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Hillenburg in 2011, presenting the original SpongeBob SquarePants series bible
Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator, cartoonist and marine biology teacher. He is best known as the creator, director, writer, showrunner, producer and executive producer of several animated television series, most notably SpongeBob SquarePants (1999—present), Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish (2005—2018), Pirate Tales (2005—2011), The Pet Adventures of Lego (2010—2019), and The Doggies (2013—2021). Debuting in 1999, Hillenburg served as the showrunner for the first three seasons of SpongeBob SquarePants, which has become the fifth longest-running American animated series.
Born in Lawton, Oklahoma and raised in Anaheim, California, Hillenburg became fascinated with the ocean as a child and developed an interest in art. He started his professional career in 1984, instructing marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute, where he wrote The Intertidal Zone, an informative comic book about tide-pool animals, which he used to educate his students. In 1989, two years after leaving teaching, Hillenburg enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts to pursue a career in animation. He was later offered a job on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rocko's Modern Life (1993—1996) after his success with The Green Beret and Wormholes (both 1992), short films that he made while studying animation.
In 1994, Hillenburg began developing The Intertidal Zone characters and concepts for what became SpongeBob SquarePants. The show premiered in 1999 on Nickelodeon and has aired since then. He also directed The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), which he originally intended to be the series finale but Nickelodeon wanted to produce more episodes, so Hillenburg resigned as showrunner to work on animated series for DreamWorks Animation Television such as The Doggies, Spy Madness (2014—2018), Animal City (2006—2018), Male and Female (2006—2008), Tex and Avery (2006—2015), Family of the Dead (2017—2019), Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish, Aura and Sally (2005—2008), Camp Lakebottom (2013—2017), Pirate Express (2015), Awesome Six (2016—2020), Rocky the Shrimp (2008—2014), Jimmy Two-Shoes (2009—2012), its spin-off Neighbors from Hell (2010), Atomic Puppet (2016—2018), Pirate Tales, T.U.F.F. Puppy (2010–2015), The Pet Adventures of Lego, and 2014's The Dreamtoons Show as well as several shorts in Cartoon Party!. He brought fellow Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants cast members Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny, Charlie Adler, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Doug Lawrence, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, and Jill Talley to voice characters in several of his other shows, but continued to be credited as an executive producer for SpongeBob SquarePants and temporarily returned to Nickelodeon in 2007 as an executive producer for the hit television series The Modifyers (2007—2014), which was created by Lynne Naylor and Chris Reccardi.
Labeled as "one of the most successful creators of episodic comedy cartoons", his shows' "wacky and zany" style was "at the forefront of a wave of innovative, creator-driven television animation", along with that of other animators such as Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken, Joe Murray and Maxwell Atoms, and has been credited as "a staple of American modern animated television". Hillenburg also co-directed three animated feature films for DreamWorks Animation; Billy the Cat (2016), TBD (2017) and Monica's Gang (2018), created several cartoon characters for the Dreamtoons franchise such as Biscuit Dog, the Brightstars, and Flie and Mobile, designed the characters for the animated film Save the Woods (2020), and produced the independent animated short film Hollywood Blvd., USA (2013). Hillenburg co-wrote the story for the second film adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which was released in 2015 and marked Hillenburg's return to the series shortly after its release.
Besides his two Emmy Awards and six Annie Awards for SpongeBob SquarePants, Hillenburg also received other recognition, such as an accolade from Heal the Bay for his efforts on elevating marine life awareness, and the Television Animation Award from the National Cartoonists Society, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 24, 2017. Hillenburg was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2017, but stated he would continue to work on his shows as long as possible. He died on November 26, 2018 at the age of 57.
Early life and education[]
Stephen McDannell Hillenburg was born on August 21, 1961 at Fort Sill, a United States Army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, where his father, Kelly N. Hillenburg Jr., worked for the U.S. military. His mother, Nancy (née Dufour), taught visually impaired students. When he was one year-old, the family moved to Orange County, California, where his father began a career as a draftsman and designer in the aerospace industry. His younger brother, Bryan, eventually became a draftsman/designer as well. Hillenburg had no recollection of life in Oklahoma, only of growing up in Anaheim, California.
When an interviewer asked him to describe himself as a child, he replied that he was "probably well-meaning and naive like all kids." His passion for sea life can be traced to his childhood, when films by French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau made a strong impression on him. Hillenburg said that Cousteau "provided a view into that world", which he had not known existed. He liked to explore tide pools as a child, bringing home objects that "should have been left there and that ended up dying and smelling really bad."
Hillenburg also developed his interest in art at a young age. His first drawing was of an orange slice. An illustration which he drew in third grade, depicting "a bunch of army men... kissing and hugging instead of fighting", brought him the first praise for his artwork, when his teacher commended it. "Of course, this is 1970... She liked it because, I mean, obviously that was in the middle of [the Vietnam War]. She was, I would imagine, not a hundred percent for the war like a lot of people then.... I had no idea about the implications, really, because I just thought it was a funny idea. I remember that still, that moment when she said, 'oh my gosh, look at that'", Hillenburg elaborated. It was then when he knew he "had some [creative] skill". He asserted that his artistry came from his mother's side, despite his father being a draftsman, noting that his maternal grandmother was "really, really gifted" and a "great painter". In the 1970s, someone took Hillenburg to the International Tournée of Animation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He was "knocked out" by the foreign animated films, including Dutch animator Paul Driessen's The Killing of an Egg (1977). "That was the film that I thought was uniquely strange and that lodged itself in my head early on," he recounted.
