List of SpongeBob SquarePants characters

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SpongeBob SquarePants main characters (from left to right): Mr. Krabs, Patrick, SpongeBob, Squidward, and Sandy.

The characters in SpongeBob SquarePants were created by artist, animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg. In addition to the series' main cast, various celebrities have voiced roles in SpongeBob SquarePants. Notably, Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway voice the roles of recurring characters Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy respectively, while others have taken a one off part.

Creation and conception

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Creator Stephen Hillenburg became an animator during his period of study at the California Institute of Arts.

Creator Stephen Hillenburg initially conceived the characters for SpongeBob SquarePants in 1984, while he was teaching and studying marine biology at what is now the Orange County Ocean Institute. During his period, Hillenburg became fascinated in 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. In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue his dream of becoming an animator.

Main characters

SpongeBob

SpongeBob SquarePants (Tom Kenny) is the main protagonist of the series. He is an optimistic, energetic, lively sea sponge who physically resembles an artificial, kitchen-type sponge and lives in a pineapple-shaped house. He is often shown in the series working at The Krusty Krab as a fry cook. SpongeBob's hobbies in the show include practicing karate with Sandy catching jellyfish and blowing bubbles. He attends Mrs. Puff's Boating School, but has never passed; his lack of a driver's license serves as a running gag throughout the series. HIs parents have very little faith in his ability to drive a boat until Ms. Puff falsely passes him for a brief period of time, shown in the episode "No Free Rides".

SpongeBob was originally named "SpongeBoy" by the series creators, but it was later changed due to trademark issues. Green and purple were early color choices for the character before his classic yellow was chosen.

Patrick

Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) (sometimes referred to as Patrick Starr in subtitles and credits) is a pink, lazy, overweight seastar who is SpongeBob's best friend and the deuteragonist of the series. He lives under a rock and his most prominent character trait is his lack of intelligence, which differs from one episode to another. In many episodes, Patrick is deprived of even the most rudimentary common sense and knowledge, though occasionally he will have bursts of great intelligence, much to the confusion of everyone around him. He is also considered one of the biggest dolts in all of the Nicktoons universe. Depicted as a negative influence on SpongeBob, he has encouraged dangerous and foolish activities that get the two into trouble.He is also to be very strong as in the episode "Karate Star" when he pushes a big rock off of Spongebob. Patrick is a career journeyman who is usually unemployed throughout the course of the series, but holds various short-term jobs as the storyline of each episode requires.

Squidward

Squidward Q. Tentacles (Rodger Bumpass) is SpongeBob and Patrick's effete cephalopod neighbor and is the main tritagonist of the series. His species is ambiguous, and has been referred to as both a squid and an octopus by the series' creators. Squidward lives in a house shaped like an Easter Island Head. He works as a cashier at the Krusty Krab, a job he dislikes. SpongeBob and Patrick consider Squidward their friend, but the feeling is not mutual.

In addition to his malcontent attitude, Squidward is depicted as narcissistic, displaying an unjustified air of superiority. As a result, he is delusional about his talents, such as playing the clarinet, though nobody around him considers him to be very good.

The series' animators illustrated Squidward with six tentacles (two arms and four legs), believing that giving him the eight tentacles of an octopus made him look too burdened.

Mr. Krabs

Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) is a cheap and selfish crab and the secondary tritagonist of the series. He is the owner of the Krusty Krab, as well as SpongeBob and Squidward's employer. Mr. Krabs's greed in the series is exaggerated to the point where he anthropomorphisizes money. At times, he will do nearly anything to obtain and keep money, with little regard for anyone's well-being, including his own(he once sold his own body to an oyster in exchange for his millionth dollar, and it's also known that he sold his soul to a number of sea demons). Mr. Krabs has a daughter named Pearl, who is a sperm whale. He speaks with a stereotypical Pirate accent.

