pongeBob 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.
encyclopedia built collaboratively using wikapedia software, encyclopedia built collaboratively using wickipedia software
SpongeBob is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon, according to the network, to become extremely popular. Low-budget cartoons had not garnered as much esteem as higher-rated (and higher-budgeted) shows, such as Rugrats, although when SpongeBob aired in 1999, it had obtained a substantial amount of viewers in the ratings to be considered popular, and has eventually even surpassed Rugrats in popularity, becoming more popular than that show had ever been. SpongeBob follows some other Nickelodeon shows that have attracted "older" followers: The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, the Kablam! skits, Action League Now!, and The Angry Beavers. Other shows have followed in this trend as well: The Fairly OddParents 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.
Origin (1993–1999)
SpongeBob's history can be traced back to 1993 when Rocko's Modern Life first aired. One of the producers was Stephen Hillenburg, a cartoon worker/marine biologist who loved both his careers. When Rocko's Modern Life was cancelled in 1996, Hillenburg began working on SpongeBob (although some sketches trace back to 1996). He teamed up with creative director Derek Drymon, who had worked on shows such as Doug, Action League Now!, and Hey Arnold!. Drymon had worked with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life as well, as did many SpongeBob crew members, including writer Tim Hill and voice actors Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence. Another crew member with previous Nickelodeon cartoon experience was former Angry Beavers story editor Merriwether Williams, who worked on that show for its first few seasons and switched to SpongeBob in July 1999.
During production of the show, Hillenburg provided a concept of short comics with the same style of the show, but the characters looked different. SpongeBob used to be named SpongeBoy, and used to wear a red hat with a green base and a white business shirt with a tie. The name "SpongeBoy" did not make it into the show since the name was already officially trademarked by Bob Burden, creator of Flaming Carrot. Hillenburg later chose the alternative name "SpongeBob." The original name was once referenced in the show by Mr. Krabs' line, "SpongeBoy, me Bob!." The Krusty Krab was originally spelled with the letter C rather than K, but Stephen Hillenburg thought K's were funnier.
Spongebob squarepants coloringpages sqaurepants free bratz doll printable coloring pages tinkerbell coloringpages spongebobsquarepants coloringsheets coloring pictures jimmy neutron coloringsheets finding nemo coloringpictures free hello kitty coloring sheets pags grinch coloringpictures disney elmo coloring pages colouring encyclopedia built collaboratively using wikapedia software, encyclopedia built collaboratively using wickipedia software
Rise to popularity (1999–2000)
On July 16, 1999, SpongeBob aired its first episode, "Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome", after the 1999 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. At this time, Rugrats was at the height of its popularity and had already outlived dozens of other lower-budget cartoons. SpongeBob, with its generally lower-class animation and humor style more rooted in clever word-play and culture-references unlike the potty humor that made Rugrats so popular, was expected to be just another one of those shows. Although it struggled in its early days, its ratings flew up. After about a year, it surpassed Rugrats as Nick's most highly rated show. SpongeBob's signature voice (provided by Tom Kenny) and humorous style was enjoyable to both younger and older audiences.
Spongebob squarepants coloringpages sqaurepants free bratz doll printable coloring pages tinkerbell coloringpages spongebobsquarepants coloringsheets coloring pictures jimmy neutron coloringsheets finding nemo coloringpictures free hello kitty coloring sheets pags grinch coloringpictures disney elmo coloring pages colouring
Peak years (2000–2003)
The show began its second season in 2000 with more high-quality animation and even more popular episodes. By then it was clear to the world that SpongeBob had opened the door to many other cartoons to use more "adult" senses of humor and come from smaller companies. In 2001, The Fairly OddParents aired from the then-small Frederator company. It focused on a sense of humor similar to SpongeBob’s, only more realistic, slightly crazier (and more suggestive to "adult" topics), and with more pop culture references; this show managed to become a hit as well and currently ranks behind SpongeBob as Nick's second most popular show. That same year, Invader Zim aired, created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez; it had a dark but silly sense of humor (similar to Vasquez's other comic books) that managed to attract a very loyal cult following consisting more of teens and adults than young children (though also containing a moderate amount of preteens). SpongeBob, however, was the leader of all these shows and had by this time started its now famous merchandise line. Spongebob squarepants coloringpages sqaurepants free bratz doll printable coloring pages tinkerbell coloringpages spongebobsquarepants coloringsheets coloring pictures jimmy neutron coloringsheets finding nemo coloringpictures free hello kitty coloring sheets pags grinch coloringpictures disney elmo coloring pages colouring
2002 also saw a bright side, as the first part of that year saw SpongeBob at its peak. The beginning of the third season produced many classic episodes and focused on the same style and animation concepts. The year also saw another low-budget show with popularity (The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius), but things changed late in the year. Due to rumors of a movie, there was high speculation that the show would be cancelled and that 2003/2004 would feature the last season of new episodes. Fans were devastated and online petitions were widely distributed to convince Nickelodeon to produce more episodes by showing continuing fan support. SpongeBob Meets The Strangler/Pranks A Lot" was the last episode of this season, and aired in October of 2004. Following this, the movie was released in November of that year. Spongebob squarepants coloringpages sqaurepants free bratz doll printable coloring pages tinkerbell coloringpages spongebobsquarepants encyclopedia built collaboratively using wikapedia software, encyclopedia built collaboratively using wickipedia software coloringsheets coloring pictures jimmy neutron coloringsheets finding nemo coloringpictures free hello kitty coloring sheets pags grinch coloringpictures disney elmo coloring pages colouring
Hiatus/Movie Era (2003–2005)
2003 to 2004 was arguably the worst time period that SpongeBob has ever faced. Constant re-runs caused some long time fans to fall out, and around this time the show saw its lowest ever ratings, many fans feared they would never air. As The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie achieved only over $85,000,000 in revenue in the United States, it has been assumed that the show's popularity showed something of a decline at the time of its release. The Rugrats Movie, on the other hand, earned over $100,000,000 in the United States. (It was around this time that the animated series which it is based on, Rugrats, was at the height of its popularity. Ironically, that movie would also be considered Rugrats' jump the shark moment by many fans, while the Spongebob movie was actually generally well received by fans who saw it.)
Finally and to the relief of many fans, it was announced late in 2004 that SpongeBob would be continuing with a new season due in 2005. Hillenburg, despite many rumors, did not actually leave the show but has resigned from his position as the shows executive producer (this job now belongs to Derek Drymon, with Paul Tibbitt taking over Drymons job as creative director).
spongebob squarepants coloringpages sqaurepants free bratz doll printable coloring pages tinkerbell coloringpages spongebobsquarepants coloringsheets coloring pictures jimmy neutron coloringsheets finding nemo coloringpictures free hello kitty coloring sheets pags grinch coloringpictures disney elmo coloring pages colouring