sprechen, wandte sich Hillenburg an Tom Kenny, dessen Karriere in der Animation eine Rolle gespielt hatte begann neben Hillenburg am Rocko's Modern Life . Elemente von Kennys eigener Persönlichkeit wurden bei der Weiterentwicklung der Figur eingesetzt. ^{[36] [37]} Ursprünglich wollte Hillenburg den Namen SpongeBoy verwenden - der Charakter hätte keinen Nachnamen gehabt, und die Serie hätte SpongeBoy Ahoy! ^[37] heißen sollen. Die Nickelodeon-Rechtsabteilung entdeckte jedoch Die erste siebenminütige Pilotfolge hatte die Sprechfunktion abgeschlossen - der Name "SpongeBoy" wurde bereits für ein Mop-Produkt verwendet. ^[37] Eine gleichnamige Figur wurde auch von [19] [19] [19] [19] als Schöpfer Bob Burden Flaming Carrot Comics geschaffen. ^[38] Bei der Wahl eines Ersatznamens hatte Hillenburg das Gefühl, dass er immer noch das Wort "Sponge" verwenden musste, damit die Zuschauer die Figur nicht mit einem "Cheese Man" verwechseln. Er entschied sich für den Namen "SpongeBob". "SquarePants" wurde dann als Familienname gewählt, nachdem Kenny ein Bild der Figur gesehen hatte und bemerkte: "Junge, schau dir diesen Schwamm in eckigen Hosen an und denke, er könnte einen Job in einem Fast Food-Restaurant bekommen." Hillenburg liebte den Satz, als er hörte, dass Kenny es sagte, und glaubte, dass dies die Nerdiness der Figur verstärken würde.

Zusammenstellung der Crew

Derek Drymon, der in den ersten drei Staffeln als Kreativdirektor diente, sagte, Hillenburg wolle sich umzingeln mit einem "Team junger und hungriger Menschen". ^[33] Viele der wichtigsten Mitwirkenden von SpongeBob SquarePants hatten zuvor mit [...] Rocko's Modern Life zusammen mit Hillenburg gearbeitet. Dazu gehörten Drymon, Art Director Nick Jennings, Regisseur Alan Smart, Drehbuchautor Doug Lawrence (oft als Mr. Lawrence bezeichnet) und Tim Hill, der an der Entwicklung der Serienbibel mitgewirkt hat. ^{[33] [34]}

Obwohl Drymon weitergehen würde, hätte dies einen erheblichen Einfluss auf SpongeBob SquarePants wurde ihm zunächst keine Rolle in der Serie angeboten. Als späte Rekrut für Rockos Modernes Leben hatte er vor der Konzeption von SpongeBob keine großen Beziehungen zu Hillenburg aufgebaut. Hillenburg suchte zunächst nach Drymons Storyboard-Partner Mark O'Hare - aber O'Hare hatte gerade den in Kürze erscheinenden syndizierten Comic geschaffen, Citizen Dog ^[33] und zwar SpongeBob würde er später als Schriftsteller beitreten, ^[40] fehlte die Zeit, um sich zu Beginn beider Projekte zu engagieren. ^{[33] [19454008] Drymon hat gesagt: "Ich erinnere mich, dass Hillenburg es in unserem Büro zu Mark gebracht hat und ihn gefragt hat, ob er daran interessiert wäre, daran zu arbeiten ... Ich war bereit, dem Angebot zuzustimmen, aber Steve fragte nicht; Er verließ gerade den Raum. Ich war ziemlich verzweifelt ... also lief ich hinter ihm in den Flur und bat ihn im Grunde um den Job. Er machte keine Chance. " [33] Once Hillenburg Nachdem er sich einige Gedanken darüber gemacht und beschlossen hatte, Drymon als Creative Director zu gewinnen, begannen die beiden mehrmals in der Woche, sich in Hillenburgs Haus zu treffen, um die Serie zu entwickeln. Drymon hat festgestellt, dass diese Periode 1996 begonnen hat, kurz nach Ende von Rockos Modern Life . [33]}

. Jennings war auch maßgeblich an der Entstehung von SpongeBob beteiligt ^[41] Kenny hat ihn "einen der frühen Grafik-Mentoren von SpongeBob" genannt. ^[34] An Wochenenden trat Kenny mit Hillenburg, Jennings und Drymon zu kreativen Sitzungen zusammen, in denen sie Ideen auf einem Tonbandgerät festhielten. ^[34] Kenny führte während dieser Sitzungen Audiotests als SpongeBob durch, während Hillenburg Stimmen für die anderen Charaktere aufstellte. ^[34]

Hill trug Skripte für mehrere Episoden der ersten Staffel (einschließlich des Piloten) ^{[42] [19656051] bei ] [43] [44] [45]} und erhielt die Rolle des Story-Editors, lehnte es jedoch ab - er würde eine Karriere als Familienfilmregisseur verfolgen. ^{[46] [47]} An seiner Stelle wurde Pete Burns für den Job herangezogen. Burns stammte aus Chicago und hatte vor seinem Eintritt in das Team noch nie einen der wichtigsten Spieler auf SpongeBob SpongeBob getroffen. ^[33]

Pitching

Die Exekutive von Nickelodeon flog nach Burbank und wir stellte es ihnen von den Storyboards aus vor. Wir hatten squeezy Toys, trugen hawaiianische Hemden und verwendeten eine Boom-Box, um den Tiny Tim-Song ['Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight'] zu spielen, der im dritten Akt erscheint. Wir haben wirklich alles in diesem Pitch gemacht, weil wir wussten, dass der Pilot gelebt hat oder gestorben ist, wenn die Angestellten gelacht haben. Als es vorbei war, gingen sie aus dem Raum, um es zu besprechen. Wir dachten uns, dass sie zurück nach New York fliegen würden und wir würden in einigen Wochen hören. Wir waren überrascht, als sie in Minuten schienen und sagten, sie wollten es schaffen.

