SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most watched cartoons of our time. Having the first sketches and short films dating back as far as 1986. It wasn’t until 1999 that SpongeBob really made a breakthrough. You might come to think that all of this took place overnight. The show has had so many ups and downs, it’s a wonder that it still airs to this day. (Can you imagine the show had the name SpongeBoy? Not exactly catchy anyway…)
Being among one of the oldest and most popular kid’s and teens shows on the planet, it’s surely taken its time getting where it is now. SpongeBob’s create Steve Hillenburg a biologist and teacher explains about how he was not a fan of art before he first tried it.
The first two seasons of SpongeBob were a great hit, they received numerous thumbs up and encouragements. Nickelodeon had found a star show. Between the years 2001-2004, the popularity subsided as the rumors of its cancellation were pretty high. The reason behind this was the fact that Nickelodeon had decided to air the third season in a span of three years. This was not taken well by fans of the show from all over the world.
In the year 2004, SpongeBob’s Creator and Executive producer stepped down, leaving the show under Paul Tibbitt. This was just necessary as the guy thought he would for once sit-down and watch the show just like everybody else. In the same year, SpongeBob SquarePants the Movie was aired, earning a gross income of $85,000,000. This was pretty high at that time keeping in mind that it was a cartoon.
The years that followed (from 2005. Basically, everything after the movie) saw the show’s return. At the end of the year 2004, Nickelodeon aired some episodes of SpongeBob. Hey divided the show into two, thus airing the 11-minute segment separately. This made sure that the show continued to air for quite some time.
It wasn’t until late in the year 2006 that the show was renewed for a fifth season. The fan base continued to grow after each episode. Nickelodeon had a soft spot for SpongeBob, they even made a special event for the show where they would air a new episode of season five from Monday to Friday. This special event continued for two whole weeks.
The 6th season was aired in a marathon. The show was aired from 1st July 2007 to 7th March 2008. The show later announced on 13th March 2008 that it would have an additional 39 episodes, including the remaining episodes of season six.
The years that followed, from 2009-present, the show has had reruns of previous SpongeBob Episodes and only having very few new episodes. Nickelodeon, however, is still determined to bring back SpongeBob to its previous popularity.
Despite the decline in popularity, SpongeBob is an icon. Being used in commercials and in educational documentaries for kids.
SpongeBob surprise toys video can be found here.