129-416: SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise such as home videos and DVDs , CDs , video games , books , and toys , includes the following: There are at least 8 more sticker albums not listed Lego SpongeBob SquarePants (stylized as LEGO SpongeBob SquarePants ) was released from 2006 to 2012, Lego sets based on SpongeBob SquarePants were produced. In April 2019, Nickelodeon released Masterpiece Memes,
258-493: A counterpoint ." In an interview, Fagerbakke compared himself to the character and said, "It's extremely gratifying". Whenever Patrick is angry Fagerbakke models his performance after American actress Shelley Winters . Squidward Tentacles is voiced by Rodger Bumpass, who describes him as "a very nasally, monotone kind of guy." He said the character "became a very interesting character to do" because of "his sarcasm, and then his frustration, and then his apoplexy, and so he became
387-468: A fry cook at a fast food restaurant called the Krusty Krab . One of his life's greatest goals is to obtain a boat-driving license from Mrs. Puff 's Boating School, but he never succeeds. His favorite pastimes include "jellyfishing", which involves catching jellyfish with a net in a manner similar to butterfly catching , and blowing soap bubbles into elaborate shapes. He has a pet sea snail with
516-568: A 2021 Census report. Similarly, various management and consulting firms have used 1996 as a starting date for Generation Z. Individuals born in the Millennial and Generation Z cusp years have been sometimes identified as a "microgeneration" with characteristics of both generations. The most common name given for these cuspers is Zillennials . Individuals born on the cusp of Generation Z and Generation Alpha have been referred to as Zalphas . The Economist has described Generation Z as
645-780: A 2022 McKinsey & Company insight, Generation Z will account for a quarter of the population of the Asia-Pacific region by 2025, and possess a global spending power of approximately US$ 140bn by 2030. As a result of cultural ideals, government policy, and modern medicine, there have been severe gender population imbalances in China and India. According to the United Nations, in 2018, there were 112 Chinese males for every hundred females ages 15 to 29; in India, there were 111 males for every hundred females in that age group. China had
774-473: A 2022 publication analyzing their 2021 census. The Library of Congress uses 1997 to 2012, citing Pew Research as well. In her book iGen (2017), psychologist Jean Twenge defines the "iGeneration" as the cohort born between 1995 and 2012. Other news outlets occasionally use 1995 as the starting birth year of Generation Z, as do various management and consulting firms. The Australian Bureau of Statistics have used 1996 to 2010 to define Generation Z in
903-667: A boom box to play the Tiny Tim song [' Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight '] that comes on in the third act. We really went all out in that pitch because we knew the pilot lived or died by if the execs laughed. When it was over, they walked out of the room to discuss it. We figured they would fly back to New York and we'd hear in a few weeks. We were surprised when they came back in what seemed like minutes and said they wanted to make it. — Derek Drymon While pitching
1032-411: A child," but needed "an abnormally large voice." In addition to the regular cast, episodes feature guest voices from many professions, including actors, athletes, authors, musicians, and artists. Recurring guest voices include: Ernest Borgnine , who voiced Mermaid Man from 1999 until his death in 2012; Tim Conway as the voice of Barnacle Boy from 1999 until his death in 2019; Brian Doyle-Murray as
1161-431: A father figure to SpongeBob. He is a single parent with a teenage daughter, a grey sperm whale named Pearl , who has no interest in taking over the family business. Another of SpongeBob's friends is Sandy Cheeks , a thrill-seeking and athletic squirrel from Texas , who wears an air-filled diving suit to breathe underwater. She lives in a tree enclosed in a clear glass dome locked by an airtight, hand-turned seal and
1290-549: A foreign country. More than 20% of this age group were foreign-born in Cyprus, Malta, Austria and Sweden. The highest shares of non-EU born young adults were found in Sweden, Spain and Luxemburg. Like with those under age 14, countries in eastern Europe generally have much smaller populations of foreign-born young adults. Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Latvia had the lowest shares of foreign-born young people, at 1.4 to 2.5% of
1419-580: A foreign-background in 2021. However, Gen Z from eastern Europe is much more homogenous: in Croatia, only 0.7% of those aged 14 and younger were foreign-born; in the Czech Republic, 1.1% aged 14 and younger were foreign-born. Higher portions of those ages 15 to 29 in 2019 (which includes younger Millennials) were foreign born in Europe. Luxembourg had the highest share of young people (41.9%) born in
SECTION 10
#17327938389241548-488: A good relationship with one's family (92%), and one's friends (91%). In general, respondents who were younger and male tended to be happier. Religious faith came in last at 44%. Nevertheless, religion was a major source of happiness for Gen Z youth from Indonesia (93%), Nigeria (86%), Turkey (71%), China, and Brazil (both 70%). The top reasons for anxiety and stress were money (51%) and school (46%); social media and having access to basic resources (such as food and water) finished
1677-501: A greater variety of events, more food and beverage options, more convenient opening hours, and greater online presence could attract the attention of more young people. On the other hand, vintage fashion is growing in popularity among Millennial and Generation Z consumers. A 2019 report by Childwise found that children between the ages of five and sixteen in the UK spent an average of three hours each day online. Around 70% watched Netflix in
1806-724: A kid. Think a Stan Laurel , Jerry Lewis kind of child-man. Kind of like a Munchkin but not quite, kind of like a kid, but not in a Charlie Brown child's voice on the TV shows. —Tom Kenny Kenny voices SpongeBob and a number of other characters, including SpongeBob's pet snail Gary and the French narrator. He also physically portrays Patchy the Pirate in live-action segments of most special episodes. Kenny previously worked with Stephen Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life . When Hillenburg created SpongeBob SquarePants , he approached Kenny to voice
1935-510: A month (occasional readers) dropped from 45% to 38%, those who read for no more than an average of 15 minutes per week (light readers) rose from 23% to 27%, those who read between 15 and 45 minutes per week (medium readers) declined from 23% to 17%, and those who read at least 45 minutes a week (heavy readers) grew slightly from 15% to 16%. A survey by the National Literacy Trust from 2019 showed that only 26% of people below
2064-507: A more educated , well-behaved , stressed and depressed generation in comparison to previous generations. In 2016, the Varkey Foundation and Populus conducted an international study examining the attitudes of over 20,000 people aged 15 to 21 in twenty countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey,