Sandy Cheeks

Sandra "Sandy" Cheeks (Carolyn Lawrence) is a squirrel who is another of SpongeBob's best friends. She is the series' only terrestrial character, living in the "Treedome", which is an underwater dome that contains a large oak tree. She is a scientist who practices karate with SpongeBob and enjoys extreme sports. She is from the U.S. state of Texas, and speaks with a stereotypical Western accent.

The nature of Sandy's relationship with SpongeBob is somewhat ambiguous. SpongeBob has brought her flowers on several occasions, among other things. In a clip from Random Acts of SpongeBob, SpongeBob dropped Sandy a letter (with a bouquet of flowers) that called her the "smartest, prettiest squirrel in all of Bikini Bottom". It was on the Surprise Sandy Day. In Truth or Square, Sandy and SpongeBob get married in a play.

Gary

Gary (Tom Kenny) is SpongeBob's pet sea snail. Within the series, snails are analogous to cats, so Gary almost always vocalizes like a feline. Despite this, other characters can understand and communicate with him. Depicted as a level-headed character, Gary sometimes serves as a voice of reason for SpongeBob, and solves problems that his owner cannot.

Plankton

Plankton (Doug Lawrence) is a green copepod. He is Mr. Krabs' rival and the main antagonist of the series. He operates a struggling restaurant called the Chum Bucket across the street from the Krusty Krab. His primary goal in the series is to steal the Krabby Patty recipe and drive Mr. Krabs out of business and world domination. Mr. Krabs and Plankton were once friends, but a dispute over the Krabby Patty recipe ended their friendship. He also has teamed up with several of the Nicktoons universe's all time greatest villans, such as Mr. Crocker. SpongeBob also had a few temporary friendships with Plankton, such as in F. U. N.

