Stephen Hillenburg

Stephen McDannell Hillenburg{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/spongebob-squarepants-creator-stephen-hillenburg-dies-at-57/2018/11/27/9b3d4a80-f270-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html|title='SpongeBob SquarePants' creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57|last=Schudel|first=Matt|date=November 27, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings|access-date=December 10, 2018}} was born on August{{nbsp}}21, 1961 at Fort Sill,{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=120}}{{harvnb|Lenburg|2006|p=140}}{{Cite journal|author=K.E.D.|title=Cover Biography for April 2003|url=http://www.hwwilson.com/Currentbio/cover_bios/cover_bio_4_03.htm|journal=Current Biography| access-date=December 20, 2013|date=April 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814094924/http://www.hwwilson.com/Currentbio/cover_bios/cover_bio_4_03.htm|archive-date=August 14, 2011}}{{cite news|author=Staff writer(s)|title=FleshStephen RoundPants|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-484884.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=Nash Holdings|access-date=December 20, 2013|date=October 15, 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610170810/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-484884.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014}} a United States Army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, where his father, Kelly N. Hillenburg Jr. (1936–2006),{{cite news|author=Staff writer(s)|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2008/09/25/obituaries/kelly-n-hillenburg-jr/ |title=Kelly N. Hillenburg Jr.|newspaper=Bangor Daily News|publisher=Bangor Publishing Company| location=Islesford and Morro Bay, California |date=September 25, 2008|access-date=November 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224032606/http://bangordailynews.com/2008/09/25/obituaries/kelly-n-hillenburg-jr/|archive-date=February 24, 2016|url-status=live}} worked for the U.S. military and was a Methodist.{{cite AV media |people=Wilson, Tom (interviewer); Hillenburg, Stephen (interviewee) |date=May 29, 2012 |title=Big Pop Fun #28: Stephen Hillenburg, Artist and Animator–Interview |url=http://ec.libsyn.com/p/d/9/8/d98c6fd6cc81f188/BPF28_Stephen_Hillenburg_artist_and_animator.mp3?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028ed5089ab1ce3dae902ea1d01c08031d1c85f7cb2&c_id=4560686 |format=mp3 |medium=Podcast |publisher=Nerdist Industries |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6M1QBJ1BZ?url=http://ec.libsyn.com/p/d/9/8/d98c6fd6cc81f188/BPF28_Stephen_Hillenburg_artist_and_animator.mp3?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028ed5089ab1ce3dae902ea1d01c08031d1c85f7cb2&c_id=4560686 |archive-date=December 21, 2013 |url-status=live}} His mother, Nancy (née Dufour), taught visually impaired students and came from a Methodist family.{{Cite web |title=Obituary information for Lucille H Dufour |url=https://www.wendtfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Lucille-H-Dufour?obId=22867429 |access-date=August 25, 2024 |website=www.wendtfuneralhome.com}} When he was a year old, the family moved to Orange County, California, where his father began a career as a draftsman and designer in the aerospace industry. His younger brother, Bryan, eventually became a draftsman/designer as well.

When an interviewer asked Hillenburg to describe himself as a child, he replied that he was "probably well-meaning and naive like all kids."{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=121}} His passion for sea life can be traced to his childhood, when films by Jacques Cousteau, a French oceanographer, made a strong impression on him.{{harvnb|Banks|2004|p=8}} Hillenburg said that Cousteau "provided a view into that world", which he had not known existed. He liked to explore tide pools as a child, bringing home objects that "should have been left there and that ended up dying and smelling really bad."{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/10/15/its-hip-to-be-square/e62ddc21-5f0a-46ad-ae55-f6bd5383c859/|title=It's Hip To Be Square|author1=Staff writer(s)|date=October 15, 2001|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212093102/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/10/15/its-hip-to-be-square/e62ddc21-5f0a-46ad-ae55-f6bd5383c859/|archive-date=February 12, 2017|url-status=live|publisher=Nash Holdings}}

Hillenburg also developed his interest in art at a young age.{{cite news|author=Staff writer(s)|title=Happy Birthday SpongeBob SquarePants!|url=http://www.pgfusa.com/news/view/Happy-Birthday-SpongeBob-SquarePants/|publisher=Princess Grace Foundation-USA|access-date=December 27, 2016|date=April 25, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230182429/http://www.pgfusa.com/news/view/Happy-Birthday-SpongeBob-SquarePants/|archive-date=December 30, 2016}} His first drawing was of an orange slice. An illustration which he drew in third grade, depicting "a bunch of army men{{nbsp}}... kissing and hugging instead of fighting", brought him the first praise for his artwork, when his teacher commended it. "Of course, this is 1970{{nbsp}}... She liked it because, I mean, obviously that was in the middle of [the Vietnam War]. She was, I would imagine, not a hundred percent for the war like a lot of people then. ...{{nbsp}}I had no idea about the implications, really, because I just thought it was a funny idea. I remember that still, that moment when she said, 'oh my gosh, look at that'", Hillenburg elaborated. It was then when he knew he "had some [creative] skill". He asserted that his artistry came from his mother's side, despite his father being a draftsman, noting that his maternal grandmother was "really, really gifted" and a "great painter". In the 1970s, someone took Hillenburg to the International Tournée of Animation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was "knocked out" by the foreign animated films, including Dutch animator Paul Driessen's The Killing of an Egg (1977). "That was the film that I thought was uniquely strange and that lodged itself in my head early on," he recounted.

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He attended Savanna High School in Anaheim,{{cite news|last=Wilson|first=Amy|title=Stephen Hillenburg created the undersea world of SpongeBob|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82792771.html|newspaper=Orange County Register|publisher=Digital First Media|access-date=December 20, 2013|date=February 12, 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610060614/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-82792771.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014}} describing himself as a "band geek" who played the trumpet. At age 15, he snorkeled for the first time; Hillenburg took part in a "dive program" at Woods Coves in Laguna Beach, as part of the Regional Occupational Program at Savanna. This experience, as well as subsequent dives, reinforced his interest in, and led to his decision to study, marine biology in college: "The switch clicked and I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist, but I also liked being an artist." Some of his high-school teachers, who knew of his interest in art and fascination with the ocean, advised him otherwise, saying: "You should just draw fish." However, the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him and he was more riveted by "making weird, little paintings". During a few summers after finishing high school, he worked as a fry cook and lobster boiler{{cite web|title=Walker v. Viacom ND Cal May 2008|url=http://www.loeb.com/files/Publication/dc335f53-5049-4947-bccc-0f83952ad07e/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/f3032e0c-c206-42ab-827e-0fa4b30f0be1/Walker%20v%20Viacom%20ND%20Cal%20May%202008.pdf|publisher=United States District Court for the Northern District of California|access-date=January 12, 2014|date=May 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405114908/http://www.loeb.com/files/Publication/dc335f53-5049-4947-bccc-0f83952ad07e/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/f3032e0c-c206-42ab-827e-0fa4b30f0be1/Walker%20v%20Viacom%20ND%20Cal%20May%202008.pdf|archive-date=April 5, 2012}} at a fast-food seafood restaurant in Maine. (This later inspired SpongeBob SquarePants's occupation in the television series.)

Hillenburg went to Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, as a marine-science major. He minored in art, and said that "[he] blossomed as a painter in Humboldt."{{cite news|url=http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/general-news/20110628/famous-humboldt-from-the-redwoods-to-the-limelight|title=Famous Humboldt: From the redwoods to the limelight|last=Cochrane|first=Myles|date=June 28, 2011|work=Ukiah Daily Journal|access-date=December 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309105438/http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/general-news/20110628/famous-humboldt-from-the-redwoods-to-the-limelight|archive-date=March 9, 2016|url-status=dead|publisher=Digital First Media}} In 1984, he earned his bachelor's degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis on marine resources.{{cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-98968138.html|title='SpongeBob SquarePants': It all started with science|last=Storm|first=Jonathan|date=March 19, 2003|access-date=December 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610193444/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-98968138.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014|url-status=dead|publisher=Knight Ridder}} He intended to take a master's degree, but said it would be in art: "Initially I think I assumed that if I went to school for art I would never have any way of making a living, so I thought it might be smarter to keep art my passion and hobby and study something else. But by the time I got to the end of my undergrad work, I realized I should be in art."

