Laurel and Hardy are among my strongest influences, and I think they're perfect examples of two naive, kid-like characters that are still… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I thought, well, what about a show that stars undersea creatures, and some of the ones you rarely see animated. So, from… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
We wanted the humor to come from the characters and their world - you go down there to escape the world up… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I drew these natural sponges for a while and gave them googly eyes, and it didn't come together until I drew a… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
The essence of the show is that SpongeBob is an innocent in a world of jaded characters. The rest is absurd packaging. — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
Our characters act silly, even totally ridiculous at times, and most of our jokes don't come out of pop cultural references. It… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
A lot of things came out of my interest in marine biology, like the fact that there are scallops that fly in… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I was into Jacques Cousteau as a kid and started scuba-diving around 14, which blew my mind. It was all colour, another world. — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
When I pitched the show, I made this special seashell. You could pick it up and hear me singing, 'Spongeboy, Spongeboy!' I also made… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I eventually thought of SpongeBob, but he needed a last name - SquarePants came to mind. — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I was just looking at a packet that had SpongeBob thong underwear, so it goes farther than I would imagine. — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
Laurel and Hardy are among my strongest influences, and I think they're perfect examples of two naive, kid-like characters that are still funny today.… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
Anyone who knows me knows that I will continue to work on 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and my other passions for as long as I am… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
On TV, it is more efficient to use voice-over people because it is really hard to get celebrity voices to recur in a series. — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
In the show, the whole point of the fast food - the fact that SpongeBob loves being part of the fast-food chain and that… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I studied marine biology, even taught marine science before I got into animation, so I had an interest in that field and those animals. — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
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… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
Everybody's got some fascination with undersea life, don't you think? — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
The characters are likable. Even the villainous Plankton - he's still flawed, and you still root for him, in a way, and the style… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
I knew I wanted to create a character who was nerdy and kind of square, so when I drew a square sponge, everything came… — Stephen Hillenburg Copy Share Image
