SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants
File:2009Spongeboblogo.png The current logo, enacted on September 28, 2009. No Nickelodeon source is in the new logo.
Genre	Animated comedy
Created by	Stephen Hillenburg
Developed by	Derek Drymon Tim Hill Nicholas R. Jennings
Written by	Stephen Hillenburg Derek Drymon Tim Hill
Directed by	Walt Dohrn Paul Tibbitt
Creative directors	Derek Drymon Vincent Waller
Starring	Tom Kenny Bill Fagerbakke Rodger Bumpass Carolyn Lawrence Clancy Brown Lori Alan Mary Jo Catlett Doug Lawrence Dee Bradley Baker Sirena Irwin Jill Talley Ernest Borgnine Tim Conway
Composers	The Blue Hawaiians Sage Guyton Jeremy Wakefield Steve Belfer Brad Carow
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	126 (247 individual) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Stephen Hillenburg (Seasons 1-3) Paul Tibbitt (Season 4-Present)
Producer	Larry LeFrancis
Running time	22 - 23 minutes
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon (1999-present) Nicktoons Network (2002-present) YTV (2002-present)
Release	May 1, 1999 – present

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and media franchise. It is currently Nickelodeon's highest rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons Network's most-watched shows. It was created by artist, animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, and is produced through United Plankton Pictures Inc.

The pilot episode first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999, following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The "official" series premiere followed on July 17, 1999, with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants." The show reached popularity shortly after the beginning of its second season and has remained popular since.

Characters

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters

File:SpongeBob SquarePants.png

Clockwise from top left: Sandy, SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and Plankton.

SpongeBob SquarePants is an extremely energetic and optimistic sea sponge (although his appearance more closely resembles a kitchen sponge) who lives in a pineapple under the sea with his pet snail Gary, who meows like a cat. Although Gary only speaks in a few episodes, the characters have shown an ability to understand him. Living two houses down from SpongeBob is his best friend Patrick Star, a dim-witted yet friendly starfish who lives under a rock. Living between the two is Squidward Tentacles, an arrogant and egotistical octopus who lives in a moai and dislikes his neighbors (especially SpongeBob) for their child-like behavior. He enjoys playing the clarinet and painting self-portraits of himself.

Another friend of SpongeBob is Sandy Cheeks, a red squirrel who speaks with a Texan accent and resides in an underwater dome in Bikini Bottom. She was sent there to do scientific research for her chimpanzee bosses. Sandy is an expert at karate. When not inside her tree-dome, she wears an astronaut-like suit because she cannot breathe in water. Much to Squidward’s dismay, he and SpongeBob work together at the fictional Krusty Krab fast-food restaurant, where SpongeBob is fry cook and Squidward is cashier. Their employer is former officer cadet for the Bikini Bottom Navy force and war veteran Mr. Eugene Krabs, a miserly crab obsessed with money. Mr. Krabs’ archenemy is Sheldon Plankton, a small green copepod who owns a low-rank fast-food restaurant called the Chum Bucket across the street from the Krusty Krab. Plankton spends most of his time plotting to steal the recipe for Mr. Krabs's popular Krabby Patty burgers in order obtain success, though most of his schemes usually end in failure.

Setting

Main article: Bikini Bottom

File:BikiniBottomTNL.JPG

Bikini Bottom

Much of the series' events take place in Bikini Bottom, an underwater city located in the Pacific Ocean, beneath the real life tropical isle of Bikini Atoll. Stephen Hillenburg has stated that much of Bikini Bottom was based on the real life city of Seattle. Much of this is supported within the context of the episodes themselves; however, despite implications of the city's location as well as anologies to real life, Hillenburg has stated that he wishes to leave the city isolated from the real world, explaining the Baywatch parody scene from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as simply a reference to his favorite show of all time.

Being located underwater, much of the city's populace, like that of the rest of the series, consists mostly of various sea life; however, in many episodes, the laws of physics are violated for comedic value. The citizens of Bikini Bottom live in mostly aquatic-themed buildings, and use "boatmobiles", an amalgamation of cars and boats, as a mode of transportation.