File:Ocean Institute, aerial shot, cropped.png (pictured) in Dana Point, California, during the mid-1980s.]]

After graduating from college, Hillenburg held various jobs in 1984, including as a park service attendant in Utah and an art director in San Francisco, before landing the job he wanted: teaching children. He hoped to work in a national park on the coast, and eventually found a job at the Orange County Marine Institute (now the Ocean Institute), an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history.{{cite web|url=http://www.ocean-institute.org/about-institute|title=About the Institute|work=Ocean Institute |access-date=December 24, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218084635/http://www.ocean-institute.org/about-institute|archive-date=December 18, 2015}} Hillenburg was a marine biology teacher there for three years: "We taught tide-pool ecology, nautical history, diversity and adaptation. Working there, I saw how enamored kids are with undersea life, especially with tide-pool creatures."{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2002-04-13-0204120631-story.html|title=Hip To Be Square|last1=Levine|first1=Bettijane|date=April 13, 2002|work=Sun-Sentinel|access-date=January 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110014603/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2002-04-13/lifestyle/0204120631_1_spongebob-theme-song-spongebob-squarepants-spongebob-s-success/2|archive-date=January 10, 2017|url-status=live|publisher=Tronc}} He stayed at the Dana Point Marina and was also a staff artist. Although "[i]t was a great experience" for him, he realized he was more interested in art than his chosen profession.{{cite news|last=Whipp|first=Glenn|title=Soaking in Success How a Mild-Mannered Surfer and Marine Biologist Turned His Innocent Animated Character Into a $1.5 Billion Enterprise|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-125185580.html|newspaper=Daily News|access-date=December 26, 2013|date=November 23, 2004|location=Los Angeles, California|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610183125/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-125185580.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014}}

While working there, one of the educational directors asked him if he would be interested in creating an educational comic book about the animal life of tidal pools.{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-us-tv-spongebobs-milestone-071309-2009jul13-story.html|title=10 years for TV's favorite sponge|author=David Bauder|date=July 13, 2009|access-date=December 7, 2023|agency=Associated Press}} He created a comic called The Intertidal Zone, which he used to teach his students. It featured anthropomorphic forms of sea life, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters{{harvnb|Banks|2004|p=9}}{{snd}}including "Bob the Sponge", the comic's co-host, who resembled a realistic sea sponge, as opposed to his later SpongeBob SquarePants character, a sea sponge whose stylized square shape resembles a kitchen sponge.{{cite AV media|last1=Hillenburg|first1=Stephen|last2=Murray|first2=Joe|last3=Drymon|first3=Derek|last4=Coleman|first4=Eric|last5=Hecht|first5=Albie|date=2003|title=The Origin of SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment}} He tried to get the comic published, but the publishers he approached turned him down.

During this time, Hillenburg also started attending animation festivals such as the International Tournée of Animation and Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation, where student films from the California Institute of the Arts (colloquially called CalArts) were shown. He determined that he wanted to pursue a career in that field. He had planned to take a master's degree in art, but instead of "going back to school for painting", he left his job in 1987 to become an animator.

Hillenburg enrolled in CalArts's Experimental Animation Program in 1989. About this decision, he said: "Changing careers like that is scary, but the irony is that animation is a pretty healthy career right now and science education is more of a struggle."{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=122}} He studied under Jules Engel,{{cite news|last1=Baisley|first1=Sarah|title=Jules Engel Tribute|url=http://www.awn.com/news/jules-engel-tribute|publisher=Animation World Network|access-date=December 28, 2016|date=September 11, 2003|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229031257/http://www.awn.com/news/jules-engel-tribute|archive-date=December 29, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Street|first1=Rita|title=Jules Engel, Mentor & Inspired Artist Passes|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/people/jules-engel-mentor-inspired-artist-passes/|access-date=December 28, 2016|date=September 8, 2003|work=Animation Magazine|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229032106/http://www.animationmagazine.net/people/jules-engel-mentor-inspired-artist-passes/|archive-date=December 29, 2016}} the founding director of the program, whom he considered his "Art Dad" and mentor.{{cite web|title=Memorable Quotes|url=http://www.jules-engel.com/|website=Jules-Engel|access-date=January 1, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025234357/http://www.jules-engel.com/|archive-date=October 25, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Visualizing Art History: Experimental Animation & Its Mentor, Jules Engel|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/visualizing-art-history-experimental-animation-its-mentor-jules-engel/|website=Indiegogo|access-date=August 18, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060535/http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/visualizing-art-history-experimental-animation-its-mentor-jules-engel|archive-date=September 21, 2013}} Impressed by The Intertidal Zone, Engel accepted him into the program. Hillenburg said, "[Engel] also was a painter, so I think he saw my paintings and could easily say, 'Oh, this guy could fit in to this program.' I don't have any [prior experience in] animation really." Hillenburg graduated in 1992, earning a Master of Fine Arts in experimental animation. During his time at CalArts, he briefly drew comics for the surfing magazine KEMA in 1990.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/392191004854|title=SpongeBob Creator Stephen Hillenburg, Memorabilia Surf Cartoons B-4 Sponge Bob|website=eBay|access-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190320/https://www.ebay.com/itm/392191004854|archive-date=July 9, 2021}}

Hillenburg's graphic influences were George Herriman, E. C. Segar, Bill Watterson, Dr. Seuss, Max Fleischer, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Jay Ward, Jules Engel, Matt Groening, Joe Murray and John Kricfalusi;{{cite web |title=StephenHillenburg |url=http://lambiek.net/artists/h/hillenburg_stephen.htm}} the latter was inspired to have many close-up shots in several SpongeBob episodes to have grotesque and extremely detailed drawings. He had also cited Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, The Three Stooges, W.C. Fields, Jerry Lewis, Jacques Cousteau, Jim Henson's The Muppets and Paul Reubens' Pee-wee Herman for his comedic influences.

