The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was almost SpongeBob’s final adventure, but Nickelodeon had bigger plans for him and the rest of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob SquarePants was created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg, and made its official debut on Nickelodeon in 1999. The show has since become one of the longest-running American animated series and the most successful Nicktoon, with 13 seasons and counting. SpongeBob and friends have also expanded to other media, most notably film, with three big screen adventures so far.
SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character and his friends from the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, such as Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his neighbor Squidward Tentacles, and his boss Mr. Krabs. The show has also introduced a couple of enemies, most notably Plankton, whose mission is to steal the Krabby Patty’s secret formula. Plankton’s obsession over it was the trigger of the story in SpongeBob’s first movie, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, released in 2004.
In it, Plankton comes up with a plan that would allow him to steal the secret formula, discredit Mr. Krabs, and take over the world – all he needed to do was steal King Neptune’s crown and frame Mr. Krabs. In order to save his boss, SpongeBob and Patrick go to Shell City to retrieve the crown, but they come across with a number of obstacles. The end of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie saw SpongeBob embracing his immaturity and saving Bikini Bottom, which then led to Mr. Krabs promoting him to manager of the Krusty Krab 2. It’s a good ending to SpongeBob’s story, and that’s because the movie was intended to be the end of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Once the third season was completed, Hillenburg and the show’s team went on a “self-imposed hiatus” to work on the movie, with Nickelodeon expanding the programming of the third season to cover the delay. When production on the movie was completed, Hillenburg wanted to end the show so it wouldn’t “jump the shark”, and felt three seasons were enough for a series like SpongeBob SquarePants. Nickelodeon, however, had different plans for the show, and wanted to produce more episodes, especially after the “built-up demand” that came with the aforementioned hiatus. As a result, Hillenburg resigned as the series’ showrunner, with Paul Tibbitt taking over.
It’s also because of this that the quality of the series began to decline. Viewers noticed that SpongeBob became dumber and the overall sense of humor of the series changed a lot, which Hillenburg justified by saying that everything that comes after The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie are prequels to the movie and the first three seasons. In the end, viewers will decide if SpongeBob SquarePants should have ended with the movie or later, but what’s sure is that the show’s popularity hasn’t been too affected, and there will be more SpongeBob in the near future.