Halmarks

Humor

SpongeBob is designed to appeal to adults as well as children, due to the comic nature of situations encountered in underwater life. Situations, references, and language are used that may not be understood by the show's younger viewers. Certain innuendos, in particular, are intended to go over the younger viewers' heads. For example, SpongeBob tried to show his grandma that he was a mature adult by wearing sideburns and a derby, and listening to free form jazz; in one episode, Squidward tricked SpongeBob and Patrick into thinking he was a ghost; a coral reef sculpted like Toulouse-Lautrec's can-can girls stands in the background of a scene. Numerous marine biology in-jokes are woven into the show. Frequently, the characters will do things that would be physically impossible underwater, such as lighting fires or going to a beach. Part of the show's appeal has to do with the childlike nature of SpongeBob and his best friend, Patrick Star, both of whom are adults but display an innocence typical of human children. However, the characters are not immune from more adult avocations, including rock musicianship in a stadium performance and raising children.

Music

The series' theme was composed by Derek Drymon, Mark Harrison, Stephen Hillenburg and Blaise Smith, although it has been often misattributed to "Weird Al" Yankovic, and is primarily based on the sea shanty, "Blow the Man Down". The song is sung by Painty the Pirate, voiced by Patrick Pinney, and can be found on the soundtrack SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights. A cover of the song by Avril Lavigne can be found on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (soundtrack). Another cover by the Violent Femmes, which aired as a commercial on Nickelodeon to promote season two, can be viewed in the special features of the Nautical Nonsense/Sponge Buddies DVD. A choral version was recorded for the SpongeBob Christmas special where the last repetition of "SpongeBob SquarePants" was replaced by, "It's the SpongeBob Christmas special." The theme song is occasionally utilized as marching cadence. An instrumental version of the opening theme is used in Italy.The majority of the background music used in SpongeBob SquarePants comes from the Associated Production Music library, some of which have also been used in shows such as The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, The X Factor, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Bill Nye The Science Guy, and The Adventures of Pete and Pete. For competition-based episodes, some of Sam Spence's NFL Films music is used (such as "A Golden Boy Again" used in episodes such as The Fry Cook Games and "Ramblin' Man from Gramblin" is used in Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V. "The Lineman" is also used extensively in Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes.) Ironically, one of Spence's more famous songs for the NFL Films library of music is an orchestral version of "Drunken Sailor" called "Up She Rises", first suggested by Steven Sabol to his father Ed because he liked the song at summer camp.

Hawaiian steel guitar music is used for comedic and dramatic effect in the show. Various compositions featuring the Hawaiian steel convey happy, sad, or goofy emotions and situations. Many are traditional Hawaiian melodies such as "Aloha 'Oe" and are usually sampled from the above-mentioned APM music library, and are from time to time performed by classic steel guitar artists, including The Woodies, The Langhorns, and The MelTones. Creator Hillenburg states that much of the music in the series was inspired by 1950s Hawaiian steel guitar tunes. Another aspect of the series' musical score is traditional sea shanties, which are used for the musical themes in the show. The most commonly used song in the series is "Drunken Sailor". Unlike other Nickelodeon shows, SpongeBob features well-known independent musicians who contribute to its soundtrack. Alternative rock bands such as Wilco, The Shins, The Flaming Lips and Ween, as well as metal bands Pantera, Motörhead and Twisted Sister have made appearances on the show and movies soundtracks.

Reception

Critical reception

SpongeBob SquarePants currently holds an 8.6 on TV.com, the third best rating in Nickelodeon, the first being Avatar: The Last Airbender with a rating of 9.3 and the second being The Fairly OddParents with a rating of 8.8.

Popularity and appeal

SpongeBob SquarePants was 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, higher-budgeted shows, such as Rugrats, although when SpongeBob SquarePants aired in 1999, it had gained a significant enough number of 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 both premiered in 2001, and the latter is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity, while the former was cancelled despite gaining a cult following. Though the show debuted in 1999, SpongeBob did not become hugely popular until around 2000, and it has remained popular since then.

Unlike other Nickelodeon shows, SpongeBob features well-known independent musicians who contribute to its soundtrack. Alternative rock bands such as Wilco, The Shins, The Flaming Lips and Ween, as well as metal bands Pantera, Motörhead and Twisted Sister have made appearances on the show and movies soundtracks, and heavy metal group Metallica even released a T-shirt featuring cartoon versions of themselves playing live with the characters SpongeBob and Patrick. British rock singer David Bowie was a special guest on the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Atlantis SquarePantis, which aired on November 12, 2007. The episode drew total 8.8 million viewers, the biggest audience in the show's eight-year history.

