The SpongeBash Weekend Interview with Mr. Lawrence

1: So, Mr. Lawrence. Who are you exactly, and what do you do?
A: Who am I ?!  Don’t you read my blog? I invented escalators last year, but they already had them.  I am a cartoonist slash animator slash writer slash director slash vocal performer. They call me “the Slasher”.  But I can’t do it all at once without some kind of painful truss.  I am also known for my participation in the early stages of television shows and movies as a developer.  I can also rebuild your den and or family room at cost.

2: How did you get to where you are today? 
A: Today I’m in a conscious state. I get there by waking up in the morning and soaking my head in brine.  If you meant my career I started as an animator on The Ren and Stimpy Show when I was 9 years old. Incredible isn’t it? I got to my position in cartoons by staying fresh and keeping my tightie whities clean.  Good advice for all you aspiring artists.

3: When you first started on SpongeBob, were you a writer or a voice actor, or did you jump into both at the same time? Does doing one help with the other?
A: I was already a voice actor and director/writer when I came on to SpongeBob.  But I was also known for writing characters and voicing them on other shows like Rocko’s Modern Life.  Writing and playing Plankton is very stimulating because I can carry through an idea to it’s completion. Hopefully making it all the funnier because I already connect with the material I’m reading.  It makes Plankton more dynamic, I hope.

4: How has your approach to writing episodes of SpongeBob changed over the last ten years?
A: Well ten years ago we were still trying to figure out who Plankton was and why he was funny, so we could keep him going as a running character on the show.  Now everyone knows exactly how to handle him, and my performance comes a little more naturally then it used to.

5: Do you get more say on a Plankton episode than the other writers? Which episodes are your favorites, and what do you feel makes for the best Plankton stories?
A: I used to write all the Plankton shows back in the beginning. That was my little show within the show, I was pretty lucky with that.  Later as the years went on and more writers were added to the show, there was no need to keep hogging Plankton all to myself.  My favorite Plankton stories are the ones where he shows how complex his neurosis really is - that way audiences can sympathize a little with him.  Otherwise he’s just a pain in the pants who steals stuff.  I like all his episodes, but my favorites are the ones were making right now. 

6: I’m a lonely guy, so Plankton’s computer wife Karen really speaks to me. How does their relationship affect Plankton’s plots, and the show in general? If I wanted to make a wife for myself, could you help me upgrade my Apple II?
A: Look I’m not a therapist so please get help somewhere else.  I want more Karen on the show. The great Jill Talley plays my wife on the show and my favorite part of the voice over is sometimes getting to improv a little with her; she is hysterical and brilliant. Her husband Tom Kenny is a real jerk though. I think he plays a character on the show too, but it escapes me.  The married life of an evil genius is the funniest thing to me, so in that regard it definitely enhances Plankton’s stories making him more than just your typical bad guy.  In regards to your Apple problems: try a pear they are higher in vitamin c and oh so delicious.

7: What is your favorite SpongeBob moment from the last ten years?
A: My favorite moment is still in ‘Frankendoodle’ when I play the live-action artist in the boat that frames the episode.  We shot that at Dana Point at the Ocean Institute on the water right off the pier. I like to be an actor when I can, it’s nothing but fun.  The next time you see me will be playing a live-action ventriloquist in the SpongeBob Tenth Anniversary show, coming soon. 

8: How has the show changed from the first season to now?
A: It hasn’t changed at all really, it’s still funny.  That’s why it’s still here I think.  It’s changed in look perhaps as all cartoons do over time, and our voices have evolved.  I think Tom does SB’s voice higher than he used to and I’ve been doing Plankton’s voice lower just to balance things out.

9: If you had one piece of advice to give to Plankton, what would it be?
A: Advice for Plankton? I could give him all kinds of advice but he won’t listen.  Plankton is doomed to never get his hands on the  Krabby Patty secret formula. Because it’s not funny if he gets it. It’s only funny when he can’t.  The die has been cast by the writers of SpongeBob planning the fate of this poor guy.  Lucky for him he loves being evil, that’s what keeps him from going crazy. I have some marital advice for him: Keep Karen happy and you’ll enjoy your maniacal destruction all the more; and a virtual bouquet of flowers from time to time would’nt kill ya.  

10: Where do you think SpongeBob will be ten years from now?
A: Things come and go in entertainment, so it’s hard to predict anything like that, but I hope the sponge is around forever.  If the show is still revered by fans and enjoyed by future generations it just means I’ll be at a convention signing someone’s body parts. And that sounds pretty good to me.                                 
 
Questions by Andy Goodman
Answers by Mr. Lawrence

It’s hard to believe it was ten years ago already … ten years ago when I was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears, wide-eyed young ne’er do well, trolling the docks of Hollywood for fame or, barring that, work.  That’s when I was suddenly and rudely gang-pressed into service on the H.M.S. Herbivore, a grubby trawler en route to secret coordinates deep in the Pacific.  I was a knave among a diverse and salty crew comprised of sailors, artisans, confectioners, chefs, pirates, scientists and ex-vacuum cleaner salesmen.  There was no good reason to expect much of anything from this motley gang of fools.  And yet, somewhere out there, among the wild eddies and peculiar swirls that lurk in the ocean’s furthest reaches, a minor miracle happened; a discovery that would change more than just our lives, but the lives of millions around the world, forever.

