Shortly following this, Hillenburg began developing SpongeBob SquarePants, using The Intertidal Zone as basis for the show following a discussion with Rocko writer Martin Olson, and teamed up with several Nickelodeon veterans and Rocko crew members, including creative director Derek Drymon, writers and directors Sherm Cohen and Dan Povenmire, writer Tim Hill, Martin Olson, animation director Alan Smart, and story editor Merriwether Williams. īy the time Rocko's Modern Life concluded in 1996, Hillenburg had rose to the rank of creative director and showrunner following Murray's departure from the show. In 1992, Joe Murray, who had just sold his show Rocko's Modern Life to Nickelodeon, met Hillenburg at an animation festival, and offered him a job as a director of the series. During his time at the California Institute of the Arts, he made his thesis film entitled Wormholes, which was funded by the Princess Grace Foundation and was later displayed at various animation festivals.
Spongebob squarepants episodes normal speed series#
While attending animation school, Hillenburg received a job on the children's television series Mother Goose and Grimm, and worked on the series from 1991 to 1993. In 1992, Hillenburg began to attend the California Institute of the Arts to study animation, having been accepted into the institute by Jules Engel, who was impressed with Hillenburg's previous work. He then later started drawing several rough sketches. In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue his dream of becoming an animator, and began to envision the possible concept of a project involving anthropomorphic sea life. During this period, Hillenburg became fascinated with animation, and wrote a comic book entitled The Intertidal Zone, starring various anthropomorphic forms of sea life, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters, including "Bob the Sponge", who was the co-host of the comic and resembled an actual sea sponge, as opposed to SpongeBob, who resembles a kitchen sponge. Stephen Hillenburg became an animator during his period of study at the California Institute of the Arts.Ĭreator Stephen Hillenburg initially conceived SpongeBob SquarePants in 1984, while he was teaching and studying marine biology at what is now the Orange County Ocean Institute. The season received positive reviews from media critics upon release. The pilot episode, " Help Wanted", was not included on the DVD due to copyright issues with the song " Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight" by Tiny Tim, which appears in the episode, but was later released as a bonus feature on various series DVDs, including that of the third season.
The SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 1st Season DVD was released in Region 1 on October 28, 2003, Region 2 on November 7, 2005, and Region 4 on November 30, 2006. Several compilation DVDs that contained episodes from the season were released. He chose "SquarePants" as a family name as it referred to the character's square shape and it had a "nice ring to it". Upon finding it out, Hillenburg decided to use the name "SpongeBob". The show was originally to be called SpongeBoy Ahoy!, but the name SpongeBoy was already in use for a mop product. To voice the character of SpongeBob, Hillenburg approached Tom Kenny, who had worked with him on Rocko's Modern Life. Hillenburg initially conceived the show in 1984 and began to work on it shortly after the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life in 1996. Among the first guest stars to appear on the show were Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway voicing the superhero characters of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, respectively. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, and Lori Alan. The show features the voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The first season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, aired on Nickelodeon from May 1, 1999, to March 3, 2001, and consists of 20 episodes (41 segments).