SpongeBob SquarePants (character)

If you were looking for the article about the series, then see SpongeBob SquarePants (series).

If you were looking for the article about the series, then see SpongeBob SquarePants (series).

If you were looking for the article about the series, then see SpongeBob SquarePants (series).

“	I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!	”
	— SpongeBob SquarePants

Character

Gallery

Appearances

SpongeBob SquarePants
General information
Residence:	124 Conch Street, Bikini Bottom, Pacific Ocean
Occupation(s):	Fry cook at the Krusty Krab Cashier Waiter Manager of The Krusty Krab 2 Creator and short-term owner of the Pretty Patties Store Owner of the Krusty Krab Director of The Real Mermaid Man and Baracle Boy Movie Manager of the Krusty Krab Shiny object collector of the Krusty Krab Prison guard Driver's ed instructor at the Bikini Bottom Jail
Education:	Currently in Mrs. Puff's Boating School Bikini Bottom School during childhood High School Middle School
Physical appearance
Gender:	Male
Color:	Light yellow with light olive-green holes
Eye color:	Light blue
Classification:	Sponge
Family
Parents:	Margaret SquarePants (mother) Harold SquarePants (father)
Grandparents:	Grandma SquarePants (grandmother) Grandpa SquarePants (grandfather)
Grandchildren:	Unnamed grandson
Uncles:	Sherm SquarePants Captain Blue SquarePants
Cousins:	Stanley S. SquarePants BlackJack SquarePants Todd SquarePants Larry SquarePants
Ancestors:	SpongeBuck SquarePants Primitive Sponge SpongeGar
Descendants:	SpongeTron
Connections
Pet(s):	Gary the Snail (snail) Shelley (scallop Mrs. Wormsley Lary the Snail Rex Jerry Puffy Fluffy Junior
Employer:	Eugene H. Krabs Sheldon J. Plankton ("Welcome to the Chum Bucket") Squidward Tentacles ("Squilliam Returns") Carl ("Selling Out")
Series information
First appearance:	"Help Wanted"
Portrayer:	Tom Kenny

SpongeBob SquarePants (born July 14, 1986) is the main protagonist and the eponymous character of the Nickelodeon animated comedy series of the same name. He was designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, and is voiced by Tom Kenny. He first appeared on television in the series' pilot episode "Help Wanted."

SpongeBob is a childish, joyful, eccentric sea sponge who lives in a pineapple on 124 Conch Street with his pet snail Gary and pet scallop Shelley 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. He attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, though has yet to receive a driver's license due to his inability to drive a boatmobile. SpongeBob lacks a lot of knowledge and is a constant annoyance to those around him, but he is very good-natured.

He appears in all of the episodes in the series, except for "The Algae's Always Greener," in which his alternate-universe counterpart appears instead. He was soon to be Nickelodeon's main mascot.

Description

SpongeBob is a sea sponge, but he is drawn to resemble a kitchen sponge, being rectangular and bright yellow with a dark brown outline. In earlier episodes, he is wider near the top and gets skinnier going further down. However, in the more recent episodes, he is more of a regular square shape. SpongeBob has large light blue eyes, a long, slightly curved nose, a large mouth with two prominent front buck teeth, and dimples with three freckles on each cheek. In the comic strip Eye Drop, his left eye is called Eyebally.

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 (the entire outfit is sometimes referred to as his "pants," hence his name). While working at the Krusty Krab, he wears a tall, white hat with a small blue anchor on it as a uniform. SpongeBob usually sleeps in his underwear, and at other times, pajamas (beginning with season 5). However, he occasionally sleeps with his entire outfit on, which was more common in the show's earlier seasons.

Though SpongeBob has always been voiced by Tom Kenny, his voice has changed over the course of the series; his voice is lower than normal in the pilot episode and after the the first movie, his voice gets slightly higher-pitched. In season 8, his voice gets lower-pitched once again.

