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— SpongeBob's catchphrase
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SpongeBob SquarePants (born July 14, 1986[13]) is the titular main protagonist of the animated series of the same name. He was designed by show creator and former marine biologist, the late Stephen Hillenburg. Stephen Hillenburg based SpongeBob on Bob the Sponge, a character he had created for his educational book The Intertidal Zone in 1984.
SpongeBob's house.
SpongeBob is a childish, joyful, hardworking, and sometimes clumsy and silly sea sponge who lives in a pineapple with his pet snail Gary in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. He works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, a job in which he is exceptionally skilled at and enjoys thoroughly. He attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, and his greatest dream in life is to receive his boating license. Unfortunately, he tenses up whenever he has to drive a boatmobile, and he drives recklessly by speeding, crashing into buildings, etc. which causes him to fail every time. SpongeBob is very good-natured and loves to hang out with his best friend, Patrick. His teacher is Mrs. Puff and his boss is Mr. Krabs.
Like real sea sponges, SpongeBob has the ability to filter-feed (as shown in "I Had an Accident") and reproduce by budding (in "Naughty Nautical Neighbors"). In The SpongeBob Musical, SpongeBob's exact species of sea sponge is identified: Aplysina fistularis, a yellow sea sponge that is commonly found in open waters.[14]
SpongeBob appears in most episodes of the series, beginning with the series' debut episode, "Help Wanted." He is voiced by Tom Kenny, who is married to Karen Plankton's voice actress, Jill Talley.
Production details[]
SpongeBob is a poriferan, better known as a sea sponge. In this promo art, he is shown with his scientific classification.
SpongeBob with his real-life counterpart, as seen in the book Underwater Friends.
While Stephen Hillenburg worked as a teacher of marine science at the Ocean Institute in California, he created an educational book called The Intertidal Zone. The book was intended for children and taught about the behaviors of different sea creatures. Bob the Sponge, a natural sea sponge with sunglasses, was the "host" of the book.
Stephen Hillenburg revisited the concept of The Intertidal Zone in 1996 when he started sketching concepts for a cartoon series about undersea life. He wanted the title character to be an under-represented creature, with the rest of the main characters being iconic and easily recognizable sea animals: a crab, a whale, and a starfish. "What's the weirdest animal? The sponge came to mind," he recalled in 2012.[15] As he drew a sea sponge character, he originally wanted to use the shape of a natural sponge, but later decided that a "squeaky-clean square" would better portray a nerdy personality.
An early colored sketch portrayed SpongeBob as wearing a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie. SpongeBob's look gradually progressed to brown pants that were used in the final design. SpongeBob was designed to be a kid-like character who was goofy and optimistic in a style similar to that made famous by Jerry Lewis.[16][17]
The character was initially going to be named "SpongeBoy," but the name was already in use by other products including a pencil. This was discovered after voice acting for the original seven-minute pilot was recorded in 1997.[18] Upon finding this out, Hillenburg decided that the character's name still had to contain "Sponge" so that viewers would not mistake the character for a "Cheese Man," and decided to use the name "SpongeBob." He chose "SquarePants" as a family name since it referred to the character's square shape and it had a "nice ring to it."[19]
SpongeBob driving with Mrs. Puff (Stock image).
When Stephen Hillenburg pitched SpongeBob to Nickelodeon in 1997, the network gave him an order: they would only produce the show if SpongeBob was a kid who went to school, like "Arnold from Hey Arnold! under the sea."[20] Hillenburg was prepared to "walkout" on Nickelodeon, as writing SpongeBob as a school-aged child went against his creative vision.[21] However, he came up with Mrs. Puff and her Boating School as a compromise, allowing SpongeBob to attend school as an adult. Hillenburg was very fond of the "way things worked out," as Nickelodeon's order brought in a whole new main character, "Mrs. Puff, who I love."[21]
SpongeBob is voiced by veteran voice actor Tom Kenny. Kenny had previously worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life, and when Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants, he approached Tom Kenny to voice the character. Hillenburg used Kenny's and other actors' personalities to help create the personality of SpongeBob.[18]
Tom Kenny first used the voice for SpongeBob for a minor female alligator character named Al on Rocko's Modern Life, who appeared in the episode "Dear John." This is also the first time Kenny and Stephen Hillenburg worked together. Hillenburg wanted Kenny to use that voice for SpongeBob, so he showed him a clip of Al in Rocko's Modern Life to remind Kenny of the voice.[18] 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.[22]
In SpongeBob SquarePants 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 slight Daffy Duck-style lisp.[18]
Biography[]
Like real-life sea sponges, SpongeBob went through a larval stage as a baby.
SpongeBob's character file.
According to his driver's license in the episode "Sleepy Time," SpongeBob SquarePants was born on July 14, 1986. SpongeBob's license is seen again with this birthdate in "No Free Rides," but all further appearances of it remove the birthdate. He celebrates four respective unspecified birthdays in the episodes "I Had an Accident," "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler," "Waiting," and "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout." In the latter, he nearly reveals his age but is narrowly cut off by the episode's ending, making it a mystery. Stephen Hillenburg once joked that SpongeBob is 50 in "sponge years." Taking into account the average lifespan of a yellow tube sponge being just over 100 years, this would make him middle-aged. Jokes aside, Hillenburg explained that SpongeBob actually has no specific age, but that "he is old enough to be on his own and still be going to driving school," firmly confirming him to be an adult.
Like real-life sea sponges, SpongeBob started life as a free-floating larva, as shown in "Gramma's Secret Recipe" and "Your Shoe's Untied." During this time, he had a blobby, amorphous shape.
He lives with his pet sea snail Gary in a large pineapple-shaped house on 124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom. His next-door neighbor, Squidward Tentacles, who lives in an Easter Island head, is constantly annoyed by his antics. SpongeBob is oblivious to this and believes Squidward to be his friend. Beside Squidward's house is the home of SpongeBob's best friend, Patrick Star, who lives under a rock.
SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, Bikini Bottom's most popular restaurant, where he is a fry cook and prepares all food served at the restaurant, most notably Krabby Patties.
SpongeBob wanting to join the Krusty Krab
SpongeBob's house is an orange pineapple with fully furnished windows and doors and has a gas pipe. When he first moved to Bikini Bottom, he viewed many different houses, but none seemed to his liking. Just as he was about to give up, a pineapple from a boat above the water falls into the sea and lands onto the space that was Squidward's garden where Squidward was still gardening. SpongeBob loves the house and buys it, leaving Squidward in misery by losing his garden and having SpongeBob living next to him. However, in The Patrick Star Show episode "Who's a Big Boy?," SpongeBob bumps into his future house as a teenager while it's still under construction and already under the water, along with Squidward's house.
While not working, SpongeBob spends much of his time playing with his best friend, Patrick Star. The two have known each other since their early childhood, and are members of the "Best Friends Forever Club."[23] Their usual activities include jellyfishing, bubble blowing, and various others. The two's antics are of constant annoyance to their next-door neighbor, Squidward, and he has been repeatedly put into harm's way as a result of their actions. This is shown when SpongeBob innocently sends DoodleBob to prank Squidward, only for the drawing to beat up Squidward in "Frankendoodle." Because of their annoyance, Squidward has tried to move away numerous times, but always ends up returning.[24]
Despite Squidward claiming to hate SpongeBob and Patrick, they are completely oblivious to this and believe they are his best friends. Squidward is usually shown to dislike SpongeBob in particular, but the two share a close relationship. Squidward has hinted that he likes SpongeBob a lot more than he lets on. In "Graveyard Shift," he admits this when he tells SpongeBob, "No matter what I've said, I've always sort of liked you!" Also, in "SB-129," he misses SpongeBob after becoming trapped in a blank dimension. In "Dying for Pie," he shows sadness over SpongeBob being set to explode at sunset from eating the exploding pie, although this doesn't happen since SpongeBob kept the pie in his pocket the whole time and didn't eat it.
One of SpongeBob's good friends is a squirrel from Texas named Sandy Cheeks, who wears a special suit and helmet to survive underwater. When SpongeBob first met Sandy, she invited SpongeBob to her airtight home, and SpongeBob, not knowing what air is, accepted. After giving in to his need to breathe water, SpongeBob and Patrick got bowls of water to wear over their heads from Sandy, which they typically wear whenever they visit the treedome. Sandy enjoys SpongeBob's company and they enjoy doing extreme sports together, most notably karate.