"I've always been interested in art and making things, but I chose not to go to art school because I thought I needed to do something else. Art was a tough way to make a living. I've always done both. I just kind of figured that the marine biology would be a career and the art would be something I did for my own self-expression."
He attended Savanna High School in Anaheim, describing himself as a "band geek" who played the trumpet. At age 15, he snorkeled for the first time; Hillenburg took part in a "dive program" at Woods Coves in Laguna Beach, as part of the Regional Occupational Program at Savanna. This experience, as well as subsequent dives, reinforced his interest in, and led to his decision to study, marine biology in college: "The switch clicked and I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist, but I also liked being an artist." Some of his high-school teachers, who knew of his interest in art and fascination with the ocean, advised him otherwise, saying: "You should just draw fish." However, the idea of drawing fish seemed boring to him and he was more riveted by "making weird, little paintings". During a few summers after finishing high school, he worked as a fry cook and lobster boiler at a fast-food seafood restaurant in Maine (this later inspired SpongeBob SquarePants' occupation in the television series, which he would begin developing in 1994).
Hillenburg went to Humboldt State University in Arcata, California as a marine-science major. He minored in art, and claimed that "[he] blossomed as a painter in Humboldt." In 1984, he earned his bachelor's degree in natural-resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis on marine resources. He intended to take a master's degree, but said it would be in art: "Initially I think I assumed that if I went to school for art I would never have any way of making a living, so I thought it might be smarter to keep art my passion and hobby and study something else. But by the time I got to the end of my undergrad work, I realized I should be in art."
Early career[]
After graduating from college, Hillenburg held various jobs in 1984, including as a park service attendant in Utah and an art director in San Francisco, before landing the job he wanted: teaching children. He hoped to work in a national park on the coast, and eventually found a job at the Orange County Marine Institute (now known as the Ocean Institute), an organization in Dana Point, California, dedicated to educating the public about marine science and maritime history. Hillenburg was a marine-biology teacher there for three years: "We taught tide-pool ecology, nautical history, diversity and adaptation. Working there, I saw how enamored kids are with undersea life, especially with tide-pool creatures." He stayed at the Dana Point Marina and was also a staff artist. Although "[i]t was a great experience" for him, during this period, Hillenburg realized he was more interested in art than his chosen profession.
While working there, one of the educational directors asked him if he would be interested in creating an educational comic book about the animal life of tidal pools. He created a comic called The Intertidal Zone, which he used to teach his students. It featured anthropomorphic forms of sea life, many of which would evolve into SpongeBob SquarePants characters—including "Bob the Sponge", the comic's co-host, who resembled an actual sea sponge, as opposed to his later SpongeBob SquarePants character, who resembles a kitchen sponge. He tried to get the comic published, but the publishers he approached turned him down.
During this time, Hillenburg also started going to animation festivals such as the International Tournée of Animation and Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation where films made by students from the California Institute of the Arts (colloquially called CalArts) were shown. He determined that he wanted to pursue a career in that field. Hillenburg had planned to take a master's degree in art, but instead of "going back to school for painting", he left his job in 1987 to become an animator.
Hillenburg enrolled in CalArts' Experimental Animation Program in 1989. About this decision, he said: "Changing careers like that is scary, but the irony is that animation is a pretty healthy career right now and science education is more of a struggle." He studied under Jules Engel, the founding director of the program, whom he considered his "Art Dad" and mentor. Engel accepted him into the program impressed by The Intertidal Zone. Hillenburg said, "[Engel] also was a painter, so I think he saw my paintings and could easily say, 'Oh, this guy could fit in to this program.' I don't have any [prior experience in] animation really." Hillenburg graduated in 1992, earning a Master of Fine Arts in experimental animation.
Animation career[]
Early works[]
Hillenburg made his first animated works, short films The Green Beret and Wormholes (both 1992), while at CalArts. The Green Beret was about a physically challenged Girl Scout with enormous fists who toppled houses and destroyed neighborhoods while trying to sell Girl Scout cookies. Wormholes was his seven-minute thesis film, about the theory of relativity. He described the latter as "a poetic animated film based on relativistic phenomena" in his grant proposal in 1991 to the Princess Grace Foundation, which assists emerging artists in American theater, dance, and film. The foundation agreed to fund the effort, providing Hillenburg with a Graduate Film Scholarship. "It meant a lot. They funded one of the projects I'm most proud of, even with SpongeBob. It provided me the opportunity just to make a film that was personal, and what I would call independent, and free of some of the commercial needs," he said in 2003. Wormholes was shown at several international animation festivals, including: the Annecy International Animated Film Festival; the Hiroshima International Animation Festival; the Los Angeles International Animation Celebration; the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen; and the Ottawa International Animation Festival, where it won Best Concept. LA Weekly labeled the film "road-trippy" and "Zap-comical", while Manohla Dargis of The New York Times opined that it was inventive.
