Happy Birthday SpongeBob!

Posted on July 14, 2009 at 10:21 am

VH1 has a 10th birthday tribute to SpongeBob Suqarepants that premieres tonight.

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I like this tribute to SpongeBob’s innocence and sincerity. The Washington Post has an article about SpongeBob and the tribute.

So just how does a wide-eyed sponge who refuses to be snarky or cynical or topical win over the cable-wired world? How does it happen that, in Thompson’s words, the global “territory that had once been dominated by Mickey Mouse was now being rehabitated by SpongeBob SquarePants”?

Hillenburg — whose Nickelodeon office sign has read: “Have Fun or You’re Fired” — believes the success is anchored by SpongeBob’s sincerity and purity. Some businesses tout their Commitment to Excellence; Hillenburg and his creative team insist upon a Commitment to Innocence. “He’s an innocent who’s an oddball,” the creator says.

Partly, “I think ‘SpongeBob’ is born out of my love of Laurel and Hardy shorts,” says Hillenburg, citing the kidlike relationship between SpongeBob and sidekick Patrick the starfish as the show’s comedic core. “You’ve got that kind of idiot-buddy situation — that was a huge influence. SpongeBob was inspired by that kind of character: the Innocent — a la Stan Laurel.

This weekend, SpongeBob’s home network, Nickelodeon, will be running a 50-hour SpongeBob marathon, including the feature film and a top 10 list selected by the fans.

iCarly

Posted on April 13, 2009 at 4:00 pm

iCarly is a cute Nickelodeon series about a girl named Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) who creates her own web show called iCarly with her best friends Sam and Freddie. The series incorporates content produced by the viewers. I’ve got copies of the new DVD (Season One, Volume 2) to give away to the first four people who send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “iCarly” in the subject line. Tell me what you like best about iCarly!

Why is SpongeBob in a Sexy Commercial?

Posted on April 7, 2009 at 10:31 pm

What were they thinking? The latest Burger King ad for a Kids Meal featuring a SpongeBob Squarepants toy is a booty-shaking adaptation of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s famous musical salute to ladies’ rear ends. This is what the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has to say:

Nickelodeon and Burger King have reached a new low. They’ve partnered to produce a new, highly sexualized, ad for a Burger King SpongeBob SquarePants Kids Meal. The commercial, which ran during the men’s NCAA basketball championship last night, features The King singing a remix of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s 1990’s hit song, “Baby Got Back” with the new lyrics, “I like square butts and I cannot lie.” The ad shows images of The King singing in front of women shaking their behinds for the camera intercut with images of SpongeBob dancing along. The King even measures the behind of one of the woman who has stuffed a phonebook under her dress. After the King informs children about the free SpongeBob toy they get with the purchase of a Burger King Kids Meal, the ad ends with Sir Mix-A-Lot, lounging on a couch with two female admirers, saying, “Booty is booty.”

It’s harmful enough when a beloved media icon advertises junk food to children, but it’s utterly reprehensible when SpongeBob simultaneously promotes the objectification of women through sexualized imagery.

If you find this ad campaign directed at children offensive, the easiest way to express your views is by sending an email to Nickelodeon and Burger King via CCFC’s website.