Personality

SpongeBob is a clueless, abnormal, immature, fun-loving, and hyperactive character with a happy-go-lucky personality. He is an extremely determined person, 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. He is also over-confident. Sometimes, though, he shows his devious side when trying to get Mr. Krabs and Plankton to work together. He sometimes tends to make mountains out of molehills, such as losing his nametag.

SpongeBob is very kind-hearted and innocent, and very rarely acts openly mean to anyone, even his enemies. 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 Tentacles.

SpongeBob can become scared easily and usually panics when frightened. He is afraid of the dark and clowns . He also hates hot sauce. 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 information as easy as the other characters, mainly due to his naive nature.

SpongeBob's innocence also makes him overly trusting and very gullible, and he is easily manipulated by people who intend to use and/or harm him, such as Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton; most noticeably, he is always easily fooled by Plankton no matter how bizarre or obvious his disguises are. Even though he is generally good-natured and easygoing, when frustrated and angered, SpongeBob can be sarcastic, rude, and "foul-mouthed" to his friends, even Mr. Krabs, whom he treats as a father figure. Ironically, Squidward is the only character whom SpongeBob never insults when he is angry, with the exception of the episodes "Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Breath of Fresh Squidward."

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 (though some, like Squidward, are actually shown kicking the ashes), and depart Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is more honored than insulted by this, as he was the "inspiration" for the holiday.

Antagonistic side

SpongeBob is intelligent and his antagonism does not excuse him at all, including his annoyance.

• In "Ripped Pants," he tricks the lifeguard into thinking he is dying, but it was a prank just to say he ripped his beach pants.
• In "Pizza Delivery," he and Squidward get lost in the desert while delivering a pizza. They both are on the verge of starvation; however, SpongeBob repeatedly refuses to let Squidward eat the pizza even though they would both die of starvation without it.
• In "Employee of the Month," he gets very worried that Squidward would win the Employee of the Month award instead of him, hence he tries to sabotage Squidward (ironically making him try harder to get it, as he did not even care about it in the beginning). Finally, they both are exhausted and call a truce. However, once at work, they destroy the Krusty Krab from their "work." It then explodes from making too many Krabby Patties, thus customers pick them up and eat them for free.
• In "Squidward, the Unfriendly Ghost," he sends Squidward up in the sky even though Squidward said no more favors. However, this is because he thought that Squidward was still dead, due to his naive nature.
• In "Walking Small," he ruthlessly takes what he wants and accidentally drives everyone away from Goo Lagoon, but he was being manipulated by Plankton the whole time, so it technically is not his fault.
• In "Christmas Who?," he cuts down Squidward's coral tree (which is actually illegal) and puts up decorations on Squidward's house even though Squidward said not to.
• In "Pressure," he, along with Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward make fun of Sandy when she cannot do things that they as sea creatures can, due to being a land squirrel.
• In "Squirrel Jokes," he makes fun of Sandy by making jokes of her species. Even though he promises Sandy that he will make no more squirrel jokes, he breaks this promise. He also tells her that people would be laughing "with" her, but they would actually laugh at her. However, this stops once Sandy starts acting dumb and injures SpongeBob.
• In "Sailor Mouth," he uses foul language, along with Patrick (mostly sounding like dolphin chirps).
• In "Just One Bite," he forced Squidward to eat a Krabby Patty by handcuffing himself to Squidward.
• In "Nasty Patty," he helps Mr. Krabs create the eponymous tainted patty to "kill" the health inspector whom they both thought was a fake and even put the nastiest things on the patty.
• In "Can You Spare a Dime?," he picks up Mr. Krabs tightly by the neck out of frustration and yells at him.
• In "Party Pooper Pants," Squidward goes to his party when his cables were cut, obviously by SpongeBob.
• In "Pranks a Lot," he and Patrick trespass and scare everyone in Bikini Bottom as "ghosts," and attempt to burn Mr. Krabs' money.
• In The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, he ruthlessly scolds Mr. Krabs (though under the influence of ice cream) because Mr. Krabs did not make him the manager of The Krusty Krab 2.
• In "The Thing," he and Patrick antagonized Squidward by asking so many questions. They also broke into the zoo and broke out Squidward.
• In "Best Day Ever," he scolds everyone who made him fail in having the best day ever.
• In "Driven to Tears," he tore up Patrick's license and threw it out.
• In "Stanley S. SquarePants," after taking the blame for most of Stanley's mistakes, he finally explodes at both Mr. Krabs and Stanley when he sees that his spatula was broken by the latter.
• In "Toy Store of Doom," he annoys an employee of Toy Barrel by singing. He, along with Patrick, also hides in the store past open hours.
• In "A Pal for Gary," he scolds Gary for "being mean" to Puffy Fluffy, when it is actually the nudibranch who is attacking Gary.
• In "Squidward in Clarinetland," Squidward must go through the torture that SpongeBob created to find his clarinet.
• In "Rodeo Daze," he kidnaps the Bikini Bottomites who would not help him using Superb Bubble to help him save Sandy from a rodeo.
• In "The Other Patty," he created a new restaurant called The Flabby Patty which proves to be better than the Krabby Patty. He forces Mr. Krabs and Plankton to work together (much to their dismay) to get the recipe. When they finally do, they find out it was not a real recipe. SpongeBob reveals that he was the one who created the Flabby Patty just to get them to work together, which got him, chased by an angry Mr. Krabs and Plankton.

