Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SpongeBob SquarePants
– The show premiered on May 1, 1999, and aired every day except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
– In 2003, the show became one of the first four programs shown during the “Nicktoons” block on Nickelodeon.
– In 2004, the show won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.
– On September 11, 2007, the episode titled “Band Geeks” aired; it marked the first appearance of Squidward Tentacles since the second season finale in 2001.
– A spinoff film, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, was released in theaters on June 3, 2015.
– It received a sequel movie, titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, on November 19, 2018.
– The show’s theme song was composed by Patrick Pinney, and performed by him along with Stephen Hillenburg.
Premise
– In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies the sunken island of Atlantis, home to the once great civilization of Atlantis. This mysterious island is now inhabited by sea creatures called Atlantons, whose main goal is to find the legendary lost continent of Atlantis. One day, while exploring the depths of the ocean, SpongeBob Squarepants stumbles upon the sunken city of Atlantis. He meets Plankton, a crab obsessed with finding his ex-wife Karen, who left him for Squidward Tentacles. SpongeBob and Plankton help each other discover what really happened to Karen. Together, they uncover clues about how to save the world from being destroyed by an asteroid.
Characters
The show centers on the title character and an eclectic group of colorful underwater creatures known collectively as the Bikini Bottomites. The main characters are SpongeBob Squarepants; Squidward Tentacles, a crab obsessed with money and power; Patrick Star, a starfish who loves attention; Sandy Cheeks, a sassy clam who enjoys singing and dancing; Mr. Krabs, owner of the Krusty Krabby Patty restaurant chain; Plankton, a slimy green alien who dreams of world domination; Karen, a beautiful pearl shark; Gary, a blue whale; and Mr. Herbert, a snail who is often mistaken for a slug. Other recurring characters include Squidward’s pet octopus, Sandy’s best friend, Gary’s girlfriend, and SpongeBob’s nemesis, Plankton.
Production
The idea for SpongeBob SquarePants came about during a summer vacation while Hillenburg was working at the Ocean Institute. He had been watching children take part in activities related to the institute and he thought it would make a great show. After returning home, Hillenburg began drawing out ideas and concepts for the show. His wife suggested naming it “SpongeBob,” because she liked how the name sounded. They pitched the concept to Nickelodeon executives, who greenlit the project.
Hillenburg wrote most episodes himself and co-wrote several others. He served as executive producer and story editor. In addition to writing, Hillenburg directed every episode of the show except one. He died on November 27, 2018, following complications resulting from ALS.
Early Inspirations
Hillenburg grew up loving science fiction and fantasy books and movies. As a child, he watched Star Trek reruns and read comic books such as Fantastic Four and Spiderman. He also enjoyed reading National Geographic magazines. These influences are evident throughout the show. For example, Mr. Krabs’ pet snail Gary is named after the character from Doctor Who.
In high school, Hillenburg developed a passion for marine life. He learned to scuba dive at age 16 and later studied marine biology at college. During this period, he worked at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California. This experience inspired him to write the show.
Production
Nickelodeon originally wanted to produce a live action series based on the popular video game Bubble Bobble. However, the network eventually chose to develop a cartoon version of the franchise. Production began in 1995 and lasted three years. The original plan called for each episode to feature a different theme. The first season focused on the lives of the Bikini Bottomites. Season 2 dealt with issues like friendship and loyalty. The final season focused on teamwork and leadership.
Conception
Before SpongeBob Squarepants became a household name, Tom Kenny worked as a staff artist at Nickelodeon. He spent most of his career drawing backgrounds and props for the network’s children’s programming, including Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, Invader Zim, and Rocko’s Modern Life.
In 1995, while working as a staff artist for the Ocean Institute, Hillenberg entertained plans to return eventually for a bachelor’s degree in art. But before this could happen, he attended an animation fest, which inspired him to take a slight detour in his artistic journey. Instead of pursuing a traditional art program, he chose to attend CalArts, where he studied experimental animation. His thesis project,, won awards for best short and best student director at festivals across the world.
After graduating in 1999, Hillenburg returned home to Long Beach, Calif., to work at the Ocean Institute. One day, his boss asked him what he wanted to do next. “I want to go into TV,” Hillenburg told her. “What about you?” she replied. “I’m gonna draw my whole life.” Hillenburg laughed. “You know what I mean,” she continued. “I’ve got some ideas for cartoons.”
Hillenburg liked the idea. Soon, he began developing a cartoon called SpongeBob SquarePants. In 2002, he pitched it to Nickelodeon, and the rest is history.
Assembling the crew
In 1999, Nickelodeon executive Doug Herzog approached Tom Kenny about working on a pilot for a show based around a character named Mr. Krabs. Kenny agreed to work on it, but didn’t know what it would be about. He told his wife, who suggested a fish store owner. Later, she told her husband that she thought the character should be a crab.
Kenny contacted animation veteran John R. Dilworth, who worked on Tiny Toons Adventures, and asked him to draw some samples. After seeing one of the drawings, Kenny became excited about the idea of creating a cartoon featuring a crustacean. He went to see the creator of another animated series, Rugrats, Tommy Pickles, to ask about the character. When he learned that the show was being developed into a feature film, he decided to pitch the idea to Nickelodeon executives.
The network greenlit the project, and hired Tom Kenny as the voice of Mr. Krabbs. At first, the producers considered having the character be a lobster, but Kenny convinced them to make him a crab.
Jennings was brought on board to design the show’s look; he designed the character’s appearance, along with many others. His initial concept was a purple creature with a red face and yellow eyes.
Hillenburg was inspired by the book A Sand County Almanac, written by naturalist Aldo Leopold. In particular, he was intrigued by Leopold’s description of the relationship between humans and wildlife.
Pitching
Creators Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell pitched the show to Nickelodeon executives in 2007. During the pitch, creator Joe Murray wore a Hawaiian shirt, brought an underwater aquarium with models of the characters, and played Hawaiian music to help set the mood.
The idea behind SpongeBob Squarepants was simple: make a cartoon about a fish named SpongeBob living in Bikini Bottom. But the real story begins here.