Hillenburg explained that "anything goes" in experimental animation. Although this allowed him to explore alternatives to conventional methods of filmmaking, he still ventured to employ "an industry style"; he preferred to traditionally animate his films (where each frame is drawn by hand) rather than, for instance, make cartoons "out of sand by filming piles of sand changing". Hillenburg had at least one other short film that he made as an animation student but its title is unspecified.
Work at Nickelodeon[]
Rocko's Modern Life[]
Hillenburg's first professional job in the animation business was as a director on Rocko's Modern Life (1993–1996), Nickelodeon's first in-house cartoon production. He "ended up finding work in the industry and got a job" at the television network after he met the show's creator, Joe Murray, at the 1992 Ottawa International Animation Festival, where Wormholes and Murray's My Dog Zero were both in competition. Murray, who was looking for people to direct Rocko's Modern Life at the time, saw Hillenburg's film and offered him a directorial role on the television series. He "[had] friends that [gave him] a hard time about [the offer]... but doors opened when [he] stepped into the animation world," so he accepted it. He "was planning on being a starving artist": "[I spent] several thousand dollars to make a film and [realized] I may not make it back—I had loans out. Fortunately, Joe Murray saw my film... and he took a huge chance," Hillenburg related.
Hillenburg worked closely with Murray on Rocko's Modern Life for its whole run on the air. Aside from directing, he also produced, wrote and storyboarded for some episodes, and served as the executive story editor. In 1995, during the show's fourth and final season, he was promoted to creative director, where he helped oversee pre- and post-production. Working on the series enabled him to repay his loans. He later related that he "learned a great deal about writing and producing animation for TV" from his stint on Rocko's Modern Life.
SpongeBob SquarePants[]
Creation[]
Some evidence shows that the idea for SpongeBob SquarePants dates back to 1986, during Hillenburg's time at the Orange County Marine Institute. He indicated that children's television series such as The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse (1987–1988) and Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986–1991) "sparked something in [him]." He continued, "I don't know if this is true for everybody else, but it always seems like, for me, I'll start thinking about something and it takes about ten years to actually have it happen, or have someone else believe in it... It took me a few years to get [SpongeBob SquarePants] together."
During the production of Rocko's Modern Life, Martin Olson, one of the writers, read The Intertidal Zone and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, he had not even considered creating his own series: "After watching Joe [Murray] tear his hair out a lot, dealing with all the problems that came up, I thought I would never want to produce a show of my own." However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach: "For all those years it seemed like I was doing these two totally separate things. I wondered what it all meant. I didn't see a synthesis. It was great when [my two interests] all came together in [a show]. I felt relieved that I hadn't wasted a lot of time doing something that I then abandoned to do something else. It has been pretty rewarding," Hillenburg said in 2002. He claimed that he finally decided to create a series as he was driving to the beach on the Santa Monica Freeway one day: "It finally dawned on me that if I was going to do my own show, all those things I lectured about and obsessed about would make for an interesting world."
As he was developing the show's concept, Hillenburg remembered his teaching experience at the Orange County Marine Institute and how mesmerized children were by tide-pool animals, including crabs, octopuses, starfish, and sponges. It came to him that the series should take place underwater, with a focus on those creatures: "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." It suited what Hillenburg liked for a show, "something that was fantastic but believable." He also wanted his series to stand out from most popular cartoons of the time exemplified by buddy comedies such as Ren and Stimpy (1991–1995). As a result, he decided to focus on one main character: the weirdest sea creature that he could think of. This led him to the sponge: "I wanted to do a show about a character that was an innocent, and so I focused on a sea sponge because it's a funny animal, a strange one." In 1994, Hillenburg began to further develop some characters from The Intertidal Zone, including Bob the Sponge.
Bob the Sponge is the comic's "announcer". He resembles an actual sea sponge, and at first Hillenburg continued this design because it "was the correct thing to do biologically as a marine-science teacher." In determining the new character's personality, he drew inspiration from innocent, childlike figures that he enjoyed such as Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp, Laurel and Hardy, Jerry Lewis, Goldy Locks, Baby Huey, Larguirucho, Winnie the Pooh, Yakky Doodle, Bullwinkle J. Moose, Quacky, and Pee-wee Herman. He then considered modeling the character after a kitchen sponge, and realized that this idea would match the character's square personality perfectly: "[I]t looked so funny. I think as far as cartoon language goes he was easier to recognize. He seemed to fit the character type I was looking for—a somewhat nerdy, squeaky clean oddball." To voice the central character of the series, Hillenburg turned to Tom Kenny, whose career in animation had begun with his on Rocko's Modern Life. Elements of Kenny's own personality were employed in further developing the character.
