When I pitched the show, I made this special seashell. You could pick it up and hear me singing, 'Spongeboy, Spongeboy!' I also made an aquarium with Patrick planted on the side, SpongeBob sitting on a barrel, and Squidward inside. I wore a Hawaiian shirt. I don't know what they thought of it.

Stephen Hillenburg

Categorized in : You Me Thought Singing

The main thing about SpongeBob is that he celebrates innocence. His outlook on life is very optimistic and earnest, and I think kids relate to that. He has a creative spark in the same way children are very creative from an open and naive perspective.

Stephen Hillenburg

think perspective life children

The morality we all grew up with and are accustomed to is what feels right.

Stephen Hillenburg

right up accustomed morality

You don't want to work on a job where you're looking at your watch.

Stephen Hillenburg

looking job you work

SpongeBob represents idiocy. He is dumb. Patrick is dumb. Mr. Krabs is greedy. Squidward is a snob and vain.

Stephen Hillenburg

he greedy vain dumb

Obviously, we're never going to say what the Krabby Patty secret formula is.

Stephen Hillenburg

going say never secret

It's not like the computer magically does it for you. Animation just takes forever.

Stephen Hillenburg

just like you forever

I never imagined that I'd end up in animation, but marine biology and art collided, and here we are!

Stephen Hillenburg

end never biology art

I was planning on being a starving artist.

Stephen Hillenburg

being starving planning artist

Twentysomethings thank me for their childhood... SpongeBob lives at the bottom of the sea, but he brings a lot of great stuff to the surface.

Stephen Hillenburg

great me childhood sea

I pitched the idea that SpongeBob and Patrick learn a swearword. Everyone said no. I couldn't even use a bleep. So I used a dolphin sound instead.

Stephen Hillenburg

learn everyone sound said

When SpongeBob's perseverance shines through, and you root for him - that's when the show is working.

Stephen Hillenburg

show through you perseverance

Generally, we try not to write down to kids. We really just try to write a visual, character-driven cartoon that has a lot of slapstick and really appeals to us. I guess we are just lucky that other adults find that amusing, too.

Stephen Hillenburg

down try lucky cartoon

I think it's amusing to watch a naive, well-meaning character kind of undo more cynical characters - kind of like watching Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chaplin.

Stephen Hillenburg

watching like think character

I eventually thought of SpongeBob, but he needed a last name - SquarePants came to mind.

Stephen Hillenburg

name last thought mind

For me personally, snorkeling in a cove in Hawaii, floating along, and looking at all the animals and the colors - I mean, that's pretty peaceful.

Stephen Hillenburg

looking colors me peaceful

The characters are likable. Even the villainous Plankton - he's still flawed, and you still root for him, in a way, and the style of humor is simple, and it's about human behavior, and everybody can identify with that.

Stephen Hillenburg

you style humor simple

Our characters act silly, even totally ridiculous at times, and most of our jokes don't come out of pop cultural references. It seems like we're aiming at a child audience, but everyone can laugh at the basic human traits that are funny. It's playful, the humor is playful, the world is playful. You can kind of let go.

Stephen Hillenburg

laugh you humor funny

SpongeBob is just made of cellulose, but he has parents who are natural sponges - he got the square gene.

Stephen Hillenburg

parents just who natural

I was just looking at a packet that had SpongeBob thong underwear, so it goes farther than I would imagine.

Stephen Hillenburg

looking just underwear imagine

I studied natural resources planning and thought I could get a job at some marine park. But I was great at art and so-so at marine biology. It's funny how the two eventually came together.

Stephen Hillenburg

great together funny art