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I relate to SpongeBob more than anybody. Like him, I've been accused of being a zealot, a freak, a spaz -- sometimes all in one day. He's awkward and sincere, as I can be, but there are far worse things to be.
I think it has something to do with SpongeBob's vulnerability. At first you find yourself laughing at what an obsessive idiot lunatic he can be. But before long, you realize that at some point in your life, that was you. And that just makes it even funnier ... as long as you've gotten past it.
When SpongeBob came out, I noticed that a lot other cartoons at the time had sarcastic, snarky kid characters -- characters who were so busy being cool and facile with witty repartees that they seemed more like little adults than kids. SpongeBob kind of bucked that trend, and he is still unique in how free he is of guile. He is a true innocent. That gets him in a lot of trouble too, but I think it is his unpretentious nature that makes him lovable and refreshing.
I really enjoy the people I work with. I have the privilege of working with talented, intelligent, nice, and relentlessly helpful people. I hear that not all jobs are like this.
As a writer, my biggest challenge now is coming with entirely new stories that haven't yet been done. With more than 200 stories completed, it's hard sometimes to spin a SpongeBob yarn that hasn't already been spun!
From start to finish, it may be about a year from when an idea leaves my brain to when it lands on your screen. Come to think of it, it's a little disturbing that my brain somehow got connected to your screen. You should call your cable company about that.
I think people love SpongeBob because he is a genuinely nice person. No matter how annoying, obsessive, loud, moronic or spastic he may be -- and that can be pretty severe -- he is always a loyal friend, a hard worker, and an optimist. That's pretty lovable!
8. It's very hard to choose a favorite, but SB129 is certainly one of them. This is a hilarious episode that features time travel, for which I am always a sucker, as well as the first appearance of caveman Sponge and Pat. The funny drawings, great dialogue and weird risks this episode takes make it vintage SpongeBob for me.
I got my start in "the biz" in the Nickelodeon mailroom. I patiently worked my way up from there. In 1998, I moved up to a production assistant job on a curious new show called "SpongeBob SquarePants." At the time, we figured we'd be lucky if we got to do one whole season before they pulled the plug on us. Ten years and seven seasons later, it looks like we're better than lucky!.
In The SpongeBob Movie, Sponge and Pat throw an impromptu "bubble party" at a biker bar bathroom. But when they discover that "All bubble blowing babies will be beaten senseless by every able-bodied patron in the bar," They rush to cover their tracks by popping every bubble they just blew! That, and the Goofy Goober "interrogation" that follows, makes me laugh every time.
DEREK IVERSEN, WRITER on SpongeBob SquarePants