SpongeBob's skills in karate are shown to vary quite considerably; for example, in "Karate Choppers," he equals and even outmatches Sandy in skill. However, at most other times he is so weak to the point where Sandy can send him flying a considerable distance with a single punch, which happens in "No Weenies Allowed." In "Karate Island," Sandy openly states that her karate skills are better than SpongeBob's by "a country mile."
Another of SpongeBob's friends is Mr. Krabs' whale daughter, Pearl Krabs. According to "Bossy Boots," Pearl thinks SpongeBob is "full of style," "oozes fashion," and most importantly, "is a great pal." Pearl goes to prom with SpongeBob in "The Chaperone" to make her feel better over being dumped by her boyfriend. In "Tunnel of Glove," it is revealed that Pearl's classmates think SpongeBob is her boyfriend, and SpongeBob inadvertently supports this by saying "Well, I am a boy, and I am her friend." The two then go on the Tunnel of Glove ride together. In "A Cabin in the Kelp," Pearl uses SpongeBob as a way to prank the Gal Pals, as her suspicion detects that the titular group will prank her first and is utterly saddened by the fact SpongeBob is missing. She is later delighted about how SpongeBob is safe but is just lost within a forest.
SpongeBob attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, where he is taught by his idolized teacher Mrs. Puff. He studies extremely hard for school and knows every answer to the oral exam, but he becomes extremely nervous when actually behind the wheel of a boat, causing him to fail the final exam every time. According to the episode "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," SpongeBob has failed the exam 1,258,056 times, and is the only creature in the history of the school to fail the test.
Despite his inability to drive a boatmobile properly, SpongeBob is able to drive/ride various other things capably, including a rock, a rocket ship, a sandwich car, and a submarine. SpongeBob claims that he does know how to drive, but simply panics behind the wheel and cannot concentrate. In "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," SpongeBob receives extremely good training from Mrs. Puff's very tough military-like replacement and learns how to drive capably but can only do so while blindfolded due to the teacher's strict drills and very specific teaching methods showing that the main reason, he is bad at driving boats is due to his nerves.
Description[]
SpongeBob's official color palette (top) includes 16 colors, plus black and white.
SpongeBob is a sea sponge with a rectangular shape, despite being designed to look like an actual kitchen sponge. He is light yellow (whose exact shade of yellow is designated by Pantone to be SpongeBob Yellow[25]) with a light olive-green outline. In earlier episodes, he is wider near the top and gets skinnier going further down, akin to that of a trapezoid. However, in the more recent episodes, he is more of a regular square shape.
SpongeBob has light olive-green pores, dimples with three freckles on each cheek, a large mouth with two prominent front buck teeth, a slight lateral lisp, a long, slightly curved nose, and large light blue eyes. His eye color seems to be, uniquely, a shade of pacific blue complimenting the blue ocean background. He has three exceptionally wide, exposed, and effeminate eyelashes on each eye (which disappear whenever his eyes are closed or his brows are lowered), which have sometimes been shown to be numerous eyelashes akin to a human, which is best prominent in "Tutor Sauce" when he is seen breathing heavily during a close-up.
Although rarely seen in the series, he has light yellow hair that goes hand-in-hand with his skin color, as seen on his driver's license, the spin-off series The Patrick Star Show, and in the episode "The Sponge Who Could Fly." However, in the episode "Krusty Krab Training Video," he instead has a simple strand of black hair.
He typically wears a white shirt with a scarlet-red tie, black leather shoes with white shoelaces, white socks with blue and red stripes, and brown rectangular pants with a black belt. While working at the Krusty Krab, he wears a tall, white hat with a small blue anchor illustration as a uniform. SpongeBob usually sleeps in his briefs, and at other times-beginning with season 5-his pajamas. However, he occasionally sleeps with his entire outfit on, which was more common in season 1, most notably the episode "Sleepy Time."
In various spin-off media, he is slightly redesigned. In Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, his outfit stays mostly the same as in the original show, but now he wears a red cap and a handkerchief, as well as brown boots. In The Patrick Star Show, SpongeBob has a bit of yellow hair on his head, wears a bow tie, and black-and-white saddle shoes.
Though SpongeBob has always been voiced by Tom Kenny, his voice has changed throughout the series; his voice is lower than normal in season 1. After the first movie, his voice noticeably changes, increasing in pitch, along with other changes. After season 9, his voice slightly decreases in pitch.
Even though he is a sea sponge, he has legs and is able to move, just like the other sponges in the show. This is pointed out in "I Had an Accident," when he says that he will stay in his house forever, and he shouldn't have even been walking in the first place because he's a sponge.
Health[]
While SpongeBob is generally lucky in life and healthy, he has on several occasions faced health problems in the series, which are usually caused by his tendency to fall for antagonists' manipulation or simply by accident. On a side note, he is an invertebrate and thus lacks bones, making him immune to physical harm; however, this varies greatly by episode, as sometimes SpongeBob is depicted as having bones and thus prone to suffering injuries, while in other episodes, most notably "The Bully," he has none and is, therefore, accepting of his said injuries. Like most other characters from the show, he has faced many fatal injuries and near-death experiences. However, due to cartoon physics and negative continuity, he sometimes recovers immediately afterward without medical support. Such instances are played for comedy and do not affect the plot, therefore they will be overlooked when taking into account SpongeBob's health. However, SpongeBob has on more than one occasion faced ongoing medical conditions and injuries that have even been the core of the plot.
SpongeBob dehydrated
Towards the end of "Jellyfishing," he and Patrick get stung by the Queen Jellyfish and are left covered in bandages.
In "Plankton!," Plankton takes control of SpongeBob by entering into his head at night and using a control on his brain to control SpongeBob's body movements as a means of obtaining the Krabby Patty secret formula for Plankton to hear out loud.
In "Pickles," after Bubble Bass tells SpongeBob he forgot to put pickles on his Krabby Patty, SpongeBob falls into a state of despair as he loses his confidence. He starts doing everything backwards, like talking improperly, walking backwards, and hammering a piece of toast into his kitchen counter. He is cured from the state once he abruptly makes a Krabby Patty while listing all the ingredients as he puts them together in that order, which was an angry attempt to prove Mr. Krabs that he can't make one contrary to Krabs' encouragement.
SpongeBob becoming a snail
In "Fools in April," he gets his leg tied to a rope while cleaning up a mustard stain on the floor of the Krusty Krab as part of Squidward's prank. SpongeBob gets sent flying into several poles, windows, and bags of flour, and ends up in a trash can covered in garbage. This causes him to cry and run home, falling into a state of depression afterwards.
SpongeBob with the Suds
In "Something Smells," he gets a bad breath from eating a sundae with ketchup, onions, and his peanut plant. Everyone in town turns away from him vehemently, which Patrick thinks is because he's ugly, but they find out in the end that it was the sundae when Patrick develops rancid breath from eating it too.
SpongeBob injured by excessive stunts
At the end of "Survival of the Idiots," Sandy, having had her fur ripped off by the duo, uses SpongeBob and Patrick's bodies as a replacement; since the two are in her treedome and have no provision of water, they nearly die from hypothermia again.
In "Squirrel Jokes," SpongeBob suffers from hypothermia yet again upon entrance of Sandy's treedome and is given too much water by her through a hose, inflating him to the point of taking up the dome's capacity.
SpongeBob's health is put at risk in "The Bully" when a new classmate, Flats the Flounder, joins and threatens to kick SpongeBob's butt. Concerned for his safety, SpongeBob pulls off many attempts to hide from the bully and expose him, but no one in town can help him. As a result, SpongeBob comes to terms with Flats harming him and lets him "kick [his] butt." However, SpongeBob's body simply absorbs Flats' punches, leading to no harm whatsoever; in fact, SpongeBob lets Flats harm him routinely everyday until Flats passes out unconscious in class one day.
SpongeBob with broken fingers
In "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V," SpongeBob and the rest of IJLSA (The International Justice League of Super Acquaintances) team were left injured and hospitalized following their battle with the E.V.I.L. (Every Villain Is Lemons). SpongeBob has to use a wheelchair and wear a cast over his head to counteract his injury.
