SpongeBob: Still Soaking Up Ratings After 10 Years

[Spongey34]

SpongeBob SquarePants makes no sense. Created by marine biologist turned animator Stephen Hillenburg, the character lives in an underwater pineapple in a place called Bikini Bottom. He keeps company with a lumpy starfish named Patrick, a cranky neighbor named Squidward, a greedy crab of a boss and an evil plankton.

The show is like The Honeymooners meets The Flintstones — on speed. Brown Johnson, the vice president of animation for Nickelodeon, says it was a fight to get SpongeBob on the air.

"Certain parts of the business at Nickelodeon were like, 'Oh no. It'll never be successful. It's about a sponge. What's that? It's yellow. That's a bad color,'" she recalls.

But now, 10 years after SpongeBob made its on-air debut, the show is still wildly popular. One week last month, nine of the top 20 shows on cable were SpongeBob cartoons. According to Nickelodeon, 45 million people over 18 watch the show every month. President Obama, Scarlett Johansson and LeBron James are among the character's legion of fans.

SpongeBob is so popular that Nickelodeon squeezes everything it can out of it. You can buy SpongeBob underwear and SpongeBob macaroni and cheese.

"If we are sort of down in the ratings we sort of put it everywhere," says Johnson. "Sometimes it's on eight times a day."

Syracuse University professor Bob Thompson says it's impossible to overestimate how much SpongeBob has penetrated American culture.

"You watch when you're a little kid and you like it because it's pretty and it's funny and they do goofy things," says Thompson. "You watch it again when you're 10, and suddenly all of the new mysteries of life begin to pop up in here as well. And then you watch it when you're a 21-year-old in a frat house and suddenly there's a whole other quality that appeals to you."

SpongeBob the character is an eternal optimist — though one prone to melodrama. Tom Kenny, who provides the voice of SpongeBob, calls the character "pretty bipolar ... his highs are very high but he can also be dashed into the most abject sorrow."

Kenny says he'll gladly be the voice of SpongeBob for another 10 years.

"Even if the show doesn't go for 10 years, I'll be the guy pushing a grocery cart around with a tinfoil hat on his head going 'Hey you know who I used to be?'" he jokes.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...oryId=103170924

 

[Smitty Werben Man Jensen]

"Oh no. It'll never be successful. It's about a sponge. What's that? It's yellow. That's a bad color."

Lol, were they wrong.

 

[SpOnGeFaN818]

Now that's a cool article. Well written, and it's completely true.

 

[ssj4gogita4]

"If we are sort of down in the ratings we sort of put it everywhere," says Johnson. "Sometimes it's on eight times a day."


Holy crap that's too much Spongebob for me.

 

[Stinkoman 20X6]

Best thing I've read all week.

But... if LeBron James likes the show, why doesn't he provide a voice like Scarlett Johansson did?

 

[Smitty Werben Man Jensen]

Best thing I've read all week. :xD:

But... if LeBron James likes the show, why doesn't he provide a voice like Scarlett Johansson did?

The part he'd need to play would need to be pretty specific...

 

[patrick2403]

"If we are sort of down in the ratings we sort of put it everywhere," says Johnson. "Sometimes it's on eight times a day."


Holy crap that's too much Spongebob for me.

Yeah, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

 

[ssj4gogita4]

Best thing I've read all week. :P

But... if LeBron James likes the show, why doesn't he provide a voice like Scarlett Johansson did?

The part he'd need to play would need to be pretty specific...

Spongebob vs the Globetrotters

lebron james guest stars :P

 

[Smitty Werben Man Jensen]

Best thing I've read all week. :P

But... if LeBron James likes the show, why doesn't he provide a voice like Scarlett Johansson did?

The part he'd need to play would need to be pretty specific...

Spongebob vs the Globetrotters

lebron james guest stars :P

:P

That sounds like one of those uncreative fanfic ideas. =P

 

[Spongefifi]

I'm more than glad to hear Tom is willing to voice SB for 10 more years! o.o Great article.

 

[spacepirate]

"Oh no. It'll never be successful. It's about a sponge. What's that? It's yellow. That's a bad color."

Lol, were they wrong. o.o

I can believe that, yellow was usually a color that symbolize weakness. I also heard that generally, yellow in literature is the color of evil. But I find it a little hard to believe anything yellow could be evil. Except maybe Big Bird.

 

[Smitty Werben Man Jensen]

"Oh no. It'll never be successful. It's about a sponge. What's that? It's yellow. That's a bad color."

Lol, were they wrong. =O

I can believe that, yellow was usually a color that symbolize weakness. I also heard that generally, yellow in literature is the color of evil. But I find it a little hard to believe anything yellow could be evil. Except maybe Big Bird.

True, but to that part that says "it'll never be successful", well...

 

[ssj4gogita4]

Best thing I've read all week.

But... if LeBron James likes the show, why doesn't he provide a voice like Scarlett Johansson did?

The part he'd need to play would need to be pretty specific...

Spongebob vs the Globetrotters

lebron james guest stars @_@

=]

That sounds like one of those uncreative fanfic ideas. =P

Good thing I don't write fanfics :P

 

[thecrad15]

Best thing I've read all week.

But... if LeBron James likes the show, why doesn't he provide a voice like Scarlett Johansson did?

The part he'd need to play would need to be pretty specific...

Spongebob vs the Globetrotters

lebron james guest stars :shiftyninja:

o.o

That sounds like one of those uncreative fanfic ideas. =P

Good thing I don't write fanfics :P

Me too.

 

[Spunkleforked!]

Great article!

Great to see that the little square dude is still doing well!

 

[patrick2403]

I'm more than glad to hear Tom is willing to voice SB for 10 more years! :P Great article.

Yeah, thank goodness he isn't tired of it yet.

 

[Stinkoman 20X6]

I'm more than glad to hear Tom is willing to voice SB for 10 more years! :thumbsup: Great article.

Yeah, thank goodness he isn't tired of it yet.

Yeah, really. You'd think doing that high squeaky voice for so long would take its toll eventually.

 

[patrick2403]

I'm more than glad to hear Tom is willing to voice SB for 10 more years! Great article.

Yeah, thank goodness he isn't tired of it yet.

Yeah, really. You'd think doing that high squeaky voice for so long would take its toll eventually.

And it must hurt his throat to keep hitting it like that to do the laugh.

 

[Stinkoman 20X6]

I'm more than glad to hear Tom is willing to voice SB for 10 more years! :P Great article.

Yeah, thank goodness he isn't tired of it yet.

Yeah, really. You'd think doing that high squeaky voice for so long would take its toll eventually.

And it must hurt his throat to keep hitting it like that to do the laugh.

Oh, yeah. Especially in Funny Pants. Maybe that had something to do with the squeak in the beginning.

I remember reading in a Nick Mag interview that Kenny avoids roller coasters, haunted houses, soccer matches, and other places where you have to scream to keep his voice from getting hoarse.

 

[SBRoxMan]

Great news for SpongeBob! :P This is a good sign to me that the show won't be ending anytime soon! :)