- Derek Drymon ^[33]

Im Jahr 1997, während er die Karikaturen von Nickelodeon-Führungskräften anstellte, zog Hillenburg einen Hawaiianer an Shirt, brachte ein "Unterwasser-Terrarium mit Modellen der Charaktere" mit und spielte hawaiianische Musik, um das Thema festzulegen. Der Aufbau wurde von Nickelodeons Exekutive Eric Coleman als "ziemlich erstaunlich" beschrieben. ^[27] Als ihnen Geld und zwei Wochen Zeit gegeben wurde, um die Pilotfolge "Help Wanted" zu schreiben, ^[27] kehrten Derek Drymon, Stephen Hillenburg und Nick Jennings mit dem zurück, was von Nickelodeon-Beamt Albie Hecht als beschrieben wurde Performance [he] gewünscht [he] hatte auf Band ". ^[27] Obwohl der ausführende Produzent Derek Drymon den Platz als anstrengend beschrieb, sagte er, es sei "sehr gut" gegangen. ^[27] Kevin Kay und Hecht mussten nach draußen treten, weil sie "vom Lachen erschöpft" waren, was die Karikaturisten beunruhigte ^[27]

In einem Interview sagte Cyma Zarghami, der derzeitige Präsident von Nickelodeon, "[Nickelodeon executives'] die unmittelbare Reaktion war, sie wiederzusehen, weil sie es mochten, weil es ihnen gefiel und was sie nicht mögen". d jemals zuvor gesehen ". ^[48] Zarghami war einer von vier Managern im Raum, als SpongeBob SquarePants zum ersten Mal gezeigt wurde. ^[48]

Ausführende Produzenten und Showrunner

Stephen Hillenburg, Schöpfer von SpongeBob SquarePants

] Es erreichte einen Punkt, an dem ich das Gefühl hatte, viel beigetragen zu haben und zu sagen, was ich sagen wollte. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt brauchte die Show neues Blut, und so habe ich Paul [Tibbitt] zur Produktion ausgewählt. Ich habe ihm total vertraut. Ich habe es immer genossen, wie er den Humor des SpongeBob-Charakters eingefangen hat. Und als Schriftsteller müssen Sie weitermachen - ich entwickle neue Projekte.

- Stephen Hillenburg, The Washington Post ^[49]

Als Serienproduzent fungiert Stephen Hillenburg im Laufe der gesamten Geschichte der Serie und fungierte als Showrunner von 1999 bis 2004. Die Serie wurde 2002 eingestellt, nachdem Hillenburg die Produktion eingestellt hatte, um an einem Spielfilm der Serie zu arbeiten, The SpongeBob Schwammkopf Film . ^[38] Nach Abschluss des Films und der dritten Staffel trat Hillenburg als Showrunner der Serie zurück. Obwohl er keine direkte Rolle mehr in der Produktion der Serie spielte, behielt er immer noch eine beratende Rolle bei und überprüfte jede Episode. ^{[48] [50]}

Als der Film fertiggestellt war, hatte Hillenburg die Absicht das Serienfinale zu sein, "so [the show] würde den Hai nicht springen." Nickelodeon wollte jedoch mehr Episoden, ^[51] . Daher ernannte Hillenburg Paul Tibbitt, der zuvor als Schriftsteller, Regisseur und Storyboard-Künstler in der Show gedient hatte, um seine Rolle als Showrunner zu übernehmen und weitere Staffeln zu produzieren. ^[52] Hillenburg betrachtete Tibbitt als eines seiner Lieblingsmitglieder der Show-Crew, ^[53] und "vertraute ihm vollkommen." ^[49]

Am 13. Dezember 2014 wurde angekündigt, dass Hillenburg würde Rückkehr zur Serie in nicht näher bezeichneter Position. ^[54] Am 26. November 2018 starb Hillenburg im Alter von 57 Jahren an Komplikationen aufgrund von Amyotropher Lateralsklerose (ALS), bei der er im März 2017 diagnostiziert worden war. ^{[55] [56] [56]} Nickelodeon bestätigte über Twitter, dass die Serie trotz seines Todes weiterlaufen wird. ^[57]

Ab der neunten Staffel fungieren die ehemaligen Schriftsteller und Storyboard-Regisseure Vincent Waller und Marc Ceccarelli als Showrunner.

Schreiben

Laut dem Schriftsteller und Storyboard-Künstler Luke Brookshier " SpongeBob wird anders geschrieben als in vielen Fernsehsendungen". ^[58] Im Gegensatz zu den meisten seiner Zeitgenossen verwendet SpongeBob SquarePants keine schriftlichen Skripte. ^{[58] [59]} Stattdessen werden Handlungsstränge von einem Team von fünf Umriss- und Prämissenschreibern entwickelt. Eine zweiseitige Gliederung wird dann einem Team von Storyboard-Direktoren zugewiesen, die einen vollständigen Rohentwurf des Storyboards erstellen. Ursprünglich wurde dieser Prozess mithilfe von Post-it-Notizen zusammengestellt, aber dank technologischer Fortschritte konnten die Regisseure ihre Storyboards digital produzieren. Die meisten Dialoge und Witze werden in dieser Phase hinzugefügt. ^{[38] [58]} Sobald das Rohbrett genehmigt ist, wird ein Team von Storyboard-Künstlern herangezogen, um die Zeichnungen des Regisseurs aufzuräumen und bestimmte Ausdrücke und Gags für die Entwurfs- und Layoutphase zu verbessern. Brookshier hat diesen Prozess mit der Herstellung von Cartoons "in den frühen Tagen der Animation" verglichen. ^[58]

