SpongeBob Turns 10

Martha Worboy, Canwest News Service


He's yellow, square, lives underwater and resembles a kitchen sponge. How an animated sea sponge - otherwise known as SpongeBob SquarePants - has become a trademark character loved by millions around the globe, and the backbone of a hit TV series is a question a lot of industry people have likely asked themselves.

Created by American animator/marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, the bug-eyed sponge is a phenomenon no one - not even the actor behind the voice of SpongeBob - would have anticipated.

"When I first saw (the storyboard), I liked it immediately . . . but I didn't see a decade of adventure coming out of it," says Tom Kenny - who has voiced SpongeBob for his 10 years of existence - in an interview with Canwest News Service.

Kenny, on his way to the airport in an New York City cab, had just finished ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in honour of SpongeBob's 10-year anniversary.

Earlier in the day, he helped unveil a wax figure of SpongeBob at Madame Tussauds in Times Square. SpongeBob is the first cartoon character to grace the display at the famous wax museum.

"It was fun to be there with Julius Caesar and Hitler and SpongeBob," Kenny says with a laugh.

On the show, SpongeBob lives underwater in a two-bedroom pineapple in the make-believe city of Bikini Bottom and works at the local fast-food joint, the Krusty Krab.

Kenny describes the character as "an optimistic, hyperactive, bouncing-off-the walls manchild."

So wherein lies the appeal?

"I think it's his optimism, his naivety, his willingness to give 110 per cent to what he's doing," Kenny says. "Being overworked and underpaid is something most people can identify with - and doing their best job in spite of it is something familiar."

Whether it's this underdog quality that has inspired mass appeal or his bright in-your-face look and personality, it can be said SpongeBob has that ‘it' quality many aspire to but few possess.

Even though his neighbour is a squid, his boss is a crab and his best friend is a starfish, SpongeBob has been popular with people of all ages.

Originally airing on Nickelodeon - it's currently the network's highest rated show - SpongeBob SquarePants has been picked up in 171 markets and is broadcast in 25 languages worldwide.

The premiere of the show was in July 1999, and Kenny says the premise and feel of the show hasn't changed since then, something he credits Hillenburg for.

"The inspiring thing about it is Steve's adherent to his artistic vision and principles and he's never wavered," says Kenny.

"He'd go to the mat and have to for fight things to be a certain way."

"It's the old corny idea, believe in yourself and your vision," Kenny adds, giving a bit of the SpongeBob success serum away.

It's no wonder Kenny's grateful - by way of the Hillenburg's creation, Kenny admits he's landed the dream gig.

Before SpongeBob, the actor/standup comic had roles in HBO's sketch comedy show Mr. Show with Bob and David and on the long-lived NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!.

He became friends with Hillenburg while voicing a character for the animated Nickelodeon series Rocko's Modern Life.

"It's nice to work on a show that's famous, but you don't have to deal with the headaches of being a famous person," Kenny says about his life in the shadows. "It's the great gig - I don't covet anyone else. I've found my soulmate, I don't need to date around."

- To celebrate SpongeBob's 10th anniversary, YTV is airing a countdown of the 100 most popular episodes through July, as chosen by fans. A new episode, To SquarePants or Not To SquarePants, will air July 31 on YTV.

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