The show became so popular with adolescents and adults that the series was broadcast on MTV and featured on Spike TV. A quote by Patrick, "It's gonna rock!" from the episode Mid-Life Crustacean, has been used as a promotional tag-line for rock stations. Ren and Stimpy, among others, had followed a similar path. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie features a cameo appearance by actor David Hasselhoff, in a parody of his role from the Baywatch TV series. In April 2009, as a tie-in to the special ‘’SpongeBob vs. The Big One’’, Burger King distributed two different commercials geared toward children and adult audiences. In ads broadcast on major networks, the commercial shows rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot recording a music video for his new song, “SpongeBob Got Back”.

Criticism and controversy

In 2005, a promotional video which showed SpongeBob along with other characters from children's shows singing together to promote diversity and tolerance, was attacked by an evangelical group in the United States because they saw the character SpongeBob being used as an advocate for homosexuality. James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the makers of the video of promoting homosexuality due to a pro-homosexual group sponsoring the video.

The incident led to questions to whether or not SpongeBob is homosexual. Creator of the character, Stephen Hillenburg, had previously denied that SpongeBob was gay in 2002 when SpongeBob's popularity with gay men grew. He clarified that he considers the character to be "almost asexual". After Dobson made the comments, Hillenburg repeated this assertion that sexual preference was never considered during the creation of the show. Tom Kenny and other production members were shocked and surprised that such an issue had arisen.

Dobson later asserted 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 with the organization that sponsored the video, We Are Family Foundation. Dobson indicated that the We Are Family Foundation posted pro-homosexual material on their website, but later removed it. 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".

Merchandising and marketing

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise

Merchandise based on the show ranges from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Go-Gurt, Kellogg's cereal, and video games to boxer shorts, flip-flops, pajamas, t-shirts, slippers, Pez dispensers, and radios.

File:SpongeBob Wii.JPG

The cover of the SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab game for Wii. This was a launch title for said console in North America.

The show also spawned a large and popular merchandise line at Hot Topic, Claire's, Waldenbooks, Borders Books, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, KB Toys, Big Lots, Wal-Mart, Shopko, Meijer, Kmart, Sears, JCPenney, Kohl's, Lowe's, T.J. Maxx, Toys "R" Us and Ames stores in the United States as well as the Zellers, Wal-Mart Canada and Toys "R" Us stores in Canada, and a limited selection of merchandise in Australia at Kmart Australia and Target Australia.

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, and in 2007 for the "Friend or Foe" special featuring BK Chicken Fries in a box designed to look like SpongeBob. In November 2007, a Burger King Kids Meal was released to tie-in with the new episode "Atlantis SquarePantis". The most recent tie-in kids meal for Burger King features "Pest of the West" toys. Another kids meal tie-in was released at Burger King in April 2009 for SpongeBob vs. The Big One, featuring twelve collectible SpongeBob figures with stickers.

A McDonald's Happy Meal tie-in with SpongeBob-themed Happy Meal boxes and toys has not been released in North America yet, but was released in Europe and other international markets in the summer of 2007. In Australia, the advertisement for the McDonald's SpongeBob Happy Meal won the Pester Power Award for the fact that the ads are enticing young children to want its food because of the free toy. In Japan, they had a kids meal tie-in with KFC which featured different toys based on the TV series. As a tie-in beverage for the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, 7-Eleven convenience stores created a pineapple-flavored Slurpee in 2004, which was discontinued in 2005.

SpongeBob was also featured on VH1's I Love the 90s: Part Deux: I Love 1999: Part Deux as part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black and "Weird Al" Yankovic among other celebrities. 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.

File:Db 2008 SpongeBob61.jpg

The SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge roller coaster inside Nickelodeon Universe Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States.

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. The SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D ride opened at the Noah's Ark Dive-In Theater located at Noah's Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin in the summer of 2007. LEGO received license to produce SpongeBob SquarePants building sets, which are available in stores until January 2010. SpongeBob appears at the Mall of America's new 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 next to the Dora the Explorer ferris wheel and across from the Pepsi Orange Streak. The theme park opened March 15, 2008. The SpongeBob Rock Bottom plunge features a statue of SpongeBob and Patrick riding a bus down a 90° angle holding a giant rubber glove.