SpongeBob after a sandboarding accident
In "Krabby Land," he suffers much harm which includes getting bubble soap in the eye, being beaten up by tough fish, and being forced to eat lima beans while entertaining the children.
SpongeBob dehyrdrated again
Sometime during the events of "Funny Pants," SpongeBob underwent surgery to have his laugh box transplanted to Squidward out of sympathy for the latter rupturing his own.
In "Krusty Towers," SpongeBob alongside Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward are sent to the hospital and treated in medical beds following the fatal destruction of the eponymous hotel, which the group was in during the incident.
SpongeBob covered in fungus
In "The Splinter," SpongeBob trips and falls off of the ceiling of the Krusty Krab kitchen in a failed attempt to retrieve his spatula. He falls on the wooden ground and gets a splinter lodged into his thumb. He goes to Patrick for help; however, due to his unprofessional remedies and lack of a medical license, Patrick only makes matters worse by hammering the splinter further into SpongeBob's thumb and healing his wound with garbage from the dumpster, which not only causes SpongeBob more pain but also causes his thumb to swell up severely and produce pus. He is finally cured when Mr. Krabs, with his strength and claws, simply pulls it out, removing SpongeBob's injury and returning his thumb back to normal.
SpongeBob injured by Ripper's Reef
In "Stuck in the Wringer," SpongeBob gets stuck in his bathroom wringer while trying to rinse himself off and calls Patrick for help. However, instead of helping him, Patrick surrounds the wringer with superglue, impeding SpongeBob's escape. Throughout the episode, SpongeBob uncontrollably moves very clumsily and eventually gets kicked out while trying to do his job at the Krusty Krab. His health continues to deteriorate, as he is unable to consume food or drink due to the wringer's blockage of his digestive system, and gets a black eye at the carnival. He is cured at the end of the episode when both he and Patrick cry an abundance of tears to dissolve the glue, which facilitates his escape from the wringer.
In "Earworm," SpongeBob gets addicted to a song he hears on the radio called "Musical Doodle." His addiction is revealed to be an infectious earworm that takes over his entire body. At the end of the episode, it leaves SpongeBob after being driven away by Squidward's clarinet playing, and infects Squidward instead.
In "The Hot Shot," he gets into a boat accident which leads to him getting injured and being in a body cast at the end of the episode.
SpongeBob has also been shown to have some mental health problems before. This becomes evident in "InSPONGEiac" after he fails to fall asleep and develops insomnia as a plot point. Previously, in "Krab Borg," he suffered serious psychological trauma from watching a horror movie on TV about a robot chasing a man and started to hallucinate ordinary items in the Krusty Krab kitchen as robots, eventually starting to believe that Mr. Krabs is a robot after hearing him talk like one, which also displays SpongeBob's conflation of fantasy with reality. SpongeBob's obsessions have also gone to unhealthy extents: In "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic," he tries to impress his idol Kevin C. Cucumber by injuring himself in ways such as punching himself in the face and jumping off a building. In "Bummer Vacation," SpongeBob struggles to get his mind off his job at the Krusty Krab while on vacation from it and is replaced with Patrick for the time being; SpongeBob seeks his revenge on Patrick by waiting for him to get home and cornering Patrick in his rock while making threatening faces and noises giving the implication he's going to eat him. SpongeBob sabotages Patrick by quarantining him in his house and forcing him to watch static on his TV screen, then disguises himself as Patrick in the kitchen to get his job back. In "Squid's Visit," SpongeBob persuades Squidward to visit his house by redecorating his own pineapple into an exact replica of Squidward's Easter Island Head, getting every detail right including a crack in the wall. In "Sentimental Sponge," SpongeBob develops a sentiment for his thrown-away garbage due to the memories they bring and nostalgically preserves the trash in his house. He even collects jars of grill grease and his own sweat, with the epitome reaching once he begins to dress up in used garbage, names it, and takes up so much capacity in his house with it that the trash finds its way onto Squidward's property. In "SpongeBob's Bad Habit," he develops an obsessive routine of biting his own and others' fingernails.
SpongeBob with injured thumbs
In "Unreal Estate," after Squidward invades his house at night and covers it in pepper, the resulting reactions make SpongeBob believe that he is allergic to his own home and set up the conflict of him having to go find a new one.
In "Mimic Madness," SpongeBob begins to copy people to their amusement, but eventually gets physically addicted to it through a disease called Mocking Mimicry Madness, and cannot remember his own identity. After all his friends help him by imitating SpongeBob's personality, he regains his old identity but unfortunately all of his friends catch it.
In "House Worming," Prickles the worm and his friends land inside of SpongeBob and throw parties inside of him. It is not much of a problem at first, but it eventually takes control of him and drives him insane. However, they get annoyed by his laughter and go to Squidward at the end of the episode.
In "Sportz?," Squidward forces SpongeBob and Patrick to engage in many increasingly excruciating sports games in an attempt to get them killed. Near the end they pass out severely injured on the sports field before Squidward's karma is served.
In "Cuddle E. Hugs," he becomes sick after eating an Aged Patty and begins to hallucinate a giant hamster as a side-effect.
Personality[]
SpongeBob is a fun-loving, hyperactive, clueless, and childish sea sponge with a happy-go-lucky personality. Despite being portrayed this way, he is relatively smart and knows right from wrong, an example being telling Patrick not to draw his picture of calling Mrs. Puff a "big, fat, meanie" because she's a teacher. He is extremely determined and will often stop at nothing to accomplish a task. He is also somewhat dramatic to the people who are kind to him: for example, to the mailfish.[26] He is also over-confident. Sometimes, though, he shows his devious side when trying to get Mr. Krabs and Plankton to work together.[27] He sometimes makes mountains out of molehills, such as losing his name tag.[28] It is also suggested that he deceived the Tattletale Strangler in an elaborate plot to get him back to jail. When he first met Plankton, he was almost quick to befriend him, but quickly realized Plankton's true intention was to take advantage of him to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. Plankton himself is surprised that SpongeBob was smart enough to see through his manipulation, telling him, "Gee, and I thought you were stupid."
SpongeBob singing the "Best Day Ever" song.
SpongeBob is very kind-hearted and innocent, and very rarely acts openly naughty to anyone, even those who find him an annoyance and act cruelly to him such as Squidward. He is a very selfless and loyal person, especially towards those close to him. His selfless nature is most notably shown in "Best Day Ever," where he sacrifices his "perfect day" to help his friends. Despite his well-meaning intentions, SpongeBob's actions often annoy and cause trouble for those around him, most notably his next-door neighbor, Squidward.
SpongeBob can become scared easily and usually panics when frightened. He is afraid of the dark[29] and clowns[30]. He also hates hot sauce.[31] Occasionally, SpongeBob is too ignorant to notice impending danger and his unworldly thinking may put himself or others in peril. He also cannot detect lies or malice as easily as the other characters, mainly due to his naivety. This is particularly evident in episodes featuring Squidward, such as "Giant Squidward," "Good Neighbors," "Squid's Visit," and "Tentacle-Vision." In these episodes, as well as many others, SpongeBob believes he is making Squidward happy, even though he's actually making him miserable as he is unintentionally annoying him often with Patrick. One non-Squidward example is in "A Pal for Gary," when Gary is being violently attacked and nearly eaten by Puffy Fluffy, SpongeBob takes no action and instead accuses Gary of harassing Puffy as he didn't see Puffy Fluffy do that. Another example is "Home Sweet Rubble," when it takes SpongeBob a few moments to realize that his house is in serious need or repair.
Furthermore, SpongeBob also goes to great lengths to impress others and achieve his goals, even if they involve malice, as seen in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II," where SpongeBob wrongly attacks an innocent Atomic Flounder to impress Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. SpongeBob attempts to steal Patrick's secret box in "The Secret Box." He also tries to steal Betsy Krabs' underwear along with Patrick and Mr. Krabs in "Mid-Life Crustacean" as part of the "panty raid." In "Doing Time," SpongeBob and Patrick force the receptionist of the local bank to give them all his money; this was done in an attempt to get arrested and free Mrs. Puff from jail. In "Hall Monitor," SpongeBob enters the window of a couple's house and disturbs them while on hall monitor duties; this was done to show them the consequences of leaving a window open. In "The Great Snail Race," SpongeBob overexerts Gary to prepare him for the following snail race. This causes extreme discomfort to Gary and eventually results in him collapsing on his way to the finish line; however, SpongeBob eventually noticed the error in his ways.