In 1997, while pitching the cartoon to executives at Nickelodeon, Hillenburg donned a Hawaiian shirt, brought along an "underwater terrarium with models of the characters", and played Hawaiian music to set the theme. Nickelodeon executive Eric Coleman described the setup as "pretty amazing". Although Derek Drymon, creative director of SpongeBob SquarePants, described the pitch as stressful, he said it went "very well". Nickelodeon approved and gave Hillenburg money to produce the show.
Broadcast[]
SpongeBob SquarePants was Nickelodeon's first original Saturday-morning cartoon. It first aired as a preview on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17 of the same year. Hillenburg noted that the show's premise "is that innocence prevails—which I don't think it always does in real life." It has received positive reviews from critics, and has been noted for its appeal to different age groups. James Poniewozik of Time magazine described the titular character as "the anti-Bart Simpson, temperamentally and physically: his head is as squared-off and neat as Bart's is unruly, and he has a personality to match—conscientious, optimistic and blind to the faults in the world and those around him." On the other hand, The New York Times critic Joyce Millman said that the show "is clever without being impenetrable to young viewers and goofy without boring grown-ups to tears. It's the most charming toon on television, and one of the weirdest... Like Pee-wee's Playhouse, SpongeBob joyfully dances on the fine line between childhood and adulthood, guilelessness and camp, the warped and the sweet."
SpongeBob SquarePants was an immediate hit. Within its first month on air, it overtook Pokémon (1997–) as the highest-rated Saturday morning children's series. By the end of 2001, the show boasted the highest ratings of any children's series on television. Nickelodeon began adding SpongeBob SquarePants to its Monday-through-Thursday prime-time block. This programming change increased the number of older viewers significantly. By May 2002, the show's total viewership reached more than 61 million, 20 million of which were aged 18 to 49. Hillenburg did not expect the show would be very popular even to adults: "I never imagined that it would get to this point. 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 laugh, then ask if it's appropriate for children. I can tell you that we hoped it would be liked by adults. But we really thought the best we could hope for was a college audience. SpongeBob SquarePants has gone on to become the longest-running series on Nickelodeon. "Ten years. I never imagined working on the show to this date and this long. It never was possible to conceive that... I really figured we might get a season and a cult following, and that might be it," Hillenburg said in 2009 during the show's tenth anniversary. Its popularity has made it a media franchise, which is the most-distributed property of MTV Networks. As of 2015, it has generated $12 billion in merchandising revenue.
Departure and return[]
In 2002, Hillenburg halted production of the show after the third season was completed to focus on the making of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie which was released in 2004: "I don't want to try and do a movie and the series at the same time. We have 60 episodes and that is probably as many as [Nickelodeon] really needs. It is a standard number for a show like this. I have done a little research and people say it is just crazy doing a series and movie at the same time. I would rather concentrate on doing a good job on the movie," he noted. He directed the film from a story that he conceived with five other writer-animators from the series: Paul Tibbitt, Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Kent Osborne, and Tim Hill. The writers created a mythical hero's quest: the search for a stolen crown, which brings SpongeBob and his best friend Patrick to the surface. In 2003, during the production of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, his mentor Jules Engel died at the age of 94. Hillenburg dedicated the film to his memory. He said that Engel "truly was the most influential artistic person in [his] life." The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie grossed $140 million worldwide, and received positive reviews from critics. The review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes rates it 68% positive based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. Its consensus states in summary, "Surreally goofy and entertaining for both children and their parents."
"It reached to a point where I felt I'd contributed a lot and said what I wanted to say. At that point, the show needed new blood and so I selected Paul [Tibbitt] to produce. I totally trusted him. I always enjoyed the way he captured the SpongeBob character's sense of humor. And as a writer, you have to move on—I'm developing new projects."
After completing the film, Hillenburg wanted to end the series "so [it] wouldn't jump the shark." "We're working on episodes 40 through 60 right now, and I always looked at that as a typical run for an animated show. [Ren and Stimpy] lasted about that long, for example. And I thought now was a good time to step aside and look at a different project. I personally think it's good not to go to the point where people don't want to see your show anymore," Hillenburg said in 2002. However, Nickelodeon decided to renew the series for a fourth season due to its popularity: "The show was such a cash cow for the station that it couldn't afford not to," storyboard director Sam Henderson observed. Initially Hillenburg doubted that the network would continue the show without him, saying: "I think [Nickelodeon executives] respect that my contribution is important. I think they would want to maintain the original concept and quality." Consequently, he resigned as the showrunner and appointed his trusted staff member Paul Tibbitt to the role. Although he no longer had a direct involvement producing SpongeBob SquarePants, he retained his position as an executive producer and maintained an advisory role, reviewing each episode. While he was on the show, he voiced Potty the Parrot and sat in with Derek Drymon at the record studio to direct the voice actors while they were recording. During the fourth season, Tibbitt took on voicing for Potty, while Andrea Romano replaced the two as the voice director. In 2014, Tibbitt announced on his Twitter account that Hillenburg would return to the show. However, he did not specify what position the former showrunner would hold.
