April 2011 A to Z Blogging Challenge

What is the A to Z Challenge? It’s blogging a letter of the alphabet every day the month of April (with Sundays off for good behavior.) It began April 1st, with the letter A and ends April 30th, with the letter Z. You can click here to see who else is participating in this challenge.


Today's post is for the letter:

S is for one of my all-time favorite cartoons, SpongeBob Squarepants. Who knew when they debuted the first cartoon about a childish sponge working as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab that he would be so popular?  There is a 14-year age difference between our son and our first daughter. Spongebob Squarepants is probably the only current cartoon both of them watched as kids.

SpongeBob lives in Bikini Bottom. His next door neighbor is Squidward Tentacles, a pessimistic squid who bemoans his meager existence as the cashier at the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob's best friend, Patrick Star, lives on the other side of Squidward. As childlike as his friend, together, Patrick and SpongeBob drive the mature, serious Squidward crazy with their antics.

SpongeBob has a pet snail named Gary, who doesn't like baths. In one of SpongeBob's dreams, he sees Gary as a highly intellectually being that tells him to be careful of invading other people's dreams.

SpongeBob and Squidward work for the notoriously cheap Mr. Krabs. As owner of the Krusty Krab, he is always trying to cut costs and increase his profits. He's not against taking money from unsuspecting children. His competitor is Plankton, owner of the Chum Bucket. Plankton is always trying to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula with the help of his computer wife, Karen.

Also living in Bikini Bottom is Sandy Cheeks. A squirrel who hibernates during the winter, Sandy lives in a tree covered by a glass dome that keeps out the water. When Patrick and SpongeBob go to visit her, they must put on helmets that contain water so they can breathe. Sandy wears a spacesuit and astronaut's helmet to protect her body from the water and to provide her with oxygen to breathe.

It's hard not to like SpongeBob. He's always happy and he loves his job. He's often trying to help miserable Squidward see things in a more positive way. He'll do anything for his friends and he loves Gary with all his heart.

They made a SpongeBob Squarepants movie in 2004. I'm hoping they'll do it again. The storylines are totally outside of what goes on with the regular series, so it would be fun to see a sequel.

Do you watch SpongeBob Squarepants? Who is your favorite character?