SpongeBob traps Squidward in a bottle in the episode "Employee of the Month."
SpongeBob also feels the need to impress Mr. Krabs and to protect the Krusty Krab and the Krabby Patty secret formula at all costs. In "Call the Cops," SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs impersonate police officers in hopes of retrieving the secret formula. He also likes to impress his boating teacher, Mrs. Puff, despite his reckless driving due to his nervousness. Beginning with "Boating School," an ongoing plot point is SpongeBob failing his driver's test due to his inability to drive safely. His poor driving skills have caused him to floor it thinking he has to do that (speed), run over pedestrians, rapidly switch lanes, drive on the sidewalk, crash into buildings and property, harm his passengers, and lastly damage his vehicle. Despite all the damage he causes, SpongeBob is never arrested or charged for his dangerous driving; instead, Mrs. Puff is, who the authorities believe is failing to educate him.
These actions can often lead to SpongeBob entering by trespassing often without really knowing it. SpongeBob and Patrick have a frequent tendency to enter Squidward's house without his consent, which reaches its epitome in "Good Neighbors" and becomes a plot point of the said episode. Additionally, in "Survival of the Idiots," he and Patrick invade Sandy's treedome during the winter with little regard to the "Keep Out" sign on her door. In "The Thing," after getting caught by the SWAT Team, SpongeBob and Patrick hide from them by trespassing into the sewers. SpongeBob also invades the sewers with Squidward in "The Sewers of Bikini Bottom," although they did it to retrieve the safe, so this can be justified. In "Toy Store of Doom," SpongeBob and Patrick stay in Toy Barrel past its open hours and hide in a dollhouse so as not to be caught by the security guard.
SpongeBob in jail in the episode "Driven to Tears."
SpongeBob's personality trait of wanting to impress others and achieve his goals has led to him having a criminal history. However, due to his naivety and gullibility, a lot of these crimes have been committed unintentionally or through the manipulation of others, mainly Squidward, Plankton, Karen, or Mr. Krabs. He has been arrested a total of seven times: for "stealing" a balloon in "Life of Crime," failing to invite the police to his party in "Party Pooper Pants," littering Patrick's driver's license in "Driven to Tears," playing sitar without a license in "SpongeBob's Last Stand," falsely accused public disturbance in "Cave Dwelling Sponge," impersonating a police officer in "Call the Cops," and unintentionally terrorizing a majority of Bubbletown in the episode of the same name.
SpongeBob's innocence also makes him overly trusting and very gullible[32], easily manipulated by people who intend to use and/or harm him, such as Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton, and he is clumsy. In "Walking Small," SpongeBob assists Plankton in driving the attendants at Goo Lagoon away to make an unauthorized development to its property. However, this was done out of manipulation, and SpongeBob regrets his actions after learning Plankton's motive to use him for land development, therefore returning the beach to its previous state. In "Sandy's Rocket," SpongeBob and Patrick go around capturing everyone in Bikini Bottom and trapping them in the spaceship, believing that the entire population is formed of aliens and that it is actually the Moon before realizing that it was really the city the whole time.
Even though he is generally good-natured and easygoing, SpongeBob can get angered easily. When frustrated and angered, SpongeBob can be sarcastic, rude, and condescending to his friends, even Mr. Krabs[33] and can even say he is cheap, whom he treats as a father figure. Squidward is the only character whom SpongeBob never insults when he is angry, except for the episodes "Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Breath of Fresh Squidward."
In "Hooky," SpongeBob is encouraged by Patrick to ditch work during his shift and play on the hooks (which he did so, even doing it despite knowing the consequences and then feeling bad about it), which causes the unsupervised grill to produce mass amounts of smoke. He believed King Neptune's trident was his spatula and decided to help all of Bikini Bottom when he was destroying the town after going mad with power in "Trident Trouble." In "Hall Monitor," he lets his rank of hall monitor go to his head and becomes known as the maniac for his destruction of the city before receiving a scolding from his teacher who was arrested for it. During "Ditchin'," SpongeBob ditches boating school to attend the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy meet and greet, which affects his driver's education and eventually gets Mrs. Puff arrested. Even stated in "Goons on the Moon" that he is a menace despite his good nature.
Despite his overall kindness, SpongeBob occasionally shows a lack of empathy for others and forces people into situations against their will. In the episode "Rodeo Daze," he kidnaps the Bikini Bottomites with bubbles in persuasion for them to save Sandy from a rodeo as he thought the rodeo was dangerous. Additionally, in the episode "A SquarePants Family Vacation," he sends his friends letters promising that everything they love will be at his house, only for it to be a hoax and a plea for them to view his slideshow.
Although SpongeBob has several friends, and many of the citizens of Bikini Bottom often treat him quite friendly, most, if not all, citizens of the city have been shown to have some degree of dislike for him. In the episode "Gone," it is shown that a holiday called "National No SpongeBob Day" has been started by the citizens of Bikini Bottom. As its name suggests, it is an entire day dedicated to getting away from SpongeBob, where the people leave Bikini Bottom for the day. Even Patrick goes, stating that everyone needs at least one day away from SpongeBob's laughter. In the ceremony, they build a giant wooden effigy of SpongeBob, burn it down, dance on the ashes, and depart Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is more honored than insulted by this, as he was the "inspiration" for the holiday.
Dedication to his job[]
SpongeBob crying over being fired from his job.
SpongeBob is not only extremely good at his job, being able to produce a Krabby Patty within seconds, but also has a strong passion and an abnormal love for it; something of a workaholic, he enjoys his job more than any other activity and is saddened whenever he cannot be at work. He even views closing time as the saddest part of the day[34] and gleefully embraces the 24-hour business of the restaurant in the episodes "Graveyard Shift" and "Fear of a Krabby Patty."
In "Welcome to the Chum Bucket," he is briefly employed at the Chum Bucket but fails to do any successful work, and struggles to adapt to the new changes of the kitchen, demanding that Plankton redesign the restaurant to be an exact replica of the Krusty Krab.
In "Squid on Strike," he struggles to throw his Krusty Krab hat on the ground due to his attachment to the job, with the hat sticking to his hand.
In "Bummer Vacation," he cannot preoccupy himself while on vacation from the Krusty Krab and attempts many failed plans to regain access to his job while Patrick is substituted for fry cook, only for Mr. Krabs to send SpongeBob back home each time. SpongeBob goes as far as to quarantine Patrick in his own rock forcing him to watch a static-y TV and wears Patrick's disguise to get his job back immediately, which finally happens as his vacation time expires.
In "Model Sponge," SpongeBob seemingly hears he was to be let go but has mistaken himself as the person to vacate his current life. Throughout his unemployed life during the episode, he tries to apply for many jobs, but is not qualified for them, as he is meant for the fry cook role at the Krusty Krab.
In "SpongeBob You're Fired," SpongeBob floods the Krusty Krab with his crying after being broken the news from Mr. Krabs that he has been fired. This makes him depressed and mourn his job with a five 'o clock shadow, until he gets motivation to apply for fry cook at a new restaurant. However, SpongeBob is fired from each restaurant because he keeps cooking Krabby Patty variations of the restaurants' main foods. This had previously occurred in "Le Big Switch," where SpongeBob becomes a temporary fry cook at the Fancy! restaurant but cannot cook any of the foods served there and turns everything he cooks into Krabby Patties, even when he simply cracks an egg. When he tries to make a milkshake at the Milkshake Academy in "License to Milkshake," he pours out a Krabby Patty instead.
He is very good at his job because he is the "Vice Assistant General Manager of Certain Things"[2]. He also has been shown making a perfect Krabby Patty on his first try when he was a baby.[35] SpongeBob's skills as a fry cook could be described as superhuman; in episodes such as "Help Wanted" and "Employee of the Month," he is seen making them at rates of hundreds or even thousands per minute. He has won 374 consecutive Employee of the Month awards at the Krusty Krab. In "Neptune's Spatula," he can pull the golden spatula from the grease, making him the "chosen one" of King Neptune. In that same episode, it is shown that the burgers made by Neptune himself are horrible compared to SpongeBob's.