In 2007, some new high-end SpongeBob-themed electronics have been introduced by Imation Electronics Products under the Npower brand, such as MP3 players, digital cameras, a DVD player, and a flatscreen television. Other items featuring SpongeBob include a special edition Monopoly board game, Life and Operation 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.

Pictures of SpongeBob SquarePants also started 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 get kids to eat their vegetables. In the United Kingdom, a SpongeBob SquarePants magazine is currently being published by Titan Magazines every four weeks. It was first published on February 3, 2005. The issue published on February 1, 2007 was the second anniversary of the magazine. The magazine contains comic strips, fan letters, competitions and several features including games.

A SpongeBob SquarePants 2009 calendar has been released featuring the caption on the bottom right corner of the front cover, "Celebrating his 10th Anniversary!", which will be on May 1 and July 17, 2009 respectively. On March 31, 2009 three songs from the show were released as downloadable content for the music video game series Rock Band. Nickelodeon has also created a Facebook page and Twitter account for SpongeBob. His best friend, Patrick Star, has been given a page on Facebook as well.

The SpongeBob SquarePants market saturation has been the subject in the comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon", Hawthorne the crab is showing off a small Junior nuclear reactor, and Herman the shark says "Boy, that SpongeBob will endorse anything!"

Production

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 canceled 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, 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, 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 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.SpongeBob's signature voice, provided by Tom Kenny, and humorous style was enjoyable to both younger and older audiences.

Whilst pitching the cartoon to Nickelodeon executives, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an “underwater terrarium with models of the characters”, and Hawaiian music to set the theme. The setup was described by Nick executive Eric Coleman as "pretty amazing". When given money and two weeks to write the pilot episode (“Help Wanted”), Derek Drymon, Stephen Hillenberg, and Nick Jennings returned with, described by Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht, “a performance (I) wish (I) had on tape”.

Although described as stressful by executive producer Derek Drymon, the pitch went “very well”; Kevin Kay and Hecht had to step outside because they were “exhausted from laughing”, making the cartoonists worried.

Beginning; Hillenburg Era (1999-2004)

File:Spongebob 1999 logo.jpg

The first logo used from 1999–2001. This was still seen in the title card prior to September 28, 2009 when the splat was removed.

File:Spongebob 2002 logo.jpg

The second logo, used offscreen and onscreen from 2002–2007; the offscreen version was updated on all toys, and websites (some games still have the 2002 logo) in 2007. On 9/28/2009, this logo lost the Nickelodeon logo because the channel was rebranded the same day

File:NickelodeonSpongeBobSquarepantsLogo.png

The third logo used offscreen used from 2007 – 2009. Following the September 28, 2009 rebranding of Nickelodeon, the splat was removed and is extinct of on the website and since then the logo has no splat. There is no Nickelodeon source on the new logo.

SpongeBob aired its first episode, "Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome," on May 1, 1999, following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The series later made its "official" debut on July 17, 1999 with the second episode "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants." When the first season ended up being at least modestly successful Nickelodeon quietly ordered a second season, in which the animation made the transition from traditional cel to digital ink and paint. The second season began on October 26, 2000 with the episode "Something Smells/Bossy Boots," and during this time, the show propelled into stardom, with the help of a huge merchandising campaign that continues to this day. The growing popularity of SpongeBob led to Nickelodeon immediately ordering a third season, which began on October 5, 2001 with the episode "Just One Bite/The Bully."

In 2002, as the show's success continued to grow, production on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie began. The anouncement of the movie led some fans to fear that the series was being cancelled and rumors of such were spread. Nickelodeon, having aired half of the third season by then, decided to spread the remaining episodes out over two years and the final episode, "SpongeBob Meets The Strangler/Pranks A Lot," aired on October 11, 2004.

During this time, the series came under fire for alleged homosexual overtones between SpongeBob and Patrick. Stephen Hillenburg has stated that SpongeBob has no sexual orientation (and is in fact, asexual); crew members were startled such an issue had arisen. Nevertheless, the character is an icon for gay men in the United States. In early 2005, controversy erupted once again over a video distributed to schools by the We Are Family Foundation promoting homosexual tolerance. The video also starred Barney the Dinosaur and Dora the Explorer . Most recently, controversy began over a Burger King commercial aired in 2009 showing rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot remixing his hit song “Baby Got Back” into a song glorifying “square butts”.