Die Entscheidung, Drehbücher für Storyboards zu meiden, hat Hillenburg schon früh in der Entwicklung der Serie getroffen. ^[38] Rockos Modern Life hatte auch Storyboarding verwendet, das aus kurzen Umrissen abgeleitet war, und nachdem er an dieser Serie gearbeitet hatte, hatte Hillenburg das Gefühl, den Prozess für SpongeBob SquarePants anzunehmen - auch wenn Nickelodeon dies tat eine größere Präferenz für skriptgesteuerte Cartoons zu zeigen. ^{[33] [60]} Ein anderer Autor der Serie, Merriwether Williams, beschrieb in einem Interview, dass sie und Mr. Lawrence an einem Nachmittag einen Entwurf für eine Episode schreiben und um 4 Uhr fertig sein würden. ^[61]

Die Mitarbeiter des Schreibens Ihre individuellen Lebenserfahrungen nutzten sie oft als Inspirationsquelle für die Geschichten der Episoden der Serie. ^{[33] [49]} Die Episode "Sailor Mouth" zum Beispiel, in der SpongeBob und Patrick Obszönität lernen, ^[49] wurde von der Erfahrung des Kreativdirektors Derek Drymon inspiriert, als Kind in Schwierigkeiten zu geraten, weil er das F-Wort vor sich hatte seiner Mutter. ^[33] Drymon sagte: "Die Szene, in der Patrick zu Mr. Krabs rennt, um mit SpongeBob zu jagen, ist ziemlich so, wie es im wirklichen Leben geschah." ^[33] Das Ende der Episode, in der Krabs noch mehr Obszönität als SpongeBob und Patrick einsetzt, war "von der Tatsache inspiriert, dass meine [Drymon's] Mutter selbst einen Matrosenmund hat". ^[33] Die Idee für die Episode "The Secret Box" stammt ebenfalls aus einer Kindheitserfahrung von Drymon. ^{[49] [61]} Hillenburg erklärte: "Drymon hatte eine geheime Box [as a kid] und begann uns davon zu erzählen. Wir wollten uns über ihn lustig machen und ." ^[49]

Fast jede Episode ist in zwei 11-Minuten-Segmente unterteilt. Hillenburg erklärte, "[I] wollte nie wirklich beabsichtigt haben, eine halbstündige Show zu schreiben." ^[49] Er fügte hinzu: "Ich habe die Shows dort geschrieben, wo sie sich richtig fühlten." ^[49] Die Produktion jedes 11-Minuten-Segments dauert etwa fünf Monate. ^{[62] [63]}

Die Sprecher der Stimme

Steve beschrieb mir SpongeBob als kindlich und naiv. Er ist kein Erwachsener, kein Kind. Denken Sie an einen Stan Laurel, eine Art Kindermann von Jerry Lewis. Ein bisschen wie ein Munchkin, aber nicht ganz, ein bisschen wie ein Kind, aber nicht mit der Stimme eines Charlie-Brown-Kindes in den Fernsehsendungen.

- Tom Kenny ^[34]

SpongeBob SquarePants ] enthält die Stimmen von Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett und Lori Alan. Die meisten Einzel- und Hintergrundfiguren werden von Dee Bradley Baker, Sirena Irwin, Bob Joles, Mark Fite und Thomas F. Wilson geäußert.

Kenny-Stimmen SpongeBob Schwammkopf und eine Vielzahl anderer Charaktere, darunter SpongeBobs Haustierschnecke Gary und der französische Erzähler. Er porträtiert auch Patchy the Pirate in Live-Action-Segmenten der meisten speziellen Episoden. Zuvor arbeitete Kenny mit Stephen Hillenburg an Rockos Modern Life und als Hillenburg SpongeBob SquarePants gründete, wandte er sich an Kenny, um die Hauptfigur zu sprechen. ^[64] Kenny verwendete die Stimme von SpongeBob ursprünglich für eine Nebenfigur auf Rocko ^[37] Er vergaß zunächst, wie er die Stimme spielen sollte, und hatte nicht vor, sie später zu verwenden. Hillenburg verwendete jedoch einen Videoclip der Episode, um Kenny an die Stimme zu erinnern. ^[37] Als Hillenburg hörte, wie Kenny die Stimme spielte, wusste er sofort, dass er sie für seinen Charakter wollte. Er sagte zu den Führungskräften von Nickelodeon: "Das ist es - ich möchte nicht, dass jemand anderes die Stimme hört. Wir haben SpongeBob." ^[34] Das Netzwerk bestand darauf, weitere Schauspieler vorzusprechen, aber Hillenburg drehte sich um sie runter; In den Worten von Tom Kenny: "Einer der Vorteile eines starken Schöpfers besteht darin, dass der Schöpfer sagen kann:" Nein, das gefällt mir - ich interessiere mich nicht für Prominente. " ^[34] Während Kenny SpongeBobs Stimme entwickelte, wollte die Casting-Crew der Show ein einzigartiges, hochrangiges Lachen in der Tradition von Popeye und Woody Woodpecker. ^[65]

Fagerbakke-Stimmen Patrick Star ^[66] und andere verschiedene Charaktere. Zur gleichen Zeit, als Hillenburg, Derek Drymon und Tim Hill den Pilotfilm "Help Wanted" verfassten, führte Hillenburg auch Hörproben durch, um Stimmen für die Figuren zu finden. ^[33] Fagerbakke sprach für die Rolle des Patrick, nachdem Kenny besetzt worden war. ^[67] Fagerbakke erinnerte sich daran, dass Hillenburg während seines Vorsprechens für die Rolle von Patrick "tatsächlich einen Teil der Leistung von Tom [Kenny] [as SpongeBob] spielte und einen Kontrapunkt suchte." ^[67] In einem Interview verglich sich Fagerbakke mit der Figur und sagte: "Es ist äußerst erfreulich." ^[68] Fagerbakke modellierte seine Performance, wann immer Patrick wütend auf die amerikanische Schauspielerin Shelley Winters ist.