Recurring characters

• Mrs. Puff (Mary Jo Catlett) - A puffer with blonde hair, who is the owner and teacher of a boating school (analogous to driving school, as the "boats" are underwater equivalents to cars). She has post-traumatic stress disorder due to countless wrecks while teaching SpongeBob, and often dreads teaching SpongeBob due to his reckless boat operation. It is mentioned that Mrs. Puff is not her actual name, saying that she'll have to change her name and go to a new town (because of Spongebob) but then decided against having to do it again. Mrs.Puff has a record of getting arrested because of SpongeBob.
• Mermaid Man (Old: Ernest Borgnine, Young: Adam West) and Barnacle Boy (Old: Tim Conway, Young: Burt Ward) are two elderly and partially senile superheroes who live in a retirement home, whom SpongeBob and Patrick watch on television. Mermaid Man is the older of the two and is the leader, while Barnacle Boy is his sidekick. According to their book, as seen in the episode "Ditchin'," they are implied to be brothers (and apparently the same age).
• Pearl Krabs (Lori Alan) is Mr. Krabs' sixteen-year-old (as of the episode "Whale of a Birthday") sperm whale daughter. She is frequently embarrassed by her father's cheap attitude, and often forces him to change is habits. Mr. Krabs dotes on her, and no attempt is made to explain their disparity in species. It is quite likely she was adopted.
• Larry the Lobster (Doug Lawrence) is a lobster lifeguard of the Goo Lagoon. Larry is a bodybuilder and workout fanatic. Despite his large and muscular physique, he is sometimes shown to be somewhat of a coward.
• The Flying Dutchman (Brian Doyle-Murray) is a pirate ghost named after a ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman. He lives underwater in a giant ship, and collects souls. he doesn't accept any kind of disrespect over his person, which is visible in his first appearance when he attempts in steal the souls of everybody in the Krusty Krab only because he dislike of SpongeBob dresses was the "Flying Dutchman". he also shown to have a number of supernatural powers over the series. In the episode "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" it is said that the reason the Flying Dutchman haunts the seven seas is because he was never buried when he died (his body was used as a window display). However, in the episode "Curse of Bikini Bottom" he mentions that he in fact was buried.
• Karen (Jill Talley) is Plankton's computer wife that often expresses human emotions with a female North Central American English accent. Karen usually helps Plankton in his schemes to steal the Krabby Patty formula or cause trouble in general. Arguing often in the series, Karen's schemes are either ignored or reiterated by Plankton to take credit for them.
• The French Narrator (Tom Kenny) speaks at the start of some episodes and during intertitles in American English with a French accent. He is shown in the series as a scuba diver with a TV camera. On the November 16, 2004 episode of the NPR program Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Kenny admitted that Jacques Cousteau was the inspiration for the French narrator, as series creator Stephen Hillenburg considered him an idol.
• Patchy the Pirate (Tom Kenny) is a live-action character who is a pirate and the president of the SpongeBob fan club.
• Harold SquarePants (Tom Kenny) and Mrs. Claire SquarePants (Sirena Irwin) are SpongeBob's parents, who more resemble sea sponges rather than SpongeBob's shape as a kitchen sponge.
• Squilliam Fancyson (Dee Bradley Baker) is Squidward Tentacles's wealthy arch-rival who has been able to succeed in everything Squidward has only dreamed of doing.
• Betsy Krabs (Paul Tibbitt; Sirena Irwin) is Mr. Krabs' overbearing mother.
• Man Ray (John Rhys-Davies & Guy Siner/Bob Joles) and the Dirty Bubble (Charles Nelson Reilly/Tom Kenny) are villains against Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Man Ray has a humanoid body with a mask and helmet, while the Dirty Bubble is portrayed as a literal giant bubble with a face. Charles Nelson Reilly was the primary voice actor for the Dirty Bubble, but Tom Kenny has portrayed the character in one episode after Reilly's death in 2007.
• Perch Perkins (Dee Bradley Baker) is a news reporter, seen in The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie as well as several episodes such as Once Bitten.
• Dr. Gill Gilliam (Rodger Bumpass) is Bikini Bottom's doctor, often seen in the hospital.
• Nancy Suzy Fish (Sirena Irwin in 1999-2000, Grey DeLisle in 2000-present) is a citizen of bikini bottom. She called SpongeBob a Talking Cheese in the episode "Band Geeks" and calling Squidward a nitwit in the episode "Good old what's his name". She is shown to be a some what of a rude character.