SpongeBob is also obsessed with Krabby Patties themselves; on numerous occasions, he has proclaimed them the best food in the world, and in "Just One Bite" and "Shuffleboarding," he is shocked and horrified to see one thrown away, also persuading Squidward to eat one continuously in the former episode. They are revealed to be his favorite food during the Simple-Ton magazine best-friend quiz he takes with Patrick in "You Don't Know Sponge."
Abilities and talents[]
SpongeBob's broken bones in "I Had an Accident."
SpongeBob has been shown to have numerous extraordinary abilities and attributes throughout the series.
- Absorbency: Being a sponge, he is also absorbent, and can expand his body by absorbing liquids. Sometimes when SpongeBob cries, he re-absorbs his tears. An example is in "The Bully" when Flats the Flounder kept on hitting him, but SpongeBob just absorbed all of his blows; however, he does not absorb blows on occasion, specifically Patrick's punch in the face in "No Weenies Allowed." Also, in "I Had an Accident," he filter feeds through his holes, as he is a sponge.
- Boneless: SpongeBob is usually shown to be boneless since sea sponges are invertebrates. However, in some episodes, such as "I Had an Accident," bones are shown on his X-rays. He also has bones when his skin is ripped off in "Atlantis SquarePantis" and "The Splinter" and is peeled off in "Delivery to Monster Island." He can also squeeze through and fit in things.
- Bubble blowing: SpongeBob can perform extraordinary moves with bubbles, most notably exhibited in "Bubblestand." It is considered along with jellyfishing as his and Patrick's favorite hobby.
- Cleaning: SpongeBob is able to use his body like a kitchen sponge to clean surfaces, usually floors. This is seen in episodes such as "Hooky" and "Procrastination".
- Destruction: SpongeBob has a degree of talent in destruction, but most of the cases show that he mostly performed this involuntary due to his gullible and reckless personality, Although he does not know it and thanks to his poor driving skills, SpongeBob is skilled at demolition derbies. This is shown in "Demolition Doofus," as SpongeBob manages to defeat five other competitors, although inadvertently, also surviving Mrs. Puff's murderous attack.
- Culinary Creativity: He has made variations of Krabby Patty, even disgusting ones: "The Nasty Patty," "Secret Patty," "The Nature Patty," "Double Krabby Patty With Everything," "Crying Johnny," "Double Triple Bossy Deluxe Patty," "Krabby Patty Pizza," "Krabby Patty with Jellyfish Jelly"... just to name a few.[36][37]
- Driving (anything but a boatmobile): He can drive certain objects perfectly, but his nerves get the best of him when driving boats at Mrs. Puff's Boating School. He often thinks he has to floor it due to his nervousness and loses his confidence also forgetting the answers to the boating exam. On several occasions, he has been able to conquer his nervousness and demonstrate good driving skills, but he always loses this confidence by the end of the episode. This is the main reason SpongeBob normally doesn’t drive.
- Fry cooking: SpongeBob has a job cooking Krabby Patties at the Krusty Krab.
- Jellyfishing: SpongeBob and Patrick jellyfish at Jellyfish Fields in several episodes. In "Jellyfish Hunter" he catches every single jellyfish in the fields.
- Karate: He trains for karate with Sandy and, in "Karate Choppers," is seen to be quite evenly matched with her.
- Limb range: Like most characters in this series, SpongeBob can stretch his body to unusual extents. He can also extend his arms and legs to any length he wants.
- Detachable limbs: SpongeBob's body parts, mainly his arms, are shown to be detachable, usually as a gag. This happens in episodes such as "Big Pink Loser," "Graveyard Shift," "Mrs. Puff, You're Fired," and "Sing a Song of Patrick."
- Regeneration: It is shown that he can quickly regenerate parts of his body that are injured or removed as this is natural for real sponges. He can also clone himself and reproduce by budding, most notably in "Pressure."
- Enhanced reflexes: SpongeBob possesses faster-than-lightning reflexes, being able to react to dangers instantly. Hence, SpongeBob can dodge and react to projectiles and enemy attacks moving at high speeds, such as lasers, arrows, shock waves, bullets, and even lightning. Additionally, SpongeBob's sharp reflexes allow him to react to attacks outside his field of vision.
- Stamina and endurance: In games such as Battle for Bikini Bottom, Nicktoons Unite!, Plankton's Robotic Revenge, etc., SpongeBob has demonstrated very high stamina, capable of exerting himself to his peak performance for several hours without signs of fatigue. SpongeBob is extremely durable, having survived life-threatening situations multiple times most likely due to his soft and flexible body figure. He has survived multiple traffic collisions, getting caught in the crossfire from all angles from Plankton's Robots, withstand the force of a building collapse, and being struck by opponents with super strength. Additionally, SpongeBob has more than once survived impacts from falls from extreme heights, withstand the force of a nuclear explosion (like how Plankton did once), and being struck by fire, electricity, and frozen by ice.
- Super speed: As the Quickster, he can move very fast. Although he is certainly able to run faster than Patrick when he's about to tell Mr. Krabs in "Sailor Mouth" and Squidward when he's about to chase SpongeBob about the pizza in "Pizza Delivery."
- Leadership: SpongeBob is a great natural leader for all of his friends in Bikini Bottom.
- Teleportation: SpongeBob is capable of teleporting in various episodes. Like in "The Wreck of the Mauna Loa" when he is chasing Patrick in a game of tag, Patrick is looking back at SpongeBob in the other direction, when he imminently bumps into SpongeBob in front of him and in "Born to Be Wild" he was able to teleport to the Krusty Krab by riding through the bubble transition.
- Ghost physiology: After he and Patrick accidentally shave the Flying Dutchman's beard, the powerful ghost curses SpongeBob and Patrick by stripping them from their flesh and blood, turning them into ghosts. This gives them various ghost powers including intangibility, flight, ectoplasm creation, and turning inanimate objects into the said object's ghost version (SpongeBob creates a ghost version of his spatula by breaking the original one, in which ghost version of the said spatula materializes from its remains). Eventually, the Flying Dutchman has to restore SpongeBob and Patrick to normal due to their newfound cursed powers proving too much for them to handle (SpongeBob can't interact with the realm of the living as he normally would and accidentally passes through the earth's crust while sleeping).
- Sneaking: SpongeBob can be very sneaky, as seen in "Employee of the Month." In other instances, however, such as in "The Secret Box," his feet make a lot of noise while he tries to be stealthy.
- Levitation: SpongeBob can levitate infinitely.
- Climbing: SpongeBob can climb, as seen in "Party Pooper Pants" where he climbed on his house.
- Singing and nose-playing: SpongeBob is shown to possess a fantastic singing voice. He uses his nose as a flute, in which he is very talented. He is also the lead singer in "Band Geeks." Later, he uses his nose flute in "Best Day Ever" to drive away from the nematodes from the Krusty Krab. His nose flute is notably played as a closing note of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song. In "Mandatory Music," SpongeBob leads the rest of his music class in an impromptu concert beginning with his nose flute playing.
- Whistling: He can whistle due to his gap in his buck teeth. This ability is put on display in "Mind the Gap."
- Comedy: SpongeBob can do comedy as telling jokes. This is seen well in "Squirrel Jokes."
- Ventriloquism: SpongeBob can play around with Mini Squidward in the episode "Squid Wood."
- Magic tricks: SpongeBob is talented at magic tricks in "One Trick Sponge."
- Ice skating: SpongeBob can ice skate. This ability is put on display in "Shanghaied" and "Krabs à la Mode."
- Roller skating: He has shown that he can roller skate as seen in "Things to Do When Encountering a Legendary Creature" and "Sportz?"
- Dancing: SpongeBob has shown that he can dance. This ability is put on display in "Cave Dwelling Sponge."
- Ukulele playing: SpongeBob is very good at playing his ukulele.
- Guitar playing: SpongeBob would play guitar in a few episodes and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and is quite proficient at it. He owns both acoustic and electric guitars.