2193-512: A more mainstream lifestyle with goals such as finishing school, owning a home in the suburbs, maintaining friendships and family relationships, and stable employment, rather than popular culture, glamor, or consumerism . The COVID-19 pandemic struck when the oldest members of Generation Z were just joining the workforce and the rest were still in school. While Generation Z proved to be less resilient than older cohorts, their fundamental values did not change, and they remained open to change, such as
2322-462: A pink shell and a blue body named Gary , who meows like a cat. Living two houses away from SpongeBob is his best friend Patrick Star , a dimwitted yet friendly pink starfish who resides under a rock. Patrick considers himself to be intelligent, with his ignorance of his stupidity being a key trait of his. Squidward Tentacles , SpongeBob's next-door neighbor and co-worker at the Krusty Krab,
2451-458: A pirate. Brown decided to use a "piratey" voice for the character with "a little Scottish brogue" after hearing Hillenburg's description of his boss. According to Brown, his Mr. Krabs voice was mostly improvised during his audition and it was not challenging for him to find the correct voice. Mr. Lawrence had met Hillenburg before on Rocko's Modern Life . While working on the pilot episode of SpongeBob , Hillenburg invited him to audition for all
2580-445: A plethora of options when it comes to music consumption, allowing for a highly personalized experience. According to digital media company Sweety High's 2018 Gen Z Music Consumption & Spending Report , Spotify ranked first for music listening among Gen Z females, terrestrial radio ranked second, while YouTube was reported to be the preferred platform for music discovery. In mid-2023, Spotify reported growth above expectation in
2709-411: A series of toys adapted from various SpongeBob Internet memes . SpongeBob SquarePants SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon . It was revealed as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17, 1999. It chronicles
SECTION 20
#17327938389242838-421: A television series that same year, and in 1997, a seven-minute pilot was pitched to Nickelodeon. The network's executives wanted SpongeBob to be a child in school, but Hillenburg preferred SpongeBob to be an adult character. He was prepared to abandon the series, but compromised by creating Mrs. Puff and her boating school so SpongeBob could attend school as an adult. In only a month after its premiere in 1999,
2967-638: A theatrical SpongeBob film. The fourteenth season of the main series was announced in March 2022, and premiered in November 2023. In September 2023, the show was renewed for a fifteenth season, which premiered in July 2024. SpongeBob SquarePants has won a variety of awards including six Annie Awards , eight Golden Reel Awards , four Emmy Awards , two BAFTA Children's Awards , and a record-breaking twenty-one Kids' Choice Awards . A Broadway musical based on
3096-735: A third of their viewers in 2020, leading to closures in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Southeast Asia. On the other hand, streaming services saw healthy growth. During the first two decades of the 21st century, writing and reading fan fiction and creating fandoms of fictional works became a prevalent activity worldwide. Demographic data from various depositories revealed that those who read and wrote fan fiction were overwhelmingly young, in their teens and twenties, and female. For example, an analysis published in 2019 by data scientists Cecilia Aragon and Katie Davis of
3225-458: A total of 34 million excess males and India 37 million, more than the entire population of Malaysia. Together, China and India had a combined 50 million excess males under the age of 20. Such a discrepancy fuels loneliness epidemics, human trafficking (from elsewhere in Asia, such as Cambodia and Vietnam), and prostitution, among other societal problems. Out of the approximately 66.8 million people of
3354-458: A total of fourteen seasons, and has inspired three feature films: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Sponge Out of Water (2015), and Sponge on the Run (2020). Two spin-off series, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show , premiered in 2021. As of February 2022, four additional films are planned: three character spinoff films for Paramount+ and Netflix , and
3483-416: A useful resource for English-language learners. Indeed, the analysis of Aragon and Davis showed that for every 650 reviews a fan fiction writer receives, their vocabulary improved by one year of age, though this may not generalize to older cohorts. On the other hand, children browsing fan fiction contents might be exposed to cyberbullying , crude comments, and other inappropriate materials. Generation Z has
3612-441: A wide spectrum of emotions". Arthur Brown, author of Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons! , has compared Squidward's voice to that of Jack Benny 's, a similarity Bumpass says is mostly unintentional. Voice acting veteran Clancy Brown voices Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at the Krusty Krab. Hillenburg modeled Mr. Krabs after his former manager at a seafood restaurant, whose strong Maine accent reminded Hillenburg of
3741-630: A world after the September 11 attacks . Pew has not specified an endpoint for Generation Z, but used 2012 as a tentative endpoint for their 2019 report. Numerous news outlets use a starting birth year of 1997, often citing Pew Research Center. Various think tanks and analytics companies also have set a 1997 start date, as do various management and consulting firms. In a 2022 report, the U.S. Census designates Generation Z as "the youngest generation with adult members (born 1997 to 2013)." Statistics Canada used 1997 to 2012, citing Pew Research Center, in
3870-470: Is Mrs. Puff's most diligent student and knows every answer to the oral exams he takes, but he panics and crashes when he tries to drive a real boat, hence failing the course multiple times. When Mrs. Puff endures one of SpongeBob's crashes or is otherwise frightened, she puffs up into a ball. An unseen figure called the French Narrator often introduces episodes and narrates the intertitles as if
3999-419: Is a grumpy and bitter octopus who lives in an Easter Island moai . He despises his job as a cashier and enjoys playing the clarinet and painting self-portraits. He is constantly annoyed by SpongeBob and Patrick's antics, who are unaware of Squidward's animosity towards them, though they get along well when the situation calls for it. Mr. Krabs , a greedy red crab, is the owner of the Krusty Krab. He serves as
List of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise - Misplaced Pages Continue
4128-483: Is a popular beach hangout. When the SpongeBob crew began production of the series' pilot episode , they were tasked with designing stock locations, to be used repeatedly, where most scenes would take place like the Krusty Krab and SpongeBob's pineapple house. The idea was "to keep everything nautical", so the crew used plenty of rope, wooden planks, ships' wheels, netting, anchors, boilerplates, and rivets to create
4257-525: Is an expert in karate . Located across the street from the Krusty Krab is an unsuccessful rival restaurant called the Chum Bucket. It rarely has any customers due to its sale of chum -based food constituting as cannibalism by the majority of the fish population. It is run by a small, green, one-eyed copepod named Plankton and his computer wife, Karen . Plankton, being a childhood friend and eventual rival of Mr. Krabs, constantly tries to steal