Minor characters

• Redbeard Krabs (Dennis Quaid) - Mr. Krabs's grandfather, a pirate who wears similar clothes to those worn by Mr. Krabs. He only appears in the episode "Grandpappy the Pirate".
• Bubble Bass (Dee Bradley Baker) - An obese bass who is SpongeBob's arch-nemesis. He made his first appearance in "Pickles", and also appears in F.U.N. when SpongeBob and Plankton are at the movie theatre.
• Stanley S. SquarePants (Christopher Guest) - SpongeBob's cousin who has a similar appearance to SpongeBob, but is much taller. SpongeBob and Stanley try to help each other whenever possible. Stanley is accident prone and causes destruction wherever he goes.
• Flatts (Thomas F. Wilson) - A mean flounder who went to community college with Patrick and bullies SpongeBob at Mrs. Puff's boating school in the episode "The Bully", for whom Mrs. Puff (Mary Jo Catlett) appreciates for that decision. He was first seen in "Sandy's Rocket" and "Texas".
• Grandma SquarePants (Marion Ross) and Grandpa SquarePants (Tom Kenny) - SpongeBob's grandparents. Grandpa SquarePants is mentioned in past tense and Grandma SquarePants lives alone and sometimes treats SpongeBob like he is still a little sponge.
• Old Man Jenkins (Doug Lawrence and Tom Kenny) - An elderly fish who used to live in the Krusty Krab care home before it became the Krusty Krab restaurant, and currently resides at Shady Shoals Retirement along with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. His appearance changes through some episodes. He is voiced by Doug Lawrence and Tom Kenny in separate episodes.
• Painty the Pirate (Patrick Pinney) - A painting of a pirate head that sings the SpongeBob SquarePants theme. Painty also makes minor appearances in several episodes.
• Mrs. Grisstelpuss - Mrs. Grisselpuss is a elderly lady who hated fun and delicious things such as Krabby Patties. She so far only appeared in the episode Banned in Bikini Bottom, where she banned Krabby Patties. After she tasted the Krabby Pattie she suddenly became a nicer and genteler fish. She is married to the chief of police who is officel Hal.
• Scooter (Carlos Alazraqui/Clancy Brown) - A lavender-colored fish who enjoys surfing. He allegedly died in the second-season episode "Bubble Buddy", except he also returned in future episodes. Scooter talks like a stereotypical surfer dude, but in future episodes he had different voices each episode he appeared in. He is mainly seen at Goo Lagoon.
• King Neptune (Paul Tibbitt/John O'Hurley (series) and Jeffrey Tambor (movie)) - The king of the ocean and Atlantis, King Neptune is a massive magical green merman with red glowing hair, although he looks slightly different from one appearance to another. Neptune also appears as one of the movie's characters, although with a very different appearance, including a blindingly bald head; in the movie, he is also shown to have a daughter named Mindy. In SpongeBob and the Clash of Triton, it is shown that he has a son named Triton and is married to Queen Amphitrite. His name is also used frequently as a substitute for "God" in colloquial phrases (e.g. "Sweet mother of Neptune!" and "What in Neptune's name is that?").
• Jack Kahuna Laguna (Johnny Depp) - A surfer who prefers to be called JKL, and helps SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward get home by teaching them how to surf. He only appears in the special episode "SpongeBob vs. The Big One".
• Jim the Original Frycook (Patton Oswalt) - A rich fry cook who used to work at the Krusty Krab and later quit because Mr. Krabs didn't give him enough money. He now works at the finest restaurants of Bikini Bottom and visits the Krusty Krab sometimes. He is much wealthier than Mr. Krabs.
• Janet (Clea Lewis) and Marty (Thomas F. Wilson) - Patrick's fake parents, appearing in the episode "I'm With Stupid".
• Nicolas Withers (Alton Brown) - The host of the House Fancy television show, in which Squidward and his rival Squilliam were competing against each other over whose house was better.
• Triton (Sebastian Bach) - King Neptune and Queen Amphitrite's son. He is also the brother of Mindy even though Mindy wasn't shown in the episode "Clash of Triton". Triton was always fascinated by the "mortal" world. When King Neptune destroyed Triton's cure for all "mortal" diseases, Triton confronts King Neptune, forcing King Neptune to lock him away in a cell that shrinks 7% of the way. Triton's first appearance was on the episode "Clash of Triton".
• Mindy (Scarlett Johansson) - King Neptune's and Queen Amphitrite's daughter (who only appears in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie) who tends to be sweeter and kinder than her dad, and helped Spongebob and Patrick with their journey in the movie. Unlike her father King Neptune, brother Triton and mother Queen Amphitrite, Mindy has no magical powers. Patrick seems to have a crush on Mindy, often calling her pretty and hot. Interestingly, she does not appear alongside her family in "Clash of Triton". This absence is unexplained.
• Queen Amphitrite (Victoria Beckham) - The wife of King Neptune, and the mother of Triton and Mindy. She tends to be very caring of her husband, even though it is not proven she shows a minor dislike for Mr.Krabs, after he called her a prankster on the phone pretending to be Amphitrite.
• Herb & Margie Star - Patrick's real mother & father who appeared to visit their son for Starfish Day in the episode "I'm With Stupid", However, they haven't appeared in the series since then..
• What Zit Tooya is the character who chased Squidward around Bikini Bottom because he stole his wallet. Squidward wanted to find his name to try to win a competition between him and Spongebob; the competition was to find out more of the Krusty Krab resturant's customers' names.
• The "Deuueaugh" fish - One of the fish people who shouted "My Leg!" in many episodes, "My Eyes!" in the movie and of course, "Deuueaugh!" in "Something Smells". This fish was actualy called Fred. Also is a Internet phenomena
• Tom the fish - Another one of the fish people who shouted "CHOCOLATE!" in the episode, "Chocolate with Nuts".
• Sea Bear (Dee Bradley Baker) - A sea creature that appears to look have a piranha body, claw tipped fins, and a grizzly bear head. It is stated that if one is playing a clarinet poorly, waving a flashlight, stomping on the ground, eating cubed cheese, wearing a sombrero in a goofy fashion (upside down), wearing a hoop skirt, wearing clown shoes, and/or screeching like a chimpanzee, an angry Sea Bear will be attracted. To protect ones' self from one, one must draw an Anti-Sea Bear Circle (it's the only way to ward off a sea bear attack). Squidward accidentally attracted one and got attacked by the sea bear.
• Sea Rhino (Dee Bradley Baker) - A sea creature that has the body of a sea turtle and shark, huge spikes, and has a rhino head. According to SpongeBob and Patrick, a sea rhino will be atracted by the sound of a sea bear attack (possibly to pick some scraps of meat that the sea bear left like vultures). Anti-Sea Rhino Undergarments are the only way to protect yourself from one. While SpongeBob and Patrick were wearing their Anti-Sea Rhino Undergarments, Squidward sees one and realized he didn't weared one (cause Squidward never wears any pants, except a swim suit).
• Nat Peterson - One of the Bikini Bottomites
• Patrick Not-Star - (Bill Fagerbakke) Patrick Not-Star is a starfish that looks like Patrick from behind who appeared in Hide and Then What Happens? when SpongeBob was looking for Patrick.
• Smitty Werber Jengar Man Jensen- (Dee Bradley Baker) a person who owned a soda drinking hat and was #1.
• Uncle Captain Blue - Uncle Captain Blue is Spongebob's uncle who served in the police force until he retired. He was only seen in the episode "Blackjack".