Thaddäus-Tentakel wird von Rodger Bumpass geäußert, der Thaddäus als "einen sehr nasalischen, monotonen Typ" beschreibt. Er sagte, dass der Charakter "wegen seines Sarkasmus und seiner Frustration und dann seiner Apoplexie zu einem sehr interessanten Charakter wurde", und so wurde er zu einem breiten Spektrum von Emotionen. ^[70] Arthur Brown, Autor von Alles, was ich wissen muss, ich habe von Cartoons gelernt! hat Squidwards Stimme mit der von Jack Bennys verglichen, ^[71] eine Ähnlichkeit, die Bumpass sagt, ist meist unbeabsichtigt. ^[70] Der stimmungsvolle Veteran Clancy Brown spricht Mr. Krabs, SpongeBobs Chef in der Krusty Krab. Hillenburg modellierte Herrn Krabs nach seinem ehemaligen Manager in einem Fischrestaurant, dessen starker Maine-Akzent Hillenburg an einen Piraten erinnerte. ^[72] Für den Charakter entschied sich Brown, eine "Piraten" -Stimme mit "ein wenig schottischer Brog" zu verwenden, nachdem er Hillenburgs Beschreibung seines Chefs gehört hatte. Brown zufolge wurde seine Stimme von Mr. Krabs während des Vorsprechens hauptsächlich improvisiert, und es war für ihn keine Herausforderung, die richtige Stimme zu finden.

Mr. Lawrence hatte Hillenburg bereits am Rocko's Modern Life getroffen. Als er an der Pilotfolge von SpongeBob arbeitete, lud ihn Hillenburg ein, für alle Charaktere vorzusprechen. ^[74] Da für die Hauptbesetzung bereits andere Stimmen gefunden worden waren, begann Lawrence damit, eine Vielzahl von Nebenfiguren zu vernehmen. Dazu gehörte Plankton, der ursprünglich nur in einer Episode erscheinen sollte. ^{[74] [33]} Mr. Lawrence erinnert sich, dass Nickelodeons Führungskräfte Hillenburg gegenüber sagten: "Wir könnten das abhören. Weißt du, wir könnten Bruce Willis diese Stimme machen lassen." And Steve was just like, 'it's Doug [Lawrence]don't you hear it? This is the character! This is the guy!'"^[74] Jill Talley, Tom Kenny's wife, voices Karen Plankton.^[75] Being a Chicago native, she uses a Midwestern accent for the character.^[76] Electronic sound effects are underlaid by the series' audio engineers to create a robotic sound whenever she speaks.^[77] Talley and Mr. Lawrence often improvise Plankton and Karen's dialogue. Lawrence called improvisation his "favorite part of the voice over" in 2009.^[78] 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!'"^[74]

Carolyn Lawrence voices Sandy Cheeks. When Lawrence was on a sidewalk 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 Lawrence to audition and she got the role.^[79][80] Mrs. Puff's voice is provided by American actress Mary Jo Catlett,^[81] who is known for her live-action roles on television programs from the 1970s such as Diff'rent Strokes and M*A*S*H.^[76] As of 2017, voicing Mrs. Puff has become her only remaining 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.^[82] Lori Alan voices Pearl Krabs.^[83] During her audition for the role, Alan was shown an early drawing of the characters and took note of how 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 Pearl's voice invoke the sound of whales’ low vocalizations while also sounding "spoiled and lovable."^[84] In an interview with AfterBuzz TV, Alan said that she knew Pearl "had to sound somewhat like a child," but needed "an abnormally large voice."^[85]

In addition to the regular cast, episodes feature guest voices from many ranges of 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;^[86]Tim Conway as the voice of Barnacle Boy;^[87]Brian Doyle-Murray as the Flying Dutchman;^[88] and Marion Ross as Grandma SquarePants.^[89] Notable guests who have provided vocal cameo appearances includes David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness in the television film Atlantis SquarePantis,^[90][91]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",^[92] and Victoria Beckham as the voice of Queen Amphitrite in the episode "The Clash of Triton".^[93][94]

Voice recording sessions always include a full cast of actors, which Kenny describes as "getting more unusual".^[34] 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".^[34] Series writer Jay Lender said, "The recording sessions were always fun ..."^[95] For the first three seasons, Hillenburg and Drymon sat in on the record studio, and they directed the actors.^[96]Andrea Romano became the voice director in the fourth season,^[96] and Tom Kenny took over the role during the ninth.^[97] Wednesday is recording day, the same schedule followed by the crew since 1999.^[96] Casting supervisor Jennie Monica Hammond said, "I loved Wednesdays".^[96]

Animation

Approximately 50 people work together in animating and producing an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.^[58] Throughout its run, production of the series has been handled domestically at Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, California, while the finished animation has been created overseas at Rough Draft Studios in South Korea.^[49][98] Storyboarding for each episode is done by the crew in California. The storyboards are then used as templates by the crew in Korea,^[49] who animate by hand, color cels on computers, and paint backgrounds. Episodes are finished in California, where they are edited and have music added.^[58] Every season, character designs are updated or modified to solve technical issues in the animation.^[99]

During the first season, the series used cel animation.^[52] A shift was made the following year to digital ink and paint animation.^[52] In 2009, executive producer Paul Tibbitt said "The first season of SpongeBob was done the old-fashioned way on cells, and every cell 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".^[52]

