yes, Spongebob SquarePants!
SpongeBob SquarePants (often referred to simply as SpongeBob) is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city "Bikini Bottom". The series' popularity has prompted the release of a media franchise, contributing to its position as Nickelodeon's highest rated show, the most distributed property of MTV Networks, and among Nicktoons' most-watched shows.
The pilot episode of SpongeBob SquarePants first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999, following the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. The "official" series premiere followed on July 17, 1999, with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants." The show reached enormous popularity in 2000 and has remained popular since. A feature film of the series was released in theaters on November 19, 2004. The series is currently in its seventh season and celebrated its tenth anniversary on July 17, 2009. SpongeBob has recently been renewed for an eighth season.
In its first season, SpongeBob SquarePants suffered in the ratings, and failed to attract a steady audience. Stephen Hillenburg was confident that due to the low ratings, the Nickelodeon executives would cancel the series after its first season.However, during this period, he visited Sumatra and noticed a schoolgirl carrying a bootleg SpongeBob SquarePants bookbag, convincing him of the series' cult following.However, he continued to believe that the series would be canceled after its first season, and was surprised when Nickelodeon renewed the series for a second season.The series garnered popularity in its second season, and was ordered a third season in 2001. A feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was released soon afterwards. The film was intended to be the series finale, however, in 2004, it was announced that SpongeBob would be continuing with a fourth season due in May. Hillenburg was rumoured to have left the series; however, he did not actually leave the show but resigned from his position as the show's executive producer.The job now belongs to Derek Drymon, with Paul Tibbitt taking over Drymon's job as creative director.
The series' fourth season began on May 6, 2005, with the episodes "Fear of a Krabby Patty" and "Shell of a Man", and was ordered a fifth season in December 2005, bringing the show’s total to 100.In December 2006, SpongeBob was approved for a sixth season. The fifth season began on February 19, 2007 with the episode "Rise and Shine"/"Waiting."On July 23, 2007 Nickelodeon aired a special event, called the "SpongeBob New-New-New-New-New Week" in which from Monday to Friday, a new episode would air. This continued until the end of the second week. Later on November 12, 2007 a TV movie aired titled Atlantis SquarePantis, guest staring David Bowie as the voice of Lord Royal Highness. On March 13, 2008, it was announced that SpongeBob will have an additional thirty-nine episodes, which includes the remaining episodes of the sixth season, and a seventh season.Also Victoria Beckham lent her voice as Queen Amphitrite, a Brit-accented goddess of the sea in an episode titled "The Clash of Triton," a half-hour special that aired on July 5, 2010.
SpongeBob SquarePants is slated to surpass Rugrats as the longest running Nicktoon in number of episodes during its ninth season, slated to occur either in 2011 or 2012. Rugrats aired 172 episodes in its run; SpongeBob, when the ninth season completes, will have 178.On July 14, 2009, a primetime SpongeBob tenth anniversary documentary titled Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants, aired onVH1, discussing the history of the show, and its impact on popular culture.[30] Starting on July 17, 2009 at 8:00 PM EST, Nickelodeon aired a 50½-hour marathon titled "The Ultimate SpongeBob Sponge Bash." The marathon included the premiere of 11 new episodes, countdowns of celebrities' and viewer-chosen top 10 episodes, and more.On November 6, 2009, a second TV movie debuted on Nickelodeon, titled Truth or Square, in which SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs are accidentally locked inside the Krusty Krab freezer on the night of the restaurant's eleventy-seventh anniversary celebration. While trapped inside, the friends look back on their shared memories with "shocking" reveals.Several celebrities made live-action cameo appearances on Truth or Square, including Rosario Dawson, LeBron James, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Craig Ferguson, Robin Williams and Pink, while Ricky Gervais provided opening and closing naration for the special.
SpongeBob SquarePants employs six main voice actors: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Carolyn Lawrence, and Mr. Lawrence.Kenny primarily voices SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet sea snail Gary, as well as various recurring characters including the French Narrator, a narrator with a French accent who occasionally hosts the series in a manner similar to a nature documentary, Patchy the Pirate, SpongeBob's father Harold, and Old Man Jenkins. Kenny previously worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life, and when Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants, he approached Kenny to voice the character. Kenny had originally used the voice of SpongeBob for a background character present in a crowd scene in Rocko's Modern Life, but forgot the voice initially, as he created it only for that single use. Hillenburg, however, remembered it when he conceived SpongeBob and used a video clip of the episode to remind Kenny of the voice. Kenny says that SpongeBob's high pitched laugh was specifically aimed at being unique, stating that they wanted an annoying laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker.Bill Fagerbakke primarily voices Patrick Star. Fagerbakke modeled his performance whenever Patrick is angry after American actress Shelly Winters. Rodger Bumpass primarily voices Squidward Tentacles and Dr. Gill Gilliam, while Clancy Brown primarily voices SpongeBob's employer Mr. Krabs. Carolyn Lawrence primarily voices Sandy Cheeks. Lawrence modeled her performance of Sandy after American actress Holly Hunter.
Recurring voice actors in the series include: Brian Doyle-Murray as the Flying Dutchman; Dee Bradley Baker as Squidward's rival Squilliam Fancyson, as well as various other characters; Frank Welker, who provides animal vocal effects; Jill Talley as Karen, Plankton's computer wife; Lori Alan as Pearl Krabs; and Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff. Executive producer Paul Tibbitt has provided the voice of Mama Krabs in the series' second and third seasons, as well as Potty the Parrot for the fifth season onwards, while creator Stephen Hillenburg provided the voice for Potty in the second and third seasons.
When SpongeBob SquarePants is broadcast in non-English languages, the voice actors dubbing SpongeBob's voice use Tom Kenny's rendition of the character as a starting point but also add unique elements. For example the French version has SpongeBob with a slightDaffy Duck style lisp.
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