Movie Era (2004-2005)

Released in the U.S. on November 19, 2004, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie received generally positive reviews from critics and successfully grossed over $140,000,000 worldwide. Shortly after the film's release, it was announced that SpongeBob would be continuing with a fourth season due in 2005. Stephen Hillenburg was rumoured to be leaving the show; despite this, he did not actually leave the show but resigned from his position as the show's executive producer. The job now belongs to Derek Drymon, with Paul Tibbitt taking over Drymon's job as creative director.

Post-Movie Era (2005-2009)

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 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.

In December 2006, SpongeBob was approved for a fifth season which began on February 19, 2007 with the episode "Rise and Shine"/"Waiting"/"Fungus Among Us." On July 23, 2007 Nickelodeon aired a special event, called the "SpongeBob New-New-New-New-New Week" in which from Monday to Friday, a new episode of season five would air. This continued until the end of the second week. Later on November 12, 2007 a TV movie aired titled Atlantis SquarePantis, guest staring David Bowie as the voice of Lord Royal Highness. On March 13, 2008, it was announced that SpongeBob will have an additional thirty-nine episodes, which includes the remaining episodes of the sixth season, and a seventh season. The last remaining episode from the fifth season, "Goo Goo Gas", finally aired on July 19, 2009, completing the fifth season of the series.

10th Anniversary and Future (2009-present)

On July 14, 2009, a primetime SpongeBob 10th Anniversary documentary titled Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants, aired on VH1, discussing the history of the show, and its impact on popular culture. Starting on July 17, 2009 at 8:00 PM EST, Nickelodeon aired a 50½-hour marathon titled "The Ultimate SpongeBob Sponge Bash." The marathon included the premiere of 11 new episodes, countdowns of celebrities' and viewer-chosen top 10 episodes, and more. In November 2009, Nickelodeon will debut a second TV movie titled Truth or Square, in which SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs are accidently locked inside the Krusty Krab freezer on the night of the restaurant's 117th anniversary celebration. While trapped inside, the friends look back on their shared memories with "shocking" reveals. Several celebrities will guest voice on Truth or Square, including Will Ferrell, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, and Craig Ferguson. Also Victoria Beckham is set to lend her voice as Queen Amphitrite, a Brit-accented goddess of the sea in an upcoming episode most likely to air during an hour-long special this summer.

Specials (2000-present)

In addition to standard 11 minute episodes, Nickelodeon has produced double length episodes as specials. Nickelodeon aired the first special "Christmas Who?" on December 6, 2000. It was also the first of the show's episodes hosted by Patchy the Pirate, following "Shanghaied", "SpongeBob's House Party", "The Sponge Who Could Fly", "SpongeBob B.C. (Before Comedy)", "Friend or Foe", and the TV movie Atlantis SquarePantis.

On March 9, 2001, Nickelodeon held an event titled the "You Wish" special, hosted by Patchy. The episode "Shanghaied" premiered, and viewers got to vote (via phone or online) for which character they wanted to get the last wish at the end. Patrick and Squidward's endings were then shown and it was announced that SpongeBob's ending was the winner.

The first special that was not hosted by Patchy was "Have You Seen This Snail?", which aired on November 11, 2005. On February 20, 2006, the second special to not be hosted by Patchy, titled "Dunces and Dragons", was broadcast.

Nickelodeon again used the marathon format, broadcasing special episodes with the special "Pest of the West" in April 2008. Burger King produced a line of Kid's Meal toys for the event and the special was later released on DVD. On October 13, 2008, Nickelodeon aired another SpongeBob special, advertised as, "WhoBob WhatPants?", but the episode is titled, "Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?"

On April 17, 2009, Nickelodeon aired another special titled "SpongeBob vs. The Big One," which featured guest stars Johnny Depp as Jack Kahuna Laguna ("JKL") and Davy Jones as himself (as a reference to Davy Jones' locker).

