SpongeBob SquarePants

This article is about the series. For the protagonist of this series, see SpongeBob SquarePants (character).

This show has a wiki of its own: Encyclopedia SpongeBobia.

SpongeBob SquarePants
Genre	Animated comedy Family Fantasy
Created by	Stephen Hillenburg
Developer	Derek Drymon Tim Hill Nick Jennings
Composer(s)	Steve Belfer Nicolas Carr Sage Guyton Jeremy Wakefield Brad Carow (1999–2002) The Blue Hawaiians (1999–2002) Eban Schletter (2000–present) Barry Anthony Trop (2006–2013)
Opening theme	"SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song", performed by Patrick Pinney
Ending theme	"SpongeBob Closing Theme", composed by Steve Belfer
Country of origin	United States
Number of seasons	13
Number of episodes	262
Production
Produced by	Donna Castricone (1999–2002) Helen Kafatic (2002–2004) Anne Michaud (2001) Dina Buteyn (2005–2010) Jennie Monica Hammond (2010–present) Supervising producers: Derek Drymon (2002–2004) Paul Tibbitt (2005–2015) Marc Ceccarelli (2015–2018) Vincent Waller (2015–2018)
Running time	22-23 minutes (9-12 minutes per segment)
Production company(s)	United Plankton Productions Nickelodeon Animation Studios
External links
IMDb page
TV.com page

"SpongeBob SquarePants" Theme Song (NEW HD) Episode Opening Credits Nick Animation

The main characters of the show, from left to right: Gary, Karen, Plankton, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mrs. Puff, and Pearl.

Theme park mascots of the characters, seen at many Nickelodeon events

Early online spot

2001 wallpaper

2006 poster from Nick Asia's website

2016 promo art of the characters

The main characters

SpongeBob SquarePants often referred to as just SpongeBob, is an animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. The series premiered after the Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. It officially began airing on July 17th of the same year with the second episode "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants."

The main character is an accident-prone sea sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, who lives in an underwater pineapple with his pet snail Gary. His neighbors are his best friend, Patrick Star, and a sour octopus named Squidward. SpongeBob works for a cheapskate crab named Mr. Krabs, who lives in an anchor with his whale daughter Pearl. SpongeBob is enrolled in a boat-driving school run by Mrs. Puff, a pufferfish, and often spends time with a thrill-seeking squirrel from Texas named Sandy. The villains of the show are Plankton and Karen, the owners of a failing restaurant called the Chum Bucket. Most episodes take place in the town of Bikini Bottom or on the surrounding seafloor.

The cartoon is designed to appeal to older viewers as much as to children. Underwater life and situations are represented, absurdly, as though they are almost equivalent to normal terrestrial lifestyles. Instead of cars, the residents of Bikini Bottom drive boats with wheels. A flurry of bubbles accompany many actions, to remind the viewer everything is underwater. Squidward lives in an Easter Island head and Patrick lives under a rock. The suggestion is that the characters' dwellings have fallen from a tropical island to become underwater habitats. Snails behave like cats, while jellyfish act like bees, worms are the undersea equivalent of dogs, and scallops are often likened to birds.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the first theatrical film based on the series, was released on November 19, 2004. According to Square Roots, the movie was also the reason for the long production hiatus between the third and fourth season. A second movie, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, was released on February 6, 2015. A third movie, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, was released on August 14, 2020 in Canada.

History/Production

Main article: History of SpongeBob SquarePants

Theme song

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song

The theme song, a sea shanty-style tune is sung by Pat Pinney and can also be found on the soundtrack, SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights. A cover of the song by superstar Avril Lavigne can be found on the soundtrack for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. There was also a choral version done for the early episodes.

For several special episodes, the theme song was altered to fit the plot of the episode, such as in "Christmas Who?" and "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?"

Characters

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants - A square sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He works at the Krusty Krab along with his boring neighbor Squidward. He has a best friend named Patrick Star.
• Patrick Star - A cheerful, naive, and unintelligent starfish who is SpongeBob's best friend. He lives under a rock to the right of Squidward's house. He is unemployed but has held various temporary jobs throughout the series.
• Squidward Tentacles - An arrogant octopus who lives in an Easter Island head between SpongeBob and Patrick's houses. Although loved by the other characters, Squidward is pessimistic and asocial. He loathes his job as the cashier at the Krusty Krab.
• Sandy Cheeks - Another friend of SpongeBob's, Sandy is an athletic squirrel from Texas. She wears an astronaut suit and lives in an air-filled "Treedome" so that she can survive Bikini Bottom's ocean environment. She works as a scientist and an inventor.
• Eugene H. Krabs - The cheapskate, miserly owner of the Krusty Krab. Commonly known as Mr. Krabs, he is SpongeBob and Squidward's boss. He lives in an anchor with his daughter Pearl, who is a whale.
• Sheldon J. Plankton - A small green copepod who runs the failing Chum Bucket restaurant along with his sentient computer Karen. His goal is to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula and run Mr. Krabs out of business. He is a skilled inventor and often creates machines to assist him in his plots.
• Karen Plankton - A waterproof supercomputer who lives in the Chum Bucket laboratory. She acts as Plankton's sidekick and wife, providing him with evil plans to steal the recipe for Krabby Patties. Plankton always takes the credit for Karen's ideas and ends up messing them up.
• Mrs. Puff - SpongeBob's teacher at boating school. She is a pufferfish who blows up like an airbag whenever she is scared or crashes. SpongeBob is her longest-standing student. She is Mr. Krabs' love interest and girlfriend.
• Pearl Krabs - A whale who lives in a hollow anchor with her father, Mr. Krabs. When she grows up, her father wants her to continue the family business by inheriting the Krusty Krab and becoming its owner. She is currently a teenager who spends most of her time and money at the mall.
• Gary - SpongeBob's pet snail who meows like a cat, as do the other snails on the show. He is very intelligent, as revealed in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied." Gary actually wears shoes, and taught SpongeBob how to tie his shoes. Gary also has many other items stored in his shell.

