SpongeBob SquarePants’ companion and friend is Gary the snail, and they have been together since the series began, but how and where did they meet? Created by animator and marine science educator Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants made its official debut on Nickelodeon in July 1999 after a preview following the 1999 Kid’s Choice Awards in May. The adventures of SpongeBob and company were a big hit, and the show has since become the most successful Nicktoon to date as well as one of the longest-running American animated series, with 12 seasons and counting.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the ups and downs of the title character and his friends (and a couple of enemies) from the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob’s best friend is Patrick Star, who is also his neighbor, but SpongeBob has another best friend, and it’s a very unique type of friend: his pet snail Gary. The domesticated snail is the underwater equivalent to a cat, but he has proven to be extremely intelligent and cultured, and has even saved SpongeBob a couple of times thanks to that.

Related: SpongeBob SquarePants: Gary & Patrick Are Secretly Related

Gary was originally created as a minor joke character that would appear in the background of SpongeBob’s bedroom, but he quickly developed a personality beyond a meowing pet, and he was added to the series’ main characters. SpongeBob and Gary have been together for years, but the story of how they met has changed a couple of times. In season 4’s episode “Have You Seen This Snail?” and season 8’s “Treats!”, SpongeBob has been shown as having Gary since he was a little boy, which explains why they’re so close, but in season 9’s episode “Plankton’s Pet”, he’s seen buying him at the animal shelter.

The Spongebob Movie - Sponge on the Run

However, all those stories will be contradicted by SpongeBob’s third movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. In it, and as shown in the trailers, a 10-year-old SpongeBob meets a very small Gary at Camp Coral, where they quickly bond and become good friends. This can still work with SpongeBob having Gary since he was very young, but not with the animal shelter story. It’s important to remember, though, that it’s unknown if the story in Sponge on the Run will be considered the official version of how SpongeBob and Gary met or if it will be an addition to the other stories, making it even more confusing. And just to add more to the mystery of how they met, their ancestors have been shown to have a similar relationship in the episode “Ugh”, so it could also be that their species are drawn to each other at some point.

Many things in the world of SpongeBob SquarePants are very inconsistent, which is not surprising given that most cartoons are that way (and it’s especially true with Nicktoons). When it comes to SpongeBob and Gary’s relationship, it doesn’t matter much how they met but that they did, as they have been very close for years and always have each other's backs, even though they have had their disagreements, just like any other friendship.

Next: SpongeBob SquarePants' OTHER Pet Animal Explained (& When They Appear)

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