Our Captain – let’s call him “Steve” – was a brave and capable seaman with a piercing gaze and steady hand at the wheel.  Steve knew the route to our destination like the back of his hand, in no small part because that’s where he’d drawn the map – on the back of his hand.  It was for this reason that his hand could not be washed and was thus quite stinky by the time we arrived.  When at last we dropped anchor where the “X” marks the spot, a spot that to this day remains a closely guarded secret, we found a treasure greater than gold and jewels or any kind of earthly riches (though at first, I’ll confess, we were all kind of disappointed not to have earthly riches.)  We had to dive deep to get to it, but oh, how we got to it.  There beneath the waves, on the ocean floor, we found a place thought to exist only in tall tales of the high seas; a city as lost as Atlantis, but with lots more free parking.  There it was, before our dumbstruck eyes: Bikini Bottom.

Now it’s true, there are many cities, towns and villages under the sea.  Everyone knows that.  But it was obvious to all of us, even the vacuum cleaner salesmen, that this was no ordinary undersea city.  No, sir.  Bikini Bottom was special.  Where else in the entire ocean could an explorer find a sea star, an octopus and a sponge living side by side?  Or a squirrel – a squirrel! – living underwater?  Or a greedy crab with a teenage whale daughter?  Their stories, and in particular the wild tales pertaining to that spongy yellow fellow, were stories that needed to be told.  Surely land mammals everywhere stood to learn a lot from these teachers in the deep. 

But we knew that to tell their stories properly, these deep-sea denizens could never know about us, never realize they were being observed.  We had to go to great lengths to keep our presence unnoticed.  Thus far, we have succeeded in keeping ourselves a secret.  If they have noticed us, then we haven’t noticed they noticed.  And that in itself is worth noticing.  Thanks to our stealthy ways, we have been able to observe the true-to-life stories of SpongeBob SquarePants, fry cook and complicated simpleton; Patrick Star, loyal friend and brain-free neighbor; Squidward Tentacles, grumpy octopus with terrible work ethic; Mr. Krabs, the greediest restaurateur in all the seven seas; and Sandy Cheeks, a land mammal in the sea and, apparently, an employee of NASA (though they refuse to confirm or deny this.)  Of course there are many others too, whose strange lives we have endeavored to relay to you with the utmost fidelity.  There are even some creatures there whose stories have yet to be told.  With a little luck, our salty crew can bring you their tales in the next ten years.  As long as we all maintain our oath to keep the location of Bikini Bottom a secret, and never disclose that it’s a left turn past Hawaii and then you … oops, that was a close one! 

Let’s just say that Bikini Bottom is a place in all of our hearts.  It’s safer that way.  And besides, it’s not like you’re gonna get a hold of a map to it.  Ol’ Captain Steve washed his hands a long time ago!

Ten years of SpongeBob seems like a really long time, especially considering I just joined the crew two years ago. It feels like it wasn’t that long ago I was watching the first season in my freshman year of high school.

Ten years before that, my father had introduced me to Saturday morning TV (much to my mother’s chagrin – she had visions of me playing outdoors and using my imagination all the time). From the day my dad and I sat down and watched my first cartoons, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop watching them. After years of watching every animated show I could find on TV, I started to develop my “palate”. I knew which shows were good and which shows were bad, which were well animated and which were...less so. Eventually I felt like I had tasted all that the cartoon world had to give, but when SpongeBob first aired, it was like opening a bottle of vintage French wine. Never before had I seen a show that was so well written and so well brought to life. I was an instant fan.

Four years later I was out of high school and off to college. I switched majors a number of times during my first semester, but I eventually decided that I wanted to study Film (after first checking out and discarding Architecture, Medieval History and English). However, before I could declare film my major, I had to first apply to the film school within my university. In addition to giving them your grades, you also had to write a critical essay on a film to complete your application. I wrote a short paper on some movie or another, and several weeks later I received my rejection letter in the mail. I was a little dismayed (to put it lightly). I thought I had done exactly what they wanted, and it had gotten me nowhere.

A year later came my second chance to apply. This time, I decided, I would write about something that really got me excited, something that I cared about: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie! It had come out not too long after I had sent in my first application, and I promptly saw it several times in theaters. I decided either the film school would love me for being unique and wanting to study popular animation, or they would think I was just messing around and not worth their time. Either way, this time I was doing it for me, not for them. So I wrote a fourteen page thesis on genre-hybridization and character appeal in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and I sent it off. Several weeks later, my letter of acceptance came in the mail. I’d made it! Or at least, that’s what I thought then.