In 2008, the crew shifted to using Wacom Cintiqs for the drawings instead of pencils. The fifth season episode "Pest of the West" was the first episode in the series to which 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".^[12] The crew began the shift while they were working on the episode. Pittenger said, "It was while we were working on 'Pest of the West', one of the half-hour specials, that we made the switch ... did you notice?"^[12] 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".^[12]

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^[100] and was re-enlisted in 2009 to create an exclusive opening for the series' tenth anniversary special.^[101] 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.^[103]Animation World Network reported that "within the SpongeBob creative team, there was always talk of doing a more involved project together" with Screen Novelties.^[103] 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!”,^[104] which reimagined the show's characters as if they were part of a Rankin/Bass holiday film.^[105] Tom Kenny, who is not normally involved 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."^[100] Unconventional materials such as baking soda, glitter, wood chips and breakfast cereal were used in mass quantities to create the special's sets.^[106] Members of the Screen Novelties crew received one win and two nominations at the 30th Annie Awards,^[107] a nomination at the 2013 Golden Reel Awards,^[108] and a nomination at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival for animating the episode.^[109] The team built a dolphin puppet named Bubbles, voiced by Matt Berry, for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.^[110] 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.^[111][112]

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^[113]

The theme song was composed by Mark Harrison and Blaise Smith,^[114] while the lyrics to the song were written by series creator Stephen Hillenburg and the series' original creative director Derek Drymon. The melody was inspired by the sea shanty "Blow the Man Down".^[28] An old oil painting of a pirate is used in the opening sequence. It has been dubbed "Painty the Pirate", and according to Tom Kenny, Hillenburg found it in a thrift shop "years ago".^[37]Patrick Pinney gives voice to Painty the Pirate, singing the theme song as the character.^[28] Hillenburg's lips were imposed onto the painting and move along with the lyrics.^[37] Kenny joked that this is "about as close of a glimpse as most SpongeBob fans are ever going to get of Steve Hillenburg", because of Hillenburg's private nature.^[28]

A cover of the song by Avril Lavigne can be found on the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack.^[115][116] Another cover by the Violent Femmes aired on Nickelodeon as a promotion for the series moving to prime time.^[117]

Steve Belfer, one of Hillenburg's friends from CalArts, wrote and performed the music that is played over the end credits.^[33] This theme includes ukulele music, per Hillenburg's request.^[33] 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".^[33]

The series' music editor and main composer is Nicolas Carr.^[113] After working with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern LifeCarr struggled to find a new job in his field. He had been considering a career change when 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."^[113]Rocko's Modern Life also used music from this library. It was Hillenburg's decision to adopt the approach. The selections for SpongeBob SquarePants have been described by Carr as being "more over-the-top" than those for Rocko's Modern Life.^[113]

Hillenburg also felt that 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. This group went on to provide the majority 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.^[113]

Broadcast

Episodes

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^[121]

Nickelodeon began celebrating the 10th anniversary of the series 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.^[122][123] The episode, which would not premiere on TV until April 17, featured Johnny Depp as a guest star.^[124] Other celebratory actions taken by the network included the launching of a new website for the series (spongebob.com) and the introduction of new merchandising. A "SpongeBob and water conservation-themed element" was also added to Nickelodeon's pro-social campaign The Big Green Help.^[122] 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".^[125]

Three nights before the official anniversary date, an hour-long documentary of the series, Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePantspremiered on VH1.^{[121][122][123][125][126]} 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."^[122] On Friday, July 17, Nickelodeon marked the official anniversary of the series, with a 50-hour television marathon titled "The Ultimate SpongeBob SpongeBash Weekend". The marathon 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, which saw a countdown of episodes as picked by celebrities, as well as the premiere of ten new episodes.^{[122][127][128]}

Nickelodeon continued celebrating the anniversary through the rest of the year. An eight-episode DVD set featuring "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants" shortly followed the marathon, with a July 21 release.^[129][130] Next a 2,200 minute, 14-disc DVD set titled The First 100 Episodes was released on September 22.^{[130][131][132]} Finally, on November 6, an hour-long television film, titled Truth or Squaredebuted 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.^{[133][134][135]} It was released as part of a five-episode DVD set on November 10, 2009.^[136]

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.^[137][138] Two years later, the series had firmly established itself as Nickelodeon's second highest rated children's program, after Rugrats. That year, 2001, SpongeBob SquarePants was credited with helping Nickelodeon take the "Saturday-morning ratings crown" for the fourth straight season.^[139] 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.^[140] In response to this weekend-found success, Nickelodeon gave SpongeBob SquarePants time slots at 6 PM and 8 PM, Monday through Thursday, to increase exposure of the series.^[140][141] By the end of that year SpongeBob SquarePants boasted the highest ratings for any children's series, on all of television.^{[142][143][144]} Weekly viewership of the series had reached around fifteen million, at least five million of whom were adults.^[142]

In October 2002, another Nickelodeon series, The Fairly OddParentsranked as the No. 2 program for children between 2 and 11 years old.^[145] Its ratings at that time were almost equal to SpongeBob SquarePants' then-average of 2.2 million viewers per episode.^[145]The Fairly OddParents even briefly surpassed SpongeBob SquarePantscausing the latter series 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 kids 2–11.^[146] Nickelodeon "recognized" The Fairly OddParents for its climbing ratings and installed it into a new 8 P.M. time slot, previously occupied by SpongeBob SquarePants.^[145] 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".^[145]

In 2012, however, it was reported that the series' ratings were declining.^[147][148] The average number of viewers aged 2 to 11 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 that the age of the series and oversaturation of the series might be contributing to the decline of the series' ratings, and might also be directly responsible for the decline in Nickelodeon's overall ratings.^[149] Media analyst Todd Juenger directly attributes the decline in Nickelodeon's ratings to the availability of streaming video content on services like Netflix, a provider of on-demand Internet streaming media.^[150]

