{{#media.media_details}} Stephen Hillenburg, who created SpongeBob SquarePants and the absurd undersea world he inhabited, has died at age 57, Nickelodeon announced Tuesday. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 57 on November 26th 2018. Why did he leave?!? In this Jan. 31, 2015 file photo, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg attends the world premiere of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water in New York. Paul Tibbitt, who worked on the show for 18 years, 11 of them as showrunner, was even blunter on Twitter when he heard news of Kamp Koral. But this is some greedy, lazy executive-ing right here, and they ALL know full well Steve would have HATED this. I do not keep up with it anymore, mostly because my interests have changed. Spongebob Squarepants creator Stephen Hillenburg has died at age 57.According to Variety, Hillenburg’s cause of death was ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.“We are … Relevance. A third – The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run – landed on Netflix on Thursday, November 5th 2020 and some audiences have found themselves curious about the dedication at the end…. Junko Kimura / Getty Images file Nov. 27, 2018, 5:46 PM UTC / Updated Nov. 27, 2018, 7:23 PM UTC Stephen Hillenburg is the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), Nickelodeon's highest-rated cartoons for children and a staple of American television. Why did creator Stephen Hillenburg leave Spongebob? Why did Stephen Hillenburg leave spongebob? The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was a colossal success upon release in 2004 and another feature-length effort arrived in 2015 with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Utilising his passion for art, he wrote and illustrated stories to help teach involving characters that would go on to become iconic and fully imagined in the Nickelodeon series. Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of Nickelodeon’s signature cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants, died on Monday. His tragic death shook SpongeBob SquarePants fans in 2018 and the latest movie is dedicated to him. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Stephen Hillenburg, Writer: SpongeBob SquarePants. Stephen Hillenburg: marine biologist who created SpongeBob SquarePants. Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and developed an interest in art. Answer Save. He is best remembered for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Hillenburg died Monday of Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as ALS, the cable network said in a statement. Get the best of Fatherly in your inbox, Democrats Want to Dramatically Expand—and Transform—the Child Tax Credit, Just 10 Billionaires Made Enough Pandemic Dough To Vaccinate Whole World, Hunter Biden's Infant Is Named After Beau. It had adult humor and was da bomb! pic.twitter.com/VZMcBkEEcs. Stephen Hillenburg poses with "SpongeBob SquarePants" in Tokyo in 2006. In 1984, Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University with a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation, with an emphasis on Marine Resources. Paul Tibbit, a good friend of Hillenburg, and also the executive producer who took over the original show after he left in season 4, also confirmed this via Twitter that he would not want this to Hillenburg’s contemporaries back this up. Who is Stephen Hillenburg? Steven Hillenburg, the creator of “SpongeBob Squarepants,” died at the age of 57 after a year-long battle with ALS. Hillenburg loved the sound of “square pants” when attached to SpongeBob, and also liked that it not only described the character’s attire, but also his base personality- kind of a square. It Sure Looks Like We're in a COVID Baby Bust, This Vintage Simpsons Clip Shows Some of the Best Parenting Ever on TV, Watch Tom Brady Climb Stands To Hug Son After Clinching Super Bowl Game. However, he didn’t completely wash his hands clean of the characters and has quietly been involved with SpongeBob Comics, which have been published since 2011 by Bongo Comics. YaDiGG. Shame on them. Something went wrong. He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. But if anything, Stephen Hillenburg will leave behind a legacy of laughs. The animation is incredible, the jokes are hilarious, and this movie has provided my new favorite SpongeBob scene in history. Creator Stephen Hillenburg resigned from a showrunner capacity following the third season in 2004 and the subsequent dip in quality became apparent. I watched The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run on Netflix. SpongBob also went on to become big screen adaption –The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie(2004) and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water(2015). Unfortunately, he died as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neurone disease (MND). Hillenburg's love for the sea and its creatures inspired him to create teaching tools for his students with characters that wou… But after the spongebob movie the producers changed and it got really dull and stupid! — Vincent Waller (@VincentWaller72) April 13, 2017. But until the June announcement of Kamp Koral, a spinoff series about a young Spongebob’s adventures at camp, there was only one Spongebob television show. So I don’t see any spin-offs.” Hillenburg went on to say that he didn’t even want to do another movie. When you run out of ideas, you just do Muppet Babies. Answer Moved onto another position so he could focus on other ventures as well. Vincent Waller, a former storyboard artist and creative director and current showrunner, addressed a fan’s question about crossovers all the way back in 2017. We know this because an enterprising Redditor, hearing rumors that Hillenburg was anti-spinoff put out a call for evidence that the influential animator, who sadly died last year, would not be on board with Kamp Koral. Fifteen … He gained a Master of Fine Arts in 1992, winning a Best Animated Concept award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival the very same year for his short Wormholes. Variety includes that he was diagnosed with ALS in March 2017 and cites a statement Nickelodeon made after Stephen’s passing: “We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS. Stephen Hillenburg was the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants and made a name for himself as an American animator and marine science educator. With SpongeBob SquarePants later on, he served as the showrunner for the first three seasons between 1999 and 2004. On the one hand, it’s a shame that Hillenburg’s life’s work is going in a direction he clearly wasn’t a fan of. Nickelodeon owns the show and is eager to wring every last cent out of it. He had been seen on multiple occasions explaining that. The animator and former marine biology instructor created a powerho… That’s when I’m out of here.'”. It’s a sad day not just under the sea but everywhere as Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, has died at the age of 57. Simply titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, it seems that the late Stephen Hillenburg intended the feature to cap off the spongy, yellow fry cook's story for good. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was almost SpongeBob’s final adventure, but Nickelodeon had bigger plans for him and the rest of Bikini Bottom. {{#media.focal_point}}. Stephen was born on August 21st, 1961 in Lawton, Oklahoma and raised in Anaheim, California. Reddit did not disappoint. Give us a little more information and we'll give you a lot more relevant content, Oops! Spongebob Squarepants the TV show has inspired a Broadway musical, two films, and enough merchandise to cover Bikini Bottom. This led to the beginnings of a career in animation in 1987 as he pursued a degree in Experimental Animation at the California Institute of Arts in Valencia. For context, Hillenburg was strongly against spinoffs and "aging down" SpongeBob's character. From the years 1998-2004 Spongebob was HILARIOUS! Snap. Tibbitt was reiterating a point he’d made in a 2018 story for Longreads marking the 20th anniversary of the show. The second after the credits, it has the date and year on it. Nickelodeon decided to make a new spin-off series of Spongebob, however, Stephen Hillenburg specifically said he did not want to have any spin-offs. Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the animated show "SpongeBob Squarepants," has died following a battle with the neurodegenerative disease ALS. Hillenburg had announced he had the disease in March 2017. And thirdly, it taught me to try and try again, like Spongebob tries again and again to get his driver’s license. It's a nice movie with lots of funny moments and an amazing animation/art style. Patrick by himself might be a bit too much. Stephen Hillenburg, the animator whose childhood summers on a Maine island later inspired him to create “SpongeBob Squarepants,” died Monday in California at the age of 57, according to Nickelodeon, the network that runs the show. But until the June announcement of Kamp Koral, a spinoff series about a young Spongebob’s adventures at camp, there was only one Spongebob television show. Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator and marine science educator. He was 57. Why did creator Stephen Hillenburg leave Spongebob? Bless his soul and the souls of the awesome crew. But despite Hillenburg’s clear preference that Spongebob not be spun off, Kamp Koral is coming. He was a genius, and every since he left the show went down the hill big time, like seriously watching the new episodes in the Sponge Bash was just horrible. Reflecting on Stephen’s life, Variety highlights that he graduated from Humboldt State University in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation; it’s worth noting with an emphasis on marine resources. Love the Stephen Hillenburg memory in the end. Steve [Hillenburg] would always say to me, ‘You know, one of these days, they’re going to want to make SpongeBob Babies. However, fans will also have cherished memories with the films too! ↓ Stephen Hillenburg shares his interest in Marine Biology and how it eventually led him to create SpongeBob SquarePants! Immediately after the death of SpongeBob SquarePants' creator, Stephen Hillenburg, Nickelodeon announced that it was planning "over half a dozen" spinoffs of his show. The reason for that is simple: creator Stephen Hillenburg did not want spinoffs. FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, file photo, Stephen Hillenburg attends the world premiere of "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water" at AMC Lincoln Square in New York. It’s the one and only SpongeBob SquarePants, obviously. “In the animation business, you know, there always used to be the sort of joke. “The show is about SpongeBob, he’s the core element, and it’s about how he relates to the other characters. Please contact. Have something to tell us about this article? In that same Longreads story, Nick president Brian Robbins called Spongebob Squarepants “our Marvel universe,” and promised spin-off shows, of which Kamp Koral is merely the first one. Stephen Hillenburg was the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants and made a name for himself as an American animator and marine science educator. Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humour and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere.”, They added: “His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run ends with a touching tribute, presenting audiences with an illustration of SpongeBob along with the words: “In Memory of Stephen Hillenburg.”, The tribute has led to many voicing their thanks and appreciation on Twitter, For those who are asking about Title Tribute Card on Stephen Hillenburg, There are TWO between before and after the credit of the movie "SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run". His career as a marine biology teacher at the Orange County Marine Institute in Dana Point, California began there and this is where the seeds for SpongeBob were first sown. (The third Spongebob film premieres next May). Sign up for the Fatherly newsletter to get original articles and expert advice about parenting, fitness, gear, and more in your inbox every day. Today, the show is still going, with a third movie on the way in 2020. Executive Producer Stephen Hillenburg attends the World Premiere of "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water 3D" at the AMC Lincoln Square on 31 January, 2015 in New York City. Something went wrong please contact us at support@fatherly.com. So how should fans feel? The delightful sea sponge has been delighting audiences since back in 1999 when the show officially premiered on Nickelodeon. — Paul Tibbitt (@paultibbitt) June 4, 2019. SpongeBob SquarePants was created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg, and made its official debut on Nickelodeon in 1999. In other news, why did Christy leave Mom? He was a genius, and every since he left the show went down the hill big time, like seriously watching the new episodes in … Being a former marine biologist, Stephen Hillenburg knew the importance of ocean and it’s living beings. Spongebob Squarepants the TV show has inspired a Broadway musical, two films, and enough merchandise to cover Bikini Bottom. Over the years, the likes of Mr Krabs, Sandy, Patrick – even Squidward – have become fond friends for many and the cartoon is widely regarded as one of the greatest kids shows of all time. On the other, the chance to further explore the world he created is not one they’ll likely be able to resist. 1 Answer. However, I dislike the Camp Coral flashbacks because it's an obvious setup for a spinoff. I do not mean any disrespect to my colleagues who are working on this show. Stephen Hillenburg would have loved this. He became a marine biology teacher at the Orange County Marine Institute--now known as the Ocean Institute--in Dana Point, California. Oops! They are good people and talented artists. 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). There’s this 2009 interview with Television Business International in which Hillenburg was asked about spinoffs featuring other characters. They jumped at this chance as soon as possible, since Hillenburg always said no to the idea of a spinoff. What do you want the president to prioritize in the next four years? #Amazing pic.twitter.com/N8nEniZWu7, Sponge On The Run is an amazing movie. Who is Stephen Hillenburg? 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