On the latest edition of 'stuff that makes you feel really old' SpongeBob SquarePants is 20 years old 4 days ago.That's right, on May 1st, 1999 the world was introduced to a tiny, camp sponge with the best of intentions, who roams around the seafloor annoying all of his chums.
Just imagine, what on earth must the first production meeting have been like?"Well, guys, I do have one idea, but bear with me..."Anyway, one thing that isn't often remembered is that over the course of the TV show, as well as the accompanying films, there have been some seriously big names to share the screen with SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick. Here's a look at just a few of them. Let's start at the top. In an episode entitled 'SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One' our hero is taught to surf a gigantic wave by a character called Jack Kahuna Laguna. The voice of Jack was none other than Johnny Depp.
Depp is one of a great number of A-listers who have graced the seafloor around Bikini Bottom. Try as hard as you like not to imagine that as a euphemism, it's impossible. Alongside Depp, we've seen appearances from people such as Amy Poehler, Henry Winkler - 'The Fonz' to you and me, Ian McShane, Dennis Quaid, and Mark Hamill. That's just the stars of the world of acting. Bizarrely enough, stars from the world of music have also flocked to SpongeBob's shores. David Bowie, Gene Simmons from Kiss, and Victoria Beckham - technically not music, but whatever - have all at some point starred on the show. Any TV programme that can have a member of Kiss portraying a sea monster and David Bowie playing the king of Atlantis has to be worth a watch, right? Of course, it does. Naturally, the crowning achievement for the SpongeBob universe was the movie. For whatever reason, they managed to drag in a cast that included folks like Scarlett Johansson, Antonio Banderas, Alec Baldwin and - who could forget? David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff.Not too shabby for a silly show about an underwater invertebrate that was almost definitely conceived by people who were stoned out of their tree. Either way, over the years SpongeBob SquarePants has brought joy to folks young and old, as well as - presumably - causing people in university halls of residence to vomit up their Pot Noodle in sheer disbelief. It is hard to think of another show that has had an impact like that.
Just imagine, what on earth must the first production meeting have been like?"Well, guys, I do have one idea, but bear with me..."Anyway, one thing that isn't often remembered is that over the course of the TV show, as well as the accompanying films, there have been some seriously big names to share the screen with SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick. Here's a look at just a few of them. Let's start at the top. In an episode entitled 'SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One' our hero is taught to surf a gigantic wave by a character called Jack Kahuna Laguna. The voice of Jack was none other than Johnny Depp.
Depp is one of a great number of A-listers who have graced the seafloor around Bikini Bottom. Try as hard as you like not to imagine that as a euphemism, it's impossible. Alongside Depp, we've seen appearances from people such as Amy Poehler, Henry Winkler - 'The Fonz' to you and me, Ian McShane, Dennis Quaid, and Mark Hamill. That's just the stars of the world of acting. Bizarrely enough, stars from the world of music have also flocked to SpongeBob's shores. David Bowie, Gene Simmons from Kiss, and Victoria Beckham - technically not music, but whatever - have all at some point starred on the show. Any TV programme that can have a member of Kiss portraying a sea monster and David Bowie playing the king of Atlantis has to be worth a watch, right? Of course, it does. Naturally, the crowning achievement for the SpongeBob universe was the movie. For whatever reason, they managed to drag in a cast that included folks like Scarlett Johansson, Antonio Banderas, Alec Baldwin and - who could forget? David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff.Not too shabby for a silly show about an underwater invertebrate that was almost definitely conceived by people who were stoned out of their tree. Either way, over the years SpongeBob SquarePants has brought joy to folks young and old, as well as - presumably - causing people in university halls of residence to vomit up their Pot Noodle in sheer disbelief. It is hard to think of another show that has had an impact like that.