As early as 2012, Hillenburg had already been contributing to another film based on the series, which was first reported in 2011 and officially announced the following year, with Tibbitt as director. Tibbitt also wrote the story with Hillenburg, who "[had] been in the studio everyday working with [the crew]." Besides writing, Hillenburg also executive produced. He said in 2014: "Actually when [the film] wraps, I want to get back to the show... it is getting harder and harder to come up with stories. So Paul [Tibbitt] and I are really going to brainstorm and come up with fresh material." The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, the second film adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants, was released in 2015 to positive critical reception, currently holding a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 80% and an average rating of 6.5/10. It earned $323.4 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film based on an animated television show behind The Simpsons Movie (2007).
The Modifyers[]
On June 8, 2007, Hillenburg returned to Nickelodeon Animation Studio, but while still being credited as executive producer, he didn't return to SpongeBob SquarePants until the late-2010s. Instead, he was interested in Chris Reccardi and Lynne Naylor's new animated series The Modifyers, and joined Reccardi and Naylor as executive producer. DreamWorks Animation Television was involved in the series' production. It features the voices of Mae Whitman, Jeff Bennett, Paul Rugg, Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor, Ashley Johnson, Tom Kenny, Tara Strong, Nika Futterman, and comedian John Leguizamo. Upon its premiere on November 18, 2007, The Modifyers received positive reception and critical ratings, gaining enormous popularity throughout its run, becoming one of the most successful shows on Nickelodeon, especially being considered by many fans as "the next SpongeBob SquarePants, but with Kim Possible" due to its top-rating. Hillenburg also helped directing, writing and storyboarding for some episodes, and provided additional voices, as well as voicing some characters in several episodes such as Mr. Hyde, a news reporter, and a taxi driver.
In 2010, during the production of The Modifyers Movie, he was promoted for the writing, story (with Amy Wolfram), screenplay (with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade) and storyboard artist with Naylor, Reccardi, Charlie Bean, and Joanna Davidovich. The film was released in 2011 to box office success, grossing $256.3 million worldwide, and positive reviews from critics. The review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes rates it 83% positive based on 127 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. Its consensus states in summary, "The outstanding origins of our pink-haired secret agent are entertaining for fun."
In 2016, following its acquisition by NBCUniversal, DreamWorks announced that they would not co-owning The Modifyers, which was fully sold to Viacom next year, due to not renewing the series' rights.
Tales from Planet Mammalia[]
TBD
Work on DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Animation Television[]
In December 2004, a month after both the premiere of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and his departure from SpongeBob SquarePants, Hillenburg made a contract deal with DreamWorks Television to produce animated projects for the studio, with most of said projects receiving mixed-to-positive critical reception. TBD
Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish[]
Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish was Hillenburg's second animated series that aired from 2005 to 2018. TBD
Pirate Tales[]
TBD
Aura and Sally[]
After Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish and Pirate Tales, Hillenburg's next series was Aura and Sally, and it aired from 2005 to 2008. TBD
Animal City[]
While still working on Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish, Pirate Tales and Aura and Sally, TBD
Male and Female[]
TBD
Tex and Avery[]
Hillenburg's first collaboration with another cartoonist to create a TV series was with Chris Savino for Tex and Avery. TBD
Rocky the Shrimp[]
TBD
The Mouse Family[]
TBD
Jimmy Two-Shoes and Neighbors from Hell[]
TBD
TBD
After the success of Jimmy Two-Shoes, an adult-animated spin-off titled Neighbors from Hell premiered on TBS on 2010. TBD
TBD
The Pet Adventures of Lego[]
TBD
T.U.F.F. Puppy[]
TBD
Camp Lakebottom[]
TBD
The Doggies[]
In 2013, Hillenburg and fellow animator David Feiss (creator of Cartoon Network's Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel) created The Doggies. TBD
The Dreamtoons Show[]
TBD
Spy Madness[]
In 2014, Hillenburg reunited with Joe Murray (creator of Rocko's Modern Life, whom Hillenburg worked on back in the 1990s) and Camp Lazlo) and C. H. Greenblatt (who worked on SpongeBob until 2005 and created Chowder) as they teamed up creating their next collaboration Spy Madness. TBD
Pirate Express[]
TBD
Atomic Puppet[]
TBD
Awesome Six[]
TBD
Family of the Dead[]
Family of the Dead is the third adult animated television series that Hillenburg produced for Moonboy Animation, the adult animation division of DreamWorks Animation Television, and the only one he created. The series aired on TBS on 2017. TBD
Feature films[]
TBD
Other pursuits[]
In 1998, Hillenburg formed United Plankton Pictures, Inc., a television and film production company, which produces all of Hillenburg's shows and related media. From 2011 to 2021, the company published SpongeBob and Friends Comics, a comic book series based on SpongeBob SquarePants and Hillenburg's other series. Hillenburg announced the venture in a 2011 press release, where he said, "I'm hoping that fans will enjoy finally having a SpongeBob comic book from me." Various cartoonists, including James Kochalka, Hilary Barta, Graham Annable, Gregg Schigiel, and Jacob Chabot, have contributed to issues of the comic.