- Soft pliable body: Due to his soft, pliable frame, he is capable of shape-shifting, has some degree of invulnerability, being able to absorb many types of physical impact, shown most notably in the episode "The Bully."
- Body part changing: He can change his body parts into objects as well as shapeshifting.
- Multiplying body parts: He can multiply his body parts due to his regeneration.
- Multitasking: To a certain degree, but it is especially true when he cooks. He can pump out the entire restaurant full of diners with Krabby Patties. He is not so well at it when driving as he gets distracted.
- Cloning: He can clone minions of himself by slicing his skin into layers.
- Multilingual: In the episode "Sold!," SpongeBob is shown to be able to speak fluent German.
- Mimicking: He can mimic someone else by shapeshifting. In "Mimic Madness," he mimics his friends.
- Survival skills: In "To Save a Squirrel," SpongeBob and Patrick almost eat each other to survive. Eventually, they are saved by Sandy and no longer had to resort to the desperate measure.
- Water breathing: Being a sea creature means he can breathe underwater.
- Reef blower (machine): SpongeBob can use a reef blower to suck or blow things, like when he sucked up all the water in Bikini Bottom in "Reef Blower."
- Tongue-boarding: SpongeBob tongue-boards in "Prehibernation Week," as well in the video games Battle for Bikini Bottom, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (video game), SpongeBob's Truth or Square, Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots, SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom and Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated and the book Tales from Bikini Bottom.
- Magic pencil: The pencil grants the user god-like abilities. The user can create anything and erase anything at will.
Weaknesses[]
- Lack of physical strength: Due to his physiology, SpongeBob's natural physical strength appears to be below average. Even one instance exaggerated this whereupon close inspection, his hand was depicted in the emaciated state as if it was only skin and bone. Although, SpongeBob can sometimes build up strengths he normally isn't capable of possessing by sheer force of will, with his prowess dependent on the writers of the episode.
- Fighting: Besides in "Karate Choppers" and "Dunces and Dragons," SpongeBob is very bad at fighting. This is best exemplified in "Extreme Spots."
- Gullibility: SpongeBob's gullible personality makes him prone to manipulation of others who use him for their gain or make him unknowingly hurt others, physically and emotionally.
- Cowardice: SpongeBob often lacks the willpower to stand up for himself. Even his arch-nemesis Plankton points this out in "Walking Small" when beachgoers were walking all over SpongeBob (ironically enough, Plankton himself was forcing SpongeBob to do his bidding in the same episode). Patrick even takes advantage of SpongeBob in "Suds," "Hooky," and "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve." He's also shown to have numerous irrational fears such as the fear of clowns or the dark.
- Driving (boatmobile): He is not good at driving because he always crashes into buildings and/or hits people with his boat. He also speeds (floors it), does distracted driving, and tends to even be bad at parallel parking due to his nerves.
Family[]
SpongeBob has many relatives, most notably his parents, who appear in several episodes. Unlike SpongeBob, who is rectangular, most of SpongeBob's relatives better resemble actual sea sponges, being round in shape and brownish.
In "SB-129," a robotic descendant of SpongeBob named SpongeTron is seen, as well as a primitive ancestor. "Ugh" features a caveman version of SpongeBob known as SpongeGar. SpongeGar is distinctly different from the primitive sponge seen in "SB-129," being more evolved and closer to his modern counterpart. "Pest of the West" features SpongeBuck SquarePants, an ancestor who saved Dead Eye Gulch in what is now Bikini Bottom from Dead Eye Plankton in 1882.
Occupation[]
For the majority of the series, SpongeBob takes the job of fry cook in the Krusty Krab. Acting like a workaholic, he treats his career seriously and with dignity. Primarily, he works as the janitor and fry cook, but occasionally takes the role of the cashier and manager.[38]
SpongeBob also has been shown to take other jobs, such as the mayor of New Kelp City after saving the citizens from The Bubble Poppin' Boys in the episode "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?" He creates the Pretty Patties and opens his store for them in "Patty Hype," which ends up being highly successful. Later, the painted food poisons the many consumers who once admired the creation. He also works at Fancy! during the worker switch in "Le Big Switch."
The Quickster.
Alter-egos[]
- Mermaid Pants - "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy", "Mermaid Pants", and "Man Ray Returns."
- Open window maniac - "Hall Monitor"
- JellyBob FishPants - "Nature Pants"
- The Amazing Mister Absorbency - "Culture Shock"
- MuscleBob BuffPants - "MuscleBob BuffPants"
- The Flying Dutchman - "Scaredy Pants"
- SpongeBob ScaredyPants - "Scaredy Pants"
- SpongeSnail - "I Was a Teenage Gary" and The Cosmic Shake
- Peggy the Pirate - "Arrgh!"
- Sponge of Mystery - "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy II"
- Patrick Star - "Big Pink Loser"
- Old Man SpongeBob SquarePants - "Patty Hype", "The Secret Box", "Squid on Strike", "Goo Goo Gas", "The Great Patty Caper", and "Old Man Patrick".
- Man Sponge - "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III"
- The Quickster - "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V"
- Elf SpongeBob SquarePants - "Mid-Life Crustacean", "Holiday Party", "The 12 Days of Nickmas", Merry Nickmas Specials, Christmas with Krabby Klaws, and Best Christmas Stories Ever!.
- Krabby Patty burglar - "Krabby Land"
- The Bird Man of Bikini Bottom - "The Sponge Who Could Fly"
- Sir SpongeBob SquarePants - "Dunces and Dragons" and "Back to School Season"
- SquidBob TentaclePants - "SquidBob TentaclePants"
- Scary Mustache Guy - "The Pink Purloiner"
- The Yellow Avenger - The Yellow Avenger
- Extreme Racer SpongeBob SquarePants - Creature from the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob Comics No. 2, SpongeBob Comics Special Edition, "The Getaway", "Sea-Man Sponge Haters Club"
- New SpongeBob SquarePants - "Breath of Fresh Squidward"
- CheeseHead BrownPants - "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?"
- Normal SpongeBob SquarePants - "Not Normal"
- Squidward, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Mrs. Puff, Sandy, Old Man Jenkins SpongeBob - "Gone"
- Karen SpongeBob SquarePants - "Plankton's Regular"
- Short Order Boy - "Krusty Krushers"
- SpongeBob RoundPants - "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants"
- ManBob - "Shuffleboarding"
- Frankenstein SpongeBob SquarePants - FrankenBob's Quest
- Duke Thomas Feathermuffin - "Summer Job"
- Abrasive SpongeBob SquarePants - "The Abrasive Side", Super Brawl 3, and Super Brawl 3: Just Got Real
- Shelby Nautica - "Plankton Gets the Boot"
- Moldy Sponge - "Moldy Sponge"
- Super SpongeBob SquarePants - Bikini Bottom 2
- Flabby Patty Cook - "The Other Patty"
- Todd SquarePants - "Patrick's Staycation"
- The Squish - "Demolition Doofus"
- Secret Man - The Evil That Mendu!
- Invincibubble - The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
- SpongeRobert SquarePants - "SpongeBob LongPants"
- SpongeBob WormPants - "House Worming"
- Giant baby SpongeBob - "The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom"
- Sponge the Horse - "Pat the Horse"
- Little Yuck - "The Ballad of Filthy Muck"
- SnailBob - "Gary's Got Legs"
- Chumta Claus - "Plankton's Old Chum"
- Cool SpongeBob SquarePants - "Mind the Gap"
- Lady glove - "Handemonium"
- SpongeGar SquarePants - The Cosmic Shake
- Tooth Fairy assistant - "Ain't That the Tooth"
- Sponge-O the Incompentent - "Big Top Flop"
The Invincibubble.
Residence[]
SpongeBob's house.
SpongeBob lives with Gary in a house that is a pineapple. It is located on Conch Street near Squidward's house and Patrick's house, and the address is 124 Conch Street. It has been personified a few times, such as "Procrastination," where it asks SpongeBob why it was set on fire in SpongeBob's dream, "Ghost Host," where it is possessed by the Flying Dutchman, and "Unreal Estate," where SpongeBob's house is alive in the flashbacks.
SpongeBob's house on fire.