4386-413: Is animation about kids in school... We want you to put SpongeBob in school." Hillenburg was ready to "walk out" on Nickelodeon and abandon the series, since he wanted SpongeBob to be an adult character. He eventually compromised by adding a new character to the main cast, Mrs. Puff, who is a boat-driving teacher. Hillenburg was happy with the compromise and said, "A positive thing for me that came out of it
4515-627: Is divided into two 11-minute segments. Hillenburg explained: "[I] never really wanted to deliberately try to write a half-hour show". He added, "I wrote the shows to where they felt right". SpongeBob SquarePants features the voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke , Rodger Bumpass , Clancy Brown , Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley , Carolyn Lawrence , Mary Jo Catlett , and Lori Alan . Most one-off and background characters are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker , Sirena Irwin , Bob Joles , Mark Fite and Thomas F. Wilson . Steve described SpongeBob to me as childlike and naïve. He's not quite an adult, he's not quite
4644-404: Is no scientific process for deciding when a name has stuck, the momentum is clearly behind Gen Z." Michael Dimmock, Pew Research Center The rapper MC Lars used the term iGeneration as early as 2003, as a song title. Psychology professor and author Jean Twenge also used the term, intending it as the title of her 2006 book about Millennials but changing the title to Generation Me at
4773-455: Is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha . Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years, with the generation most frequently being defined as people born from 1997 to 2012. Most members of Generation Z are the children of younger baby boomers or Generation X . As the first social generation to have grown up with access to
4902-404: Is the character! This is the guy!'" Jill Talley, Tom Kenny's wife, voices Karen Plankton. Being a Chicago native, she uses a Midwestern accent for the character. Electronic sound effects are underlaid by the series' audio engineers to create a robotic sound when she speaks. Talley and Mr. Lawrence often improvise Plankton and Karen's dialogue. Lawrence called improvisation his "favorite part of
5031-399: Is written differently to many television shows." Unlike most of its contemporaries, SpongeBob SquarePants does not use written scripts . Instead, storylines are developed by a team of five outline and premise writers. A two-page outline is then assigned to a team of storyboard directors, who produce a complete rough draft of the storyboard. One of the methods used to assemble storyboards
5160-529: The California Institute of the Arts . His thesis film, Wormholes , is about the theory of relativity . It was screened at festivals, and at one of these, Hillenburg met Joe Murray , creator of the popular Nickelodeon animated series, Rocko's Modern Life . Murray was impressed by the style of the film and offered Hillenburg a job. Hillenburg joined the series as a director, and later, during
5289-503: The Department of Homeland Security , were put into effect following the September 11 attacks . The Pew Research Center surveyed the various names for this cohort on Google Trends in 2019 and found that in the U.S., the term Generation Z was overwhelmingly the most popular, from then on calling it Gen Z in their research. The Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries both have official entries for Generation Z . In Japan,
List of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise - Misplaced Pages Continue
5418-848: The Internet and portable digital technology from a young age, members of Generation Z have been dubbed " digital natives " even if they are not necessarily digitally literate and may struggle in a digital work place. Moreover, the negative effects of screen time are most pronounced in adolescents, as compared to younger children. Compared to previous generations, members of Generation Z tend to live more slowly than their predecessors when they were their age, have lower rates of teenage pregnancies , and consume alcohol (but not necessarily other psychoactive drugs ) less often. Generation Z teenagers are more concerned than older generations with academic performance and job prospects, and are better at delaying gratification than their counterparts from
5547-472: The LZ algorithm ) handled them. On the other hand, texture and rhythm are becoming more complex. Streaming services have made it extremely easy for listeners to sample songs, creating pressure on musicians to compose songs that are as easy to process and have as many hooks as possible. Sad music is quite popular among adolescents, though it can dampen their moods, especially among girls. A 2020 survey conducted by
5676-691: The Ocean Institute , an organization in Dana Point, California , dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history . While Hillenburg was there, his love of the ocean began to influence his artistry. He created a precursor to SpongeBob SquarePants : a comic book titled The Intertidal Zone used by the institute to teach visiting students about the animal life of tide pools . The comic starred various anthropomorphic sea lifeforms, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters. Hillenburg tried to get
5805-696: The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), fourth graders in 2016 were markedly less enthusiastic about reading than their predecessors in 2001 in 13 out of 20 countries and territories surveyed while their parents were even less keen on reading than they were. Although many countries have aging populations and declining birth rates, Generation Z is currently the largest generation on Earth. Bloomberg's analysis of United Nations data predicted that, in 2019, members of Generation Z accounted for 2.47 billion (32%) of
5934-607: The Tiki influence on the show, the background painters use a lot of pattern." Pittenger said the sky flowers were meant to "evoke the look of a flower-print Hawaiian shirt ". Series creator Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean as a child and began developing his artistic abilities at a young age. Although these interests would not overlap for some time—the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him—Hillenburg pursued both during college, majoring in marine biology and minoring in art. After graduating in 1984, he joined
6063-486: The fourth season , he took on the roles of producer and creative director . Martin Olson , one of the writers for Rocko's Modern Life , read The Intertidal Zone and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach. He began to develop some of
6192-402: The series bible . Although Drymon would go on to have a significant influence on SpongeBob SquarePants , he was not offered a role on the series initially. As a late recruit to Rocko's Modern Life , he had not established much of a relationship with Hillenburg before SpongeBob ' s conception. Hillenburg first sought out Drymon's storyboard partner, Mark O'Hare —but he had just created