According to Jeff Lenburg, in his book Who's Who in Animated Cartoons, Hillenburg was co-writing and co-directing an animated feature film based on Rob Zombie's comic book series, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, which was slated for a 2006 release. He executive produced and helped to write Diggs Tailwagger, a 2007 pilot by Derek Drymon. Hillenburg stated in 2009 that he was developing two new television projects that he did not want to discuss. These projects were later confirmed to be The Pet Adventures of Lego and The Doggies, respectively.
In 2010, he began working on Hollywood Blvd., USA, a new short film for animation festivals. In making the two-minute film, he videotaped people walking and animated them in walk cycles. Hillenburg said in 2012, "I hope to get [the film] done. It takes forever." He was aiming to finish it that fall. In 2013, three years after production began, Hollywood Blvd., USA was released to festivals. Hillenburg characterized it as a "personal film" and said that "it's not a narrative. It's just really about people in our town."
Personal life[]
Hillenburg married Karen Umland, a Southern Californian chef who teaches at the New School of Cooking in Culver City, in 1998. Hillenburg deemed her to be the funniest person that he knew, and two characters from his shows (SpongeBob SquarePants' Karen; and The Doggies' Karen Doggie) were both named after her. Also in 1998, the couple's first and only child, son Clay, was born and a recurring character in Aura and Sally (Clay J. Puddykat) was named after him. Hillenburg formerly resided in Hollywood and in Pasadena, and lived with his family in San Marino, California until his death. His hobbies included surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, and performing "noisy rock music" on his guitar. He jammed with his son, who is a drummer, which Hillenburg called "a great way to bond with each other." He also enjoyed birdwatching at home, but said that he was always "an ocean freak".
He was known informally as "Steve" among his family, friends, and fans. According to his colleagues, Hillenburg was "a perfectionist workaholic". He was also known for his private nature. Julia Pistor, co-producer of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, noted that Hillenburg was "very shy". She went on to say, "He doesn't want people to know about his life or family. He's just a really funny, down-to-earth guy with a dry sense of humor who puts his family first and keeps us on our toes in keeping our corporate integrity." Hillenburg said about himself, "I make animation because I like to draw and create things. I have no real interest to be on camera or to be a celebrity. It's not that I don't like people, but I like having my privacy."
Philanthropy[]
Hillenburg, with his wife Karen, had endowed numerous projects and organizations through the United Plankton Charitable Trust, which the couple established in 2005. The foundation, the name of which was adopted from Hillenburg's United Plankton Pictures, supports areas of the two's personal interest, giving under $500,000 annually as of 2017. Grantees include large, established arts-related organizations such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound, in which Karen is co-chair. Health accounts for most of their grantmaking; they had gifted to Planned Parenthood (where Karen is member of the board of directors as of 2014) and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, among other national health organizations.
In education, they had invested to schools, including the Polytechnic School in Pasadena (which their son attended), CalArts, and the Humboldt State University. Donations to the latter helped fund the HSU Marine Lab and the Stephen Hillenburg Marine Science Research Award Endowment, which the couple created in 2018 to support the university's marine-science research students. The previous year, the Princess Grace Foundation introduced the Stephen Hillenburg Animation Scholarship, an annual grant from the Hillenburgs to emerging animators.
Illness, death, and legacy[]
Hillenburg disclosed to Variety magazine in March 2017 that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal illness that affects and causes the death of neurons that control the brain and the spinal cord. He released a statement to the publication, in which he said that he would continue to work on SpongeBob SquarePants, The Pet Adventures of Lego, The Doggies, Spy Madness, Awesome Six, Family of the Dead, T.U.F.F. Puppy, Animal City, and Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish "for as long as [he is] able." He added: "My family and I are grateful for the outpouring of love and support. We ask that our sincere request for privacy be honored during this time." Hillenburg was in the early stages of the disease at the time, according to a source close to him.
Hillenburg died at his home on November 26, 2018, at the age of 57. The immediate cause of death was cardiopulmonary failure due to ALS. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean at least 500 yards (460 m) off the coast of California the following day.
During the halftime show for Super Bowl LIII, the performing band Maroon 5 arranged to use a clip from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Band Geeks" (which uses the song "Sweet Victory" as part of a spoof of a football halftime show) during their show as a means to pay tribute to Hillenburg. A full clip of the "Sweet Victory" song, including a dedication to Hillenburg, was played inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but not during the game, which angered many Hillenburg fans. Subsequently, the Dallas Stars, during one of their games, played "Sweet Victory", garnering a more positive response.
After his death, Drio aired a 20-second segment with SpongeBob, Patrick, Sailor Cat, Sailor Fish, Jimmy, Heloise, Beezy and many other characters from Hillenburg's animated works tracing Stephen Hillenburg's portrait with the words "R.I.P. Stephen Hillenburg (1961-2018) We'll miss you. Sincerely, Nickelodeon and DreamWorks" fading in on the right-hand side.
The SpongeBob SquarePants 20th anniversary TV special SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout, the Netflix crossover animated film SpongeBob and Company, the respective first seasons of The Doggies spinoff series Buddies and the Atomic Puppet sequel series Nuclear Boy and Nuclear Girl, the 2020 film Save the Woods, and the Phase One films in the Stephen Hillenburg Cinematic Universe were all dedicated to him.
