SpongeBob SquarePants is the protagonist of the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. He is characterized by his optimistic and childlike attitude. He lives in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, where he regularly gets into absurd and humorous situations. He is voiced by Tom Kenny.
SpongeBob was created by Stephen Hillenburg, an artist and marine science educator. SpongeBob's name is derived from "Bob the Sponge", a character from Hillenburg's unpublished educational book The Intertidal Zone. Hillenburg created the book while teaching marine biology to visitors of the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California, during the 1980s. After working as a director on the animated series Rocko's Modern Life, Hillenburg began developing his own animated series based on The Intertidal Zone. SpongeBob's first appearance was in the SpongeBob SquarePants pilot episode, "Help Wanted", which premiered on May 1, 1999.
SpongeBob has become popular among children and adults. The character has garnered a positive response from media critics and is frequently named as one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time.
Role in SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob is a good-natured, naive, and enthusiastic sea sponge. He lives in a submerged pineapple with his pet snail, Gary, in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, which is also home to other anthropomorphic creatures. SpongeBob is often seen in the company of his best friend and next-door neighbor, the starfish Patrick Star. SpongeBob is obsessively attached to his job as a fry cook at a local fast food restaurant, the Krusty Krab.[4] His boss is Mr. Krabs, a greedy red crab who becomes a father figure to him.[5] SpongeBob's ill-tempered and snobbish neighbor, the octopus Squidward Tentacles, works as the Krusty Krab's cashier.[6]
SpongeBob's hobbies include fishing for jellyfish, blowing bubbles, and practicing karate with his friend Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas.[7][8] His greatest goal in life is to obtain his boat-driving license from Mrs. Puff's boating school, but he often panics and crashes when driving, causing him to fail the course multiple times.[9] SpongeBob's highly optimistic attitude makes him ignorant to negativity from others. For example, he believes that Squidward enjoys his company, even though Squidward is usually annoyed by SpongeBob's behavior.[10]
Development
Conception
SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and began developing his artistic abilities at a young age. Hillenburg pursued both during college, majoring in marine biology and minoring in art at Humboldt State University. After graduating in 1984, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.[11][12][13]
While Hillenburg was working at the Ocean Institute, he created a comic book precursor to SpongeBob titled The Intertidal Zone.[12] The comic featured various
Reception
Critical reception
Throughout SpongeBob SquarePants' first run, SpongeBob became instantly popular with both children and adults. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named him one of the "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years".[40] TV Guide listed SpongeBob SquarePants at number nine on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.[41]
James Poniewozik of Time magazine considered the character "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match–conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him."[42] The New York Times critic Joyce Millman said, "His relentless good cheer would be irritating if he weren't so darned lovable and his world so excellently strange... Like Pee-wee's Playhouse, SpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet."
Merchandising
SpongeBob's translated well into related merchandise sales. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week, which was faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time.[25] SpongeBob was popular in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted its marketing at women there as a way to build the SpongeBob SquarePants brand. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan as the character's design is very different from the already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu.[90] The character inspired a soap-filled sponge product manufactured by SpongeTech.[91]
In early 2009, the Simmons Jewelry Co. released a $75,000 diamond pendant as part of a SpongeBob collection.[92]
References
- Kyle Jarrow. The SpongeBob Musical Tina Landau, June 7, 2016^
- Mark Senior. The SpongeBob Musical at the Southbank Centre review: rarely gets above water The Standard, August 4, 2023^
- Kyle Jarrow. The SpongeBob Musical Tina Landau, June 7, 2016^