SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)

Be there and be square!

Deep down in the Pacific Ocean in the subterranean city of Bikini Bottom lives a square yellow sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, Gary, loves his job as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, and has a knack for getting into all kinds of trouble without really trying. When he's not getting on the nerves of his cranky next door neighbor Squidward, SpongeBob can usually be found smack in the middle of all sorts of strange situations with his best buddy, the simple yet lovable starfish, Patrick, or his thrill-seeking surfer-girl squirrel pal, Sandy Cheeks.

Created by: Stephen Hillenburg

Starring: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Lori Alan

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family

Released: 1999-05-01

Seasons: 18

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SpongeBob SquarePants (1999): trivia & fun facts

Fun facts

When the series began, Mr. Lawrence voiced a variety of minor characters, including Plankton, who was initially only meant to appear in one episode.
Talley and Mr. Lawrence often improvise the dialogue of Plankton and Karen; Lawrence said improvisation is his favorite part of the job.
A second stop-motion special, themed around Halloween and using the same Rankin/Bass-inspired character models, was produced for season 11.
As of 2024, former writers and storyboard directors Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli are serving as the series' showrunners.
The season 9 episode "SpongeBob, You're Fired" (2013) was the subject of a debate in the media about government services.
Nickelodeon began celebrating the series' 10th anniversary on January 18, 2009, with a live cast reading of the episode "SpongeBob vs. The Big One" at the Sundance Film Festival.
Two years later, the series had firmly established itself as Nickelodeon's second highest-rated children's program, after Rugrats.
By the end of 2001, the show had the highest ratings for any children's series, on all of television.
SpongeBob SquarePants first aired as a preview after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17, 1999.
Within its first month on the air, SpongeBob overtook Pokémon as the highest rated Saturday-morning children's series on television.
SpongeBob is the fourth longest-running American animated series in history, and the longest-running American children's animated series as of 2026.
A celebration of the series' 25th anniversary, known as "SpongeBob 25", began on July 13, 2024, with SpongeBob and Patrick hosting the Kids' Choice Awards.
In 2006, IGN ranked SpongeBob the 15th best animated series of all time, and in 2013 it ranked the series 12th on its list of the Top 25 Animated Series for Adults.
Viewers of UK television network Channel 4 voted SpongeBob the 28th Greatest Cartoon in a 2004 poll.
Critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked SpongeBob as the 22nd greatest American television series of all time in their 2016 book TV (The Book).

Source: Wikipedia

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