Episodes and media releases

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes

Episodes:

Season	Episodes	First Airdate	Last Airdate
Season 1	20	May 1, 1999	April 8, 2000
Season 2	20	October 26, 2000	September 6, 2002
Season 3	20	October 5, 2001	October 11, 2004
Season 4	20	May 6, 2005	July 24, 2007
Season 5	20	February 19, 2007	July 19, 2009
Season 6	20	March 3, 2008	July 19, 2009
Season 7	20	March 16, 2009	TBA
Season 8	12	TBA	TBA

Films

Title	Release Date	Note	Length
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie	November 19, 2004	Theatrical Movie	3-Part
Atlantis SquarePantis	November 12, 2007	TV Movie	2-Part
SpongeBob's Truth or Square	November 6, 2009	TV Movie	TBA

Notable marathons

Marathon Name	Start Date	End Date	Total Duration
The Best Day Ever	November 9, 2006	November 10, 2006	25 hours
Patrick for President	February 19, 2007	February 19, 2007	5 hours
Atlantis SquarePantis Z to A Marathon	November 12, 2007	November 12, 2007	12 hours
The Ultimate SpongeBob Sponge Bash	July 17, 2009	July 19, 2009	50½ hours

Premiere weeks

Week name	Start Date	End Date	# of Episodes
SpongeBob's New New New New New Week	July 23, 2007	August 3, 2007	21
Gimme 5 Week	March 3, 2008	March 7, 2008	5
SpongeBob Premiere Factore Five (SPF 5)	June 2, 2008	June 6, 2008	5
Bikini Bottom Confidential	August 4, 2008	August 8, 2008	5
SpongeBob Triple Play	February 17, 2009	February 19, 2009	3
The Bob Squad	March 16, 2009	March 20, 2009	5
Deep Sea Danger Zone	June 1, 2009	June 5, 2009	5

Shorts

• Astrology With Squidward
• Patrick the Snowman
• Plankton's Holiday Hits
• How The You-Know-Who Stole You-Know-What!
• 12 Days of Nickmas
• The Endless Summer
• A Random Act of SpongeBob- promotion for The Best Day Ever. These shorts were broadcasted during promos. They can now be seen on the SpongeBob Season Four Volume 2 DVD Box Set.
• The Foe-Gotten Years- promotional shorts for "Friend or Foe?"
• Journey to Atlantis by Vantis- promotional shorts for "Atlantis SquarePantis".
• Pest of the West Shorts- Promotion for Pest of the West. Shorts feature: "Saloon Door Sarrows", parody of an old short film from the 1910s. It shows SpongeBob’s great, great, great, etc. Grandfather, SpongeBuck trying to get into a saloon, but the doors will not open. "How to be a Tough Guy" SpongeBob wants to learn how to be a tough cowboy. And "Spur Skates" a parody on most commercials and a parody of roller skates.
• What if SpongeBob were Gone?- promotional shorts where Sandy, Pactrick, and Mr. Krabs try to do things when SpongeBob is gone missing.

Cast

• Bill Fagerbakke: Patrick Star
• Brian Doyle-Murray: The Flying Dutchman
• Carolyn Lawrence: Sandy Cheeks
• Clancy Brown: Eugene Krabs
• Dee Bradley Baker: Squilliam Fancyson, miscellaneous characters
• Frank Welker: animal vocal effects, talking Gorilla ("I Had an Accident")
• Jill Talley: Karen (Plankton's computer wife)
• Lori Alan: Pearl Krabs
• Mary Jo Catlett: Mrs. Puff
• Mr. Lawrence: Sheldon J. Plankton, Larry Lobster, miscellaneous characters
• Paul Tibbitt: Mama Krabs ("Sailor Mouth", "Mid-Life Crustacean") Potty the Parrot
• Rodger Bumpass: Squidward Tentacles, Dr. Gill Gilliam
• Stephen Hillenburg: Potty the Parrot
• Tom Kenny: SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, Narrator, Patchy the Pirate, Mr. SquarePants, miscellaneous characters