File:The Green Beret and Wormholes by Stephen Hillenburg.jpg

Hillenburg made his first animated works, short films The Green Beret (1991) and Wormholes (1992), while at CalArts. The Green Beret was about a physically challenged Girl Scout with enormous fists who toppled houses and destroyed neighborhoods while trying to sell Girl Scout cookies. Wormholes was his seven-minute thesis film,{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-21-ca-calarts21-story.html|title=CalArts gets its close-up|last1=Lieberman|first1=Paul|date=May 21, 2006|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229030830/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/21/entertainment/ca-calarts21|archive-date=December 29, 2016|url-status=live}} about the theory of relativity. He described the latter as "a poetic animated film based on relativistic phenomena" in his grant proposal in 1991 to the Princess Grace Foundation,{{cite news|author=Staff writer(s)|title=PGF-USA Newsletter: SpongeBob's Dad Tells All|url=http://www.pauleisenberg.com/PGFUSA%20Newsletter.pdf|publisher=Princess Grace Foundation-USA|access-date=January 12, 2014|year=2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918141600/http://www.pauleisenberg.com/PGFUSA%20Newsletter.pdf|archive-date=September 18, 2013|url-status=live}} which assists emerging artists in American theater, dance, and film.{{cite web|title=Princess Grace Foundation-USA Mission Statement|url=http://www.pgfusa.org/about/mission|publisher=Princess Grace Foundation-USA|access-date=January 10, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129012442/http://www.pgfusa.org/about/mission|archive-date=November 29, 2016}} The foundation agreed to fund the effort, providing Hillenburg with a Graduate Film Scholarship. "It meant a lot," he said in 2003. "They funded one of the projects I'm most proud of, even with SpongeBob. It provided me the opportunity just to make a film that was personal, and what I would call independent, and free of some of the commercial needs." Wormholes was shown at several international animation festivals, including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the Los Angeles International Animation Celebration, the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen,{{cite web|title=Kids Showcase|url=https://www.animationfestival.ca/archives/2005/prog_show_kids.php|publisher=Ottawa International Animation Festival|access-date=January 5, 2017|year=2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105180548/https://www.animationfestival.ca/archives/2005/prog_show_kids.php|archive-date=January 5, 2017}} and the Ottawa International Animation Festival,{{cite web|title=Ottawa International Animation Festival 1992 Edition (September 29 – October 4, 1992)|url=http://www.animationfestival.ca/archives/1992/ottawa92.html|publisher=Ottawa International Animation Festival|access-date=December 26, 2013|year=1992|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526045417/http://www.animationfestival.ca/archives/1992/ottawa92.html|archive-date=May 26, 2012}} where it won Best Concept.{{cite web|title=1992 Ottawa International Animation Festival|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0001323/1992|publisher=Ottawa International Animation Festival|access-date=December 20, 2013|via=Internet Movie Database|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924190210/http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0001323/1992|archive-date=September 24, 2015}} LA Weekly called the film "road-trippy" and "Zap-comical",{{cite web|last1=Stringer|first1=Ron|title=Calarts in Moving Pictures: A Mini Tribute|url=http://www.laweekly.com/film/calarts-in-moving-pictures-a-mini-tribute-2144009|access-date=December 28, 2016|date=June 21, 2006|work=LA Weekly|publisher=Voice Media Group|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228195600/http://www.laweekly.com/film/calarts-in-moving-pictures-a-mini-tribute-2144009|archive-date=December 28, 2016}} while Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called it "inventive".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/movies/21darg.html|title=CalArts: The School With Antz in Its SquarePants|last1=Dargis|first1=Manohla|date=May 21, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229030712/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/movies/21darg.html|archive-date=December 29, 2016|url-status=live}}

Hillenburg explained that "anything goes" in experimental animation. Although this allowed him to explore alternatives to conventional methods of filmmaking, he still ventured to employ "an industry style"; he preferred to traditionally animate his films (where each frame is drawn by hand) rather than, for instance, make cartoons "by filming piles of sand changing". He made at least one other short film as an animation student, but its title is unspecified.

Hillenburg's first professional job in the animation business was as a director on Rocko's Modern Life (1993{{ndash}}1996), Nickelodeon's first in-house cartoon production.{{harvnb|Neuwirth|2003|pp=252–253}} 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, at the 1992 Ottawa International Animation Festival, where Wormholes and Murray's My Dog Zero were both in competition. Murray, who was looking for people to direct Rocko's Modern Life at the time, saw Hillenburg's film and offered him a directorial role on the television series. He "[had] friends that [gave him] a hard time about [the offer]. ... but doors opened when [he] stepped into the animation world," so he accepted it. He "was planning on being a starving artist": "[I spent] several thousand dollars to make a film and [realized] I may not make it back{{mdash}}I had loans out. Fortunately, Joe Murray saw my film{{nbsp}}... and he took a huge chance," Hillenburg related.

Hillenburg worked closely with Murray{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=124}} on Rocko's Modern Life for its whole run on the air. Aside from directing, he also produced, wrote and storyboarded for some episodes, and served as the executive story editor. In particular, the third-season episode "Fish-N-Chumps" was co-written and directed by Hillenburg, and involved Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt going on a fishing trip, oblivious to the fact that a pair of anthropomorphic sea creatures are attempting to catch them from underwater; this would foreshadow his later work with SpongeBob. In 1995, during the fourth and final season of Rocko,{{cite news|last1=Shattuck|first1=Kathryn|title=For Young Viewers; For This Scientist, Children Are Like, er, Sponges|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/tv/for-young-viewers-for-this-scientist-children-are-like-er-sponges.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 22, 2017|date=July 29, 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202014215/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/tv/for-young-viewers-for-this-scientist-children-are-like-er-sponges.html|archive-date=February 2, 2017}} Hillenburg was promoted to creative director, where he helped oversee pre- and post-production. Working on the series enabled him to repay his loans. He later related that he "learned a great deal about writing and producing animation for TV" from his stint on Rocko's Modern Life.{{cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/11/19/sponge-creator-talks-bob-whats-the/?print=1|title='Sponge' Creator Talks Bob|access-date=July 19, 2011|last=Moss|first=Alexandra B.|work=The Harvard Crimson|date=November 19, 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007150523/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/11/19/sponge-creator-talks-bob-whats-the/?print=1|archive-date=October 7, 2012}}

{{Main|SpongeBob SquarePants|l1=SpongeBob SquarePants}}

Some evidence shows that the idea for SpongeBob SquarePants dates back to 1986, during Hillenburg's time at the Orange County Marine Institute. He indicated that children's television series such as The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse (1987{{ndash}}1988) and Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986{{ndash}}1991) "sparked something in [him]." He continued, "I don't know if this is true for everybody else, but it always seems like, for me, I'll start thinking about something and it takes about ten years to actually have it happen, or have someone else believe in it... It took me a few years to get [SpongeBob SquarePants] together."

During the production of Rocko's Modern Life, Martin Olson, one of the writers, read The Intertidal Zone and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, he had not even considered creating his own series: "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." However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach:{{harvnb|Banks|2004|p=10}} "For all those years it seemed like I was doing these two totally separate things. I wondered what it all meant. I didn't see a synthesis. It was great when [my two interests] all came together in [a show]. I felt relieved that I hadn't wasted a lot of time doing something that I then abandoned to do something else. It has been pretty rewarding," Hillenburg said in 2002. He said that he finally decided to create a series as he was driving to the beach on the Santa Monica Freeway one day.

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As he was developing the show's concept, Hillenburg remembered his teaching experience at the Orange County Marine Institute and how mesmerized children were by tide-pool animals, including crabs, octopuses, starfish, cyclops copepod and sponges. It came to him that the series should take place underwater, with a focus on those creatures: "I wanted to create a small town underwater where the characters were more like us than like fish. They have fire. They take walks. They drive. They have pets and holidays." It suited what Hillenburg liked for a show, "something that was fantastic but believable." 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{{ndash}}1995). As a result, he decided to focus on one main character: the weirdest sea creature that he could think of. This led him to the sponge: "I wanted to do a show about a character that was an innocent, and so I focused on a sea sponge because it's a funny animal, a strange one." In 1994, Hillenburg began to further develop some characters from The Intertidal Zone, including Bob the Sponge, who resembles a realistic sea sponge; at first, Hillenburg continued this design{{harvnb|Neuwirth|2003|pp=50–51}}{{harvnb|Banks|2004|p=31}} because it "was the correct thing to do biologically as a marine-science teacher." In determining the new character's personality, he drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed, such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis, Pee-wee Herman, Abbott and Costello, and The Three Stooges.{{Cite journal|last=Heintjes|first=Tom|url=http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/|title=The Oral History of SpongeBob SquarePants|journal=Hogan's Alley|issue=17|access-date=August 28, 2015|date=September 21, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831044034/http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/|archive-date=August 31, 2015}}{{harvnb|Banks|2004|p=30}} While Hillenburg "retained the idea of a living sea sponge," he soon considered giving the character a square shape (like a kitchen sponge), and realized that this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly: "[I]t looked so funny. I think as far as cartoon language goes he was easier to recognize. He seemed to fit the character type I was looking for{{mdash}}a somewhat nerdy, squeaky clean oddball."{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=125}} To voice the central character of the series, Hillenburg turned to Tom Kenny, whose career in animation had begun with his role in Rocko's Modern Life. Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed in further developing the character.{{cite news|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2003/03/17/Xpress/SpongeBob__the_excita.shtml|title=SpongeBob: the excitable, absorbent star of Bikini Bottom|last=Orlando|first=Dana|date=March 17, 2003|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|publisher=Times Publishing Company|access-date=November 8, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219213018/http://www.sptimes.com/2003/03/17/Xpress/SpongeBob__the_excita.shtml|archive-date=December 19, 2008}}{{cite AV media |people = Farhat, Basima (interviewer) |date = December 5, 2006 |title = Tom Kenny: Voice of SpongeBob SquarePants – Interview |url =http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/archives/mp3/tps-2006-12-05-kenny.mp3 |format = mp3 |medium = Radio production |publisher = The People Speak Radio |access-date = November 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724101824/http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/archives/mp3/tps-2006-12-05-kenny.mp3|archive-date=July 24, 2011}}