During the production of Sony Pictures Animation's The Mitchells vs. the Machines, director and co-writer Mike Rianda drew a piece of artwork depicting many characters created by Hillenburg, as well as characters from The Modifyers, The Mouse Family, Rocko's Modern Life, The Family from M.A.M.M.A.L., Tales from Planet Mammalia, and Jimmy Two-Shoes spin-off Neighbors from Hell, appearing sad and depressed at his funeral. These were several main characters created throughout his lifetime, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Jimmy, Heloise, Beezy, Sailor Cat, Sailor Fish, etc., while most of the Dreamtoons characters who starred many of the Dreamtoons shorts directed by Hillenburg are trying to cheer them up.
Awards and honors[]
In 1992, one of Hillenburg's early works, Wormholes, won for Best Concept at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. For SpongeBob SquarePants, Hillenburg was nominated for 17 Emmy Awards, winning in the categories of Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation in 2010 and 2014, respectively. Hillenburg's works have received several other awards and nominations, including many Annie Award nominations, winning 12 times; six for SpongeBob SquarePants, four for Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish, and two for The Pet Adventures of Lego, as well as SpongeBob SquarePants and The Pet Adventures of Lego winning two British Academy Children's Awards each one, out of four nominations. In 2002, SpongeBob SquarePants won its first TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming nomination. TBD
TBD
In 2001, Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit organization, honored Hillenburg with its Walk the Talk award. He was recognized for raising public awareness of marine life through SpongeBob SquarePants. The following year, Hillenburg was given the Television Animation Award from the National Cartoonists Society, and the Princess Grace Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation. [Reserved for Hillenburg's star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015]. In 2018, Hillenburg received the Winsor McCay Award at the 45th Annie Awards, and a special recognition at the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards "for his contribution and impact made in the animation field and within the broadcast industry".
Filmography[]
| Title | Year | Company | Role | Notes/trivias |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Green Beret | 1992 | — | — |
|
| Wormholes | 1992 | — | — |
|
| Rocko's Modern Life | 1993–1996 |
|
— |
|
| SpongeBob SquarePants | 1999–2018 | Nickelodeon Animation Studio |
|
|
| The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | 2004 |
|
Parrot (voice) |
|
| Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish | 2005–2018 | DreamWorks Animation Television | Pizza boy (voice; "TBD") |
|
| Pirate Tales | 2005–2011 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Cartoon Party! | 2005–2016 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Aura and Sally | 2005–2008 | DreamWorks Animation Television | Police officer (voice) |
|
| Male and Female | 2006–2008 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Tex and Avery | 2006–2015 |
|
— |
|
| The Modifyers | 2007–2014 |
|
|
|
| The Family from M.A.M.M.A.L. | 2007–2015 |
|
— |
|
| Diggs Tailwagger | 2007 | Cartoon Network Studios
Fuzzy Door Productions |
— |
|
| The Mouse Family | 2008–2018 | Moonboy Animation | — |
|
| Tales from Planet Mammalia | 2008–2015 |
|
TBD |
|
| Animal City | 2008–2018 | DreamWorks Animation Television | TBD |
|
| The Mighty B! | 2008 |
|
— |
|
| Rocky the Shrimp | 2008–2011 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Elefriend | 2008–2014 |
|
— |
|
| Dreamtoons | 2009–2018 | DreamWorks Animation | — |
|
| Furry Prison | 2009–2018 | Moonboy Animation | — |
|
| Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants | 2009 |
|
Himself |
|
| Jimmy Two-Shoes | 2009–2012 |
|
— |
|
| The Pet Adventures of Lego | 2010–2018 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Neighbors from Hell | 2010 |
|
— |
|
| Headin' South Pole | 2010 | DreamWorks Animation | Duck #5 (voice) |
|
| T.U.F.F. Puppy (2010-2015) | 2010-2015 |
|
— |
|
| The Modifyers Movie | 2011 |
|
|
|
| Hollywood Blvd., USA | 2013 | — | — |
|
| Trip Around the Universe | 2013–2018 |
|
— |
|
| Camp Lakebottom | 2013-2017 |
|
— |
|
| The Doggies | 2013–2018 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Spy Madness | 2014–2018 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| The Dreamtoons Show | 2014–2018 |
|
— |
|
| The Brightstars: A Dreamtoons Production | 2014–2018 |
|
— |
|
| The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | 2015 |
|
Baby in Stroller (voice) |
|
| Pirate Express | 2015 |
|
— |
|
| Atomic Puppet | 2016–2018 |
|
— |
|
| Awesome Six | 2016–2018 | DreamWorks Animation Television | — |
|
| Billy the Cat | 2016 | DreamWorks Animation | — |
|
| Family of the Dead | 2017–2018 | Moonboy Animation | — |
|
| Dreamtoons: Through the Ages | 2017–2018 |
|
— |
|
| Trolls: The Beat Goes On! | 2018 |
|
— |
|
| Monica's Gang | 2018 | DreamWorks Animation | — |
|
| Dreamtoons: Cruise Adventures | 2019 |
|
— |
|
| Lake Summer Camp | 2019 |
|
— |
|
| Cartoon Animal Town | 2019-2021 |
|
— |
|
| Save the Woods | 2020 | DreamWorks Animation | — |
|
| Buddies | 2020 | Moonboy Animation | — |
|
| Nuclear Boy and Nuclear Girl | 2020 |
|
– |
|
| The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| Awesome Six Origins | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| The Aura and Sally Movie | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| Escape from Camp Lakebottom | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| Jimmy Two-Shoes: Hell Sweet Hell | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| Atomic Puppet Returns | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| The Doggies' Road Trip | 2020 |
|
— |
|
| Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years | 2021—2024 | Nickelodeon Animation Studio | — |
|
Trivia[]
- Hillenburg was a huge fan of Dreamtoons, The Adventures of Hijitus, and The Fantastic Family since his childhood.