6321-573: The 1960s, despite concerns to the contrary. Sexting among adolescents has grown in prevalence; the consequences of this remain poorly understood. Youth subcultures have not disappeared, but they have been quieter. Nostalgia is a major theme of youth culture in the 2010s and 2020s. Globally, there is evidence that girls in Generation Z are experiencing puberty at considerably younger ages compared to previous generations, with implications for their welfare and their future. Furthermore,
6450-543: The 1990s and early 2000s, such as Friends , proved popular among young people of the 2010s. Figures from Nielsen and Magna Global revealed that the viewership of children's cable television channels such as Disney Channel , Cartoon Network , and Nickelodeon continued their steady decline from the early 2010s, with little to no alleviating effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many parents and their children to stay at home. Disney Channel in particular lost
6579-605: The 7.7 billion inhabitants of Earth, surpassing the Millennial population of 2.43 billion. The generational cutoff of Generation Z and Millennials for this analysis was placed at 2000 to 2001. Generation Z currently comprises the majority of the population of Africa. In 2017, 60% of the 1.2 billion people living in Africa fell below the age of 25. In 2019, 46% of the South African population, or 27.5 million people, are members of Generation Z. Statistical projections from
SECTION 50
#17327938389246708-610: The Center for Generational Kinetics, on 1000 members of Generation Z and 1000 Millennials, suggests that Generation Z still would like to travel, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession it induced. However, Generation Z is more likely to look carefully for package deals that would bring them the most value for their money, as many of them are already saving money for buying a house and for retirement, and they prefer more physically active trips. Mobile-friendly websites and social-media engagements are both important. They take advantage of
6837-507: The EU. In Luxembourg, 20.5% were born in another country, largely within the EU (6.6% outside the EU compared to 13.9% in another member state); in Ireland, 12.0% were born in another country; in Sweden, 9.4% were born in another country, largely outside the EU (7.8% outside the EU compared to 1.6% in another member state). In Finland, 4.5% of people aged 14 and younger were born abroad and 10.6% had
6966-519: The Flying Dutchman; and Marion Ross as Grandma SquarePants. Notable guests who have provided vocal cameo appearances include: David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness in the television film Atlantis SquarePantis ; John Goodman as the voice of Santa in the episode " It's a SpongeBob Christmas! "; Johnny Depp as the voice of the surf guru, Jack Kahuna Laguna, in the episode " SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One "; and Victoria Beckham as
7095-456: The Internet to market and sell their fresh produce. In the United Kingdom, teenagers now prefer to get their news from social-media networks such as Instagram and TikTok and the video-sharing site YouTube rather than more traditional media, such as radio or television. In South Korea, people below the age of 40 are increasingly interested in relocating from the cities, especially Seoul, to
7224-569: The Lobster ; and the merman god of the sea, King Neptune . There is also a large variety of characters who serve as the main background characters for the show and are featured in almost every episode. They are each referred as "Incidental" followed by their given model number. Their names, jobs, personalities, relationships, voices, ages, and sometimes gender are inconsistent and tend to differ from each episode. There are 222 of these characters. Special (generally half-hour or hour-long) episodes of
7353-466: The Sponge resembles an actual sea sponge, and at first, Hillenburg continued to use this design. In determining the new character's behavior, Hillenburg drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed, such as Charlie Chaplin , Laurel and Hardy , Jerry Lewis , and Pee-wee Herman . He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge and realized this idea would match
7482-463: The UK in 2019, there were approximately 12.6 million people (18.8%) in Generation Z, if defined as those born from 1997 to 2012. Generation Z is the most diverse generation in the European Union in regards to national origin. In Europe generally, 13.9% of those ages 14 and younger in 2019 (which includes older Generation Alpha) were born in another EU Member State, and 6.6% were born outside
7611-637: The United Kingdom, and the United States. They found that Gen Z youth were happy overall with the states of affairs in their personal lives (59%). The most unhappy young people were from South Korea (29%) and Japan (28%) while the happiest hailed from Indonesia (90%) and Nigeria (78%). In order to determine the overall 'happiness score' for each country, researchers subtracted the percentage of people who said they were unhappy from that of those who said they were happy. The most important sources of happiness were being physically and mentally healthy (94%), having
7740-548: The United Nations in 2019 suggest that, in 2020, the people of Niger had a median age of 15.2, Mali 16.3, Chad 16.6, Somalia, Uganda, and Angola all 16.7, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 17.0, Burundi 17.3, Mozambique and Zambia both 17.6. This means that more than half of their populations were born in the first two decades of the 21st century. These are the world's youngest countries by median age. According to
7869-518: The adventures of the titular character and his aquatic friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom . Many of the series' ideas originated in The Intertidal Zone , an unpublished educational comic book Hillenburg created in 1989 to teach his students about undersea life. Hillenburg joined Nickelodeon in 1992 as an artist on Rocko's Modern Life . After Rocko was cancelled in 1996, he began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into
SECTION 60
#17327938389247998-549: The age of 18 spent at least some time each day reading, the lowest level since records began in 2005. Interest in reading for pleasure declined with age, with five- to eight-year-olds being twice as likely to say they enjoyed reading compared to fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds. There was a significant gender gap in voluntary reading, with only 47% of boys compared to 60% of girls said they read for pleasure. One in three children reported having trouble finding something interesting to read. The aforementioned Nielsen Book survey found that
8127-429: The average time spent on the phone each day is three and a third hours. 57% said they went to bed with their phones beside them and 44% told the interviewers they felt "uncomfortable" in the absence of their phones. Due to the nature of this technology—cell phones are personal and private devices—it can be difficult for parents to monitor their children's activities and shield them from inappropriate content. According to
8256-410: The cartoon to Nickelodeon executives, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an "underwater terrarium with models of the characters", and played Hawaiian music to set the theme. The setup was described by Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman as "pretty amazing". They were given money and two weeks to write the pilot episode " Help Wanted ". Drymon, Hillenburg, and Jennings returned with what