While pitching the cartoon to executives at Nickelodeon, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an "underwater terrarium with models of the characters", and played Hawaiian music to set the theme. Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman described the setup as "pretty amazing". Although Derek Drymon, creative director of SpongeBob SquarePants, described the pitch as stressful, he said it went "very well". Nickelodeon approved and gave Hillenburg money to produce the show.{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=128}}

SpongeBob SquarePants is Nickelodeon's first original Saturday-morning cartoon. It first aired as a preview on May 1, 1999,{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/41007284.html?dids=41007284:41007284&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+01%2C+1999&author=&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=TV+PEOPLE+Series%3A+HOME+%26+GARDEN%3B+TV+PEOPLE&pqatl=google|access-date=March 28, 2010|date=May 1, 1999|work=St. Petersburg Times|publisher=Times Publishing Company|title=TV People Series: Home & Garden; TV People|archive-date=June 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605020952/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/41007284.html?dids=41007284:41007284&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+01,+1999&author=&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=TV+PEOPLE+Series:+HOME+&+GARDEN%3B+TV+PEOPLE&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}} and officially premiered on July 17 of the same year.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/11/arts/television-radio-the-tide-pool-as-talent-pool-it-had-to-happen.html|title=Television / Radio; The Tide Pool as Talent Pool (It Had to Happen)|last=Gates|first=Anita|date=October 27, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612163153/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E6D61E3DF932A25754C0A96F958260&scp=1&sq=SpongeBob&st=nyt|archive-date=June 12, 2008|url-status=live}} Hillenburg noted that the show's premise "is that innocence prevails{{mdash}}which I don't think it always does in real life." It has received positive reviews from critics, and has been noted for its appeal to different age groups. James Poniewozik of Time magazine described the titular character as "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match{{mdash}}conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him."{{Cite magazine|last=Poniewozik|first=James|title=Soaking Up Attention|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,187600,00.html|magazine=Time|access-date=December 27, 2013|date=December 9, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229004630/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C187600%2C00.html|archive-date=December 29, 2013}} On the other hand, The New York Times critic Joyce Millman said that the show "is clever without being impenetrable to young viewers and goofy without boring grown-ups to tears. It's the most charming toon on television, and one of the weirdest [...].{{nbsp}}Like Pee-wee's Playhouse, SpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/arts/television-radio-the-gentle-world-of-a-joyful-sponge.html|title=Television/Radio; The Gentle World Of a Joyful Sponge|last=Millman|first=Joyce|date=July 8, 2001|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115064047/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/arts/television-radio-the-gentle-world-of-a-joyful-sponge.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm|archive-date=January 15, 2014|url-status=live}}

SpongeBob SquarePants was an immediate hit. Within its first month on air, it overtook Pokémon (1997{{ndash}}) as the highest-rated Saturday morning children's series.{{cite web|author=Staff writer(s)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-55581463.html|title=Nickelodeon.(rating of Nickelodeon's cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)|newspaper=Multichannel News|publisher=NewBay Media|location=New York|date=August 23, 1999|access-date=April 2, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610081516/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-55581463.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014}} By the end of 2001, the show boasted the highest ratings of any children's series on television.{{cite news|last=Moore|first=Frazier|title='SpongeBob' rises from sea to peak of ratings: Nickelodeon show top-rated among kids aged 2 to 11|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9876189.html|newspaper=Charleston Daily Mail|publisher=MediaNews Group|location=New York|access-date=December 7, 2013|date=October 21, 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610081521/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9876189.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014}}{{cite news|last=Stauffer|first=Cindy|title=Grown-ups embrace a wacky, square sponge; There's just something about this sweet kids' cartoon that's attracting an adult audience. Local fans can't get enough of SpongeBob|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9138807.html|newspaper=Lancaster New Era|access-date=October 31, 2013|date=May 17, 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108172353/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9138807.html|archive-date=November 8, 2013}} Nickelodeon began adding SpongeBob SquarePants to its Monday-through-Thursday prime-time block. This programming change increased the number of older viewers significantly.{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=132}} By May 2002, the show's total viewership reached more than 61 million, 20 million of which were aged 18 to 49. Hillenburg did not expect the show would be very popular even to adults: "I never imagined that it would get to this point. When you set out to do a show about a sponge, you can't anticipate this kind of craze. We just try to make ourselves laugh, then ask if it's appropriate for children. I can tell you that we hoped it would be liked by adults. But we really thought the best we could hope for was a college audience."{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=131}} SpongeBob SquarePants has gone on to become the longest-running series on Nickelodeon.{{cite news|last=Huff|first=Richard|title='SpongeBob SquarePants' one of Nickelodeon's longest-running shows after nearly a decade|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/spongebob-squarepants-nickelodeon-longest-running-shows-decade-article-1.435311|work=New York Daily News|publisher=Daily News|access-date=December 15, 2013|date=December 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121072606/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/spongebob-squarepants-nickelodeon-longest-running-shows-decade-article-1.435311|archive-date=January 21, 2013}} "Ten years. I never imagined working on the show to this date and this long. It never was possible to conceive that [...].{{nbsp}}I really figured we might get a season and a cult following, and that might be it," Hillenburg said in 2009 during the show's tenth anniversary.{{cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2009/07/_tom_kenny_who_voices.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006111645/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2009/07/_tom_kenny_who_voices.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 6, 2012|title=The Interview: 'SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg|last=Cavna|first=Michael|date=July 14, 2009|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 25, 2013|publisher=Nash Holdings}} Its popularity has made it a media franchise, which is the most-distributed property of MTV Networks.{{cite web |url=http://mnilive.com/2009/06/nickelodeon-celebrates-pop-culture-icon-spongebob-squarepants-decade/ |title=Nickelodeon Celebrates Pop Culture Icon SpongeBob SquarePants decade |work=Media News International |first=Rosina |last=Stock |date=June 24, 2009 |access-date=July 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626060310/http://mnilive.com/2009/06/nickelodeon-celebrates-pop-culture-icon-spongebob-squarepants-decade/ |archive-date=June 26, 2009 |url-status=dead}} {{As of|2015}}, it has generated $25 billion in merchandising revenue.{{cite journal |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-29/spongebob-new-movie-12-billion-in-endorsement-deals |title=SpongeBob Muscles Up |journal=Bloomberg Businessweek |last=Gillette |first=Felix |date=January 29, 2015 |access-date=December 30, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407015134/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-29/spongebob-new-movie-12-billion-in-endorsement-deals |archive-date=April 7, 2017}}

