SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants (simply known as SpongeBob) is an American animated children's show created by Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. The show features heavily personified sea characters, namely SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs who live on the ocean floor in a town called Bikini Bottom. The animation in the show is somewhat abstract and very surreal often featuring bizarre plot lines, characters and animation techniques.

Setting
Much of the series' events take place in Bikini Bottom, an underwater city located in the Pacific Ocean beneath the real life tropical isle of Bikini Atoll. Much of this is supported within the context of the episodes themselves; however, despite implications of the city's location as well as analogies to real life, Hillenburg has stated that he wishes to leave the city isolated from the real world, explaining the Baywatch parody scene from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as simply a reference to his favorite show of all time.

The citizens of Bikini Bottom live in mostly aquatic-themed buildings, and use "boatmobiles", an amalgamation of cars and boats, as a mode of transportation. Notable establishments present in Bikini Bottom includes the Krusty Krab and Mrs. Puff Boating School, which have become a common setting in the series since their first appearance in 1999.

Characters

 * SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny) - A good-natured, upstanding sponge who resides in a pineapple shaped house. He works at the Krusty Krab as a fast food cook.
 * Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) - Patrick is a starfish and SpongeBob's best friend. He is incredibly dumb and is often responsible for the misadventures him and SpongeBob end up on.
 * Squidward Tentacles (voiced by Rodger Bumpass) - Squidward is reluctantly SpongeBob's next door neighbor and is often at odds with him over his absurd ideas and adventures. Outside of being neighbors they also happen to work together at the Krusty Krab.
 * Eugene H. Krabs (voiced by Clancy Brown)- A greedy crab who runs the Krusty Krab Restaurant and is often at odds with SpongeBob and Squidward over their work habits.
 * Sheldon J. Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) - Plankton is a small copepod who is married to his computer wife, Karen. He is the rival of the Krusty Krab's owner Eugene H. Krabs. Plankton is most often attempting to steal the secret ingredients to the Krabby Patty (the Krusty Krab's most popular dish).
 * Karen Plankton (voiced by Jill Talley) - Karen is a waterproof supercomputer who gives Plankton most of his plans to steal the Krabby Patty formula.
 * Sandy Cheeks (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) - Sandy plays a friendly squirrel who is confined to an oxygen suit in order to survive the environment.
 * Mrs. Puff (voiced by Mary Jo Catlett) - Mrs. Puff is SpongeBob's teacher at Boating School, where sea creatures learn to drive cars. She puffs up into a ball whenever SpongeBob crashes a boat.
 * Pearl Krabs (voiced by Lori Alan) - Pearl is a young sperm whale and Mr. Krabs' daughter. She has a tendency to cry rivers of tears and is good friends with SpongeBob.
 * Gary the Snail (voiced by Tom Kenny) - SpongeBob's pet snail.

Film Version
In 2004, Nickelodeon Studios and Paramount Pictures produced a feature length SpongeBob SquarePants film under the direction of series creator Stephen Hillenburg. To date the film has a domestic gross total of over 85 million dollars and was met with generally positive reviews. RottenTomatoes.com, a film review website, shows a 70% average among gathered reviews while IMDB holds a 6.3/10 star rating.

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