Guest Stars

Marion Ross as Grandma Squarepants, LeBron James as Himself, Laraine Newman as Grandma Plankton, P!nk as Herself, Dee Snider as Angry Jack, Robin Williams as Himself, Alton Brown as Nicholas Withers, Randy Brenner as Soprano, Ian McShane as Gordan the Viking, Thomas F. Wilson as Various, Patton Oswalt as Jim, Frank Welker as Gorilla and Mystery, Johnny Depp as JKL, Adam West as Young Mermaidman, Davy Jones as Himself, Burt Ward as Young Barnacleboy, Amy Poehler as Grandma, Bruce Brown as Narrator (The Big One), Ginnifer Goodwin as Lead Mermaid, Dean Kovanda as Fish (No Nose Knows), Mark Fite as Various, Sirena Irwin as Various, Amy Sedaris as Ma Angler, Dennis Quaid as Grandpa Redbeard, Kristen Wiig as Madame Hagfish, Mark Hamill as The Moth, Veronica Alicino as Courtroom Woman Fish, Vincent Waller as Foreman and Farmer Fish, Rosario Dawson as Herself, R. Lee Ermey as Warden, Eddie Deezen as Himself, Shannon Tweed as Mom Fish, Craig Ferguson as Himself, Gene Simmons as Sea Monster, Will Ferrell as Himself, David Bowie as Lord Royal Highness, Tina Fey as Herself, John O'Hurley as King Neptune (Series), Triumph the Insult Comic Dog as Himself, Victoria Beckham as Queen Amphitrite, Sebastian Bach as Triton, Scarlett Johanssen as Mindy, Alec Baldwin as Dennis, Jeffrey Tambor as King Neptune, David Hasselhoff as Himself, Gene Shalit as Gene Scallop, Carlos Alazraqui as Various, Zach Throne as Torch Vendor, Nigel Planer as Dr. Marmalade, Rik Mayall as Lord Reginald, Jesse David Corti as Kid Fish, Sara Paxton as Kid Fish, Paul Lutz as Store Clerk, Alex the Labrador as Himself, Brad Abrell as Bubble Buddy, Corky Carroll as Grubby Grouper, Pat Pinney as Painting, Camryn Walling as Kid Fish, Steve Kehela as Narrator (Idiot Box), Paul Tibbit as Doodlebob, Kent Osborne as Weenie #1, June Tedesco as Singing Scallops, Dee Bradley Baker as Squilliam and Various, Ray Liotta as Bubble Poppin Leader, Christopher Guest as Stanley S. Squarepants, Andrea Martin as Miss Priss, John DiMaggio as Blackjack Squarepants, Junior Brown as Singing Sandy, Ween as Musical Guest, Seth Mumy as Kid Fish, John Rhys-Davies as First Man Ray, Michael Patrick Bell as Santa, Austin Stout as Kid Fish, Pantera as Themselves, David Glen Eisley as Singing Spongebob (Band Geeks), Clea Lewis as Janet, Rodney Bingenheimer as The DJ (Krab Borg), Martin Olsen as Chief, Christopher Ryan as Prof. Percy, Pat Morita as Master Udon, Robin Sachs as Sergeant Rodrick, Garnett Sailor as Uncle Cap'n Blue, Greg Baldwin as Jack M. Crazyfish, Ricky Gervais as Himself (Voice), Neil Ross as The Cyclops, C.H. Greenblatt as Carl, Jim Jarmusch as Himself, John Lurie as Himself, Charles Nelson Reilly as First Dirty Bubble, Max Schrek as Nosferatu (Archive Footage) and Tiny Tim as Musical Guest.