Episodes

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants episode list

Season	Episodes	First episode	Last episode
Pilot	0	1997
Season 1	20	May 1, 1999	April 8, 2000
Season 2	20	October 20, 2000	July 26, 2003
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	26	March 3, 2008	July 5, 2010
Season 7	26	July 19, 2009	June 11, 2011
Season 8	26	March 26, 2011	December 6, 2012
Season 9	26	July 21, 2012	February 20, 2017
Season 10	11	October 15, 2016	December 2, 2017
Season 11	26	June 24, 2017	November 25, 2018
Season 12	26	November 11, 2018	TBA
Season 13	13	TBA	TBA

Movies

Title	Release Date	Note	Running Time
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie	November 19, 2004	Theatrical film	87 minutes
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	February 6, 2015	Theatrical film	92 minutes
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run	August 14, 2020	Streaming film	91 minutes

Home video releases

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants videography

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants international videography

Cast

• Tom Kenny: SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, Patchy the Pirate, French Narrator
• Bill Fagerbakke: Patrick Star
• Rodger Bumpass: Squidward Tentacles
• Clancy Brown: Eugene H. Krabs
• Doug Lawrence: Sheldon J. Plankton, Potty the Parrot (since 2017), Larry the Lobster
• Jill Talley: Karen Plankton
• Carolyn Lawrence: Sandy Cheeks
• Mary Jo Catlett: Mrs. Puff
• Lori Alan: Pearl Krabs
• Stephen Hillenburg: Potty the Parrot (2000-2004)
• Paul Tibbitt: Potty the Parrot (2005-2012)
• Dee Bradley Baker: Various characters, including Bubble Bass and Squilliam Fancyson
• Sirena Irwin: Various characters, including Margaret SquarePants
• Thomas F. Wilson: Various characters
• Carlos Alazraqui: Scooter
• Ernest Borgnine: Mermaid Man
• Tim Conway: Barnacle Boy
• Brian Doyle-Murray: The Flying Dutchman
• Charles Nelson Reilly: The Dirty Bubble
• Marion Ross: Grandma SquarePants

Movie cast

• Scarlett Johansson: Princess Mindy
• Jeffrey Tambor: King Neptune
• Alec Baldwin: Dennis
• Antonio Banderas: Burger-Beard the Pirate
• Matt Berry: Bubbles

Crew

• Stephen Hillenburg: Creator, Showrunner (1999–2004), Executive Producer (1999-2018)
• Derek Drymon: Creative Director/Writer/Story Editor/Executive Producer (1999-2004)
• Sherm Cohen: Art Director/Writer/Executive Prouducer (2005-2006)
• Paul Tibbitt: Writer/Storyboard Director/Backing Voice Actor/Executive Producer, Showrunner (1999-2004; 2005-2017)
• Merriwether Williams: Story Editor/Writer
• Doug Lawrence): Writer/Story Editor
• Chuck Klein: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
• Jay Lender: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
• Sam Henderson: Writer/Storyboard Director
• Kaz: Writer/Storyboard Artist
• Aaron Springer: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
• C.H. Greenblatt: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
• Bradley Carow: Music
• David Wigforss: Special Effects (CG visual effects animator)
• Caleb Muerer: Art Director
• Andy Rheingold: Executive in Charge of Production
• Tim Hill: Writer
• Eric Wiese: Writer/Storyboard Artist
• Mark O'Hare: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director
• Steven Fonti: Writer/Storyboard Director (1999)
• Chris Mitchell: Writer/Storyboard Artist (1999)
• Mike Bell: Writer/Storyboard Director (2005-)
• Vincent Waller: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director/Technical Director (2005-), Showrunner (2015-)
• Alan Smart: Animation Director
• Tom Yasumi: Animation Director
• Andrew Overtoom: Animation Director
• Sean Dempsey: Animation Director
• Chris Reccardi: Storyboard Director & Writer

Broadcast history

Country	Channel
United States	Nickelodeon (1999-present) NickToons (2002-present)
Canada	YTV (2000-present) Nickelodeon Canada (2009–present)
Albania	Çufo Comedy Central (subtiles)
Arabic Speaking Countries	MBC 3 (rarely) Nickelodeon Arabia Nicktoons Arabia
Bulgaria	Diema Kids Super 7 Nickelodeon
China	ATV World (Hong Kong) CCTV-14 (Mainland China)
Croatia	RTL Nova TV Nickelodeon Hayat TV (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Hayatovci (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

External links

• Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
• SpongeBob SquarePants on Wikipedia
• SpongeBob SquarePants at TV Tropes