Villainous role

• In "Nasty Patty," he helps Mr. Krabs "poison" the health inspector and bury him when they thought he was dead.

Scapegoat side

• In "Karate Choppers," Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob to stop karate for good. However, when he tells Sandy she does not believe him, and does karate around him. Krabs then fires SpongeBob even though he was not the one doing karate. However, Sandy then explains that she did not listen when he told her.
• In "The Bully," Flats the Flounder repeatedly threatens to beat up SpongeBob. However, when he finally does, he discovers that SpongeBob is immune because he is an invertebrate. Flats tries for days until finally (at Boating School) collapsing from exhaustion. SpongeBob then gives a speech about it while making a fist gesture. Hence, Mrs. Puff thinks he had beaten him up intentionally, thus screaming "I'm going to kick your butt!"
• In "New Student Starfish," Patrick comes with SpongeBob to boating school, in which he writes a letter calling Mrs. Puff a "big fat meany" and hands it to SpongeBob. Mrs. Puff then takes away one of SpongeBob's good noodle stars on the Good Noodle Board even though it is Patrick's fault.
• In "Party Pooper Pants," SpongeBob is locked out of his house while throwing a party, hence he tries to break in, but is caught by the police. He then explains that it is his house and that he was locked out while throwing a party. However, he is then arrested for not inviting the two cops even though it is legal not to invite the police to a party.
• In "Stanley S. SquarePants," SpongeBob's cousin works with him at the Krusty Krab (as Squidward moved away); he breaks many things, which SpongeBob claims are his fault. However, eventually SpongeBob cannot take it anymore and explains it is Stanley's fault.
• In "Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful," a piece of garbage falls off a statue of Squidward (made of garbage), so a cop gives Squidward a ticket for it even though it fell off on its own.
• In "Stuck in the Wringer," SpongeBob gets stuck in his bathroom wringer and then Patrick glues him so that he can be stuck forever. He cannot work, eat ice cream, or play the games at the carnival with the wringer on. After yelling at Patrick for what the forever glue did, he gets scolded by the townspeople for it.

Skills

SpongeBob's bones in "I Had an Accident"

SpongeBob has been shown to have numerous extraordinary abilities and attributes over the course of the series (even though physically weak).