8385-428: The character for a "Cheese Man". He settled on the name "SpongeBob". "SquarePants" was chosen as a family name after Kenny saw a picture of the character and remarked, "Boy, look at this sponge in square pants, thinking he can get a job in a fast food place." When he heard Kenny say it, Hillenburg loved the phrase and felt it would reinforce the character's nerdiness. Derek Drymon , who served as creative director for
8514-432: The character's square personality perfectly. Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Pearl, and Squidward were the next characters Hillenburg created for the show. To voice the series' central character, Hillenburg turned to Tom Kenny , whose career in animation had started alongside Hillenburg's on Rocko's Modern Life . Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed to develop the character further. Initially, Hillenburg wanted to use
8643-434: The characters from The Intertidal Zone , including the comic's "announcer", Bob the Sponge. He wanted his series to stand out from most popular cartoons of the time, which he felt were exemplified by buddy comedies like The Ren & Stimpy Show . As a result, Hillenburg decided to focus on a single main character: the "weirdest" sea creature he could think of. This led him to the sponge. The Intertidal Zone ' s Bob
8772-436: The characters. Since other voices had been found for the main cast already, Lawrence began by voicing a variety of minor characters. This included Plankton, who was initially only set to appear in one episode. Mr. Lawrence recalls that Nickelodeon executives told Hillenburg, "'we could stunt-cast this. You know, we could have Bruce Willis do this voice.' And Steve was just like, 'it's Doug [Lawrence], don't you hear it? This
8901-424: The cohort is described as neo-digital natives , a step beyond the previous cohort described as digital natives . Digital natives primarily communicate by text or voice, while neo-digital natives use video, video-telephony, and movies. This emphasizes the shift from PC to mobile and text to video among the neo-digital population. Zoomer is an informal term used to refer to members of Generation Z. It combines
9030-422: The comic professionally published, but none of the companies he sent it to were interested. A large inspiration to Hillenburg was Ween 's 1997 album The Mollusk , which had a nautical and underwater theme. Hillenburg contacted the band shortly after the album's release, explaining the baseline ideas for SpongeBob SquarePants , and also requested a song from the band, which they sent on Christmas Eve. This song
9159-514: The commercial success of the 2020 album Folklore by musician Taylor Swift . Nostalgic sentiments surged during and after the COVID pandemic. Among Generation Z, people are most nostalgic for the Y2K era (late 1990s and early 2000s). Nostalgia culture among Generation Z even extends to the usage of automobiles ; in some countries, such as Indonesia , there are social media communities surrounding
9288-432: The countryside and working on the farm. Working in a conglomerate like Samsung or Hyundai no longer appeals to young people, many of whom prefer to avoid becoming a workaholic or are pessimistic about their ability to be as successful as their fathers. In New Zealand , child development psychologist Tom Nicholson noted a marked decline in vocabulary usage and reading among schoolchildren, many of whom are reluctant to use
9417-556: The dictionary. According to a 2008 survey by the National Education Monitoring Project, about one in five four-year and eight-year pupils read books as a hobby, a ten-percent drop from 2000. In the United Kingdom, a survey of 2,000 parents and children from 2013 by Nielsen Book found that 36% of children read books for pleasure on a daily basis, 60% on a weekly basis, and 72% were read to by their parents at least once per week. Among British children,
9546-567: The entrepreneurial spirit proved popular in Africa (37%). People who influenced youths the most were parents (89%), friends (79%), and teachers (70%). Celebrities (30%) and politicians (17%) came last. In general, young men were more likely to be influenced by athletes and politicians than young women, who preferred books and fictional characters. Celebrity culture was especially influential in China (60%) and Nigeria (71%) and particularly irrelevant in Argentina and Turkey (both 19%). For young people,
9675-417: The episode when Mr. Krabs uses even more profanity than SpongeBob and Patrick was inspired "by the fact that my [Drymon's] mother has a sailor mouth herself". The idea for the episode "The Secret Box" also came from one of Drymon's childhood experiences. Hillenburg explained, "Drymon had a secret box [as a kid] and started telling us about it. We wanted to make fun of him and use it." Almost every episode
9804-441: The film was finalized and the third season finished, Hillenburg resigned as the series' showrunner. Although he no longer had a direct role in the series' production, he maintained an advisory role and reviewed each episode. It reached a point where I felt I'd contributed a lot and said what I wanted to say. At that point, the show needed new blood, and so I selected Paul [Tibbitt] to produce. I totally trusted him. I always enjoyed
9933-460: The first three seasons, Hillenburg and Drymon sat in the recording studio and directed the actors. Andrea Romano became the voice director in the fourth season, and Tom Kenny took over the role during the ninth. Wednesday is recording day, the same schedule followed by the crew since 1999. Casting supervisor Jennie Monica Hammond said, "I loved Wednesdays". Generation Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z ), also known as Zoomers ,
10062-425: The first three seasons, has said that Hillenburg wanted to surround himself with a "team of young and hungry people." Many of the major contributors to SpongeBob SquarePants had worked before with Hillenburg on Rocko's Modern Life , including: Drymon, art director Nick Jennings , supervising director Alan Smart , writer/voice actor Doug Lawrence (often credited as Mr. Lawrence), and Tim Hill , who helped develop
10191-466: The insistence of her publisher. Twenge later used the term for her 2017 book iGen . Others also claim to have coined the name. Author Neil Howe coined the term Homeland Generation in 2014, as a continuation of the Strauss–Howe generational theory with William Strauss . The term Homeland refers to being the first generation to enter childhood after protective surveillance state measures, like
10320-443: The late 1990s and early 2000s. Some sources give the specific year range of 1997–2012, although the years spanned are sometimes contested or debated because generations and their zeitgeists are difficult to delineate." The Pew Research Center has defined 1997 as the starting birth year for Generation Z, basing this on "different formative experiences", such as new technological and socioeconomic developments, as well as growing up in
10449-449: The late 1990s and early 2000s." The Collins Dictionary define Generation Z as "members of the generation of people born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s. The Oxford Dictionaries define Generation Z as "the group of people who were born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, who are regarded as being very familiar with the internet." Encyclopedia Britannica defines Generation Z as "the term used to describe Americans born during
