I remember the first time I watched SpongeBob SquarePants. I was 8 years old and it was only a couple days after the premiere. I was at my friend’s house with my sister and we were playing in her living room when the ad came on that SpongeBob was about to start and she insisted we watched it. I remember laughing so hard. From then on I always watched SpongeBob when it was on TV. Even now as an adult, if I’m watching cable and I see it’s on, I have to at least watch a couple minutes. That’s just what kind of show SpongeBob is.
Stephen Hillenburg gave us a gift with his creation. He gave us some of the most influential and widely known characters to ever exist — SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, Mr. Krabs, the list can go on and on. Most (if not all) of you reading this can immediately picture those characters in your head. Their voices, zany mannerisms and obsessions – I mean, Patrick has a trophy for doing absolutely nothing for the longest amount of time! These characters are so unique and off the wall. It seems like everything about SpongeBob seemed to set the stage for the future of cartoons and you can see it in these characters. Though I haven’t seen it expressly stated, I can’t see shows like Adventure Time, Chowder, The Amazing World of Gumball, or Regular Show getting a leg up had SpongeBob not come first.
There’s even a standard set with the creation of Bikini Bottom and the places within and around it, like the Krusty Krab, Goo Lagoon, Jellyfish Fields, or Mount Climb-up-and-Fall-off. Each of these places are seen on more than one occasion and map out the geography of this ocean area, just like real life. We see them in passing in other episodes, these places that were introduced just one time continued to be a part of this world without question or explanation. In most cartoons you might see the same staple places and sometimes a new one will pop up, but this idea of a new place that is now ingrained into the background forever has a definite root within SpongeBob.
Almost 20 years later, SpongeBob remains one of the most quotable shows of all time. Just Google SpongeBob, Patrick, or Squidward and watch the amount of hilarious quotes and memes that show up. His characters’ ridiculous expressions are on clothing with no context, or the characters themselves are riding realistic unicorns or sloths and for some reason it’s just outright hilarious to see. And you really know a character has hit the big time when a sexy costume is made after them.
SpongeBob SquarePants came in at the very end of the ’90s, and it would only be a few years later when the beloved cartoons of the ’90s kids like myself would begin to be cycled out and replaced with newer, not as good cartoons. But SpongeBob would continue to go strong and withstand the test of time. Even now, if you go back and watch the earliest episodes, they’re still funny.
Stephen Hillenburg contributed so much to my childhood and adult life, as he did to many, many others, and he will continue doing so because SpongeBob will live on to bring us countless laughs and prime meme material. So, Mr. Hillenburg, thank you for everything, you will be dearly missed.