By my senior year of college, I was finishing up my film degree and starting to look at what my life might be like beyond academia. I knew that I needed to get my foot in the door somewhere in the industry, but I had very little idea of where to start. After a brief search on the internet, I discovered that Nickelodeon had a robust internship program, so I quickly applied. Only a few days later I received a call from Nick – it was my phone interview. I took the call standing just outside of muscle beach in Venice, CA (if you’ve ever been there, you know it’s not a great place to hear important phone calls). The interview went well, and I was asked what shows I thought I would most enjoy interning for – of course my answer was SpongeBob, and I said it almost before she had finished speaking. From there, it wasn’t too long before I was at the Nick Animation Studio interviewing with the SpongeBob production coordinators for an internship position. I gave them each a copy of the paper I wrote for my film school application (double dipping can be a wonderful thing) at the end of our meeting, and I was soon delighted to find out I had earned an internship on the show that I had loved through all of high school and college. I worked my posterior off two days a week for the next four months (while still balancing school and a social life, of course), and by the end of my internship I had a head full of first hand animation knowledge and a crew full of new friends. It was an experience I thought I would never be able to top.

I had one last semester of college to finish after my internship was over. That spring flew by faster than any I’d ever seen (until I got mono right before graduation...that was awful), and I soon found myself with a diploma and absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my life. After applying for jobs all over Los Angeles, I got a call from the line producer on SpongeBob. She and I had been staying in contact via email since my internship had ended, so when a production assistant job on SpongeBob opened up, I was one of the first people she called. I came back to the studio for an interview and soon found myself the newest addition to the SpongeBob crew!

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that animation in general, and SpongeBob in particular, have been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. As I grew up, I stuck by what I loved, and in the end, it stuck by me. I think that’s some of the best advice I can give to anyone – find what you love and do it ‘til someone’s willing to pay you for it. I’ve changed a lot in the last ten years, but throughout that period SpongeBob has been there for me. I hope I’ll be able to say the same thing to you again ten years from now.

-Andy Goodman,

Senior Production Assistant

Phil’s Blog #2

                         10 Years Ago…….A Sponge was Born
Well…well….well! Look who decided to come back and read another blog? You just can’t get enough can you? CAN YOU?
I didn’t think so. But that’s okay. We here at SpongeBob are willing to help. We know that it’s not enough for you to simply watch every episode of SpongeBob that airs on Nickelodeon or buy every SpongeBob toy at your local Barg’N-Mart.
You want more. No! You DEMAND more out of your SpongeBob experience. That, my friends, is why we write this blog.  For you, the diehard fans that want to know what makes the cast and crew of SpongeBob tick. 
Sure, fear of reprisal from our corporate overlords who mandate 30 blogs a month plays a small role in why we write (blast you, Plankton!), but mostly it’s for you, the ever-faithful fan.  And let me just say, there has never been a better time to love SpongeBob. The reason: this year mark’s the show’s 10-year anniversary! That’s right, 10 years. I can barely wrap my mind around all the things that have happened in that time alone.  For instance:
10 years ago, man was just taking his first steps onto the surface of the moon….or did that happen earlier?
10 years ago, the phrase “the best thing since sliced bread,” had yet to be replaced by the phrase we use today: “the best thing since free-range organic zero-carbon-emitting fair-trade tofu turkey.”
10 years ago, the world had yet to realize that the Internet could be used for more than just meaningless tasks like reading the news or working for your company, but instead for faithfully following every micro-blog of our favorite d-list celebrities (I can’t believe Pauly Shore prefers beef over ham!). 
10 years ago, I was in 9th grade wondering when in my life I would use trigonometry (the answer never came) and why girls were ignoring me (the answer did come).
As you can see, ten years is a long time.  Rest assured however, the SpongeBob crew is not about to get lazy. Sure, we might do things a little differently than when SpongeBob first started, such as our mandatory naptime every afternoon from 1:00-3:00pm, but for the most part we’re as committed as ever. 
Don’t believe me? I don’t blame you. But don’t worry, all you need to do is tune in to Nickelodeon this year to see all the exciting things we have planned for SpongeBob and the glorious 10-year anniversary of his creation. It’s gonna be a blast!   

Phil Harris
Production Coordinator
SpongeBob SquarePants

10th ANNIVERSARY OF SPONGEBOB MEMORIAL BLOGGE

In honor of SpongeBob’s 10th anniversary, I humbly offer these 10 nautical facts about me:

1. I get violently ill in boats, very sea sick.

2. I enjoy nautically themed restaurants.

3. I like clam chowder.

4. I once wrote a sea shanty (but please, don’t ask me to sing. Trust me, it’s for your own good.)

5. I have a second cousin once removed who used to live on a houseboat.

6. I have an anchor tattooed to my forearm.

7. I frequently lie about having an anchor tattooed to my forearm.

8. I have been to the beach.

9. I’ve been told I float.

10. I used to live in San Francisco (AKA “The City by the Bay”). What? You say that I’m totally pushing it if I call that a nautical fact? Stop talking to your computer!

dani michaeli
writer