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Farewell to Spongebob, RIP Hillenberg
Stephen Hillenberg, the creator of Spongebob Squarepants, died yesterday at the age of 57. He died of ALS.
Hillenberg was a marine biologist and science teacher, which is what gave him the inspiration for his absurdist Bikini Bottom city of marine loonies. Like Looney Tunes at its best, Spongebob Squarepants was both ridiculously childish and impishly clever, and was one of those few cartoons to appeal to kids and adults both, without patronizing either or burying sex jokes for the adults.
Even now, some of the sketches still make me giggle just by thinking about them (particularly Squidward and the sea bear, which had a deft escalation of mishaps, and layering in of multiple punch lines — as that sort of humor goes, the scene is technically brilliant in its timing and execution). All of my children loved the show too, and each has their own favorite scenes that they’ll act out with each other, and their own favorite characters (for me it was Plankton, or perhaps Squidward, or maybe Mermaid Man… it’s hard to choose). It’s the sort of show that lends itself to frequent recollection.
Rest in Peace, Stephen, and enjoy the invisible boatmobile, if you can find where you last parked it.
Published in Entertainment
I didn’t realize he died or was battling ALS. It was a wonderful show! Your observation that it was iconic, similar to Looney Tunes was spot on. My kids (and I) enjoyed it very much.
RIP Mr. Hillenberg.’Well played sir…’
Thanks, Skip! He certainly brought the young’uns in my ambit – and their young’uns – a great deal of giggly joy…Rest in peace.
Here is a bootleg of the Sea Bear episode (the whole bit plays out near the end).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3awB_d9YeHo
Oh! Such sad news about Mr. Hillenberg.
On a happier note, what great news to know that you’re a fan. Spongebob and company are a lot of fun and have brought lots of laughter to the SiS household.
One time in college, I asked who Nancy Kerrigan was and I earned the nickname “Patrick”… because I live under a rock.
The skill-crane episode is one of our favorites:
Spongebob isn’t just funny — he’s very tenderhearted. In another era, he might even be noted as a good Christian by the way he treats others.
RIP Mr. Hillenberg.
Honestly, one of the funniest Spongebob references I ever saw was on an early episode of two and a half men. The kid is being babysat by his Grandmother, and the dad comes home to find him alone watching TV. He asks what happened to Grandma, and the kid replies “We were watching Spongebob, and she stood up, said “Life’s too short”, and left”.
I like spongebob, but I find a little goes a long way. I can only watch a few episodes at a time, whereas I can watch Phineas and Ferb for hours.
But there is some real genius in spongebob, whether it be Gary the Snail, Sandy the Squirrel, or Plankton scheming to get the secret to the Crabby Patty.
Hillenberg will be missed.
This one hurts. SpongeBob is maximum silliness at its best. David Hasselhoff’s pectoral missiles will never be forgotten! Rest in Peace, Stephen Hillenberg, and thanks for the laughs!
Sad news indeed.
Two of my favorite moments
RIP Steven.
The “Squid on Strike” episode was also a pretty funny take on management-labor relations:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x58diaf
My favorite bit was that the characters of retired superheroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy were voiced by Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway, effectively a McHale’s Navy reunion.
And for the flashbacks to their younger days, the voices were Adam West and Burt Ward.
Genius.
My favorite episode was the one where Spongebob goes to driver ed. The instructor is a lady pufferfish. Every time he wrecks, she inflates to fill the car, and the first responders have to come and cut her out.
RIP.
That is sad news – this is the sweetest cartoon – such an original – God bless him – horrible disease.
I like the theory that says that Bikini Bottom is underneath Bikini Atoll, and all of the characters in SpongeBob are mutants caused by the radioactivity from the atom bomb tests.
I never watched the show, but I had a girlfriend who was a fan and she dragged me kicking-and-screaming to see The Spongebob Squarepants Movie.
There was nary a moment where I wasn’t laughing like a convulsive baboon. One of the top-five comedies of all time, IMHO.
The presence of the talking squirrel means the theory only really makes sense if the entire planet has been nuked, but then that theory was dashed when they visited the surface world in the movies.
And several of the episodes too.
Maybe there were squirrels on Bikini Atoll. Even if they were not native to the atoll, a sailor could have left a pet squirrel behind. (And if that sounds silly we are talking SpongeBob Squarepants. That’s the definition of silly.)
Hillenburg’s passing is sad, but I’m not sure why that would mean farewell to Spongebob. The show is still going strong, and Hillenburg hasn’t been show runner for more than a decade.
I never thought I would like the show, because the characters seemed annoying to me. But when my daughter was little I had no choice but to watch it, and I was surprised to find myself enjoying it. I like how surreal it sometimes gets. Anyone who thinks the last part of 2001: A Space Odyssey is weird needs to see “Squidward in Clarinetland.”
You have all mentioned all the right episodes. RIP Mr. Hillenberg and thanks for all the Tex Avery-would-certainly-approve animated madness.
And I love the narrator with the bad Jacques Cousteau French accent.
Especially the time cards:
The squirrel was obviously planted by the Army to cast doubt on the whole affair.
I have a theory that the Krusty Krab was inspired by Dinah’s Family Restaurant in L.A.
I mean, check out the typeface.
And Painty the Pirate (“I can’t heeear you”) is a reference to Clutch Cargo, a 1959 cartoon that pioneered super low cost production techniques, such as superimposing an actors mouth over a still cartoon face.
My big claim to fame: Jason Gianni, an awesome drummer in my old band, played the drums on the Spongebob theme song.
In terms of the character, Tom Kenney, the voice of both Spongebob and Patchy, said he based him on Salty Sam, the kids show host on Ch. 3 (then WSYR) in Syracuse where he grew up in the 1970s.
(Kenney’s best friend growing up in Syracuse was Bobcat Goldthwait, which I suppose was like Spongebob hanging around with Patrick….)