- Coincidentally, he would later become the creator of some modern Dreamtoons characters such as Biscuit Dog, Droidlings, The Brightstars, and Flie and Mobile, directing several Dreamtoons shorts, and creating DreamWorks' superhero animated series Male and Female and Awesome Six.
- While most of his works are co-produced and owned by DreamWorks Animation Television, the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise is considered Hillenburg's only work to be not neither produced or owned by DreamWorks Television.
- So far for Mike Rianda's tribute artwork to Hillenburg, these characters are:
- Rocko's Modern Life - Rocko, Heffer, Filburt, Spunky, and Ed and Bev Bighead
- SpongeBob SquarePants - SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Sandy, Gary, Mrs. Puff, Pearl, and Karen
- Sailor Cat and Sailor Fish - Cat, Fish, Captain Cap'n, Honna Lulu, Club, Pincher, Wacky Moose, Big Beard, and Captain Silver Shark
- Pirate Tales - Captain Graybeak, Naty, Gene, Sneaky, Punky, Jeff, Lorelei, Maggie, Andy and Annie, Al, Marvin, [unnamed seanymph], Squeaky, and Sharksplosion
- Aura and Sally - Aura and Sally
- Male and Female - Male and Female
- Tex and Avery - Tex and Avery
- The Modifyers - Agent Xero and Mole
- Rocky the Shrimp - Rocky, Chompy Shark, Selena Sea Nettle, Flippy B. Dolphin, Harry Hermit Crab, Eric Elephant Seal, Joe the Sponge, Calina Clownfish, Manny and Mary Marlin, Petey Pelican, Stella Sea Turtle, Prickly Urchin, Nat Peterson, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, and TBD.
- The Mouse Family - The entire Mouse family
- The Family from M.A.M.M.A.L. - TBD
- Tales from Planet Mammalia - TBD
- Jimmy Two-Shoes and Neighbors from Hell - Jimmy, Heloise, Beezy, Lucius, Samy, Balthazor, Tina, Pazuzu, Vlaartark, Mandy, and Josh
- The Pet Adventures of Lego - Lego, Wag, Rose, Haidee, Velcro, and Stella
- T.U.F.F. Puppy - Dudley, Kitty, Keswick, and the Chief
- Camp Lakebottom - McGee, Gretchen, and Squirt
- The Doggies - The entire Doggie family, Sam and Bobo Pussycat, Ricky and Ronnie Mouse, and Frumpy
- Awesome Six - The Awesome Six
- Spy Madness - Will Barbera, Josie Smith, Ben Harrinton, Ally Rivera, and TBD
- Animal City - Mike and Mary, Gordo and Winnie, Macadamia, Hazelnut, Pistachio, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, Kenny the Cat, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, and TBD
- Pirate Express - Captain LaPoutine, Armando, Burt, Booli, Spewey, Newt, and Marie
- Atomic Puppet - Joey, AP, and Pauline
- Family of the Dead - TBD
- Dreamtoons - Joey Kangaroo, Wallabee, Goldy Locks, Wolfen Wolf, Waldo Walrus, Wilma Walrus, Lil' Mule, the Five Funny Foxes, the Goat Kids, the Fox and the Crow, the Penguins from A.N.I.M.A.L.S., Alex and Marty, King Julien, Maurice, Mort, Calamity May, the Three Cockroaches, the Wacky Ducks, Kooky Kookaburra, Patrick Perentie, Bosko, Mike and Mindy, Foxy and Roxy, Red Riding Hood, Marco Marsupial, Willy and Winnie, the Gibbon Siblings, Mr. Fox and Miss Cat, Queen Honeybee, Greg the Rat, Ray and Steve, Emmy the Rat, Mousegirl and Mouseboy, Scrat, Bunny and Claude, Will, Jill and Ben, Sharko and Marina, Zig the Hyena, Bernie, Oggy and Jack, Biscuit Dog, the Brightstars, the Droidlings, and Flie and Mobile
- Chris Reccardi and Lynne Naylor's piece of artwork depicting Agent Xero hugging SpongeBob (with Mole) is rather heartwarming as they're comforting each other with an inscription saying "No longer with us, but never forgotten", featuring a memorial for Stephen Hillenburg, thanking him for his creation and writing.
- TBD