Philippe Dauman, the president and CEO of Viacom, contradicted the notion, saying he did not think "the limited amount of Nick library content on Netflix ... has had a significant impact".^[151][152] A Nickelodeon spokesman said SpongeBob is performing consistently well and remains the number one rated animated series in all of children's television.^[149] He added, "There is nothing that we have seen that points to SpongeBob as a problem".^[149] 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.^[153]

Juenger noted that SpongeBob could affect the ratings of other Nickelodeon programming because children often change channels to find their favorite programs, then stay tuned into that network.^[149] Nickelodeon recently reduced its exposure in television. In the first quarter of 2012, the network cut back on the number of episodes it aired by 16% compared with a year earlier.^[149]

On April 22, 2013, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced their intentions not to renew their existing deal with Viacom.^[154] Since then, Viacom's deal with Netflix expired, and shows such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer were removed.^[155] However, SpongeBob is still available to stream on Netflix in Canada.^[156] On June 4, 2013, Viacom announced a multi-year licensing agreement which would move its programs, such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorerto Amazon.com, Netflix's top competitor.^[157][158] Amazon agreed to pay more than $200 million to Viacom for the license, its largest subscription streaming transaction ever.^[159][160]

SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the longest-running series on Nickelodeon.^[161] It became the Nickelodeon series with the most episodes, during its eighth season, surpassing the 172 episodes of Rugrats with 178.^[162] In its ninth season, a total of 26 episodes pushed the series over the 200th episode mark, reaching 204 produced episodes.^{[163][164][165]} In a statement, Brown Johnson, animation president for Nickelodeon, 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".^[166][167]

Critical reception

SpongeBob SquarePants has received critical acclaim from critics, and it has been noted for its appeal towards different age groups. 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".^[168] 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".^[169]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 PlayhouseSpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet".^[170]

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".^[171] In another interview with Los Angeles Timeshe 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."^[172] 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).^[173] In a 2007 interview, Barack Obama named SpongeBob his favorite TV character and admitted that SpongeBob SquarePants is "the show I watch with my daughters".^{[174][175][176]} British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also said he watches the series with his children.^[48]

Awards and accolades

SpongeBob SquarePants has received many awards and nominations; among these are four Emmy Awards ("Outstanding Special Class Animated Program" in 2010,^[177] "Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation" in 2014,^[178] "Outstanding Children's Animated Series" in 2018, and "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" in 2018 for Kenny);^[179] six Annie Awards;^{[180][181][182][183][184][185]} and two BAFTA Children's Awards.^[186][187] Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz included the series in their 2016 book TV as the 22nd greatest American television series of all time, stating that "SpongeBob SquarePants is an absurdist masterpiece that Salvador Dalí and Groucho Marx would have watched together in their smoking jackets".^[188][189] In 2006, IGN ranked SpongeBob SquarePants 15th on its list, "Top 25 Animated Series of All Time",^[190] and in 2013, it ranked the series 12th on its list, "The Top 25 Animated Series for Adults".^[191] Additionally, the website's UK division ran a "Top 100 Animated Series" list, and like its US counterpart, ranked SpongeBob SquarePants 15th.^[192]

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".^[193] Viewers of the UK television network Channel 4 voted SpongeBob SquarePants the 28th "Greatest Cartoon" in a 2004 poll.^[194][195]TV Guide listed the character of SpongeBob SquarePants at No. 9 for its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time".^[196] In 2013, the publication ranked SpongeBob SquarePants the eighth "Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time".^[197] In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named SpongeBob one of the "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years".^[198]

Legacy

In July 2009, Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York launched a wax sculpture of SpongeBob in celebration of the series' 10th anniversary. This made SpongeBob the first animated character to ever receive a statue made entirely out of wax.^{[199][200][201][202]} In May 2011, a new species of mushroom, Spongiforma squarepantsiiwas described, named after the series' title character.^[203]

The character has also become a trend in Egypt at Cairo's Tahrir Square.^[204] After the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SpongeBob became a fashion phenomenon, appearing on various items of merchandise from hijabs to boxer shorts.^[205][206] 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.^[207] 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?"^[208] The phenomenon has even spread to Libya, where a Libyan rebel in SpongeBob dress was photographed celebrating the revolution.^[209] Although The Guardian and Vice have asserted that the trend has little to no political significance,^[204][205] "joke" presidential campaigns have been undertaken for SpongeBob in Egypt and Syria.^[205][207]

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.^[210][211] According to the website that uploaded the video, this is one of the "most popular marching songs" in the Russian military.^[210] The video garnered nearly 50,000 views within its first week.^[211]

Following Hillenburg's death in 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" be performed at the Super Bowl LIII halftime show in Hillenburg’s honor. The Twitter account of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the venue of the show, tweeted a GIF of SpongeBob dancing in “Band Geeks” in December and the performing band, Maroon 5 even included a brief clip of SpongeBob in a preview video, leading fans to believe that 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.^[212][213] In response to fan disappointment of not getting a full 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 inside the American Airlines Center. In the clip the characters band uniforms are recolored green after the Stars, but they kept the spirit of the original by interspersing shots of the crowd and the background.^[214][215]

Criticism

Controversies

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, because they saw SpongeBob being used to "advocate homosexuality".^[216][217]James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the video of promoting homosexuality, due to it being sponsored by a pro-tolerance group.^[217] The incident accentuated questions as to whether or not SpongeBob is gay. Although the character has enjoyed popularity with gay viewers, series creator Stephen Hillenburg had already denied the issue three years earlier, clarifying at the time that he considers the character to be "somewhat asexual".^[218] 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.^[219][220] Tom Kenny and other production members were distraught that such an issue had arisen.^[37]

Dobson later stated that his comments were taken out of context and that 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 that the We Are Family Foundation posted pro-gay material on their website, but later removed it.^[221] 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".^[222]

Jeffery P. Dennis, author of the journal article "Queertoons", 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".^[223] Martin Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Dennis' comments regarding SpongeBob and Patrick as "interesting".^[224][b] Ukrainian website Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin, which has been described as a "fringe Catholic" group by The Wall Street Journallevied criticism against SpongeBob SquarePants for its alleged "promotion of homosexuality".^[226] 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.^[226]

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 that SpongeBob's fan base includes young children.^{[227][228][229][230][231]} In official statements released by Burger King and Nickelodeon, both companies claimed that the campaign was aimed at parents.^[230][231]

"The children who watched the cartoon were operating at half the capacity compared to other children."

