A biography for Stephen Hillenburghasn’t been written yet.
“I was always interested in the ocean and also in art. I had to figure out how to put the two together, but painting fish sounded boring.”
“I think it's amusing to watch a naive, well-meaning character kind of undo more cynical characters - kind of like watching Laurel and Hardy or Charlie Chaplin.”
“Generally, we try not to write down to kids. We really just try to write a visual, character-driven cartoon that has a lot of slapstick and really appeals to us. I guess we are just lucky that other adults find that amusing, too.”
“It's always great to hear adults say they can stand to watch our show.”
“To do a 75-minute movie about SpongeBob wanting to make some jellyfish jelly would be a mistake, I think.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that I will continue to work on 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and my other passions for as long as I am able.”
“I was planning on being a starving artist.”
“For some reason, not many women go into cartooning.”
“The morality we all grew up with and are accustomed to is what feels right.”
“The essence of the show is that SpongeBob is an innocent in a world of jaded characters. The rest is absurd packaging.”
“When SpongeBob's perseverance shines through, and you root for him - that's when the show is working.”
“I knew I wanted to create a character who was nerdy and kind of square, so when I drew a square sponge, everything came together. And originally his name was SpongeBoy, but there we couldn't use that for trademark reasons.”
“SpongeBob is an innocent, and people respond to an innocent. I don't think it matters if you're young or old.”
“SpongeBob represents idiocy. He is dumb. Patrick is dumb. Mr. Krabs is greedy. Squidward is a snob and vain.”
“One night, I was really beat; we worked really late and went to get food at some takeout place. And I leaned over against this gumball machine, just exhausted, and there was a SpongeBob looking back at me. And it's just, like, 'Oh, brother.'”
“A natural sponge is not as funny. A square sponge also fit that squeaky-clean idea I was going for.”
“I wanted people to hear directly from me that I have been diagnosed with ALS.”
“To be honest, there is a special gift for doing voice-overs, and the people who did the voices in the 'SpongeBob' cast are excellent at cartoon voice-overs, and they bring something extra to the reads.”
“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.”
“In the spring of 1996, I was working for Nickelodeon on a show called 'Rocko's Modern Life,' and I was interested at the time in doing a show about the ocean, an undersea show.”