Stephen Hillenburg

SpongeBob is a complete innocent - not an idiot. SpongeBob never fully realizes how stupid Patrick is. They're whipping themselves up into…

— Stephen Hillenburg

I pitched the idea that SpongeBob and Patrick learn a swearword. Everyone said no. I couldn't even use a bleep. So I…

— Stephen Hillenburg

A natural sponge is not as funny. A square sponge also fit that squeaky-clean idea I was going for.

— Stephen Hillenburg

I always pushed back on doing long-form. I imagined SpongeBob as being simple, and I wanted to concentrate on character humor.

— Stephen Hillenburg

We wanted the humor to come from the characters and their world - you go down there to escape the world up…

— Stephen Hillenburg

I see SpongeBob on ice-cream trucks a lot, and I've got bootleg SpongeBob merchandise from Mexico.

— Stephen Hillenburg

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

'The Simpsons' is a tough act to follow, so I thought it was best not to do what they do.

— Stephen Hillenburg

The morality we all grew up with and are accustomed to is what feels right.

— Stephen Hillenburg

I think it's amusing to watch a naive, well-meaning character kind of undo more cynical characters - kind of like watching Laurel…

— Stephen Hillenburg

I was planning on being a starving artist.

— Stephen Hillenburg

When SpongeBob's perseverance shines through, and you root for him - that's when the show is working.

— Stephen Hillenburg

I studied natural resources planning and thought I could get a job at some marine park. But I was great at art…

— Stephen Hillenburg

I never really imagined a show about a sponge going past our first season. I thought maybe we'd have a cult following,…

— Stephen Hillenburg

SpongeBob is a kid living an adult life. He has a job. Kids think being a fry cook is a great job.

— Stephen Hillenburg

SpongeBob represents idiocy. He is dumb. Patrick is dumb. Mr. Krabs is greedy. Squidward is a snob and vain.

— Stephen Hillenburg

SpongeBob is an innocent, and people respond to an innocent. I don't think it matters if you're young or old.

— Stephen Hillenburg

“They're making us think our thoughts are what we're thinking...I think.-Patrick Star”

— Stephen Hillenburg

SpongeBob is just made of cellulose, but he has parents who are natural sponges - he got the square gene.

— Stephen Hillenburg

In the '70s, as a kid, someone took me to a Tournee of Animation festival at the L.A. County Museum of Art.

— Stephen Hillenburg

Twentysomethings thank me for their childhood... SpongeBob lives at the bottom of the sea, but he brings a lot of great stuff…

— Stephen Hillenburg

The essence of the show is that SpongeBob is an innocent in a world of jaded characters. The rest is absurd packaging.

— Stephen Hillenburg

I was thinking about what would it be, what would the characters be like, and it just suddenly dawned on me that,…

— Stephen Hillenburg

I don't want to be the Pied Piper of fast food.

— Stephen Hillenburg

To do a 75-minute movie about SpongeBob wanting to make some jellyfish jelly would be a mistake, I think.

— Stephen Hillenburg