SpongeBob voice stars Rodger Bumpass and Bill Fagerbakke firmly grasp their legacy as internet meme icons.
Just dont ask them what memes even are.
I really dont have a great definition of what a meme is.
The phrase bumper sticker comes to mind.
Fagerbakke is even less plugged-in than Bumpass, who at least has a verified Instagram account.
Fagerbakke believes any memetic success is owed to the shows late creator, Stephen Hillenburg.
It all starts with Stephen and who he was as a human being.
He was a really gentle, lovely, ferociously creative soul.
It all starts there.
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SpongeBob SquarePantspremiered on Nickelodeon on July 17, 1999.
In the 25 years since, the show has become more than an evergreen pop culture phenomenon.
But how and why isSpongeBob SquarePantsa meme generator?
There are a few obvious answers that may explain why.
Bumpass and Fagerbakke arent really online, at least to the degree their peers and audiences are.
So they admit to, ahem, not firmly grasping it all.
Still, they have their own theories.
He uses comedy history to make a point.
I go back to Steve Martin, he explains.
In the 60s, humor was dark.
Very political, very dark.
Steve Martin said, This will pass.
Im gonna go this other way.
I think thats what SpongeBob has done.
Its simply fun, and thats what you should want in entertainment.
You just want fun.
Fagerbakke again believes the shows power rests in Hillenburgs vision.
The word that the creator used to explain the show on the actors first day of recording was innocence.
I think its a kind of safe space, Fagerbakke says.
Bikini Bottom is a place where a lot of generations realize they feel comfortable and safe.
Now, is it the performance of Tom Kenny?
Is it a weird psychological phenomenon due to the colors and shapes?
I dont know for sure.
But there is something.
Maybe its the vivid nature of the characters.
Something authentic in the material lends itself well to memes and resonates because of the characters.
While the SpongeBob actors arent meme-savvy, they can stillname their favorites.
Fagerbakke owns a t-shirt of Shocked Patrick, with Patrick sitting atop a sloth in outer space.
I dont even know what episode its from.
But I love the way thats been plugged into things, he says.
People will come across the floor when they see I have that to offer.
Its a tremendous thing.
His personal favorite, however, is Unsure Squidward.
I have it on eight-by-tens I sell at comic cons.
When people come to my table, they pick that up and say, Thats me in the morning.
Theres a relationship to that moment, a connection.
Thats a nonverbal meme.
Easily, the most popular meme must be Squidward Looking Outside His Window.
Bumpass offers this nugget of wisdom into its universality.
When we observe and dont participate, theres a break in our reality, he says.
Squidwards life is being left out.
He hasnt achieved any sort of success.
He has to fall short.
That is essential to his character.
He has frustration and tries to compensate by being superior to others.
Sarcasm is his shield.
Both Bumpass and Fagerbakke are surprised by how far SpongeBob SquarePants has come.
They each felt differently about the shows prospects in the beginning.
Take Fagerbakke, who was not amused at first.
When I first saw the pilot on the page, I didnt understand it, he admits.
I thought it was preschool drivel.
It wasnt until I saw the pilot that my brain exploded.
I realized what a wonderful cartoon Id been a part of.
Then, I understood the nature of the characters, the visual nature of the humor.
From that point, I finally understood it.
Bumpass barely remembers his audition for the show.
It was just another audition back then, he recalls.
You read your copy, you go home, and forget about it.
My wish is that we last just a little bit longer than the pyramids, he quips.
Theres no better barometer for cultural relevance than the Super Bowl.
More than once, SpongeBob has been used to bridge the worlds of professional football and cartoons.
That was the proposal, I think, he says.
Time is precious in a Super Bowl halftime show, so they decided theyd rather do their own pieces.
OnNickelodeon, Kenny and Fagerbakke conducted color commentary in character.
Fagerbakke, whos a lifelong fan of pro football, was basically Shocked Patrick IRL.
Im still coming to grips with what happened, Fagerbakke says.
It was exhausting, Fagerbakke says.
It was an overtime game.
To play a character within that context for four hours was nuts.
I just didnt want to blow it.
Fagerbakkes preparation included making notes, allowing him to deploy iconic lines at any moment.
Both games, I prepared, and was looking for opportunities.
It was funny: Tom couldnt care less about football, whereas I was so jazzed to be there.
Nonetheless, we balanced out because it didnt matter if we knew football.
It was more about having fun.
Its that triumvirate of writing,animation, and characterization by the performance, says Bumpass.
We are in 180 markets, over 31 languages.
We, as actors, dont do [all] the voices.
Theres some dynamic in there, and the dynamic I come back to is: funny is funny.
I think its just one of those intangibles.
Fagerbakke still thinks everything goes back to Hillenburg and how he oversaw a roster of incredibly talented people.
He adds: Im sure there have been meetings at studios like, How do we get a SpongeBob?
Find a Hillenburg and let them create.