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:{{cite news|last=Koltnow|first=Barry|title=SpongeBob creator is soaking up success|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_08af58a9-3a6c-5af6-a86a-2754502d0bd9.html|access-date=June 16, 2013|newspaper=East Valley Tribune|publisher=Times Media Group|date=November 14, 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208163702/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_08af58a9-3a6c-5af6-a86a-2754502d0bd9.html|archive-date=February 8, 2016}} "I don't want to try and do a movie and the series at the same time. We have 60 episodes and that is probably as many as [Nickelodeon] really needs. It is a standard number for a show like this. I have done a little research and people say it is just crazy doing a series and movie at the same time. I would rather concentrate on doing a good job on the movie," he noted.{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=134}} He directed the film from a story that he conceived with five other writer-animators from the series: Paul Tibbitt, Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Kent Osborne, and Tim Hill.{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=He Lives in a Pineapple, but Then What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=November 7, 2004|page=1|location=Burbank, California|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220032301/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|archive-date=December 20, 2013}} The writers created a mythical hero's quest: the search for a stolen crown, which brings SpongeBob and his best friend Patrick to the surface.{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=He Lives in a Pineapple, but Then What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html?pagewanted=2|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=November 7, 2004|location=Burbank, California|page=2|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214205819/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html?pagewanted=2|archive-date=February 14, 2015}} In 2003, during the production of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, his mentor Jules Engel died at the age of 94.{{cite news|first=Steve|last=Holland|title=Jules Engel|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/sep/17/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=December 21, 2013|date=September 17, 2003|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224121839/http://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/sep/17/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries|archive-date=December 24, 2013}} Hillenburg dedicated the film to his memory.{{cite web|last=Amidi|first=Amid|title=More Thoughts on the SpongeBob Movie|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/more-thoughts-on-the-spongebob-movie-669.html|work=Cartoon Brew|access-date=August 18, 2013|date=November 28, 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060737/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/more-thoughts-on-the-spongebob-movie-669.html|archive-date=September 21, 2013}} He said that Engel "truly was the most influential artistic person in [his] life." The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie grossed $140 million worldwide,{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spongebob.htm|title=The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)|website=Box Office Mojo|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=July 20, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824222054/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spongebob.htm|archive-date=August 24, 2009}} and received positive reviews from critics. The review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes rates it 68 percent positive based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. Its consensus states in summary, "Surreally goofy and entertaining for both children and their parents."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spongebob_squarepants_movie/|title=The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=November 19, 2004 |publisher=Flixster|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725024125/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spongebob_squarepants_movie/|archive-date=July 25, 2010|url-status=live|access-date=July 9, 2010}}

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After completing the film, Hillenburg wanted to end the series "so [it] wouldn't jump the shark." "We're working on episodes 40 through 60 right now, and I always looked at that as a typical run for an animated show. [The Ren & Stimpy Show] lasted about that long, for example. And I thought now was a good time to step aside and look at a different project. I personally think it's good not to go to the point where people don't want to see your show anymore," Hillenburg said in 2002. However, Nickelodeon wanted to produce more episodes: "The show was such a cash cow for the station that it couldn't afford not to," storyboard director Sam Henderson observed.{{cite journal|last=Henderson|first=Sam|url=http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/|title=The Oral History of SpongeBob SquarePants|journal=Hogan's Alley|issue=17|access-date=August 28, 2015|date=September 21, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831044034/http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/|archive-date=August 31, 2015}} Initially Hillenburg doubted that the network would continue the show without him, saying: "I think [Nickelodeon executives] respect that my contribution is important. I think they would want to maintain the original concept and quality." Consequently, he resigned as the showrunner and appointed his trusted staff member Paul Tibbitt to the role.{{cite web|last=Fletcher|first=Alex|title=Paul Tibbitt ('SpongeBob SquarePants')|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/interviews/a312387/paul-tibbitt-spongebob-squarepants/|work=Digital Spy|publisher=Hearst Communications|access-date=May 25, 2013|date=April 3, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202143646/http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/interviews/a312387/paul-tibbitt-spongebob-squarepants/|archive-date=February 2, 2016}}{{cite video | people=Hillenburg, Stephen|date=2009|title=The First 100 Episodes – Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment}} Although he no longer had a direct involvement producing SpongeBob SquarePants, he retained his position as an executive producer and maintained an advisory role, reviewing each episode.{{cite web|last=Bauder|first=David|title=SpongeBob Turns 10 Valued At $8 Billion|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/14/spongebob-turns-10-valued_n_231304.html|work=The Huffington Post|publisher=AOL|access-date=May 22, 2013|date=July 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717094002/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/14/spongebob-turns-10-valued_n_231304.html|archive-date=July 17, 2009}}{{cite news|author=Staff writer(s)|title=Nickelodeon's 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Reaches A Milestone: 10 Years|url=http://www.accesshollywood.com/articles/nickelodeons-spongebob-squarepants-reaches-a-milestone-10-years-73722/|agency=Associated Press|via=Access Hollywood, KNBC|access-date=May 25, 2013|date=July 13, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208163929/http://www.accesshollywood.com/articles/nickelodeons-spongebob-squarepants-reaches-a-milestone-10-years-73722/|archive-date=February 8, 2016}} Tibbitt started out as a supervising producer but rose up to executive producer when Hillenburg went into semi-retirement in 2004.{{Cite news|title=Paul Tibbitt ('Spongebob Squarepants')|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a312387/paul-tibbitt-spongebob-squarepants/|last=Fletcher|first=Alex|date=March 4, 2011|access-date=July 22, 2021|work=Digital Spy}} While he was on the show, he voiced Potty the Parrot{{cite AV media | date=October 19, 2004|title=SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete 2nd Season|medium=DVD|location=United States | publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon}} and sat in with Derek Drymon at the record studio to direct the voice actors while they were recording.{{Cite journal|last=Hammond|first=Jennie Monica|url=http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/|title=The Oral History of SpongeBob SquarePants|journal=Hogan's Alley|issue=17|access-date=August 28, 2015|date=September 21, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831044034/http://cartoonician.com/the-oral-history-of-spongebob-squarepants/|archive-date=August 31, 2015}} During the fourth season, Tibbitt took on voicing for Potty,{{cite AV media| date=April 17, 2007 | title=SpongeBob SquarePants: Friend or Foe ("Friend or Foe" credits) | medium=DVD|location=United States |publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon}} while Andrea Romano replaced the two as the voice director.