• Soft pliable body: Due to his soft, pliable frame, he is capable of shapeshifting, has some degree of invulnerability, being able to absorb any type of physical impact, shown most notably in the episode "The Bully."
• Regeneration: It is shown that he can quickly regenerate parts of his body that are injured or removed.
• Boneless: SpongeBob is usually shown to be boneless (sea sponges being 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."
• Absorbent: Being a sponge, he is also absorbent, and can expand his body by absorbing liquids. When he cries, he often re-absorbs his tears. An example being in "The Bully" when Flats the Flounder kept on hitting him, but SpongeBob just absorbed all of his blows. Also, in "I Had An Accident," he filter feeds through his holes, as he is a sponge.
• 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 the nematodes from the Krusty Krab. His nose flute is notably played as a closing note of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.
• 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.
• Tongue-boarding: SpongeBob tongue-boards in "Pre-Hibernation Week" and the video games Battle for Bikini Bottom and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game.
• Survival skills: In "To Save a Squirrel," SpongeBob and Patrick almost eat each other to survive.
• 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.
• Driving: He drives perfectly in various episodes, but drives recklessly on other episodes, which are in appearances of Mrs. Puff and her boating school.
• Karate: He trains in karate perfectly and rarely mixes them up.
• Destruction: Although, he does not know it and thanks to his poor driving skills, SpongeBob is actually skilled at Demolition Derbies. This is shown in "Demolition Doofus," as SpongeBob (who uses the name "Le Squish") manages to defeat five other competitors (also surviving against Mrs. Puff).

Near-death experiences

SpongeBob's life has most usually been in good luck, except on his boating school driving tests, where he gets himself and others (usually Mrs. Puff) injured or almost injured from his reckless driving. He also gets injuries from extreme sports with Sandy and the Radicals, Patrick, or Larry. He also almost freezes to death in "Frozen Face-Off." He almost does not make it against The Big One in "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One." He is almost eaten and starves to death in "To Save a Squirrel." In "I Had an Accident," SpongeBob does not concentrate on sand-boarding and cracked his behind; the doctor says he was one of the lucky ones to survive.

Creation and development

Stephen Hillenburg intended to create a series about an over-optimistic sponge who annoys other characters. Hillenburg compared the concept to Laurel and Hardy and Pee-wee Herman. As he drew the character, he decided that a "squeaky-clean square" (like a kitchen sponge) fits the concept.

The first concept sketch portrayed the character 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.

Originally, the character was to be named "SpongeBoy," but the name was already in use. This was discovered after voice acting for the original seven-minute pilot was recorded in 1997. The Nickelodeon legal department discovered that the name was already in use for a mop product. Upon finding this out, Hillenburg decided that the character's given name still had to contain "Sponge" so viewers would not mistake the character for a "Cheese Man." Hillenburg decided to use the name "SpongeBob." He chose "SquarePants" as a family name as it referred to the character's square shape and it had a "nice ring to it." The "Cheese Man" mistake was used three times, CheeseHead (or CheeseBoy by the citizens of New Kelp City) was used as SpongeBob's fake first name in "WhoBob WhatPants?" Nancy Suzy Fish says, "Oh, so now the talking cheese is going to preach to us" in "Band Geeks," and Timmy Turner mistakenly called SpongeBob "a giant block of cheese" in the video game Nicktoons Unite!

Although SpongeBob's driver's license says his birth date is July 14, 1986, which would make the character 12 (nearly 13) years old at the time of his debut appearance on May 1, 1999, Hillenburg joked that he is fifty in "sponge years." He explained that SpongeBob actually has no specific age, but that he is old enough to be on his own and still be going to boating school. The decision to have SpongeBob attend a boat driving school was made due to a request from Nickelodeon that the character attend a school.

SpongeBob is voiced by veteran voice actor Tom Kenny. Kenny previously worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life, and when Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants, he approached Kenny to voice the character. Hillenburg used Kenny's and other actors' personalities to help create the personality of SpongeBob.

The voice of SpongeBob was originally used by Kenny for a background character present in a crowd scene in Rocko's Modern Life. Kenny forgot the voice initially as he created it only for that single use. Hillenburg, however, remembered it when he was coming up with 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.

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.

Biography

SpongeBob SquarePants was born on July 14, 1986 to Harold SquarePants and Margaret BubbleBottom.