10578-703: The list, both at 10%. Concerns over food and water were most serious in China (19%), India (16%), and Indonesia (16%); young Indians were also more likely than average to report stress due to social media (19%). According to the aforementioned study by the Varkey Foundation, the most important personal values to these people were helping their families and themselves get ahead in life (both 27%), followed by honesty (26%). Looking beyond their local communities came last at 6%. Familial values were especially strong in South America (34%) while individualism and
10707-452: The main character. Kenny originally used the voice of SpongeBob for a minor character on Rocko . He forgot how to perform the voice initially and did not intend to use it afterward. Hillenburg, however, used a video clip of the episode to remind Kenny of the voice. When Hillenburg heard Kenny perform the voice, he knew immediately he wanted it for his character. He said to Nickelodeon executives, "That's it—I don't want to hear anybody else do
10836-403: The most important factors for their current or future careers were the possibility of honing their skills (24%), and income (23%) while the most unimportant factors were fame (3%) and whether or not the organization they worked for made a positive impact on the world (13%). The most important factors for young people when thinking about their futures were their families (47%) and their health (21%);
10965-468: The most popular leisure activities were watching television (36%), reading (32%), social networking (20%), watching YouTube videos (17%), and playing games on mobile phones (16%). Between 2012 and 2013, children reported spending more time with video games, YouTube, and texting but less time reading (down eight percent). Among children between the ages of 11 and 17, the share of non-readers grew from 13% to 27% between 2012 and 2013, those who read once to thrice
11094-476: The name SpongeBoy—the character had no last name—and the series was to have been named SpongeBoy Ahoy! However, the Nickelodeon legal department discovered—after voice acting had been completed for the original seven-minute pilot episode—that the name "SpongeBoy" was already copyrighted. In choosing a replacement name, Hillenburg felt he still had to use the word "Sponge", so that viewers would not mistake
11223-519: The neighboring houses of SpongeBob , Patrick , and Squidward ; two competing restaurants, the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket ; Mrs. Puff 's Boating School, which includes a driving course and a sunken lighthouse ; the Treedome, an oxygenated glass enclosure where Sandy lives; Shady Shoals Rest Home; a seagrass meadow called Jellyfish Fields; and Goo Lagoon, a subaqueous brine pool that
11352-501: The number of subscribers among Generation Z. Additional research showed that within the past few decades, popular music has gotten slower; that majorities of listeners young and old preferred older songs rather than keeping up with new ones; that the language of popular songs was becoming more negative psychologically; and that lyrics were becoming simpler and more repetitive, approaching one-word sheets, something measurable by observing how efficiently lossless compression algorithms (such as
11481-478: The past week and only 10% watched their favorite programs on television. Among those who watched on-demand shows, 58% did so on a mobile phone, 51% on a television set, 40% via a tablet, 35% on a gaming console, and 27% on a laptop. About one out of four came from families with voice-command computer assistants such as Alexa . YouTube and Snapchat are the most popular gateways for music and video discovery. Childwise also found that certain television series aired between
11610-479: The past, when life seemed simpler and less stressful, even if they have themselves never experienced it. For example, although an aesthetic dubbed ' cottagecore ' in 2018 has been around for many years, it has become a subculture of Generation Z, especially on various social media networks in the wake of the mass lockdowns imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19 . It is a form of escapism and aspirational nostalgia. Cottagecore became even more popular thanks to
11739-463: The pilot) and was offered the role of story editor , but turned it down—he would go on to pursue a career as a family film director. In his stead, Pete Burns was brought in for the job. Burns hailed from Chicago and had never met any of the principal players on SpongeBob before joining the team. The execs from Nickelodeon flew out to Burbank , and we pitched it to them from the storyboards . We had squeezy toys, wore Hawaiian shirts, and used
11868-421: The prevalence of allergies among adolescents and young adults in this cohort is greater than the general population; there is greater awareness and diagnosis of mental health conditions, and sleep deprivation is more frequently reported. In many countries, Generation Z youth are more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and psychiatric disorders than older generations. Around
11997-412: The process for SpongeBob SquarePants —even though Nickelodeon was beginning to show a greater preference for script-driven cartoons. Another series' writer, Merriwether Williams , explained in an interview that she and Mr. Lawrence would write a draft for an episode in an afternoon and be done at 4:00 pm. The writing staff often used their personal experiences as inspiration for the storylines of
12126-581: The purchasing used cars from earlier decades. A survey conducted by OnePoll in 2018 found that while museums and heritage sites remained popular among Britons between the ages of 18 and 30, 19% did not visit one in the previous year. There was a big gender gap in attitudes, with 16% of female respondents and 26% of male respondents saying they never visited museums. Generation Z preferred staying home and watching television or browsing social media networks to visiting museums or galleries. The researchers also found that cheaper tickets, more interactive exhibitions,
12255-417: The role, Alan was shown an early drawing of the characters and noted that Pearl was much larger than the rest of the cast. She decided to reflect the character's size in her voice by making it deep and full in tone. She aimed to make it invoke the sound of whales' low vocalizations while also sounding "spoiled and lovable." In an interview with AfterBuzz TV , Alan said she knew Pearl "had to sound somewhat like
12384-485: The role. American actress Mary Jo Catlett, who is known for her live-action roles on television programs from the 1970s such as Diff'rent Strokes and M*A*S*H provides Mrs. Puff's voice. As of 2017, voicing Mrs. Puff has become her only regular television role; Catlett described herself as "basically retired" in 2013, since she feels that voicing Mrs. Puff requires less preparation than her performances in person. Lori Alan voices Pearl Krabs. During her audition for
12513-449: The romantic pairing of fictional characters of interest, or ' shipping '. Aragon and Davis argued that writing fan fiction stories could help young people combat social isolation and hone their writing skills outside of school in an environment of like-minded people where they can receive (anonymous) constructive feedback, what they call 'distributed mentoring'. Informatics specialist Rebecca Black added that fan fiction writing could also be