In 2014, Tibbitt announced on his Twitter account that Hillenburg would return to the show. However, he did not specify what position the former showrunner would hold.{{cite web|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/spongebob-creator-stephen-hillenburg-returning-to-his-show-106935.html|author=Amid Amidi|title='SpongeBob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg Returning to His Show|work=Cartoon Brew|date=December 13, 2014|access-date=December 17, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214083136/http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/spongebob-creator-stephen-hillenburg-returning-to-his-show-106935.html|archive-date=December 14, 2014}} As early as 2012, Hillenburg had already been contributing to another film based on the series, which was first reported in 2011{{cite news|title=Success for Paramount's 'Rango' could lead to end of deal with DreamWorks|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-04-la-fi-0304-ct-paramount-rango-20110304-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 26, 2014|author1=Fritz, Ben |author2=Verrier, Richard |date=March 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114093108/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/04/business/la-fi-0304-ct-paramount-rango-20110304|archive-date=November 14, 2012|url-status=live}} and officially announced the following year,{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Daniel|title=Paramount to Release 'SpongeBob' Movie in Late 2014|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacom-paramount-release-spongebob-movie-late-2014-philippe-dauman295695|access-date=February 28, 2012|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|date=February 28, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301150541/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacom-paramount-release-spongebob-movie-late-2014-philippe-dauman295695|archive-date=March 1, 2012}} with Tibbitt as director. Tibbitt also wrote the story with Hillenburg,{{Cite journal|last1=McLean|first1=Tom|title=SpongeBob Gets Real|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/spongebob-gets-real/|journal=Animation Magazine|access-date=January 22, 2017|date=February 21, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202010329/http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/spongebob-gets-real/|archive-date=February 2, 2017}} who "[had] been in the studio everyday working with [the crew]."{{cite web|last=Tibbitt |first=Paul |title=@DEEninetysix @shawndagamer .. |url=https://twitter.com/paultibbitt/status/413715870712467456 |via=Twitter |date=December 19, 2013 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106161841/https://twitter.com/paultibbitt/status/413715870712467456 |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |url-status=live}} Besides writing, Hillenburg also executive-produced.{{cite news|last1=Graser|first1=Marc|last2=Kroll|first2=Justin|title=Paramount ramping up animation slate|url=https://variety.com/2012/film/news/paramount-ramping-up-animation-slate-1118057934/|access-date=August 17, 2012|newspaper=Variety|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|date=August 16, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014140121/http://variety.com/2012/film/news/paramount-ramping-up-animation-slate-1118057934/|archive-date=October 14, 2013}} He said in 2014: "Actually when [the film] wraps, I want to get back to the show. ...{{nbsp}}it is getting harder and harder to come up with stories. So Paul [Tibbitt] and I are really going to brainstorm and come up with fresh material." Called The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, the second film adaptation was released in 2015{{cite web|last1=Sneider|first1=Jeff|title=Paramount Avoids 'Fifty Shades' by Moving Up 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Sequel|url=https://thewrap.com/paramount-avoids-fifty-shades-by-moving-up-spongebob-squarepants-sequel/|website=TheWrap|access-date=June 7, 2014|date=June 5, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606220401/http://www.thewrap.com/paramount-avoids-fifty-shades-by-moving-up-spongebob-squarepants-sequel/|archive-date=June 6, 2014}} to positive critical reception, currently holding a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 80 percent and an average rating of 6.5/10.{{cite web|url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/the_spongebob_movie_sponge_out_of_water/|title=The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=February 6, 2015 |publisher=Flixster|access-date=February 11, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208171854/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_spongebob_movie_sponge_out_of_water/|archive-date=February 8, 2016}} It earned $323.4 million worldwide,{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spongebob2.htm |title=The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) |website=Box Office Mojo |publisher=Internet Movie Database |access-date=May 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523060110/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spongebob2.htm |archive-date=May 23, 2015}} becoming the second highest-grossing film based on an animated television show, behind The Simpsons Movie (2007).{{cite web|title=Animation – TV Adaption Movies at the Box Office – Box Office Mojo|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=basedonanimatedtv.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|publisher=Internet Movie Database|access-date=March 17, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316180144/http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=basedonanimatedtv.htm|archive-date=March 16, 2015}}

{{Infobox company

| name = United Plankton Pictures Inc.

| logo =

| logo_caption = Logo used since 1999

| type = Private

| industry = Entertainment

| founded = {{Start date and age|1998|04|01}}

| founder = Stephen Hillenburg

| hq_location_city = Burbank, California

| hq_location_country = U.S.

| products = SpongeBob SquarePants

| key_people = Karen Hillenburg (CEO)

}}

File:Hollywood Blvd., USA by Stephen Hillenburg.jpg

In 1998,{{cite web|url=https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/|title=Business Search|publisher=California Secretary of State|access-date=March 9, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229194155/https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/|archive-date=December 29, 2016}} Hillenburg formed {{visible anchor|United Plankton Pictures}} Inc., a television and film production company, which produces SpongeBob SquarePants and related media. From 2011 to 2018, the company published SpongeBob Comics, a comic-book series based on the cartoon.{{cite web|last=Boom |first=Richard |title=SpongeBob Comics #1 debuts from United Plankton Pictures |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/spongebob-comics-1-debuts-from-united-plankton-pictures |website=Broken Frontier |access-date=December 6, 2013 |date=January 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128020705/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/spongebob-comics-1-debuts-from-united-plankton-pictures |archive-date=January 28, 2011 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web|author=Staff writer(s)|title='SpongeBob SquarePants' Comic Debuts in February|url=http://www.cbr.com/spongebob-squarepants-comic-debuts-in-february/|website=Comic Book Resources|type=Press release|access-date=December 6, 2013|date=January 25, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113172121/http://www.cbr.com/spongebob-squarepants-comic-debuts-in-february/|archive-date=January 13, 2017}} 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." Various cartoonists, including James Kochalka, Hilary Barta, Graham Annable, Gregg Schigiel, and Jacob Chabot, have contributed to issues of the comic.

According to Jeff Lenburg, in his book Who's Who in Animated Cartoons, Hillenburg was co-writing and co-directing a second animated feature film based on Rob Zombie's comic-book series, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, which was slated for a 2006 release.{{harvnb|Lenburg|2006|p=141}} He helped to write Diggs Tailwagger, a 2007 pilot by Derek Drymon.{{cite web |title=Diggs Tailwagger (2007 Cartoon Network pilot) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09ZtAaW3UFk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/09ZtAaW3UFk| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=June 2, 2018 |date=February 21, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |author1=Brian B. |title=Nickelodeon Greenlights Super Scout & Diggs Tailwagger |url=https://movieweb.com/nickelodeon-greenlights-super-scout-diggs-tailwagger/ |website=Movieweb |access-date=June 2, 2018 |date=February 16, 2006}}

In 2010, he began working on Hollywood Blvd., USA, a new short film for animation festivals. In making the two-minute film, he videotaped people walking and animated them in walk cycles. Hillenburg said in 2012, "I hope to get [the film] done. It takes forever." He was aiming to finish it that fall. In 2013,{{cite web|title=Hollywood Blvd, USA|url=http://www.haff.nl/en/films/hollywood-blvd-usa|publisher=Holland International Film Festival|access-date=December 31, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101001130/http://www.haff.nl/en/films/hollywood-blvd-usa|archive-date=January 1, 2017}} three years after production began, Hollywood Blvd., USA was released to festivals. Hillenburg characterized it as a "personal film" and said that "it's not a narrative. It's just really about people in our town."

In 1998, Hillenburg married Karen Jean Umland,{{cite magazine|author=Staff writer(s)|title=To Love & Die in L.A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a18EAAAAMBAJ&q=karen+jean+umland+hillenburg&pg=PA138|magazine=Los Angeles Magazine|publisher=Emmis Communications|date=January 2001|access-date=September 22, 2018|page=138|issn=1522-9149}}{{Cite web |date=December 25, 2018 |title=stephen-hillenburg-death-certificate-01.pdf |url=https://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/stephen-hillenburg-death-certificate-01.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816220542/https://tmz.vo.llnwd.net/o28/newsdesk/tmz_documents/stephen-hillenburg-death-certificate-01.pdf |archive-date=August 16, 2019 |access-date=August 2, 2023 |website=TMZ}} a Southern Californian chef{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=http://sassas.org/group/board/ |website=Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound |access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420060503/http://sassas.org/group/board/|archive-date=April 20, 2018|url-status=live}} who teaches at the New School of Cooking in Culver City.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/nov/29/stephen-hillenburg-obituary|title=Stephen Hillenburg obituary|author=Hayward|first=Anthony|date=November 29, 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=November 30, 2018}} He deemed her the funniest person he knew, and the character of Karen Plankton was named after her.{{cite news|last=Real|first=Evan|date=November 27, 2018|title=Stephen Hillenburg, Creator of 'SpongeBob SquarePants,' Dies at 57|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-hillenburg-dead-spongebob-squarepants-creator-dies-at-57-1164132|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=Prometheus Global Media}} Also in 1998, their son was born. Hillenburg formerly resided in Hollywood and Pasadena, and lived with his family in San Marino, California{{cite news |title=Larry Wilson: Not Everyone Wants Diet for Pasadena's Streets |url=https://www.dailybreeze.com/2013/07/02/larry-wilson-not-everyone-wants-diet-for-pasadenas-streets/ |access-date=June 5, 2021 |work=Pasadena Star-News |date=July 2, 2013 |via=Daily Breeze}} until his death.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/obituaries/stephen-hillenburg-spongebob-squarepants-creator-dies-at-57.html|title=Stephen Hillenburg, 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Creator, Dies at 57|author=Genzlinger, Neil|date=November 27, 2018|website=The New York Times|access-date=December 12, 2018}} His hobbies included surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, and performing "noisy rock music" on his guitar. He jammed with his son, who is a drummer, which Hillenburg called "a great way to bond with each other."{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Kate|title=Stephen Hillenburg|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/opinion/sunday/stephen-hillenburg.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 20, 2013|date=June 15, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120212613/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/opinion/sunday/stephen-hillenburg.html?_r=0|archive-date=November 20, 2016}} He also enjoyed birdwatching at home, but said that he was always "an ocean freak".