In "Unreal Estate," Squidward tries to make SpongeBob move away from his house, then SpongeBob changes Squidward's house to SpongeBob's house. In "New Digs," SpongeBob moves to the Krusty Krab after being late for work. In "Ma and Pa's Big Hurrah," SpongeBob temporarily moves to Avocondo Acres with his parents after his house gets destroyed when SpongeBob blasts off. SpongeBob's house has been destroyed in many episodes, such as "Home Sweet Pineapple," when SpongeBob moves in with Patrick after his house gets consumed by nematodes, but SpongeBob then tries to move in with Squidward after Patrick keeps crashing his rock on SpongeBob.
SpongeBob's house destroyed.
Reception[]
Throughout the run of SpongeBob SquarePants, the title character has become very popular with both children and adults and is viewed as Nickelodeon's unofficial mascot.
The character's popularity has spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of six to eleven-year-olds, to teenagers and adults,[39] including college campuses and celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis.[40] Salon.com indicates that the unadulterated innocence of SpongeBob is what makes the character so appealing.[41] SpongeBob has also become popular with gay men, despite Stephen Hillenburg saying that none of the characters are homosexual.[42] The character draws fans due to his flamboyant lifestyle and tolerant attitude.[43]
The popularity of SpongeBob 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.[44] 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.[45] The character inspired a soap-filled sponge product manufactured by SpongeTech.[46]
However, not all reception for SpongeBob has been positive. AskMen's Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters ranked SpongeBob at number four. The publication said that his well-meaning attitude is "extremely annoying."[47] The character has also been involved in several controversies, including some about his sexual orientation.
Multiverse[]
An Alternate-Universe SpongeBob exists in a world where Plankton was successful. Like his mainstream counterpart, he likes his career, likes promotions, and gets sad when he makes an error in somebody's order. The most significant difference is that he is made co-cashier by Plankton and is employed by him.
An alternate SpongeBob is mentioned in the "What if SpongeBob Was Gone?" shorts. Without SpongeBob, Gary throws a humongous party that ends in disaster, Patrick cannot hunt jellyfish properly, Sandy gets injured when playing karate, and the Krusty Krab ends up in ruins. All would say except Gary, that everything is better with SpongeBob.
Appearances in other media[]
See also: SpongeBob SquarePants (character)/gallery#In other media, SpongeBob SquarePants in popular culture/Films, SpongeBob SquarePants in popular culture/Books and comic strips, SpongeBob SquarePants in popular culture/Video games, and SpongeBob SquarePants in popular culture/gallery.
Trivia[]
SpongeBob with his jellyfishing glasses.
- On some occasions, SpongeBob wears prescription[48][49][50] glasses, such as for protection against jellyfishing or reading. These are similar to the glasses worn by his voice actor, Tom Kenny.
- In season 1 and season 2, his eyes are larger compared to later seasons, and his pupils are smaller.
- SpongeBob sometimes appears with eyebrows that block his eyelashes. However, they do not appear in every episode.
- Every time SpongeBob closes his eyes, his eyelashes disappear. Although some episodes have errors where SpongeBob blinks his eyes, but his eyelashes are still seen.
- In the first seasons, when SpongeBob closes his eyes sometimes, his closed eye gets way smaller and becomes shaped like a U.
- If not counting the French Narrator, SpongeBob was the first character to speak in the series.
- "Reef Blower," "Whale Watching," "Lockdown for Love," and "A Skin Wrinkle in Time" are the only episodes without a verbal line by SpongeBob. He silently mouths a "You!" subtitle in the first, laughs in the second, and is heard briefly panting in a crowd in the third. "A Skin Wrinkle in Time" is currently the only episode where he makes no noise at all.
- SpongeBob plays his smallest roles in the episodes "Mall Girl Pearl", "Shell Games," "Lockdown for Love," and "Slappy Daze," making short cameo appearances in each of them, and having only one small line at the end in the former.
- The URL "spongebob.com" redirects to "Nick.com."
- In "Help Wanted," it is revealed that SpongeBob's first words were "May I take your order?"
- However, his first words as a fetus as shown in a flashback in "Truth or Square" are revealed to be "Krabby Patty!"
- During the talk screens in the DS version of Creature from the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob has green eyes instead of blue.
- A cut origin story was originally planned for SpongeBob. It was meant to explain his square shape as SpongeBob began life as a natural yellow sponge that cyclops harvested and cut into squares in a factory on land.[51]
- In "Suds," SpongeBob suffers from the flu. Coincidentally, Tom Kenny was very sick the day he came to record his lines for this episode.[52]
- On the cover of the SpongeBob's Box of Books box set, SpongeBob's mouth is dark purple when it is normally maroon.
- SpongeBob's teeth were based on Stephen Hillenburg's teeth when he was a kid.[53]
- SpongeBob has appeared on a few pictures on iCarly.com.
- SpongeBob is a mascot of Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Movies.
- SpongeBob is considered the most popular and iconic character on Nickelodeon.
- In "Squid on Strike," SpongeBob is given a ten-dollar paycheck on Monday. It is a raise from starting out being paid as nothing then receiving underwear.
- In "I Was a Teenage Gary," SpongeBob is left-handed, but in later episodes, he is ambidextrous, revealed in "The Splinter" and "You Don't Know Sponge."
- SpongeBob is said to be right-handed, but in "Neptune's Spatula," he approves that he has two left hands.
- SpongeBob is sensitive to yelling, which is revealed in the episodes "The Lost Mattress," "A Day Without Tears," and "Larry the Floor Manager."
- Beginning in "My Pretty Seahorse" and heavily used in post-season 5 episodes, SpongeBob's nose usually droops down when he is sad, much like Squidward's nose is normally.
- SpongeBob's head has gotten bigger in each season and his waist has gotten wider. In some early season 2 episodes, such as "Big Pink Loser," he has a narrow waist.
- SpongeBob's pupil and cornea have gotten larger and more elliptical in each season. Before that, they were just pure circles.
- SpongeBob's prototype name, "SpongeBoy," is referenced by Mr. Krabs in the episode "Squeaky Boots," with the quote "SpongeBoy, me Bob!"
- Even though Mr. Krabs is the creator of the Krabby Patty, in "Are You Happy Now?," the narrator says that SpongeBob is the creator, referencing how he is the fry cook.
SpongeBob's and Patrick's fingerprints.
- In "Two Thumbs Down," during when he and Patrick sign the treaty with their fingerprints, SpongeBob's fingerprints has been revealed to look like an actual kitchen sponge mark.
- When he goes to Goo Lagoon, he often wears swim trunks; in earlier episodes, they are blue, but they change to red in later episodes. They were also seen orange once. This is first seen as a cameo in "Clams," but is very noticeable in newer seasons.
- It is revealed in "Love That Squid" that SpongeBob is allergic to tulips.
- It is revealed in "You Don't Know Sponge" that SpongeBob's favorite ice cream flavor is plain vanilla, he has an outie belly button, and his favorite color is beige.
- SpongeBob has about 40 holes.[54]
- Twelve front holes (five normally covered by his clothing)
- Nine back holes
- Five holes on his left
- Five holes on his right
- Five holes on top
- Four holes on the bottom
- In "Help Wanted," he is shown with fewer holes.
His birthmark and 3 moles.
- In "Truth or Square," SpongeBob is revealed to have three moles and a birthmark on his back.
- In "Krabby Patty Creature Feature," he is the only citizen of Bikini Bottom not affected by the zombie outbreak. He manages to save all the citizens using chum.
- SpongeBob's horoscope is Cancer.
- "Appointment TV" and "SpongeBob's Bad Habit" show that SpongeBob wears dentures.
- The gap in between his teeth becomes a plot point of "Mind the Gap," where Squidward joins his two gapped teeth together via oral surgery, giving him a deeper voice and creating his alter-ego, Cool SpongeBob.
SpongeBob with braces.
- SpongeBob wore braces when he was younger.[55]
- On certain occasions, SpongeBob has been referred to as Robert, as seen in episodes such as "SpongeBob LongPants" and "Patrick SmartPants."
- In most episodes that flashback to SpongeBob as a kid and in Kamp Koral, his voice sounds similar to his modern adult one, if not done with a somewhat higher pitch. However, in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, he has a more realistic-sounding voice that sounds like a young boy.
- In the earlier seasons, SpongeBob rarely had his modern cheek which leaves a gap on the left or right, but in the modern seasons, SpongeBob now rarely has his original cheek where the outline would leave a gap on the bottom.
- According to Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob is "almost asexual," meaning he has no sexual desire, though he can fall in love.
- In early episodes, such as "Help Wanted," "F.U.N.," and "Christmas Who?," he did a dance where his arms and legs were curly. He doesn't seem to do the dance anymore.
- In a few occasions, SpongeBob's pupil constricts and his irises briefly disappear or vice-versa if he is frightened.
- SpongeBob has appeared in other various TV shows and movies.
- SpongeBob has been put in a jar on at least three occasions.
- In "Nature Pants," Patrick unsuccessfully attempts to put him in a jar.
- In "Jellyfish Hunter," No Name puts him in a jar.
- In "Picture Day," he puts himself in a jar.
- In 2009, SpongeBob made an appearance in Peter Kay's Official BBC Children in Need Medley. He appeared in "Gullible Pants" footage on Big Chris' phone.
- He is one of the three male characters in The Patrick Star Show to have hair, not counting facial hair, following Cecil and Slappy Laszlo.
- One of the fungi-related species named Spongiforma squarepantsii have been derived from SpongeBob as it bears a resemblance to the fungus.
- There are five episodes of the main series in which SpongeBob himself does not appear: "The Algae's Always Greener," "Welcome to Binary Bottom," "Dopey Dick," "Plankton and the Beanstalk," and "BassWard." In the first four episodes, different counterparts of SpongeBob take his place (Alternate-Universe SpongeBob, SpongeBot, SpongeHab, and SpongeGoose). In "BassWard," no form of SpongeBob appears, his voice is not heard, and his name is not mentioned at all, marking the first episode without any reference or audio to him.
- When SpongeBob dries, a black ring appears around his eyes, like in "Tea at the Treedome," but this also can happen because of his body's response, like in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.
- In a few episodes of the early seasons, like in "Hall Monitor" and "Something Smells", SpongeBob's body deflates when he is sad. This no longer happens as of Season 4.
- SpongeBob is confirmed to be autistic by his voice actor Tom Kenny[56]. This makes SpongeBob the first character to have been confirmed to be neurodivergent in the show.
- According to Squidward in "Fools in April", he mentions that SpongeBob's favorite holiday is April Fools.
See also[]
- SpongeBob SquarePants (character) on Wikipedia
Global names and voice actors[]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Albanian | BobSfungjeri Pantallon-katrori voice Moris Rama | - |
| Arabic | سبونج بوب سكوير بانتس voice خالد العيسوي | - |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 海绵宝宝 voice 陈浩 | - |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 海綿寶寶 voice 郭俊廷 [Cantonese], 魏伯勤 [Taiwan] | - |
| Danish | SvampeBob Firkant voice Jens Jacob Tychsen | - |
| Finnish | Paavo Pesusieni voice Antti L. J. Pääkkönen | - |
| French | Bob l'éponge voice Sébastien Desjours | - |
| German | SpongeBob Schwammkopf voice Santiago Ziesmer | - |
| Hebrew | בובספוג מכנסמרובע voice עידו מוסרי | - |
| Japanese | スポンジボブ・スクエアパンツ voice 鶴博幸 | - |
| Kazakh | Ысқыш Боб Шаршы Шалбар voice Нышанбек Жұбанаев | - |
| Korean | 스폰지밥 네모바지 voice Jeon Tae-yeol | - |
| Norwegian | SvampeBob Firkant voice Kim Fangen | - |
| Polish | SpongeBob Kanciastoporty voice Jacek Kopczyński | - |
| Portuguese (Brazilian) | Bob Esponja Calça Quadrada voice Wendel Bezerra | - |
| Romanian | Buretele Bob Pantaloni Pătrați voice Ernest Fazekaș | - |
| Russian | Губка Боб Квадратные Штаны voice Сергей Балабанов | - |
| Serbian | Sunđer Bob Kockalone voice Vladislava Đorđević | - |
| Spanish | Bob Esponja voice Álex Saudinós [Spain] | - |
| Ukrainian | Губка Боб Квадратні Штани voice Павло Скороходько | - |
External links[]
References[]
- ^ Truth or Square." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. November 6, 2009. Television.
- ^ a b "Stanley S. SquarePants." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. November 23, 2007. Television.
- ^ The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
- ^ What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?
- ^ "Trident Trouble"
- ^ "Party Pooper Pants." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. May 17, 2002. Television.
- ^ "Frankendoodle." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. January 21, 2002. Television.
- ^ The SpongeBob Musical
- ^ For SpongeBob to have a grandson in the future, he would have to have at least one child.
- ^ https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/745816538754617344
- ^ File:102promo010.jpg
- ^ In "CopyBob DittoPants", SpongeBob mentions he's always wanted a twin brother, indicating he doesn't have one.
- ^ SpongeBob's driver's license
- ^ SpongeBob SquarePants (musical)
- ^ Mack, David (2018-11-27). Stephen Hillenburg, The Creator Of "SpongeBob SquarePants," Has Died At 57. Retrieved on 2022-04-15.
- ^ Strauss, Gary (2002-05-17). Life's good for SpongeBob. USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
- ^ "Everybody's Talking: The Voices Behind SpongeBob SquarePants"
- ^ a b c d tps-2006-12-05-kenny. The People Speak Radio. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
- ^ > (2003-04-01) Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies. Allworth Press.
- ^ TBIVision: 'SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Steve Hillenburg
- ^ a b Stephen Hillenburg, artist and animator
- ^ SpongeBob's Alter Ego. CBS News (2002-12-30). Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
- ^ "The Secret Box." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. September 7, 2001. Television.
- ^ "Squidville." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. April 28, 2001. Television.
- ^ https://www.pantone.com/articles/press-releases/nickelodeon-and-the-pantone-color-institute-launch-spongebob-yellow-and-patrick-star-pink
- ^ "Karate Island." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. May 12, 2006. Television.
- ^ "The Other Patty." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. June 25, 2011. Television.
- ^ "Missing Identity." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. January 19, 2004. Television.
- ^ "Night Light." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. July 30, 2007. Television.
- ^ "Rodeo Daze." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. February 6, 2010. Television.
- ^ "Karate Choppers." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. December 31, 1999. Television.
- ^ "Gullible Pants." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. June 5, 2009. Television.
- ^ "Can You Spare a Dime?." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. March 8, 2002. Television.
- ^ "Born Again Krabs." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. October 4, 2003. Television.
- ^ "Friend or Foe." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. April 13, 2007. Television.
- ^ Every Krabby Patty EVER!
- ^ Every Krabby Patty Ranked by GROSSNESS!
- ^ "Squid's Day Off." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. February 17, 2001. Television.
- ^ Park, Michael Y. (2002-10-09). SpongeBob HotPants?. FOXNews. Retrieved on 2008-11-09.
- ^ Imperiale Wellons, Nancy (2001-05-01). SpongeBob cartoon proves its hip to be SquarePants.. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved on 2008-11-09.
- ^ Zacharek, Stephanie (2004-09-19). The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Salon.com. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
- ^ Camp cartoon star 'is not gay'. BBC News (October 9, 2002). Retrieved on April 15, 2022.
- ^ BBC Staff (2005-01-20). US right attacks SpongeBob video. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20030605163850/https://www.usatoday.com/money/covers/2002-05-17-sponge-bob.htm
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090405192838/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2007%2F01%2F24%2Fentertainment%2Fe091755S47.DTL
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210126035351/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-BANKB-13521
- ^ Murphy, Ryan. Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters. AskMen. Retrieved on 2008-11-08.
- ^ The Eye of the Fry Cook: A Story About Getting Glasses
- ^ Mr. Krabs' Pool Party!
- ^ File:Nick Artist Doodle ft SpongeBob
- ^
- ^ Interview in one of the issues of Nickelodeon Magazine
- ^ Banks, Steven (September 21, 2004). SpongeBob Exposed! The Insider's Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants. Schigiel, Gregg.
- ^ His full body is seen in "All That Glitters."
- ^ "Goons on the Moon." SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon. November 25, 2018. Television.
- ^ https://x.com/DominoDeerGirl/status/1815512428840444250
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