12642-408: The same time when Hillenburg, Derek Drymon and Tim Hill were writing the pilot "Help Wanted", Hillenburg was also conducting auditions to find voices for the characters. Fagerbakke auditioned for the role of Patrick after Kenny had been cast. Fagerbakke recalled that during this audition, "Hillenburg actually played for me a portion of Tom [Kenny]'s performance [as SpongeBob], and they were looking for
12771-423: The secret recipe for Mr. Krabs's popular Krabby Patty burgers, hoping to gain the upper hand and put the Krusty Krab out of business. Karen supplies him with evil schemes to obtain the formula, but their efforts always fail and their restaurant rarely has any customers. When SpongeBob is not working at the Krusty Krab, he is often taking boating lessons from Mrs. Puff , a paranoid but patient pufferfish . SpongeBob
12900-423: The series opened in 2017 to critical acclaim. The series is also noted as a cultural touchstone of Millennials and Generation Z . The series revolves around the title character and an ensemble cast of his aquatic friends. SpongeBob SquarePants is an energetic and optimistic yellow sea sponge who lives in a submerged pineapple . SpongeBob has a childlike enthusiasm for life, which carries over to his job as
13029-480: The series were a nature documentary about the ocean. His role and distinctive manner of speaking are references to the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau . Recurring guest characters appear throughout the series including: the retired superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy , who are idolized by SpongeBob and Patrick; a pirate specter known as the Flying Dutchman ; the muscular lifeguard of Goo Lagoon, Larry
13158-472: The series would continue after his death. In February 2019, incoming president Brian Robbins vowed Nickelodeon would keep the show in production for as long as the network exists. As of the ninth season, former writers and storyboard directors Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli act as showrunners. Hillenburg is still posthumously credited as executive producer in episodes as of 2024. According to writer and storyboard artist Luke Brookshier , " SpongeBob
13287-420: The series' episodes. For example, the episode " Sailor Mouth ", where SpongeBob and Patrick learn profanity , was inspired by creative director Derek Drymon's experience as a child of getting into trouble for using the f-word in front of his mother. Drymon said, "The scene where Patrick is running to Mr. Krabs to tattle, with SpongeBob chasing him, is pretty much how it happened in real life". The end of
13416-454: The share of British households with at least one electronic tablet rose from 24% to 50% between 2012 and 2013. According to a 2020 Childwise report based on interviews with 2,200 British children between the ages of five and sixteen, young people today are highly dependent on their mobile phones. Most now get their first device at the age of seven. By the age of eleven, having a cell phone became almost universal. Among those aged seven to sixteen,
13545-406: The shorthand boomer , referring to baby boomers , with the "Z" from Generation Z . Zoomer in its current incarnation skyrocketed in popularity in 2018, when it was used in a 4chan internet meme mocking Gen Z adolescents via a Wojak caricature dubbed a "Zoomer". Merriam-Webster's records suggest the use of the term zoomer in the sense of Generation Z dates back at least as far as 2016. It
13674-490: The show are hosted by a live-action pirate named Patchy and his pet parrot Potty , whose segments are presented in a dual narrative with the animated stories. Patchy is portrayed as the president of a fictional SpongeBob fan club , and his greatest aspiration is to meet SpongeBob himself. He gets into absurd escapades in a similar matter to the actual show, with Potty constantly making fun of Patchy's nonsensical aspirations and causes trouble for him while he tries to host
13803-556: The show as a writer, director, and storyboard artist, to take over his role as showrunner to produce additional seasons. Hillenburg considered Tibbitt one of his favorite members of the show's crew, and "totally trusted him". On December 13, 2014, it was announced that Hillenburg would return to the series in an unspecified position. On November 26, 2018, at the age of 57, Hillenburg died from complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with which he had been diagnosed in March 2017. Nickelodeon confirmed via Twitter
13932-558: The show became the highest-rated and most viewed animated Saturday morning program that year, beating Pokémon . The series received worldwide critical acclaim, and had gained more popularity by its second season. As of 2019, the series is the fifth-longest-running American animated series . Its popularity made it a multimedia franchise , the highest rated Nickelodeon series, and the most profitable intellectual property for Paramount Consumer Products . By 2019, it had generated over $ 13 billion in merchandising revenue. The series has run for
14061-400: The show's setting. Transitions between scenes are marked by bubbles filling the screen, accompanied by the sound of rushing water. The series features "sky flowers" as a main setting material. When series background designer Kenny Pittenger was asked what they were, he answered, "They function as clouds in a way, but since the show takes place underwater, they aren't really clouds. Because of
14190-537: The show. The series takes place primarily in the benthic underwater city of Bikini Bottom located in the Pacific Ocean beneath the real-life coral reef known as Bikini Atoll . Its citizens are mostly multicolored fish who live in buildings made from ship funnels and use "boatmobiles", amalgamations of cars and boats, as a mode of transportation. Recurring locations within Bikini Bottom include
14319-532: The site FanFiction.Net showed that some 60 billion words of contents were added during the previous 20 years by 10 million English-speaking people whose median age was 15 1 ⁄ 2 years. Fan fiction writers base their work on various internationally popular cultural phenomena such as K-pop , Star Trek , Harry Potter , Twilight , Doctor Who , and My Little Pony , known as ' canon ', as well as other things they considered important to their lives, like natural disasters. Much of fan fiction concerns
14448-410: The soon-to-be syndicated comic strip, Citizen Dog . While he would later join SpongeBob as a writer, he lacked the time to get involved with both projects from the outset. Drymon has said, "I remember Hillenburg's bringing it up to Mark in our office and asking him if he'd be interested in working on it ... I was all ready to say yes to the offer, but Steve didn't ask; he just left the room. I
14577-478: The top spots in international standardized tests in the 2010s. The name Generation Z is a reference to the fact that it is the second generation after Generation X , continuing the alphabetical sequence from Generation Y (Millennials). Other proposed names for the generation included iGeneration , Homeland Generation , Net Gen , Digital Natives , Neo-Digital Natives , Pluralist Generation , Internet Generation , and Centennials . "While there