According to his colleagues, he was "a perfectionist workaholic", and was also known for his private nature. Julia Pistor, co-producer of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, noted that Hillenburg was "very shy". She said: "He doesn't want people to know about his life or family. He's just a really funny, down-to-earth guy with a dry sense of humor who puts his family first and keeps us on our toes in keeping our corporate integrity." Hillenburg said about himself: "I make animation because I like to draw and create things. I have no real interest to be on camera or to be a celebrity. It's not that I don't like people, but I like having my privacy."

Hillenburg, with his wife Karen, endowed numerous projects and organizations through the United Plankton Charitable Trust,{{cite web|url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/glitzy-giving/stephen-and-karen-hillenburg|title=Stephen and Karen Hillenburg|website=Inside Philanthropy|access-date=December 16, 2018|archive-date=December 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155023/https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/glitzy-giving/stephen-and-karen-hillenburg|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/3/15/in-plankton-we-trust-how-spongebobs-creator-does-his-philanthropy|title=In Plankton We Trust: How Spongebob's Creator Does His Philanthropy|author=Adeniji, Ade|date=March 16, 2017|access-date=December 16, 2018|website=Inside Philanthropy}} which they established in 2005,{{cite web|url=https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile/?key=UNIT764|title=United Plankton Charitable Trust|website=Foundation Center|access-date=December 16, 2018}} naming after Hillenburg's United Plankton Pictures. It supports areas of their personal interest, giving under $500,000 annually {{as of|2017|alt=as of 2017}}. Grantees include large, established arts-related organizations such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound, in which Karen is co-chair. Health accounts for most of their grantmaking; they had gifted Planned Parenthood (where Karen has been on the board of directors {{as of|2014|alt=as of 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/11/stephen-hillenburg-family/|title=Stephen Hillenburg Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|author=Thompson, D. L.|website=Heavy.com|date=November 27, 2018|access-date=December 16, 2018}}) and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, among other national health organizations.

In education, they have donated to schools, including the Polytechnic School in Pasadena (which their son attended), CalArts, and Humboldt State University. Donations to the latter helped fund the HSU Marine Lab and the Stephen Hillenburg Marine Science Research Award Endowment, which the couple created in 2018 to support the university's marine-science research students.{{cite web|url=https://www.times-standard.com/2018/09/06/mr-and-mrs-spongebob-hand-hsu-135k-for-study-of-the-sea/|title='SpongeBob SquarePants' creator gives back to HSU|author=Santos, Philip|website=Times-Standard|publisher=Digital First Media|date=September 6, 2018|access-date=December 16, 2018}} The previous year, the Princess Grace Foundation introduced the Stephen Hillenburg Animation Scholarship, an annual grant from the Hillenburgs to emerging animators.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/princess-grace-foundation-launches-animation-scholarship-1051309|title=Princess Grace Foundation Launches Animation Scholarship|last1=Giardina|first1=Carolyn|date=October 24, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=June 2, 2018|publisher=Eldridge Industries}}

Hillenburg disclosed to Variety magazine in March 2017 that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), though he continued to work on SpongeBob SquarePants for as long as he was able. He added: "My family and I are grateful for the outpouring of love and support. We ask that our sincere request for privacy be honored during this time." Hillenburg was in the early stages of the disease at the time, according to a source close to him.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/spongebob-squarepants-creator-stephen-hillenburg-reveals-als-diagnosis-1202007865/|title='SpongeBob SquarePants' Creator Stephen Hillenburg Reveals ALS Diagnosis|last=Wallenstein|first=Andrew|date=March 13, 2017|website=Variety|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314030811/http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/spongebob-squarepants-creator-stephen-hillenburg-reveals-als-diagnosis-1202007865/|archive-date=March 14, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=March 14, 2017}} During his last days as executive producer, he had difficulty speaking, and it ultimately got to the point where he stopped going to his office due to the progression of the illness.{{Cite news |last=King |first=Darryn |date=August 13, 2019 |title=The Young Man and the Sea Sponge |work=Longreads |url=https://longreads.com/2019/08/13/the-young-man-and-the-sea-sponge/ |access-date=June 22, 2021}}

The third SpongeBob SquarePants film, titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, was released in 2020 and is dedicated to him. He also served as executive producer on the project.

Hillenburg died on November 26, 2018, at the age of 57.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/spongebob-squarepants-creator-dead-dies-stephen-hillenburg-1203037362/|title='SpongeBob Squarepants' Creator Stephen Hillenburg Dies at 57|last=Otterson|first=Joe|date=November 27, 2018|work=Variety|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201084613/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/spongebob-squarepants-creator-dead-dies-stephen-hillenburg-1203037362/|archive-date=December 1, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=November 26, 2018}} According to his death certificate obtained by TMZ, he died at his home in San Marino, California. It also states that his body was cremated, and that his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California the next day.{{cite news|url=https://www.tmz.com/2018/12/06/spongebob-squarepants-creator-stephen-hillenburg-death-certificate-cause-of-death/ | title='SpongeBob SquarePants' creator death cert reveals ashes spread under the sea | date=December 6, 2018 | work=TMZ}}

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.{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/3/18209868/spongebob-squarepants-sweet-victory-super-bowl-2019-marron-5-halftime-show | title = Spongebob Squarepants' 'Sweet Victory' finally gets a Super Bowl tribute | first = Julia | last = Alexander | date = February 3, 2019 | access-date = February 3, 2019 | work = The Verge}} A full clip of the "Sweet Victory" song, including a dedication to Hillenburg, was played inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.{{cite tweet|number=1092225771362492416|title=Okay, everybody… Let's get this over with.1, 2, 3… 4...🌊🍍|author=Mercedes-Benz Stadium|user=MBStadium|date=February 3, 2019}} The song was later included in a promo for ViacomCBS's Paramount+ streaming service during Super Bowl LV.{{Cite web |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/paramount-plus-super-bowl-spot-spongebob |title=Sweet Victory! Paramount+ Super Bowl spot finds Beavis, Dora, Patrick Stewart & more rocking out to SpongeBob |first=Vanessa |last=Armstrong |date=February 4, 2021 |website=Syfy Wire}} A full, all-CGI version was broadcast before Nickelodeon's broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII.{{Cite web |date=February 7, 2024 |title=2024 Super Bowl: SpongeBob SquarePants to recreate 'Sweet Victory' performance before game on Nickelodeon |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2024-super-bowl-spongebob-squarepants-to-recreate-sweet-victory-performance-before-game-on-nickelodeon/ |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=CBSSports.com |language=en}}

