How Many Generations of SpongeBob Fans Will Live On?

Grass-Skirt-Chase

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SpongeBob’s humor is pretty timeless, some might argue, but is there a possibility that its large fanbase will decrease until there are only a few fans left somewhere down the road? Looney Tunes is pretty old and still has a big following. How many generations do you think will continue to watch SpongeBob? I plan on showing SpongeBob SquarePants to my future children.
 
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ssj4gogita4

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I think Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry are in a league of their own compared to SpongeBob.

SpongeBob may be funny throughout the series as a whole, but it's not something that was I tuned into watch everytime it came on like Looney Tunes or T&J back in the day...even as an adult I would still watch reruns of LT and T&J. I can't say the same of SpongeBob because of the inconsistency.

Plus, you don't have banned episodes of SB like you do with the others.

However, I do plan on showing future children the shows of my childhood and SpongeBob.
 

Sara SquarePants

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That will be determined by the "Nostalgia Cycle"

If adults stop passing SpongeBob onto their kids or kids lose interest (whichever comes first), the cycle will break and SpongeBob SquarePants will die

Then only a few fans would be left and Nickelodeon would see no more value in this IP!

I think maybe 5 more generations will continue to watch SpongeBob SquarePants before the nostalgia cycle finally breaks

Do I see this happening in the future?

Yes

Kids could latch on to some hot new cartoon and leave SpongeBob to rot
 
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SpongeBobfan1987

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It really depends on how well SpongeBob SquarePants does in keeping their audience the long run...

An example of another cartoon that went through a cross-generation nostalgia cycle that continues today is The Flintstones. The Flintstones, the story about the titular modern stone age family aired on ABC in 1960 initially in black and white, and later in color. The Flintstones later aired in broadcast syndication in the 1970s (The vitamins and Pebbles cereal tie-ins soon followed), then they later aired on TNT and TBS on cable TV in the late 1980s-early 1990s, before moving to Cartoon Network upon that network's debut in 1992. The show even had two live action movie adaptations, the original starring John Goodman as Fred in 1994 and a prequel starring Mark Addy as Fred in 2000. When Cartoon Network switch to more original programming, cartoons like The Flintstones moved to Boomerang in the early 2000s. In 2019, The Flintstones returned to broadcast TV on classic TV network MeTV, 59 years to the date they first aired on ABC.
 

SpongeBronyPH

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Well, that sounds like a complicated question.

In my case, take Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes for example. When I was 4 to 10 years old, I grew up with Baby Looney Tunes, original Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry (1940s, 1950s and 1980s version). Even though they are too old as of now, there are still Tom and Jerry memes (usually from the 1940s and 1950s version), which are more popular than the Looney Tunes memes.

Now lets talk about SpongeBob. Every big and loyal SBSP fan know that Seasons 1 to 3 are comedy gold. This is where we found the funny scenes to be used as memes (e.g. SpongeGar (SB-129 version), How tough are ya, world's smallest violin, etc.) Memes from S1 to S3 are way funnier than from S4 to present.

What's ironic is that SpongeBob not only become popular for kids but also became a cultural phenomenon in the 2010s. We all use memes and time cards from SBSP. We also relate the show to other issues and phenomena like demographics (e.g. millennials), world news (e.g. COVID-19), etc.

So, for the question? Just like the classic Tom and Jerry, the SpongeBob series would probably last a lifetime; and so as the fans. In terms of generation, most SB fans are zoomers (generation-Z) and millennials (generation-Y).
 

Sara SquarePants

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Let's be real here:

SpongeBob SquarePants (current series) cannot and will not last forever

And honestly would even the most hardcore fans want it to?

The answer is no

With that being said, will the show live on even after it gets eventually cancelled in the future?

Yes

Just like Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, & Mickey Mouse the SpongeBob legacy will continue on!

But I still believe the nostalgia cycle could break sometime in the near future

That's only my opinion though
 

TattleTale Strangler

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I think it’s possible for SpongeBob as a character to continue on for a few more decades. He is a very versatile character. I agree with ssj in that the show is inconsistent throughout the series, so I don’t believe this show will last forever. However, I could 100% see this show rebooted or spun off. Maybe perhaps not like a Kamp Koral kind of situation, but more like how Scooby Doo or Mickey Mouse has been rebooted with new series throughout the years. The characters are the same, but the show has been modified to have more appeal to a modern audience. I think something like this could easily be done for SpongeBob.
 

Sara SquarePants

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Again, it's 100% dependant on the Nostalgia Cycle

I just don't feel that SpongeBob is capable of evolving past the current series

Look at all the negative reception surrounding Kamp Koral

The franchise should live and die with the 1999 show IMHO

Hopefully if Kamp Koral fails Nickelodeon will decide to move forward with new ideas & concepts!

Either reboot SpongeBob SquarePants or end it
 
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