14706-700: The total age group. Data from Statistics Canada published in 2017 showed that Generation Z comprised 17.6% of the Canadian population. A report by demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution stated that in the United States, the Millennials are a bridge between the largely white pre-Millennials (Generation X and their predecessors) and the more diverse post-Millennials (Generation Z and their successors). Frey's analysis of U.S. Census data suggests that as of 2019, 50.9% of Generation Z
14835-402: The transition towards hybrid school and remote work . Boundaries between the different youth subcultures appear to have been blurred, and nostalgic sentiments have risen. Although nostalgia is normally associated with the elderly, this sentiment is now commonplace among those who came of age during the 2010s and 2020s. Struggling with present realities, Millennials and Generation Z long for
14964-455: The voice of Queen Amphitrite in the episode " The Clash of Triton ". Voice recording sessions always include a full cast of actors, which Kenny describes as "getting more unusual". Kenny said, "That's another thing that's given SpongeBob its special feel. Everybody's in the same room, doing it old radio-show style. It's how the stuff we like was recorded". Series writer Jay Lender said, "The recording sessions were always fun ..." For
15093-595: The voice over" in 2009. He elaborated in a 2012 interview, saying, "I always enjoy the back-and-forth. [Talley and I] start to actually overlap so much talking to each other that [the voice directors] have to tell us, 'hey, stop doing that, separate what you're saying!'" Carolyn Lawrence voices Sandy Cheeks. She was in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, with a friend who knew SpongeBob SquarePants casting director Donna Grillo. Her friend said to Grillo that Lawrence had "an interesting voice". Grillo invited her to audition and she got
15222-518: The voice. We've got SpongeBob." The network insisted on auditioning more actors, but Hillenburg turned them down; in the words of Tom Kenny, "one of the advantages of having a strong creator is that the creator can say, 'No, I like that—I don't care about celebrities.'" While Kenny was developing SpongeBob's voice, the show's casting crew wanted him to have a unique, high-pitched laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker . Fagerbakke voices Patrick Star and other miscellaneous characters. At
15351-472: The way he captured the SpongeBob character's sense of humor. And as a writer, you have to move on—I'm developing new projects. — Stephen Hillenburg , The Washington Post When the film was completed, Hillenburg intended it to be the series finale , "so [the show] wouldn't jump the shark ." However, Nickelodeon wanted more episodes. Hillenburg appointed Paul Tibbitt , who had previously served on
15480-484: The welfare of the world at large (4%) and their local communities (1%) bottomed the list. During the 2000s and especially the 2010s, youth subcultures that were as influential as what existed during the late 20th century became scarcer and quieter, at least in real life though not necessarily on the Internet, and more ridden with irony and self-consciousness due to the awareness of incessant peer surveillance. In Germany, for instance, youth appears more interested in
15609-543: The world, members of Generation Z are spending more time on electronic devices and less time reading books than before, with implications for their attention spans , vocabulary , academic performance , and future economic contributions. In Asia, educators in the 2000s and 2010s typically sought out and nourished top students; in Western Europe and the United States, the emphasis was on poor performers. East Asian and Singaporean students consistently earned
15738-528: Was "Loop de Loop", which was used in the episode "Your Shoe's Untied". While working as a staff artist at the Ocean Institute, Hillenburg entertained plans to return eventually to college for a master's degree in art. Before this could materialize, he attended an animation festival, which inspired him to make a slight change in course. Instead of continuing his education with a traditional art program, Hillenburg chose to study experimental animation at
15867-418: Was [how it brought] in a new character, Mrs. Puff, who I love." Until his death in 2018, Hillenburg had served as the executive producer over the course of the series' entire history and functioned as its showrunner from its debut in 1999 until 2004. The series went on hiatus in 2002, after Hillenburg halted production on the show itself to work on the feature film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie . Once
15996-622: Was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in October 2021 and to Dictionary.com in January 2020. Prior to this, zoomer was occasionally used to describe particularly active baby boomers. Researchers and popular media have used the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years to define Generation Z. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Generation Z as "the generation of people born in
16125-438: Was also instrumental in SpongeBob ' s genesis. Kenny has called him "one of SpongeBob's early graphics mentors". On weekends, Kenny joined Hillenburg, Jennings, and Drymon for creative sessions where they recorded ideas on a tape recorder. Kenny performed audio tests as SpongeBob during these sessions, while Hillenburg voice acted the other characters. Hill contributed scripts for several first-season episodes (including
16254-500: Was described by Nickelodeon official Albie Hecht as, "a performance [he] wished [he] had on tape". Although executive producer Derek Drymon described the pitch as stressful, he said it went "very well". Kevin Kay and Hecht had to step outside because they were "exhausted from laughing", which worried the cartoonists. In an interview, Cyma Zarghami , then-president of Nickelodeon, said, "their [Nickelodeon executives'] immediate reaction
16383-434: Was pretty desperate ... so I ran into the hall after him and basically begged him for the job. He didn't jump at the chance." Once Hillenburg had given it some thought and decided to bring Drymon on as creative director, the two began meeting at Hillenburg's house several times a week to develop the series. Drymon has identified this period as having begun in 1996, shortly after the end of Rocko's Modern Life . Jennings
16512-477: Was to see it again, both because they liked it and it was unlike anything they'd ever seen before". Zarghami was one of four executives in the room when SpongeBob SquarePants was screened for the first time. Before commissioning the full series, Nickelodeon executives insisted that it would not be popular unless SpongeBob was a child who went to school, with his teacher as a main character. Hillenburg recalled in 2012 that Nickelodeon told him, "Our winning formula
16641-453: Was to use Post-it notes . Most of the dialogue and jokes are added during this stage. Brookshier has likened this process to how cartoons were made "in the early days of animation ". The decision to eschew scripts for storyboards is one that Hillenburg made early in the series' development. Rocko's Modern Life had also used storyboarding derived from short outlines, and having worked on that series, Hillenburg felt strongly about adopting
#923076