He lives with his pet 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, hates SpongeBob and 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. The first episode of the series depicts SpongeBob applying for and being hired to this job. He says that it has been his lifelong dream to join the Krusty Crew, and that only now is he "ready." When he applies for the job, Squidward and Mr. Krabs, wanting no part of him, send him on a fool's errand for a "hydrodynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments and turbo drive." While he is out searching for one, several hundred hungry anchovies arrive and overwhelm Squidward and Mr. Krabs. SpongeBob soon returns, having actually found a hydrodynamic spatula, and saves their lives by feeding the anchovies, showing off his amazing cooking skills in the process.

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. He loves the house and buys it, leaving Squidward in misery by losing his garden and having SpongeBob living next to him.

SpongeBob is not only extremely good at his job, being able to produce a Krabby Patty within seconds, but 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 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. He is apparently very good at his job because he is the "Vice Assistant General Manager of Certain Things". He also has been shown making a perfect Krabby Patty on his first try when he was a baby.

SpongeBob's skills as a fry cook could accurately 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 "Friend or Foe," it is shown that SpongeBob, as an infant, made a perfect patty on his first attempt. In "Neptune's Spatula," he is able to 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.

Squidward, the restaurant's only other employee, runs the cashier and takes orders. Squidward is the polar opposite of SpongeBob; he hates his job (as well as the Krusty Krab itself) and performs it poorly. The employer of SpongeBob and Squidward, Eugene H. Krabs, is extremely greedy, selfish, and abusive of his employees. He pays them extremely poorly, far below legal minimum wage, and is unhealthily obsessed with money. Despite this, SpongeBob is unquestioning of Mr. Krabs and looks up to him as an authority figure.

While not working, SpongeBob spends much of his time playing with his best friend, Patrick Star. Like SpongeBob, Patrick is childish, moronic, and fun-loving. The two have known each other since their early childhood, and are members of the "Best Friends Forever Club."

Their usual activities include jellyfishing, bubble blowing, and various others. Their antics are of constant annoyance to their neighbor, Squidward, on numerous occasions, who has been put in harm's way as a direct result of their actions. Despite Squidward openly hating SpongeBob and Patrick, they are completely oblivious to this and believe they are his best friends. SpongeBob and Patrick's favorite superheroes are Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, who they (Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy) convinced to come out of retirement.

SpongeBob's other best friend is a squirrel from Texas named Sandy Cheeks, who wears a special suit and helmet to survive underwater. SpongeBob first met Sandy when he saw her wrestling a giant clam, which he helped her defeat. Sandy then invited SpongeBob to her home, an airtight terrarium known as the treedome, and SpongeBob, not knowing what air is, accepts. When he comes to the treedome and realizes that there is no water, he begins drying up and attempts to survive without water, telling himself that he does not need it and that "Water is for quitters!" Eventually, however, he gives in and starts panicking. Later, Sandy gives SpongeBob and Patrick bowls of water to wear over their heads, which they typically wear whenever they visit the treedome.

Unlike Patrick, Sandy is very intelligent, both technologically and practically, but is tolerant of SpongeBob's stupidity and enjoys his company, and in some episodes, it is implied that Sandy has even raised SpongeBob's intelligence considerably. They enjoy doing extreme sports together, most notably karate. SpongeBob's skill in karate is shown to vary considerably between episodes. At times, he equals and even outmatches Sandy in skill, while at other times he is incompetent to the point where Sandy can send him flying a considerable distance with a single punch; in "Karate Island," Sandy openly states that her karate skills are better than SpongeBob's by "a country mile."

"Where's the leak, ma'am?"

SpongeBob attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, where he is periodically tested for his driver's license. However, he becomes extremely nervous and reckless when behind the wheel of a boat, and has consistently failed his test countless times, often injuring Mrs. Puff and/or damaging the school and/or the entirety of Bikini Bottom in the process. 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. In that same episode, Mrs. Puff describes SpongeBob as "unteachable."