—Angeline S. Lillard, University of Virginia^[232]

A 2011 study conducted at the University of Virginia and 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 due to frequent shot changes.^[233][234] A Nickelodeon executive responded in an interview that 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".^[235][236]

Several episodes of the series have been subject to controversy as well. In a report titled Wolves in Sheep's Clothingwhich 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,^[237] while "SpongeBob's Last Stand" and "Selling Out" have received criticism for promoting environmentalism and left-wing politics due to their negative portrayal of big business.^[238] "SpongeBob, You're Fired", a 2013 season 9 episode, gained heavy controversy and sparked a political debate over its portrayal of unemployment;^[238] 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".^[239] This statement was echoed by Al Sharpton, who claimed conservatives' "new hero" to be "a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea".^[240]

Declining quality

This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2018)

Various publications, such as MSN, The A.V. Cluband Vulture have reported that SpongeBob's popularity declined following the release of the 2004 film and Hillenburg's departure as showrunner.^{[241][242][243]} In 2012, MSN cited a post on the Encyclopedia SpongeBobia Wikia, 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".^[241]

In 2018, Vulture noted that the most popular online memes of the series usually focused on episodes from the first three seasons.^[243] 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".^[242] Episodes produced since the first film have been variously categorized by DVD Talk and DVD Verdict as "tedious",^[244] "boring" and "dreck",^[245] a "depressing plateau of mediocrity",^[246] and "laugh-skimpy".^[247]

Other media

Home video

Comic books

In February 2011, creator Hillenburg first announced the release of the 32-page bimonthly comic book series, SpongeBob Comicsbased on the show.^[277][278] The release marked the first time Hillenburg authored his own books. He said, "I'm hoping that fans will enjoy finally having a SpongeBob comic book from me".^[277][278] The comic book series is published by Hillenburg's production company, United Plankton Pictures, and distributed by Bongo Comics Group.^[277][278] Although the characters of the series had previously appeared in Nickelodeon Magazine and in Cine-Mangathe first issue of SpongeBob Comics marked the first time the characters have appeared in their own comic books in the United States.^[277][278] Hillenburg described the stories from the comic books as "original and always true to the humor, characters, and universe of the SpongeBob SquarePants series".^[277][278]

Chris Duffy, the former senior editor of Nickelodeon Magazineserves as managing editor of SpongeBob Comics.^[277][278] Hillenburg and Duffy met with various cartoonists—including James Kochalka, Hilary Barta, Graham Annable, Gregg Schigiel, and Jacob Chabot—to contribute to each issues.^[277][278] Retired horror comics writer and artist Stephen R. Bissette returned to write a special Halloween issue in 2012, with Tony Millionaire and Al Jaffee.^[279] In an interview with Tom Spurgeon, Bissette said, "I've even broken my retirement to do one work-for-hire gig [forSpongeBob Comics] so I could share everything about that kind of current job".^[280]

In the United Kingdom, Titan Magazines published comics based on SpongeBob SquarePants every four weeks from February 3, 2005^[281] through November 28, 2013.^[282] Titan Magazines also teamed up with Lego to release a limited edition SpongeBob-themed comic.^[283]

Films

Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies produced The SpongeBob SquarePants Moviean animated film adaptation of the series that was released on November 19, 2004.^[284] The film was directed by creator Stephen Hillenburg, and was written by long-time series writers comprising Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, and Paul Tibbitt. Hillenburg and Julia Pistor produced the film, while the film score was composed by Gregor Narholz.^{[285][286][287]} 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. The film 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.^[288] It received positive critical reception,^[289][290] and grossed over $140 million worldwide.^[291]

Two television films were released. The two television films are SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis released in 2007 and SpongeBob's Truth or Square released in 2009.

A sequel to the 2004 film was released in theaters on February 6, 2015.^[292] The series' main cast members all reprised their roles,^[293] and the underwater parts are traditionally animated in the manner of the series and the live-action parts uses CGI animation with the SpongeBob characters.^[294][295] The film has a budget similar to the previous film and did not cost more than $100 million to produce.^{[296][297][298]}

On April 30, 2015, Viacom announced a third film was in development.^[299] On August 3, 2015, via Twitter, Vincent Waller confirmed that the sequel is in pre-production and that Paul Tibbitt would direct.^[300] In April 2018, Tibbitt was replaced by Tim Hill as director, and the third film's official title was announced: It's a Wonderful Sponge. Paramount assigned the third film with a scheduled release date of July 17, 2020.^[301] In October 2018, it was announced that the movie will be an origin story of how Spongebob came to Bikini Bottom and how he got his squarepants. Around the same time, it was also announced that Hans Zimmer will compose the music.

