The Spongebob Square-Case

On May 1st, 1999 an sea sponge applied to work at The Krusty Krab as a fry cook. Showing off his unrelenting optimism and cooking skills, he won the hearts of Mr. Krabs (his future boss) and children everywhere. Now 20 years later, Spongebob Squarepants is a cultural icon.

Spongebob Squarepants changed Nickelodeon and cartoons forever. He was a beacon of humor in times of struggle, giving Americans reasons to laugh. The world was in need of his talents, and Spongebob was READY.

Spongebob’s History

  • Spongebob was created by Marine Biologist Steve Hillenburg

    1. Originally the show was to be called Spongeboy Ahoy!

Original concept art for SpongeBoy Ahoy!

  • Because Spongeboy was trademarked by a cleaning supplies company, they were forced to change the name

  • Hillenburg wanted the word “sponge” in the title because he thought children might confuse him with cheese

    • “Oh great, now the talking cheese is gonna preach to us”

  • Steve Hillenburg first developed the idea from an unpublished comic called “The Inter-Tidal Zone that developed in the late 1980s

  • He worked on Rocko’s Modern Life after studying animation

    • After the cancellation of the show, he began developing Spongebob and asked Tom Kenny who voiced Heffer on Rocko’s Modern Life to do voicework

  • The big pitch

    • Derek Drymon was the creative director of Spongebob and was the voice acting coach for the pilot

    • Together Drymon and Hillenburg made the pitch for the show

      • Hillenburg and Derek Drymon wore Hawaiian shirts and blared beach music while pitching

      • They created a tiny model of Bikini Bottom with all the characters and gave a description of what they wanted the characters to be

      • They pitched the pilot “Help Wanted” to Nickelodeon Executives and had to excuse themselves because they needed to compose themselves

      • The executives decided immediately that they wanted to do the show

  • The Voices

    • Tom Kenny

      • Spongebob

      • Gary The Snail

      • The French Narrator

      • Also known for:

        • Adventure Time

        • The PowerPuff Girls

        • Rocko’s Modern Life

  • Bill Fagebakke

    • Patrick

    • Also known for:

      • Coach (1989-1997)

      • How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

  • Roger Bumpas

    • Squidward

    • Also known for:

      • Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

        • Doc Oc

      • Bit parts in Disney films and TV shows

  • Clancy Brown

    • Mr. Krabs

    • Also known for:

      • CTR

        • Dr. Neo Kortex

      • Schooled

        • Mr. Crosby

      • Highlander

      • The Shawshank Redemption

        • Byron Hadley

  • Douglas Lawrence Osowski “Mr. Lawrence”

    • Plankton

    • Larry the Lobster

    • The Artist at Sea

    • Fred (My Leg Guy) Although Fred has been played by many different actors

    • Also known for:

      • Rocko’s Modern Life

        • Fillbert

  • Carolyn Lawrence

    • Sandy Cheeks

    • Also known for:

      • Jimmy Neutron

        • Cindy Vortex

  • The Flying Dutchman

    • Bryan Doyle Murray

    • Also known for:

      • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

      • Caddyshack

  • Jill Talley

    • Karen

    • Also known for:

      • Mr. Show with Bob and David

      • The Loud House

    • *Karen is played by Tom Kenny’s wife, and Karen is the name of Steve Hillenburg’s wife

Source Material

  • “Zen and the Art of Writing” essay collection by Ray Bradbury and used the noun game

    • Everyone wrote 3-6 nouns on a paper and placed them in a hat; when they pulled one out, they did a story based on that noun

  • Literary References

    • “Squeaky Boots” is based off the story “The Tell-tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe

    • “Club Spongebob” references “Lord of the Flies”

      • The Magic Conch Shell is similar to the Magic 8 Ball used by the characters in the novel

    • “Frankendoodle” references “Frankenstein” when Spongebob creates DoodleBob

  • Other References

    • Some references mentioned in this episode:

      • Toulouse-Lautrec reference:

  • In “Something Smells” Spongebob hides in his house with a mask on, referencing Phantom of the Opera. We wanted to find you a clip, but we couldn’t find a good one

  • Spongebob’s personality came from Jerry Lewis, PeeWee Herman, and Stan Laurel

    • Here is a video of Jerry Lewis, see if you can see how he influenced Spongebob!

  • Here is a clip from Laurel and Hardy, to compare Spongebob to Stan Laurel (he’s the thin one)

  • It’s very easy to see how PeeWee Herman inspired spongebob

  • Awards

    • Won Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program

    • British Academy Children’s International Award in 2007

    • Nominated 34 Kid’s Choice Awards and won 27

    • Best animated television production Annie Award 2005

Thank you, Steve Hillenburg!

Animation, Nickelodeon, PodcastAdam OsburnSpongebob, Krusty Krab, Anniversary