RIP Stephen Hillenburg · 7:46pm Nov 27th, 2018
You might have already heard, but yes, today Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Spongebob Squarepants, has died. He was only 57 years old and died from ALS.
Spongebob Squarepants is probably the show that influenced me the most during my childhood. Comics aren't that common around here (Only a few years ago did I find out we have a dedicated comic book store in my town) and I only got my first Gameboy Advance with six. I'd get into more details, but I don't know the english episode names.
My first episode was the one where Spongebob and Squidward had to deliver a pizza and I was immediately hooked and watched the new episodes every day. Spongebob was a phenomenon. Everybody knew it and you could talk with any random person about it. One of my favourite episodes is the one with the marching band (one of my classmates played that song during our graduation party). "Battle for Bikini Bottom" is one of my most nostalgic video games, not to mention one of the best licensed games as well as a great collectathon in general. And because the version I got was fully in english it got me interested in learning the language. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (the first/good one) is one of my favourite movies and for a long time my sister and me watched it nearly weekly. My sister and her friends are sometimes talking only in Spongebob references. Spongebob had a great impact on my childhood and I'm pretty sure for many of you it's not different. And that such a show is still running is incredible.
Yeah, the show has its low points, especially after Hillenburg left. And I too stopped watching at one point. Though in the case of the german dub also because of VA changes. Patrick's ger VA demanded more money and was fired (around the same time the character was ruined). Squidward's ger VA died shortly before the 2015 movie. Though I heard recently that Hillenburg did come back and that the show's quality improved again, though I have yet to see that for myself.
In a sea nutshell, I'm thankful for Hillenburg and his creation aka one of the best animated series of our time.
Rest in peace, Stephen Hillenburg.
RIP