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.^[302][303] Several songs have been recorded with the purpose of a single or album release, and have not been featured on the show. For example, the song "My Tidy Whities" written by Tom Kenny and Andy Paley was released only for the album The Best Day Ever (2006). Kenny's inspiration for the song was "underwear humor".^[304] Kenny said, "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".^[304]The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – Music from the Movie and More...a soundtrack album featuring the score of The SpongeBob SquarePants Moviewas released along with the feature-length film in November 2004. Various artists including the Flaming Lips,^[305]Wilco,^[306]Ween,^[307]Motörhead,^[308]the Shins,^[309] and Avril Lavigne^[310] contributed to the soundtrack that reached number 76 on the US Billboard 200.^[311]

Theme park rides

SpongeBob SquarePan ts 4-D film and ride opened in various locations, including Six Flags Over Texas, Flamingo Land Resort, and the Shedd Aquarium.^[312] 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.^[313] The attraction opened in early 2013 at the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration.^[314] The attraction was also released at the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Orlando, Florida.^{[315][316][317]} The seven-minute film follows SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy to their old hijinks while rescuing the jellyfish of Jellyfish Fields from Plankton's evil clutches.^[314]

SpongeBob SquarePants appears at the Mall of America's Nickelodeon theme park re-branded from the Mall of America's Park at MOA, formerly Camp Snoopy, to Nickelodeon Universe in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The new theme park features a SpongeBob-themed Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter custom roller coaster, the SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge, which has replaced the Mystery Mine Ride and Olde Time Photo store on the west end of the theme park, which opened March 15, 2008.^[318][319]

On May 23, 2015, an interactive 3D show titled "SpongeBob SubPants Adventure" opened in Texas at Moody Gardens. According to Moody Gardens President and CEO John Zendt, "Visitors will be able to interact with the Nickelodeon characters on a digital stage as they have never been able to do before."^{[320][321][322]}

Video games

Numerous video games based on the series have been produced. Some of the early games include Legend of the Lost Spatula (2001)^[323] and SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (2003).^[324] The 2003 video game was added to the Greatest Hits by Sony.^[325][326] It also served as the engine basis for a video game based on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Heavy Iron Studios, the game's developers, tweaked the graphics to give the game a sharper and more imaginative look than that of Battle for Bikini Bottom. They also increased the polygon count, added several racing levels, and incorporated many of the creatures seen in the film.^[327] In 2013, Nickelodeon published and distributed SpongeBob Moves In!a freemium city-building game app developed by Kung Fu Factory for iOS and Android.^{[328][329][330][331]}

SpongeBob SquareShorts

Nickelodeon launched the first global SpongeBob SquarePants-themed short film competition, SpongeBob SquareShorts: Original Fan Tributes, in 2013.^[332][333] The contest encourages 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.^[334][335] On July 19, 2013, Nickelodeon announced the finalists for the competition,^{[336][337][338]} and, 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.^[339]

Theater

SpongeBob SquarePants was adapted as a musical for the live stage 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.^[340] The musical opened to critical acclaim,^[341] and tied for most-nominated production at the 2018 72nd Tony Awards with twelve Tony nominations.^[342]

Merchandise

SpongeBob SquarePants logo used from 1999 to 2008

The popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants inspired merchandise from T-shirts to posters.^[66] It was reported that the franchise generated an estimated $8 billion merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon.^[343] It is also the most distributed property of MTV Networks.^[307]SpongeBob is viewed in 170 countries speaking 24 languages, and has also become "a killer merchandising app".^[344] The title character and his friends have been used as a theme for special editions of well-known family board games, including Monopoly,^[345]Life,^[346] and Operation,^[347] as well as a SpongeBob SquarePants edition of Ants in the Pants,^[348] and Yahtzee.^[349]

In 2001, SpongeBob SquarePants signed a marketing deal with Target Corporation and Burger King, expanding its merchandising.^[140] The popularity of SpongeBob has 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.^[350] SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted marketing at women in the country. 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.^[351] Ratings and merchandise sales showed SpongeBob SquarePants has caught on with parents and with college audiences.^[8] In a recent 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.^[8]

Kids' meal tie-ins have been released in snacks and 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.^[352] In Australia, the advertisement for the McDonald's SpongeBob Happy Meal won the Pester Power Award because the ads are enticing young children to want its food because of the free toy.^[353] As a tie-in beverage for the DVD release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie7-Eleven released the limited edition "Under-the-Sea Pineapple Slurpee" in March 2004.^[354]Pirate's Booty released limited edition SpongeBob SquarePants Pirate's Booty snacks in 2013.^[355][356]

In 2007, high-end SpongeBob-themed electronics have been introduced by Imation Electronics Products under the Npower brand, including MP3 players, digital cameras, a DVD player, and a flatscreen television.^[357] Pictures of SpongeBob SquarePants also began to appear on the labels of 8 oz. cans of Green Giant cut green beans and frozen packages of Green Giant green beans and butter sauce, which featured free stickers in 2007 as part of an initiative to encourage kids to eat their vegetables.^[358] The Simmons Jewelry Co. released a $75,000 diamond pendant as part of a SpongeBob collection.^[201][359] In New Zealand, the UK-based Beechdean Group unveiled the SpongeBob SquarePants Vanilla Ice Cream character product as part of a licence deal with Nickelodeon.^[360] NZ Drinks launched the SpongeBob SquarePants bottled water.^[361]

Build-A-Bear Workshop introduced the new SpongeBob SqaurePants collection in stores and online in North America on May 17, 2013.^{[362][363][364]} 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.^[365] Build-A-Bear Workshop stores nationwide celebrated the arrival of SpongeBob with a series of special events from May 17 through May 19.^[366]

On July 13, 2013, Toyota, with Nickelodeon, unveiled a SpongeBob-inspired Toyota Highlander.^[367] The 2014 Toyota Highlander was launched on SpongeBob Day at the San Diego Padres v. Giants game.^{[368][369][370]} The SpongeBob Toyota Highlander visited seven U.S. locations during its release, including the Nickelodeon Suites Resort Orlando in Florida.^[371]

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Bibliography

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