Reception

The characters of SpongeBob SquarePants have been well-received overall. The titular character SpongeBob has become very popular with both children and adults. The character's popularity has spread from Nickelodeon's original demographic of two to eleven year olds, to teenagers and adults, including college campuses and celebrities such as Sigourney Weaver and Bruce Willis. The popularity of SpongeBob translated well into sales figures. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants dolls sold at a rate of 75,000 per week, which was faster than Tickle Me Elmo dolls were selling at the time. SpongeBob has gained popularity in Japan, specifically with Japanese women. Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom purposefully targeted marketing at women in the country as a method of building the SpongeBob SquarePants brand. Sceptics initially doubted that SpongeBob could be popular in Japan as the character's design is very different to already popular designs for Hello Kitty and Pikachu. However, the characters have also attracted negative reception, including SpongeBob himself, who was listed as number four on AskMen's Top 10: Irritating '90s Cartoon Characters. SpongeBob Squarepants was ranked on TV guide's top 50 cartoon characters.

Arthur Brown, author of Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Cartoons!, has compared Squidward's voice to that of Jack Benny's.

Appearances in other media

The characters of SpongeBob SquarePants have been parodied various times in popular culture. In 2007, the Amsterdam-based company Boom Chicago created a SpongeBob parody called "Back to Work!" in which a Chinese Patrick refuses to go to work and advocates freedom of speech and rights of leisure and income. During the same year, production company Camp Chaos created a SpongeBob parody entitled SpongeBong HempPants which features a multitude of the series' characters parodied in the form of various drugs. The series has received mixed reviews from television critics; Adam Finley of TV Squad believed the series sounded "hilarious on paper", but ultimately did not demonstrate its full potential. Spongebob and Patrick were also referenced in Phineas and Ferb when they dug a hole and found a sponge and a seastar.

References

General

• Banks, Steven (September 24, 2004). SpongeBob Exposed! The Insider's Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants. Schigiel, Gregg (Illustrator). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon. ISBN 978-0689868702. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Specific

External links

• List of characters at SpongePedia
• Full list of SpongeBob SquarePants characters at the SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki