List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters

The characters in SpongeBob SquarePants were created by artist, animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg. In addition to the series' main cast, various celebrities have voiced roles in SpongeBob SquarePants. Notably, Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway voice the roles of recurring characters Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy respectively (Adam West assumed the role of Mermaid Man shortly after Ernest Borgnine's death in 2012), while others have taken a cameo part.

Creation and conception

Stephen Hillenburg conceived the characters for SpongeBob SquarePants in 1984, while he was teaching and studying marine biology at what is now the Orange County Ocean Institute.[1] During this period, Hillenburg became fascinated with animation, and wrote a comic book entitled The Intertidal Zone starring various anthropomorphic forms of sea lives, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters,[2] including "Bob the Sponge", who was the co-host of the comic and resembled an actual sea sponge as opposed to SpongeBob.[3] In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue his dream of becoming an animator.[2][3]

Main characters

Recurring characters

Minor characters

Reception

The characters of SpongeBob SquarePants have been well-received overall. The titular character SpongeBob has become very popular with children and adults. The character's popularity has spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of two- to eleven-year-olds, to teenagers and adults,[11] including college campuses and celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis.[12] The popularity of SpongeBob translated well into sales figures. 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.[13] SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted marketing at women in the country as a method of building the SpongeBob SquarePants brand. Skeptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan as the character's design is very different from already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu.[14] However, the characters have also attracted negative reception, including SpongeBob himself, who was listed as number four on AskMen's Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters. Nevertheless, SpongeBob SquarePants was ranked ninth on TV Guide's top 50 cartoon characters.[15]

Arthur Brown, author of Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons!, has compared Squidward's voice to that of Jack Benny's.[16]

Appearances in other media

The characters of SpongeBob SquarePants have been parodied various times in popular culture. In 2007, the Amsterdam-based company Boom Chicago created a SpongeBob parody called "SpongeBob SquarePants in China," in which a stereotypically Chinese Patrick refuses to go to work and advocates freedom of speech, rights of leisure, and income.[17] During the same year, production company Camp Chaos created a SpongeBob parody entitled SpongeBong HempPants which features five of the series' characters parodied in the form of various drugs. The show was seen on VH1 and Comedy Central.[18] The series has received mixed reviews from television critics; Adam Finley of TV Squad believed the series sounded "hilarious on paper", but ultimately did not demonstrate its full potential.[18] SpongeBob and Patrick were also referenced in Phineas and Ferb, when the characters of the Disney show dug a hole and found a sponge and a seastar. SpongeBob and Patrick also have an appearance in the Disney show Good Luck Charlie when Charlie's parents have a pink square and a yellow star puppet and are performing a potty training show on a fake television set. SpongeBob has made some appearances in TV shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Mad, South Park, Futurama, and The Cleveland Show. Wooldoor Sockbat from Comedy Central's Drawn Together is a parody of SpongeBob, and he even has a similar theme song.

References

General

Specific

  1. Banks, pp. 8-9
  2. 1 2 Banks, p. 9
  3. 1 2 Hillenburg, Stephen (2003). The Origin of SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
  4. Neuwirth, Allan. Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies. Allworth Press. p. 51.
  5. "Meet the Characters: Mr.Krabs". Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
  6. "Meet the Characters: Gary". Nickelodeon. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  7. Mary Jo Catlett as the voice of Mrs. Puff via behindthevoiceactors.com
  8. "SpongeBob SquarePants: Naughty Nautical Neighbors/Boating School". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  9. Imperiale Wellons, Nancy (2001-05-17). "SpongeBob cartoon proves its hip to be SquarePants.". The Orlando Sentinel. Kathleen Waltz. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  10. Glen Weldon; Michael Kantor. Superheroes!:Capes cowls and the creation of comic book culture. p. 167.
  11. Park, Michael Y. (2002-10-09). "SpongeBob HotPants?". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  12. Imperiale Wellons, Nancy (2001-05-01). "SpongeBob cartoon proves its hip to be SquarePants.". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  13. Strauss, Gary (2002-05-17). "Life's good for SpongeBob". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  14. Kageyama, Yuri (2007-01-24). "SpongeBob Goes Trendy to Win Japan Fans". The San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  15. Murphy, Ryan. "Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters". AskMen. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  16. Brown, Arthur (2008). Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons!. Arthur Brown. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-4357-3248-3.
  17. "Official Boom Chicago "Back to Work!" page". Boomchicago.tv. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  18. 1 2 Finley, Adam (2007-01-01). "SpongeBong the banned". TV Squad. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
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