The characters in SpongeBob SquarePants definitely aren’t the same they were in the first season, especially the title character. SpongeBob has gone through some big changes, which made way for a popular fan theory which later got a response from the series’ creator, Stephen Hillenburg. SpongeBob SquarePants made its official debut in July 1999 on Nickelodeon and has since become one of the longest-running American animated series. SpongeBob SquarePants has also expanded its universe to other media, most notably video games and film, with three big screen adventures so far.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character and his best friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his neighbor Squidward, and his greedy boss Mr. Krabs. Although the series continues to be very popular among kids and adults, its quality has been in decline for a while now, and the changes in SpongeBob’s personality have made fans believe this isn’t the same SpongeBob viewers met in the first seasons.

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SpongeBob SquarePants’ quality decline began in season 4, the first one to come after the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and also the first without Stephen Hillenburg (and many of the original writers and storyboard artists) on the team. However, fans believe there’s more to it in-universe, and it all began in SpongeBob’s first film.

Theory: The Original SpongeBob SquarePants Died In The Movie

SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

SpongeBob has always been immature, but he was actually funny when the series began. As the show evolved, SpongeBob got dumber and the overall sense of humor of the series changed as well, leaning more into kid-friendly physical humor and gross-out moments. These changes in SpongeBob’s personality made way for the “death theory”, which suggests the SpongeBob viewers met in the seasons prior to the first film died in his first big screen adventure, but as sea sponges can asexually reproduce offsprings that are like clones, he was replaced by his own child, and that’s why he hasn’t aged either.

Stephen Hillenburg later stated that from season 4 onward, all episodes are prequels to the first three seasons and the first film – which is why the series never mentions what happened after the events of the first film nor SpongeBob’s new position as manager of the Krusty Krab 2. A younger, (even) more immature SpongeBob is a good explanation to his change of personality and the different tone of the series, but the “death theory” is also an interesting idea. Both explanations can co-exist, as SpongeBob could have truly died in the movie and the subsequent seasons have been exploring his earlier years.

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