Soaking Up Love

Ten years. I never imagined working on the show to this date and this long … , says Hillenburg,speaking by phone from Southern California. I really figured we might get a season and a cult following,and that might be it.

Judging by the roster of fawning superfans on Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants,the irresistibly feel-good VH1 documentary that marks the 10th anniversary of the Nickelodeon phenomenon that is “SpongeBob,” this is some cult to have.

Comic Ricky Gervais,deadpanning to the camera,says: I like the fact that hes porous. I like the fact he wears pants. LeBron James,the gazillionaire NBA hoopster,cites his respect for Mr. Krabs (intriguingly,the shows resident tightwad) before pivoting into the infectiousness of Squidward Tentacles laugh. And then there are the Benetton-like faces of schoolkids around the worldChina,Germany,Australiawho,in various languages,literally speak to the shows global popularity. (The show,which draws 70 million viewers monthly,is seen in 171 markets in 25 languagesand is the most widely distributed property in MTV Networks history,generating $8 billion in worldwide retail sales to date.)

So just how does a wide-eyed sponge who refuses to be snarky or cynical or topical win over the cable-wired world? How does it happen that,in the words of television scholar Robert Thompson,the global territory that had once been dominated by Mickey Mouse was now being rehabitated by SpongeBob SquarePants?

Hillenburgwhose Nickelodeon office sign has read: Have Fun or Youre Firedbelieves the success is anchored by SpongeBobs sincerity and purity. Partly,I think SpongeBob is born out of my love of Laurel and Hardy shorts, says Hillenburg,citing the kidlike relationship between SpongeBob and sidekick Patrick the starfish as the shows comedic core. Youve got that kind of idiot-buddy situationthat was a huge influence.

Tom Kenny,the man of a thousand voices whose rubber gullet gives voice to SpongeBob,points squarely to Hillenburgs vision for this pure and fully formed environment. Its really that everything is from the shows templatethats Steve. Its that machine he built in his garagelong before he brought his show to Nickelodeon…, Kenny says.

This weekend,when Nickelodeon airs a 50-hour marathon that includes new shows,old episodes and the SpongeBob SquarePants theatrical filmwith a top-10 countdown of celebrities favorite episodes.

SpongeBob has certainly drawn its share of A-list celebrity guest-voices over the years,including Johnny Depp,Amy Poehler and David Bowie. Still,the shows acknowledged First Fan has yet to appear.

Yeah,SpongeBob SquarePants is his favorite TV cartoon, Hillenburg muses about President Obamas fandom,pausing on that fact as if its some bizarre new coral. That leaves me kind of speechless.

So would Obama get a guest-voice gig if he called on the hotline? I can say,President Obamas call certainly would get through, says Hillenburg,momentarily deflecting the question. But we only would cast someone if they came right out of the story. In other words: No kowtowing to power hereweve got a Higher Creative Mission to Accomplish.

Thats right: Perhaps the only Hollywood actor never to have compromised himselfthe mega-celeb with the steeliest artistic spine everis an invertebrate. He remains the sponge with the ideals of an innocent. And Hillenburg still guards SpongeBobs onscreen purity like a sparkly-eyed newborn.