Despite his inability to drive a boat properly, SpongeBob has been shown to be 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-esque 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.

Family

SpongeBob has many relatives, most notably his parents, who appear in several episodes. Unlike SpongeBob, who has the appearance of a kitchen sponge, most of SpongeBob's relatives, while still cartoony, resemble actual sea sponges, being round in shape and brownish in color.

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 job seriously and with dignity. Primarily, he works as the janitor and fry cook, but occasionally takes the role of the cashier and manager.

SpongeBob also has been shown to take other jobs such as Mayor of New Kelp City after saving the citizens from The Bubble Poppin' Boys. He created the Pretty Patties and opened his own store, which was highly successful. Later, the painted food poisoned the many consumers that admired the creation. In "Welcome to the Chum Bucket," he is briefly employed at the Chum Bucket, but fails to do any successful work. 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 he was not qualified for them as he was meant for a fry cook role at the Krusty Krab. He has also worked at Fancy! during the worker switch in "Le Big Switch."

File:Spongebob mood.jpeg

Reception

Throughout the run of SpongeBob SquarePants, the SpongeBob characters have become very popular with both children and adults.

The character's popularity has spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of two to eleven-year-olds, to teenagers and adults, including college campuses and celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis. Salon.com indicates that the unadulterated innocence of SpongeBob is what makes the character so appealing. SpongeBob has also become popular with gay men, despite Stephen Hillenburg saying that none of the characters are homosexual. The character draws fans due to his flamboyant lifestyle and tolerant attitude.

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. SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. 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.

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."

Multiverse

An alternate 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 someone's order. The most significant difference is that he was made co-cashier by Plankton and is employed by him.

An alternate SpongeBob is mentioned in every short of the series "What if SpongeBob Was Gone?" Without SpongeBob, Gary throws a humongous party that ends in disaster, Patrick in this universe 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.

Other SpongeBobs exist throughout non-TV media (see SpongeBob SquarePants in popular culture).

Relationships

Patrick Star

SpongeBob's best friend and neighbor

Sandy Cheeks

SpongeBob's second best friend. In "Truth or Square," when SpongeBob was trapped in the air duct, he remembered a marriage between Sandy and himself; however, it was only a stage show and not an actual marriage and in the book The Great Escape, he kisses Sandy on the helmet.

Pearl Krabs

Mr. Krabs' daughter and a distant friend of SpongeBob. Technically, at some point, Pearl is always embarrassed by SpongeBob.

Squidward Tentacles

SpongeBob's neighbor and friend (but only to his dismay)

