Animator created TV hit from cast of seabed oddballs

As a self-confessed ‘‘ocean freak’’, Stephen Hillenburg knew all about the sponges that live on the seabed. He had been fascinated by them as a boy when he saw them in the underwater films of Jacques Cousteau, had observed them up close when scuba diving, and had studied their cell structure while completing a degree in marine sciences.

Hillenburg, who has died aged 57, was a skilled artist and, when he became a teacher at the Ocean Institute in California, he created an educational comic book for his youngest pupils featuring various forms of sea life to which he gave human characteristics, including a crab, an octopus, a starfish – and, in what was to become the starring role, a sponge.

‘‘At first I drew a few natural sponges, which was the correct thing to do as a marine science teacher,’’ he recalled. The problem was that his biologically accurate shapes had very limited anthropomorphic potential. ‘‘Then I drew a square sponge, and it looked so funny. I think as far as cartoon language goes, he was easier to recognise. He seemed to fit the character type I was looking for – a somewhat nerdy, squeaky-clean oddball.’’

SpongeBob was born – and he looked even more irresistible once Hillenburg had added shorts and a tie, big eyes, teeth, an oversized pair of shoes, a boundless spirit of naive optimism and an innocent desire to be everyone’s friend. In his underwater village called Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob was soon joined by a host of other creatures, including a dim-witted starfish named Patrick, a snooty, mean-spirited clarinet-playing octopus called Squidward and the tiny, diabolical Plankton, who planned world domination from his subaquatic equivalent of a Fuhrerbunker.

Hillenburg sold the idea to Nickelodeon and, introduced by its theme song, ‘‘Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!’’ – to which a chorus of children chant ‘‘SpongeBob SquarePants!’’ – the show took to the air in

1999. Hailed by the New York Times as ‘‘a welcome antidote to the self-seriousness and brutality that rule so much of the popular culture’’, SpongeBob’s moral purity seemed to capture the optimistic zeitgeist of a new millennium. By 2001 it boasted the highest ratings of any TV children’s series.

Part of its appeal lay in its brevity. Each frenetic episode lasted only 11 minutes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it became a firm favourite of stoned students and, such was its camp charm, it was even made into a successful Broadway musical, nominated for

12 Tony awards.

David Bowie did a guest voiceover and SpongeBob was franchised around the world, dubbed or subtitled in more than 60 languages. On YouTube there is a video of Russian soldiers singing the theme song.

As an executive producer, Hillenburg banned references to sex, drugs and pop culture in favour of a deliberate and entirely non-ironic innocence.

‘‘A sponge is a funny animal to centre a show on, but SpongeBob is really optimistic and changes the way people see things. He’s too naive to realise how special he is, in his odd way,’’ Hillenburg said. ‘‘Think a Stan Laurel, Jerry Lewis kind of child-man,’’ added Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob in more than 250 TV episodes and two movies.

Stephen McDannell Hillenburg was born in Oklahoma, and grew up in California. At Humboldt State University he majored in marine science and minored in art, and after graduating he took a job teaching tide-pool ecology, nautical history and biodiversity.

In 1992 he took a master’s degree in animation and landed his first professional job a year later as a director on Rocko’s

Modern Life, Nickelodeon’s first in-house cartoon production. He pitched his idea for SpongeBob with a winning enthusiasm, worthy of his character’s own wide-eyed innocence. When Hillenburg turned up dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and carrying a fish tank populated by his characters, with a soundtrack of tropical music in the background, Nickelodeon’s assembled executives were too nonplussed to refuse him.

He had wanted to call his character Spongeboy, but was foiled when it transpired that the copyright on the name was owned by a mop company. He guarded his own copyright in SpongeBob with an altruistic care, refusing to license the image to fast-food chains he considered harmful to children.

Hillenburg was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative condition known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in March 2017. He is survived by Karen, his wife of 20 years, and son Clay.

Despite an innate suspicion of fame, Hillenburg found himself thrust into the spotlight alongside celebrity fans including David Hasselhoff and Scarlett Johansson, and endearingly struggled to come to terms with the global success of the unlikely cultural phenomenon he had created.

‘‘How could you expect a show about a sponge to have mass appeal?’’ he said ruefully. ‘‘It’s just unbelievable.’’ –

‘‘How could you expect a show about a sponge to have mass appeal? It’s just unbelievable.’’