Guest appearances

• Alec Baldwin: Dennis the Hitman (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• Alton Brown: Nicholas Withers ("House Fancy")
• Amy Poehler: Grandma ("Have You Seen This Snail?")
• Bob Joles: ManRay(2007-current)
• Charles Nelson Reilly: The Dirty Bubble
• Christopher Guest: Stanley SquarePants ("Stanley S. SquarePants")
• Dan Green: The Old Mayor of New Kelp City ("Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?")
• David Bowie: Lord Royal Highness ("Atlantis SquarePantis")
• David Glen Eisley: SpongeBob singing "Sweet Victory" ("Band Geeks")
• David Hasselhoff : self (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• Davy Jones: himself, "SpongeBob vs. The Big One"
• Dennis Quaid: Mr. Krabs' grandfather in the episode "Grandpappy the Pirate".
• Ernest Borgnine: Mermaid Man
• Gene Shalit: Gene Scallop ("The Krusty Sponge")
• Gene Simmons: Sea Monster ("20,000 Patties Under the Sea")
• Ian McShane: The Leader of Vikings ("Dear Vikings")
• Jeffrey Tambor: King Neptune (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• Jim Jarmusch: self ("Hooky")
• John DiMaggio: BlackJack SquarePants ("BlackJack")
• John Lurie: self ("Hooky")
• John O'Hurley: King Neptune ("Neptune's Spatula")
• John Rhys-Davies: ManRay
• Johnny Depp: Surf guru Jack Kahuna Laguna in the episode "SpongeBob vs. The Big One."
• Junior Brown: Sandy Cheeks ("Texas"; sang the last line: "I want to go home.")
• Kevin Michael Richardson: King Neptune ("Party Pooper Pants")
• Lux Interior: Bird Brains Singer ("Party Pooper Pants")
• Marion Ross: Grandma SquarePants ("Grandma's Kisses," "BlackJack")
• Mark Hamill: The Moth ("Night Light")
• Martin Olson: The Chief ("Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V")
• Nigel Planer: Dr. Marmalade ("Chimps Ahoy")
• Pantera: "Pre-Hibernation" performers ("Pre-Hibernation Week")
• Pat Morita: Master Udon ("Karate Island")
• Patton Oswalt: Jim ("The Original Fry Cook")
• Ray Liotta: One of the Bubble Popping Boys ("Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?")
• R. Lee Ermey: Prison Guard ("The Inmates of Summer")
• Rik Mayall: Lord Reginald ("Chimps Ahoy")
• Scarlett Johanson: Princess Mindy (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• Steve Kehela: Narrator ("Krusty Krab Training Video")
• Tim Conway: Barnacle Boy
• Ween: "Loop de Loop" is on a record Gary the Snail plays for SpongeBob to teach him how to tie his shoes in "Your Shoe's *Untied."

Crew

Name	Position	Years
Steven Banks	Head Writer	2004 – present
Steven Belfer	Music
Mike Bell	Writer/Storyboard Director	2005 – present
Peter Burns	Writer	1999 – present
Nicholas Carr	Music
Bradley Carow	Music	2009 - present
Sherm Cohen	Storyboard Supervisor/Artist, Writer, Director
Sean Dempsey	Animation Director
Derek Drymon	Writer	1999 – present
	Storyboard Artist	1999 – present
	Creative Director	1999 - 2005
	Story Editor
	Executive Producer	2005 - present
Steven Fonti	Writer/Storyboard Director	1999
C.H. Greenblatt	Writer, Storyboard Artist, Director	2000-2006 (left the show to work on Chowder on Cartoon Network)
Sage Guyton	Music
Sam Henderson	Writer, Storyboard Director
Tim Hill	Writer
Stephen Hillenburg	Creator	1999 – present
	Executive Producer	1999 – 2004
	Writer	1999 – present
	Storyboard Director	1999 – present
Kaz	Writer, Storyboard Artist
Chuck Klein	Writer, Storyboard Artist & Director
Doug Lawrence	Writer, Story Editor
Jay Lender	Writer, Storyboard Artist, Director
John Magness	Storyboard Artist	2009 - present
Heather Martinez	Storyboard Artist
Chris Mitchell	Writer, Storyboard Artist	1999
Caleb Muerer	Storyboard Artist
Mark O'Hare	Writer, Storyboard Artist, Director
Andrew Overtoom	Animation Director
Andy Rheingold	Executive in Charge of Production	2009 - present
Ted Seko	Storyboard Artist	2009 - present
Alan Smart	Animation Director	1999 – present
Aaron Springer	Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director	1999-present
Jimmy Stone	Animation Director	2009 - present
Paul Tibbitt	Writer/Storyboard Director/Supervising Producer/Creative Director Co-Executive Producer	2004 – present 2006 – present
Brad Vandergrift	Storyboard Artist
Jeremy Wakefield	Music
Vincent Waller	Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director/Technical Director & Creative Director (2005 – present)
Frank Weiss	Animation Director
Erik Wiese	Writer/Storyboard Artist
David Wigforss	Special Effects (CG visual effects animator)
Merriwether Williams	Story Editor/Writer
Tom Yasumi	Animation Director
Oliver Truby	Storyboard Artist Supervisor