Mr. Krabs

SpongeBob's employer/boss and friend

Plankton

The arch-nemesis of SpongeBob's boss, Mr. Krabs

Mrs. Puff

SpongeBob's driving teacher

Gary the Snail

SpongeBob's pet snail and friend

Quotes

• "Today's the big day, Gary!" (first line, "Help Wanted")
• "There it is. The finest eating establishment ever established for eating: The Krusty Krab, home of the Krabby Patty, with a Help Wanted sign on the window. I've waited years for this moment. I'm gonna go in there, march straight up to the manager, look at him straight in the eye, lay it on the line, and - I can't do this!" —"Help Wanted"
• "Bring it around town. Bring it around town!" —"Bubblestand"
• "It's all about finger strength, baby!" —"Pressure"
• "I'm ready!" (several episodes)
• "Order up!" (several episodes)
• "Barnacles!" (several episodes)
• "Tartar sauce!" (several episodes)
• "Ah, shrimp!" (‘‘several episodes)
• "Mr. Krabs! I wanna go to bed!" —"Arrgh!"
• "Good morning world and all who inhabit it!" —"Missing Identity"
• "The most important meal of the day, servin' it up, Gary's way, pop!" —"Missing Identity"
• "Kare-a-tay!" —"Karate Choppers"
• "Fish paste!" —"Rock Bottom"
• "I'm ugly and I'm proud!" —"Something Smells"
• "Sandy, you may not have noticed, but I is 100% mam-male." —"Prehibernation Week"
• "Life is as extreme as you wanna make it." —"Prehibernation Week"
• "The Krabby Patty secret formula is the sole property of the Krusty Krab and is only to be discussed in part or in whole with its creator, Mr. Krabs. Duplication of this formula is punishable by law. Restrictions apply. Results may vary." —"Imitation Krabs"
• "If we're discussing the Secret Formula on the third Wednesday in January and it's not raining outside, after we gargle vanilla pudding, what do we do?" —"Imitation Krabs"
• "What could be better than serving up smiles?" —"Can You Spare a Dime?"
• "The sign says "kitchen," but my heart says "jail."" —"Welcome to the Chum Bucket"
• "K-R-A-B-B-Y-P-A-T-T-Y says I!" —"Fear of a Krabby Patty"
• "I gotta pinch myself because I must be dreaming. Oww!" —"Fear of a Krabby Patty"
• "I'm ready to party! Are you ready to party?!" —"Mid-Life Crustacean"
• Cleanliness is next to managerliness." (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "You don't need a license to drive a sandwich." (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "I'm ready, promotion!" (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "I'm ready, depression." (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "Another Triple Gooberberry Sunrise, sir." (‘‘The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "Step aside and you won't have to feel the awesome wrath of our mustaches!" (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "Doesn't it seem a little harsh to kill someone over a crown?" (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "I'm a Goofy Goober, yeah!" (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "I'm a Goofy Goober, rock!" (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
• "Gary! You are gonna finish your dessert, and you are gonna like it!" —"Dying For Pie"
• "Well, it's no secret that the best thing about a secret is secretly telling someone your secret, thereby secretly adding another secret to their secret collection of secrets. Secretly." —"The Secret Box"
• "I'm wearing three pairs of underwear right now!" —"The Secret Box"
• "I have to skip town, start a new life, live under an assumed name! BobPants SpongeSquare! Yeah, that's good. Grow a beard and shave it off, and live happily ever after!" —"The Bully"
• "Hey, you know, life's like a bucket of wood shavings, except for when the shavings are in a pail, then it's like a pail of wood shavings!" —"The Bully"
• "Good afternoon, sir. Could we interest you in some chocolate?" —"Chocolate With Nuts"
• "So, how long have you two ladies known each other?" —"Chocolate With Nuts"
• "Let's change our names to 'Why' and 'Bother.'" —"Chocolate with Nuts"
• "No, let's save that for when we're selling real-estate." —"Chocolate with Nuts"
• "I like Squidward..." —"20,000 Patties Under the Sea"
• "Wanna see me run to that mountain and back? Wanna see me do it again?" —"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V"
• "We've been smackledorfed!" —"Nasty Patty"
• "C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G SONG!" —"The Camping Episode"
• "The world is your litter box!" —"Dumped"
• "And you don't even need to use a bowl?" —"Dumped"
• "Can I make a Krabby Patty now?" —"Krusty Krab Training Video"
• "Remember that time that me and Sandy got married?" —"Truth or Square"
• "Squidward, that wasn't the peace treaty, that was just a copy of the peace treaty." —"Snowball Effect"
• "It matters not whether one is dirty or clean... for can cleanliness exist without filthiness? And would filthiness exist without cleanliness?" —"The Battle of Bikini Bottom"
• "If I have to memorize a single order, I think I'm gonna explode!" —"Squilliam Returns"
• "Airline food. My gosh, what is up with that stuff? Thank you, good night!" —"Walking Small"
• "Wee-Snaw!" —"My Pretty Seahorse"
• "Krabby the Clown is in the building!" —"Krabby Land"
• "How could you, Mr. Krabs? You promised these children Krabby the Clown. But all I saw out there was [sniff] Cheapy the Cheapskate!" —"Krabby Land"
• "I am now going to assault your mind with subliminal messages!" —"Gary Takes a Bath"
• "It's the Best Day Ever!" —"Best Day Ever"
• "Who put you on the planet? Ugh!" —"I ♥ Dancing"
• "Hi, Patrick! Time to share!" —"Yours, Mine and Mine"
• "Pearl, I don't think this is the Tunnel of Glove... it's the Tunnel of Evil!" —"Tunnel of Glove"
• "Seven years ago?!" —"Licence to Milkshake"
• "Look at me, I'm naked!" —"Help Wanted"

