And then came the new writers, and Spongebob went from "intelligent yet misguided" to "too stupid to live". 13-0: 10 Jan 21: The Spongebob Sportspants Countdown Special (30 min) "[41] It suited what Hillenburg liked for a show, "something that was fantastic but believable. He is best remembered for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. [116], Hillenburg died at his home on November 26, 2018, at the age of 57. [7] His mother, Nancy (née Dufour),[6] taught visually impaired students. "[51] It has received positive reviews from critics, and has been noted for its appeal to different age groups. ... Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web! And I thought now was a good time to step aside and look at a different project. The first episode aired on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999 and the series commenced its full run on July 17 of that year. [104] According to his death certificate, his body was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean at least 500 yards (460 m) off the coast of California[117] the next day.[118]. "[29][30] The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie grossed $140 million worldwide,[68] and received positive reviews from critics. It's the most charming toon on television, and one of the weirdest. [112] The foundation, the name of which was adopted from Hillenburg's United Plankton Pictures, supports areas of the two's personal interest,[111] giving under $500,000 annually as of 2017[update]. No exceptions. [61] As of 2015[update], it has generated $12 billion in merchandising revenue. [7] In the 1970s, someone took Hillenburg to the International Tournée of Animation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The cause of death was complications of the ALS disease. [33] Wormholes was shown at several international animation festivals,[25][33] including: the Annecy International Animated Film Festival; the Hiroshima International Animation Festival; the Los Angeles International Animation Celebration; the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen;[36] and the Ottawa International Animation Festival,[37] where it won Best Concept. "[41] He also wanted his series to stand out from most popular cartoons of the time exemplified by buddy comedies such as The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991–1995). [7][12] Hillenburg had planned to take a master's degree in art, but instead of "going back to school for painting",[7] he left his job in 1987 to become an animator. Fact #2: The first “SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” was released in November 2004 and it took 11 years before it was followed by another sequel: “SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.” Fact #3: According his driver’s license, SpongeBob was born in … Some of these details would come to light in 2007, in the wake of 2004’s first full-length SpongeBob movie, when the cartoonist Troy Walker would file a lawsuit against Nickelodeon claiming SpongeBob was a lift from his character Bob Spongee. [14][52] It first aired as a preview on May 1, 1999,[8][53] and officially premiered on July 17 of the same year. I had no idea about the implications, really, because I just thought it was a funny idea. I totally trusted him. He is best remembered for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series "[16] In 1984, he earned his bachelor's degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis on marine resources. [88][89] James Dobson of Focus on the Family accused the video of promoting homosexuality, because it was sponsored by a pro-tolerance group. As a result, he decided to focus on one main character: the weirdest sea creature that he could think of. Spongebob was intelligent yet misguided. "[42] In 1994,[15] Hillenburg began to further develop some characters from The Intertidal Zone,[7][15] including Bob the Sponge. Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator and marine science educator. Mostly because for some people, it never declined, and other people it may have always been bad. [10], He was known informally as "Steve" among his family, friends, and fans. Directed by Paul Tibbitt, Mike Mitchell. [91][92] Dobson later stated that his comments were taken out of context, and that his original complaints were not with SpongeBob, the video, or any of the characters in the video, but rather with the organization that sponsored the video, the We Are Family Foundation. On July 17, 2019, the series was renewed for its thirteenth season. The Spongebob of the first three seasons would be described as "innocent, misguided, kind". He became an idiot. [88] The incident prompted questions as to whether SpongeBob is gay. Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed in further developing the character. Spongebob Squarepants was the brainchild of Stephen Hillenburg. Ten months later, Taylor shared their plans to conceive their first child during a E! Reply. [62], In 2002, Hillenburg halted production of the show after the third season was completed to focus on the making of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie which was released in 2004:[63] "I don't want to try and do a movie and the series at the same time. [12], He attended Savanna High School in Anaheim,[4][9][13] describing himself as a "band geek" who played the trumpet. During the halftime show for Super Bowl LIII, the performing band Maroon 5 arranged to use a clip from the SpongeBob episode "Band Geeks" (which uses the song "Sweet Victory" as part of a spoof of a football halftime show) during their show as a means to pay tribute to Hillenburg. [97] He helped to write Diggs Tailwagger, a 2007 pilot by Derek Drymon. [40] He "ended up finding work in the industry and got a job" at the television network after he met the show's creator, Joe Murray,[33] at the 1992 Ottawa International Animation Festival,[12][21] where Wormholes and Murray's My Dog Zero were both in competition. ", "It finally dawned on me that if I was going to do my own show, all those things I lectured about and obsessed about would make for an interesting world. We ask that our sincere request for privacy be honored during this time." He seemed to fit the character type I was looking for—a somewhat nerdy, squeaky clean oddball. Report Save. The first one grossed more than $140 million. [4][35] In 2018, Hillenburg received the Winsor McCay Award at the 45th Annie Awards,[123] and a special recognition at the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards "for his contribution and impact made in the animation field and within the broadcast industry. "[11] Some of his high-school teachers, who knew of his interest in art and fascination with the ocean, advised him otherwise,[7] saying: "You should just draw fish. It will consist of 13 episodes. Fearing the show would become repetitive, creator Stephen Hillenburg and many of the other original writers left at the end of Season 3 following the 2004 release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. A Actually, one of my friends, my sophomore year in college, heard about “The SpongeBob Musical” when it first came out. This programming change increased the number of older viewers significantly. Variety first reported Hillenburg's death. [7][21][44][47] He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge, and realized that this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly:[7][21][24] "[I]t looked so funny. At that point, he had not even considered creating his own series:[7] "After watching Joe [Murray] tear his hair out a lot, dealing with all the problems that came up, I thought I would never want to produce a show of my own. [7] He hoped to work in a national park on the coast,[11] and eventually found a job at the Orange County Marine Institute (now known as the Ocean Institute),[11] an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history. An illustration which he drew in third grade, depicting "a bunch of army men ... kissing and hugging instead of fighting", brought him the first praise for his artwork, when his teacher commended it. "[7][14] However, the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him and he was more riveted by "making weird, little paintings". [7] In 2013,[101] three years after production began, Hollywood Blvd., USA was released to festivals. It takes forever." [121] The following year, Hillenburg was given the Television Animation Award from the National Cartoonists Society,[4][122] and the Princess Grace Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation. He was "knocked out" by the foreign animated films, including Dutch animator Paul Driessen's The Killing of an Egg (1977). [28], Hillenburg explained that "anything goes" in experimental animation. [95][96] Hillenburg announced the venture in a 2011 press release, where he said, "I'm hoping that fans will enjoy finally having a SpongeBob comic book from me. "[41] However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach:[7][24][45] "For all those years it seemed like I was doing these two totally separate things. SpongeBob Squarepants, however, was the leader of all these shows and had by this time started its now famous merchandise line. At that point, the show needed new blood and so I selected Paul [Tibbitt] to produce. [7] Hillenburg had at least one other short film that he made as an animation student but its title is unspecified. 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