DVD releases

Season		Episodes	Originally aired	DVD release date			Discs
				Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	Season One	19⅔	1999—2000	October 28, 2003	November 7, 2005	November 30, 2006	3
	Season Two	20	2000—2002	October 19, 2004	October 23, 2006	November 30, 2006	3
	Season Three	20	2001—2004	September 27, 2005	December 3, 2007	November 8, 2007	3
	Season Four, Volume One	10	2005—2007	September 12, 2006	November 3, 2008	TBA	2
	Season Four, Volume Two	10	2005—2007	January 9, 2007	November 3, 2008	TBA	2
	Season Five, Volume One	10	2007—2009	September 4, 2007	TBA	TBA	2
	Season Five, Volume Two	10	2007—2009	November 18, 2008	TBA	TBA	2
	Season Six	10	2008—2009	TBA	TBA	TBA	2
	Season Seven	TBA	2009—TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

Note: The pilot episode, "Help Wanted" was not released on the first season DVD. However, it was added on the third season DVD as a bonus feature.

Awards

Year	Association	Award Category	Notes	Result
2000	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Music	Episodes: "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy" and "Pickles"	Won
2000	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Sound	Episode: "Karate Choppers"	Won
2001	Annie Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production	Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff in "No Free Rides"	Nominated
2001	Annie Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production	Tom Kenny as SpongeBob in "Wormy"	Nominated
2001	Annie Awards	Outstanding Individual Achievement for a Song in an Animated Production	Peter Straus and Paul Tibbitt for the song "The Very First Christmas"	Nominated
2001	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Sound	Episodes: "Rock Bottom" and "Arrgh"	Won
2001	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Music	Episodes: "Fools In April" and "Neptune's Spatula"	Nominated
2002	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)		Nominated
2002	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation	Episodes: "Secret Box" and "Band Geeks"	Won
2002	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Music	Episodes: "Jellyfish Hunter" and "The Fry Cook Games"	Nominated
2002	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming		Won
2003	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)	Episodes: "New Student Starfish" and "Clams"	Nominated
2003	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Music	Episodes: "Wet Painters" and "Krusty Krab Training Video"	Won
2003	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation	Episodes: "Nasty Patty" and "Idiot Box"	Won
2003	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2004	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)	Episode: "SpongeBob B.C. (Before Comedy)"	Nominated
2004	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Music	Episodes: "The Great Snail Race" and "Mid-Life Crustacean".	Won
2004	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television Animation — Music	Episode: "Mid-Life Crustacean".	Nominated
2004	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2005	Annie Awards	Best Animated Television Production		Won
2005	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)	Episodes: "Fear of a Krabby Patty" and "Shell of a Man"	Nominated
2005	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated	Episodes: "Pranks A Lot" and "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler"	Nominated
2005	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2005	Satellite Awards	Best Youth DVD	Complete Second Season DVD	Nominated
2005	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming		Nominated
2006	Annie Awards	Best Writing in an Animated Television Production	C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell, and Tim Hill in "Fear of a Krabby Patty"	Won
2006	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated	Episode: "Have You Seen This Snail?"	Nominated
2006	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2007	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)	Episodes: "Bummer Vacation" and "Wigstruck"	Nominated
2007	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2007	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming		Nominated
2008	Annie Awards	Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production	Tom Kenny in "Spy Buddies"	Nominated
2008	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing in Television: Animated	Episode: "SpongeHenge"	Nominated
2008	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Nominated
2008	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)	Episodes: "The Inmates of Summer" and "The Two Faces of Squidward"	Nominated
2008	Philippines Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2009	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Cartoon		Won
2009	Annie Awards	Direction in an Animated Television Production	Episode: "Penny Foolish"	Nominated
2009	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Edting: Television Animation	Episode: "Suction Cup Symphony"	Nominated
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Animated Show		Won
2009	Emmy Awards	Special Class Animated Program	Episode: "Dear Vikings"	Nominated

Footnotes

• Template:Fnb The episodes are numbered by when they are aired. When two episodes (except for the specials) are aired at once, they share the same number.

External links

• Official site (US)
• Official Site (Asia)
• Official site (Australia)
• Official site (UK)
• SpongeBob SquarePants at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• SpongeBob SquarePants at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• SpongeBob SquarePants at YTV.com
• SpongeBob SquarePants at Epguides

Wikis

• SpongePedia
• SpongeBob SquarePants Wikia
• SpongeBob SquarePants NeoSeeker Wiki