The Show

SpongeBob SquarePants is a very popular children’s cartoon show broadcast on television. It was created by Stephen Hillenburg, a marine biologist who brought his knowledge of sea creatures to good use when designing the characters. Set under the ocean, it follows a sea sponge as he goes on various adventures in the town of Bikini Bottom.

This town and the surrounding ocean is host to numerous forms of sea life. SpongeBob encounters many different characters as the series progresses. The show has helped young children to develop an interest in the animals that live in the water. Despite being primarily an entertainment programme there are some educational elements.

Sea Life Featured

• Starfish

Patrick, SpongeBob’s best friend is a star fish. This creature is portrayed as being very simple minded for comedic effect. Throughout the series Patrick is shown to be incredibly stupid but also friendly and loyal.

• Crab

SpongeBob works at a fast food restaurant owned by a crab. Voiced by Clancy Brown, Mr. Krabs is a very greedy creature. He values money above all else and will jeopardise his employee’s safety just to save a penny.

• Squid

Squidward Tentacles is SpongeBob’s long suffering neighbour. He is almost always in a bad mood. Squidward dislikes being in the company of others. This is likely a reference to the solitary nature of squids in general.

• Whale

Pear is the daughter of Mr. Krabs. Despite the impossibility and absurdity of the concept Pearl is actually a sperm whale. However, her size is decreased in order for her to fit on screen. Pearl is generally friendly but can also be very demanding, especially of her father.

• Sea Snail

Gary is the house pet of SpongeBob. He spends almost all of his time in their home, a hollowed out pineapple. Despite being a snail, Gary is able to make meow vocalisations. This is because he is the deep sea equivalent of a cat in this show. Unlike many of the other characters, Gary cannot speak English. However, he does exhibit a fair amount of intelligence.

• Plankton

In the real world Plankton are eaten by a wide range of sea creatures. This is probably why the character in this show is constantly in a bad mood. Plankton runs a rival fast food chain and is constantly trying to get his hands on the formula for the burgers that SpongeBob makes. Many jokes are made about Plankton’s minute size.