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On the 26th, marine biologist and animator Steven Hillenburg passed away at the age of 57 after suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as "frostbite".
The name may be too unfamiliar to everyone, but the characters he has created have become popular all over the world in just nineteen years and have become part of American pop culture.
This character is SpongeBob SquarePants.
▲ Hillenberg and his SpongeBob SquarePants
Stephen Hillenburg, who grew up in California, has been interested in the ocean since childhood. He always remembers many of the works of the French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau seen in the cinema as a child, and the quiet and fantastic underwater world under the lens of Cousteau "opened the door to another world" for Hellenberg.
In 1956, Cousteau collaborated with Louis Mahler to produce the documentary "The Silent World", which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d'Or.
At the same time, Hillenberg's artistic talent was slowly revealed. In the third grade, he drew a picture of war, but the soldiers did not fight each other, but embraced each other.
At the time of the Vietnam War, this work naturally received praise from teachers. Hillenberg always remembers the expression on his teacher's face when he saw this work, but he did not have so much anti-war spirit at that time, and he only "thought it was funny" to paint this work.
In middle school, Hillenburg participated in a local diving program, which became the direct reason why he chose to major in marine biology when he was in college. In gap year before college, he worked at an aquatic fast food restaurant, which is also the origin of SpongeBob SquarePants' career setting.
After graduating from college, after several twists and turns, he finally sought the career of his dreams and began to work as a teacher of marine biology at the Åland Oceanographic Research Institute.
During his work, he was commissioned by the institute to draw a cartoon about intertidal creatures for the children who came to visit. In this comic called Intertidal, Hillenburg created many cute sea creatures, which also provided many prototypes for the story of SpongeBob SquarePants.
▲ A sponge in "Intertidal"
In 1987, Hillenburg resigned as a teacher and began to concentrate on comic writing. Two years later, he entered the Galilfian College of Art and earned a master's degree in experimental animation.
After graduating, Hillenburg officially began his career as a cartoonist, working as a screenwriter and storyboard author for the animated series Roark's Funky Life.
▲ "Roark's Fashionable Life"
This animation was the first self-produced animation of nickelodeon international children's channel, and at that time, nickelodeon international children's channel probably did not think about how much wealth this young man would bring to them.
According to Hellenberg's later recollections, the concept of SpongeBob SquarePants probably arose when he was teaching at the Oran Institute of Oceanography, and several children's dramas of the time, such as "Space Flying Squirrel" and "The Adventures of Piway", influenced him. It was only after more than ten years that the flash of inspiration in my mind became a mature work.
▲ "Space Flying Squirrel" and "The Adventures of Pi wei"
During the production of Roque's Fashionable Life, one of the authors encouraged him to make an animated series of his own. This reminds Hellenberg of his own Intertidal Zone, in which crabs, sponges, octopuses, and starfish emerge one by one, giving him the idea of creating an animation about marine life.
I wanted to create an underwater town, but the creatures there were more like humans than fish. They can build fires, walk, drive cars, and keep pets.
In terms of style, in addition to the above-mentioned children's dramas, Hillenburg also referenced animation works such as "Ryan and Stumby", laying the foundation for the exaggerated and magical style of "SpongeBob SquarePants".
Ryan and Stemby
As for the personality setting of the protagonist SpongeBob SquarePants, Hillenburg has referenced many comedians including Charlie Chaplin and Jerry Lewis.
This animation is full of wisdom, but it is also acceptable to children; this animation is full of stupidity, but it does not make adults bored.
In 1999, after the official launch of "SpongeBob SquarePants", the New York Times gave such an evaluation.
With its magical laughter, this "sponge bob in square pants" is wildly loved by children and even adult audiences, and is watched by nearly 60 million viewers every month, half of whom are adults.
Hillenberg has also received 17 Emmy nominations, multiple Annie Award nominations, and received the Grace Princess Film Fund Award in 2002. In addition, he received the highest honor of "Save the Beach", the first environmental non-profit organization in Southern California.
Today, SpongeBob SquarePants is still running on nickelodeon international children's channels, and its merchandise has generated more than $10 billion in revenue for nickelodeon cable channels. The musical of the same name, which was released on Broadway in New York in 2017, was also ravely acclaimed.
▲ 12-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical "SpongeBob SquarePants"
I don't know if SpongeBob, who has been optimistic about the death of Hillenburg, will cry and drool like that. Or maybe Hillenburg just went to catch jellyfish with SpongeBob.
Edit: Chicken Boy Boy
Image source: Web Images