| Spongebob Squarepants |
Article Index for Spongebob Squarepants |
Articles about Spongebob Squarepants |
Website Links For Spongebob Squarepants |
Information AboutSpongebob Squarepants |
POPULARITY ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is a popular American Animated Television Series shown on Nickelodeon , YTV , and Nicktoons Network created by marine biologist and animator, Stephen Hillenburg . SpongeBob SquarePants is a comedy show set under the Pacific Ocean . The Pilot Episode first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon after the '' Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards '' on May Day (May 1), 1999 . SpongeBob SquarePants officially aired on July 24 , 1999 of the same year with the second episode, " Bubblestand / Ripped Pants ." Most episodes take place in the town of Bikini Bottom or the surrounding lagoon floor. SpongeBob is the first "low budget" '' and '' Invader Zim '' took a similar role when they aired in 2001, and the former is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity, while the latter has been taken off the channel. Broad appeal The cartoon is designed to appeal to children as well as adults. This has a lot to do with the way underwater life and situations are represented, absurdly, and with the situations, references, and words used, which many younger viewers might not understand or get. Instead of cars, the residents of Bikini Bottom drive boats (with wheels). Once, while out in the wilderness, Patrick questions how they could have a camp fire on the lagoon bottom—the fire is immediately extinguished with a sizzle. A flurry of bubbles accompany many actions, just to remind the viewer everything ''is'' underwater. The main character, SpongeBob lives in a pineapple, while his neighbor Squidward lives in an Easter Island Head and his other neighbor and best friend, Patrick lives under a rock. The suggestion is that both the head and the pineapple have fallen from a tropical island to become underwater habitats. SpongeBob's house-pet is a snail named Gary , who meows like a feline (though characters have shown signs of being able to understand him). In relation to this, underwater worms bark (and act) exactly like dogs, and are kept on chains. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees (buzzing, stinging, and producing delicious "jelly", mocking the name "jellyfish" but still referencing a bee's honey), but jellyfish are collected or appreciated like butterflies. Scallops behave like birds, propelling themselves through the water with their shells and tweeting. In addition to this, instead of peanut butter, SpongeBob SquarePants uses what is called in Bikini Bottom "Sea-Nut Butter". SpongeBob's telephone is shaped like a conch and referred to as a "shell phone". Aside from the many undersea puns, some common products from the surface world have somehow found their way into Bikini Bottom , such as "canned bread", roast beef, and even pizza. SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, a restaurant seemingly based on McDonald's or Burger King . SpongeBob is one cartoon in a long line of shows to put in more "adult" references, and has become so popular with adults that it has been shown on MTV and Spike TV . A certain quote by Patrick ("It's gonna rock!") has been used as a promo for rock stations. '' Ren And Stimpy '', among others, had followed a similar path. '' The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie '', released on November 19 2004 , features a cameo appearance by actor David Hasselhoff , reprising his role from the Baywatch TV series. Part of the show's appeal has to do with the childlike nature of SpongeBob and his best friend, Patrick , both of whom are idiots and display an innocence typical of human children. However, the characters are not immune from more adult avocations, including rock musicianship in a stadium performance reminiscent of a hard rock concert. When naming reasons why many fans believe Nickelodeon has gone downhill in recent years, ''SpongeBob'' is often listed as an exception. Its appeal to older audiences, as mentioned earlier, can be attributed to the show's crazy but witty and at times even sophisticated humor. The show also, unlike many current Nickelodeon cartoons, is not "mainstream" or "cliche". While many newer cartoons revolve around pre-adolescents with strange lives and feature massive amounts of pop-culture references (eg. '' Fairly Oddparents ''), SpongeBob chooses to go for a more teen/adult friendly formula that was used in highly successful older Nick cartoons such as '' Ren And Stimpy '' and '' Rocko's Modern Life '', non-human young adults in crazy, unrealistic situations, with minimal pop culture references. Unlike its mainstream-culture-promoting network, SpongeBob features many semi-obscure musicians who contribute to its soundtrack. Non-mainstream Alternative Rock bands such as Wilco , The Shins , The Flaming Lips and perhaps most notably Ween (who have contributed two original songs to the show and their 1997 classic "Ocean Man" to the movie soundtrack), as well as metal bands Pantera , Motörhead , and Twisted Sister have made appearances on the show and movies soundtracks, and classic Thrash Metal group Metallica even released a T-shirt featuring cartoon versions of them playing live with SpongeBob & Patrick. Merchandising and marketing ]] Merchandise based on the show ranges from . More recently, a tie-in beverage for 7-Eleven convenience stores has been created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee . Events in the past with the SpongeBob SquarePants theme include an exhibit at Underwater Adventures Aquarium in the Mall Of America called SeaCrits of Bikini Bottom during the summer of 2003. In October 2004, a NASCAR Busch Series race was named The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 300, presented by Lowe's and broadcast on TNT featuring Jimmie Johnson 's #48 Lowe's stock car and Kyle Busch 's #5 stock car painted for the race with the SpongeBob Movie paint schemes. There were contests tied in with the movie where you could win SpongeBob-related items or a trip to the Cayman Islands . The motion simulator/interactive movie ride "Escape from Dino-Island 3D" at Six Flags Over Texas was turned into " SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D ", with water squirts, real bubbles, and other sensory enhancements. LEGO received license to produce SpongeBob SquarePants building sets, beginning to sell them in August 2006. Other items featuring SpongeBob include a special edition Monopoly Board Game and Life board game as well as a SpongeBob SquarePants edition of Ants In The Pants and Yahtzee . SEGA Corporation introduced a Ticket Redemption game based on the show that has become popular with most Video Arcades . {Link without Title} HISTORY Origin (1993–1999) |
|
|