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Trivia

File:Spongebobwithglasses.jpeg

SpongeBob's glasses

• On some occasions, SpongeBob wears glasses, such as for jellyfishing (for protection) or for reading. These are similar to those worn by his portrayer, Tom Kenny.
• In seasons season 1 and season 2, his eyes are larger compared to other seasons.
• If not counting the French narrator, SpongeBob was the first character to speak in the series.
• To date, "Reef Blower" is the only episode without a speaking role by SpongeBob.
• In "Help Wanted," it is revealed that his first words were, "May I take your order?” However, this is wrong, as in "Truth or Square" his first known words are "Krabby Patty." However, in "Truth or Square," he was still inside his mother's womb, so when he said, "May I take your order?” it may have been after he was born.
• SpongeBob has displayed some forms of telepathy. This is usually displayed in form of jokes about how annoying he can be.
  • "Sleepy Time" - SpongeBob affects his friends' dreams.
  • "Dying for Pie" - SpongeBob says "hi" to Mr. Krabs in Squidward's thoughts.
  • "The Great Snail Race" - SpongeBob asks Gary "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Gary thinks about TV, and SpongeBob replies negatively.
  • "Big Pink Loser" - SpongeBob thinks, "At least I'm safe inside my mind." Patrick thinks the same. As a result SpongeBob screams.
  • "Gary Takes a Bath" - SpongeBob assaults Gary's mind with a creepy image.
  • "The Hot Shot" - SpongeBob appears to have read Mrs. Puff's mind asking her what "incorrigible" means and Mrs. Puff said "incorrigible" in her mind.
• During the talk screens of the DS version of Creature from the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob has green eyes instead of blue.
• SpongeBob is shown to be weak, but in episodes such as "Can You Spare a Dime?" he showed super strength.
• On the cover of the SpongeBob's Box of Books boxset, SpongeBob's throat is dark purple. In the books, it is maroon.
• SpongeBob has appeared on a few pictures on iCarly.com.
• SpongeBob wears green pajamas instead of his underwear whenever he has a visitor or is at a sleepover.
• SpongeBob is a shape-shifter in some episodes.
• SpongeBob is a mascot of Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Movies.
• SpongeBob's regular outfit has two shirt pockets, two back pockets, two front pockets, a pocket in his tie, and another pocket.
• Most of the time, his pants refer to his entire outfit, including the shirt and tie.
• In one episode, SpongeBob was given a ten-dollar paycheck on Monday. It was a raise from starting out being paid as nothing then receiving underwear.
• In "I Was a Teenage Gary," he is left-handed, but in later episodes, he is ambidextrous.
• SpongeBob is said to be right-handed, but in "Neptune's Spatula," he approves that he had two left hands.
• SpongeBob is considered the most popular and iconic character on Nickelodeon.
• 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 (the blue part of his eye) have gotten larger and more elliptical in each season (before that, they were just perfect 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.
• When he goes to the beach, he often wears swimming wear; 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 bellybutton, and his favorite color is beige.
• SpongeBob has about 40 holes.
  • 12 front holes
  • 9 back holes
  • 5 holes on his left
  • 5 holes on his right
  • 5 holes on top
  • 4 holes on bottom

See also

• Bob the Sponge
• SpongeBoy
• SpongeBob RoundPants
• The Yellow Avenger
• CheeseHead BrownPants
• Fry Boy
• SquidBob
• Invincibubble
• Abrasive SpongeBob
• Krabby Patty burglar
• The Squish
• SquarePants family

External links

• Twitter page

References