The TV special SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout and the theatrical film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run which he worked on, are dedicated to his memory.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The day after Super Bowl LIII, the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League uploaded on their Twitter page a modified version of the full "Sweet Victory" sequence, in which the band's uniforms were altered from red to green to match the Stars's colors, with the title "The #SuperBowl halftime show fans deserve". The Stars's video had previously been shown during their February 1 game against the Minnesota Wild.{{cite web|url=https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-stars/stars/2019/02/04/watch-dallas-stars-give-fans-spongebob-sweet-victory-super-bowl-halftime-show-everyone-wanted|title=Watch: Dallas Stars give fans the SpongeBob 'Sweet Victory' Super Bowl halftime show everyone wanted|work=SportsDaily|first=Joey|last=Hayden|date=February 5, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://971theticket.radio.com/articles/dallas-stars-play-full-spongebob-sweet-victory|title=Sweet Victory: The Dallas Stars Played The Full SpongeBob Song Like We All Deserved|work=97.1 The Ticket|first=George J.|last=Fox|date=February 5, 2019}}

In 2019, a spin-off of SpongeBob SquarePants, Kamp Koral, began production, featuring younger versions of the characters attending summer camp. Former showrunner Paul Tibbitt stated that Hillenburg would have disliked the idea; he commented, "Steve would always say to me, 'You know, one of these days, they're going to want to make SpongeBob Babies. That's when I'm out of here.{{' "}} Tibbitt also released a statement stating, "I do not mean any disrespect to my colleagues who are working on this show ... [but] they all know full well Steve would have hated this."{{Cite news|title='SpongeBob' Fans Are Not Excited For Patrick Star Spinoff, Feel It Dishonors Creator's Memory|url=https://www.thethings.com/spongebob-fans-are-not-excited-for-patrick-star-spinoff-feel-it-dishonors-creators-memory/|last=McKay|first=Karelle|date=March 7, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|work=TheThings}} The concept of Kamp Koral came from a season 12 meeting in October 2018, a month before Hillenburg died.{{Cite web|url=https://worldscreen.com/tvkids/nickelodeons-brian-robbins-on-key-strengths-of-the-brand/|title=Nickelodeon's Brian Robbins|first=Mansha|last=Daswani|date=October 1, 2019|access-date=August 26, 2021}} Hillenburg is credited as the creator of Kamp Koral, and is credited on other spin-offs as the characters' creator.{{Cite news|title='SpongeBob SquarePants' Spinoff Series 'The Patrick Star Show' Set At Nickelodeon|url=https://deadline.com/2020/08/spongebob-squarepants-spinoff-series-the-patrick-star-show-set-nickelodeon-bill-fagerbakke-1203006633/|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=August 10, 2020|access-date=June 22, 2021|work=Deadline Hollywood}}{{Cite news|title=Exclusive: Beloved 'SpongeBob Squarepants' Character Sandy Cheeks Set for Spinoff Movie|url=https://collider.com/spongebob-sandy-cheeks-movie-liza-johnson/|last=Sneider|first=Jeff|date=May 10, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2021|work=Collider}}

{{See also|List of awards and nominations received by SpongeBob SquarePants}}

In 1992, one of Hillenburg's early works, Wormholes, won for Best Concept at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. For SpongeBob SquarePants, Hillenburg was nominated for 17 Emmy Awards, winning in the categories of Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation in 2010 and 2014, respectively. The show has also received several other awards and nominations, including 17 Annie Award nominations, winning six times, as well as winning two British Academy Children's Awards, out of four nominations. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants won its first TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming nomination.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 2001, Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit organization, honored Hillenburg with its Walk the Talk award. He was recognized for raising public awareness of marine life through SpongeBob SquarePants.{{harvnb|Abbey|2004|p=136}} The following year, Hillenburg was given the Television Animation Award from the National Cartoonists Society,{{cite web|title=Division Awards|url=http://www.reuben.org/awards/|publisher=National Cartoonists Society|access-date=December 21, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726224752/http://www.reuben.org/awards/|archive-date=July 26, 2014}} and the Princess Grace Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation.{{cite web|title=Stephen Hillenburg|url=http://www.pgfusa.com/award-winners/view/Stephen-Hillenburg/|publisher=Princess Grace Foundation-USA|access-date=December 21, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221012219/http://www.pgfusa.com/award-winners/view/Stephen-Hillenburg/|archive-date=December 21, 2013}} In 2018, Hillenburg received the Winsor McCay Award at the 45th Annie Awards,{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/annie-awards-thrs-guide-animated-film-ceremony-1080900|title=Annie Awards: THR's Guide to the Animated Film Ceremony|last1=Giardina|first1=Carolyn|date=February 1, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=June 2, 2018|publisher=Eldridge Industries}} 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."{{cite news|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/spongebob-creator-stephen-hillenburg-honored-with-special-emmy-award-158110.html|title='Spongebob' Creator Stephen Hillenburg Honored With Special Emmy Award|last1=Amidi|first1=Amid|date=April 30, 2018|work=Cartoon Brew|access-date=June 2, 2018}}

The marine demosponge species Clathria hillenburgi, known from mangrove habitats off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil, was named in honor of Stephen Hillenburg.{{Cite journal|last1=Annunziata|first1=Bruno B.|last2=Cavalcanti|first2=Thaynã|last3=Santos|first3=George Garcia|last4=Pinheiro|first4=Ulisses|date=September 19, 2019|title=Two new Clathria (Axosuberites) Topsent, 1893 (Demospongiae: Poecilosclerida) from Northeastern Brazil|url=https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4671.4.2|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4671|issue=4|pages=500–510–500–510|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4671.4.2|pmid=31716030|s2cid=203882016|issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite web|title=Clathria hillenburgi|url=https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Clathria-hillenburgi.html|access-date=June 23, 2021|website=www.sealifebase.ca}}

On November 18, 2021, Hillenburg was honored with a bench and historical plaque at his alma mater Savannah High School in Anaheim, California. The project was a collaboration between the Hillenburg family, Anaheim Historical Society, and YouTube personality Griffin Hansen.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2021/11/19/spongebob-voice-actors-help-celebrate-memorial-at-savanna-high-for-creator-stephen-hillenburg/|title=SpongeBob voice actors help celebrate memorial at Savanna High for creator Stephen Hillenburg|date=November 20, 2021}} Karen Hillenburg specifically chose a bright yellow bench that "she thought perfectly captured her husband's warmth and goofiness".{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq1jFC6Ryps&ab_channel=Gruppetstudios|title=The Stephen Hillenburg Memorial (And How We Did It!)|website=YouTube|date=December 2, 2021 }} The memorial was dedicated one day before Savanna High School's 60th anniversary at a school-wide assembly hosted by Hansen and principal Michael Pooley. The event was attended by Karen and Clay Hillenburg, as well as members of SpongeBob SquarePants' cast and crew including Tom Kenny, Jill Talley, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Marc Ceccarelli, and Derek Drymon.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|editor1-last=Abbey|editor1-first=Cherie D.|title=Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers|publisher=Omnigraphics| year= 2004|series=Author Series|volume=14|isbn=978-0-7808-0652-8|url=https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED481961/page/n121}}
• {{cite book|last=Banks|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Banks|others=Illustrated by Gregg Schigiel|title=SpongeBob Exposed! The Insider's Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants|publisher=Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon| date=September 21, 2004|isbn=978-0-689-86870-2}}
• {{cite book|last=Lenburg|first=Jeff|title=Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film and Television's Award-Winning and Legendary Animators|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation| edition=Illustrated| year=2006|isbn=978-1557836717|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinanimate0000lenb|url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book|title=Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies| publisher=Allworth Press|edition=Illustrated|last=Neuwirth |first=Allan|author-link=Allan Charles Neuwirth|isbn=978-1-58115-269-2|year=2003|url=https://archive.org/details/makintoonsinside0000neuw|url-access=registration}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{IMDb name|0384864}}
• {{Tcmdb name|2849588}}
• [https://www.nickanimation.com/stephen-hillenburg-spongebob-squarepants Stephen Hillenburg] at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio website

{{Winsor McCay Award 2010s}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|Comics|Marine life|Animation|Television|Cartoon}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillenburg, Stephen}}

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