Original-Cin Q&A: SpongeBob SquarePants Stars on Why the Series Stays Afloat 20 Years On

By Bonnie Laufer

For more than 20 years SpongeBob SquarePants and his eclectic pack of sea-dwelling pals have kept the young and the slightly older crowd endlessly entertained. The animation has also racked up enviable proceeds and bragging points.

Created as a television series on Nickelodeon by Stephen Hillenburg in 1999, the gang thought their last underwater adventure was coming to an end after the third season but the series caught on and soon had a huge cult following around the world.

In the years since its inception, SpongeBob has spawned a Broadway musical, three movies, has aired more than 250 television episodes and has become a brand that has generated in excess of $20 billion.

Hillenburg, who died of ALS in 2018, said he first came up with the idea that would eventually become SpongeBob while teaching marine biology at the Ocean Institute in California in the 1980s. Tom Kenny, cast as the title character, was given only a basic description of what Hillenburg was looking for. He described SpongeBob as somewhat childlike and naïve, and like his childhood favorites, Stan Laurel and Jerry Lewis, a kind of child-man. He wanted SpongeBob to sound kind of like a kid, but not too much.

Kenny says getting to voice SpongeBob for all of these years has truly been a joy and to this day still never feels like its work. Which brings us to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run which finds SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick Star and the rest of the gang from Bikini Bottom hitting the big screen in the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event.

After SpongeBob’s beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to The Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home. As they navigate the delights and dangers on this perilous and hilarious rescue mission, SpongeBob and his pals prove there’s nothing stronger than the power of friendship. Plus, they meet some familiar faces on this journey who will give parents who take their kids to see the film more than a few chuckles.

To help celebrate International Day of Friendship, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run opens exclusively in Canadian theatres August 14. Original-Cin’s Bonnie Laufer spoke with voice stars Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke (SpongeBob’s trusty friend Patrick) about the new film, its Canadian connection (hint: who do you imagine when you hear the phrase, “Whoa dude!”) and why they think these characters have endured.

Original-Cin’s review of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run runs Friday, August 14.