SpongeBob SquarePantsshows no signs of stopping soon, and thanks to that, it has now dethroned a beloved children’s TV show, but there are big differences in their respective reigns. Nickelodeon is home to many popular TV shows, both animated and live-action, but its biggest title to date isSpongeBob SquarePants. Created by Stephen Hillenburg,SpongeBob SquarePantspremiered on Nickelodeon in 1999, quickly becoming the network’s highest-rated and most-viewed cartoon, receiving critical acclaim and consistently granting it new seasons.
SpongeBob SquarePantstakes viewers tothe underwater city of Bikini Bottomto meet the title character. The show follows SpongeBob’s daily adventures alongside his best friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his perpetually annoyed neighbor Squidward, and his greedy boss Mr. Krabs. The adventures ofSpongeBob SquarePantshave gone beyond the TV screens as it has become a multimedia franchise that continues to expand to different branches. Now,SpongeBob SquarePantshas gained a new title, through which it has dethroned a beloved children’s show, but there are big differences between them.
SpongeBob SquarePants Has Surpassed Arthur As The Longest-Running TV Show
Sorry, Arthur, SpongeBob Has The Throne Now
As mentioned above, the world watchedSpongeBob SquarePantsfor the first time in 1999, and last year, it celebrated its 25th anniversary with a worldwide event appropriately named “SpongeBob 25.” Last year, the show welcomed its 15th season, and a 16th season is said to be in development.At the time of writing,SpongeBob SquarePantsisn’t showing any signs of stopping soonand Nickelodeon hasn’t shared plans to end the TV show in the near future, even though the show’s quality hasn’t been the best for years.
SpongeBob SquarePantshas changed a lot over the years, and the differences between its first seasons and the most recent ones are alarming. Despite the change of tone, the changes in the characters’ personalities, many inconsistencies in terms of narrative, and even changes in its animation style,SpongeBob SquarePantscontinues to be quite popular, and it has now become the longest-running children’s animated TV show, a title that used to belong toArthur(viaComicBook, viaToonHive).
10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching SpongeBob SquarePants Season 1, 25 Years Later
SpongeBob SquarePants is still one of Nickelodeon’s most popular TV shows, but some harsh realities come to light when rewatching season 1 now.
Based on the children’s book series of the same name, written and illustrated by Marc Brown,Arthurpremiered in 1996 on PBS. Arthur took the audience to the fictional city of Elwood City to meet Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, and his daily adventures alongside his family and friends.Arthurreceived a lot of praise from critics and general audiences for years, mostly due to the important issues it addressed and how it made them accessible to young children. After 25 seasons,Arthurended in 2022.
It’s worth noting thatSpongeBob SquarePantsisn’t the longest-running animated TV show, as that honor belongs toThe Simpsons.
Arthurlived on for 26 years, the same as SpongeBob this year, but with the latter still in production, it has officially taken the title of the longest-running children’s animated TV show. It’s worth noting thatSpongeBob SquarePantsisn’t the longest-running animated TV show, as that honor belongs toThe Simpsons, with 36 seasons and counting.
Arthur Ending & Flashforward Explained - What Happens To Every Character
Arthur ends its 25 years on PBS as the longest-running animated children’s show ever, showing in the finale all its main characters in adulthood.
Arthur Has More Seasons Than SpongeBob SquarePants (But Less Episodes)
Arthur Has A Total Of 25 Seasons & 253 Episodes
SpongeBob SquarePantswill continue to entertain viewers of all ages until further notice, but when looking at the number of seasons of each show,Arthuris above SpongeBob and friends.Arthurended with a total of 25 seasons, through which it addressed topics like dyslexia, grief, autism, cancer, different beliefs, and a lot more. However, despite having more seasons thanSpongeBob SquarePants,Arthurhas fewer episodes, with 253 and seven specials.SpongeBob SquarePants, on the other hand, has 15 seasons so far.
In total,SpongeBob SquarePantshas 313 episodes to date, with different specials included in some seasons. BothSpongeBob SquarePantsandArthurare so popular that they became multimedia franchises, but even in that area, SpongeBob continues to reign overArthurand his friends, as its franchise continues to be in constant expansion in its different branches.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Franchise Is Bigger Than Arthur’s
The World of SpongeBob SquarePants Continues To Expand
As mentioned above,Arthuris based on a book series, and the TV show was the first branch of this very peculiar and heartwarming world.The success of the show led to it spawning seven hour-long movies and a spin-off animated seriestitledPostcards from Buster, premiering in 2004 and ending in 2012. TheArthurofficial website has also received praise for the quality of its games, which teach kids different things. Another branch of theArthurfranchise is music, with three music albums with songs played in the show and the third album being all about original songs.
Some ofArthur’s characterswere made into Microsoft ActiMates in the late 1990s, and the show also got various video games throughout the 1990s and 2000s. TheSpongeBob SquarePantsfranchise, on the other hand, has gone a lot further thanArthur’s.On TV,SpongeBob SquarePantshas had two spinoff showsso far:Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, which serves as a prequel to the main show, andThe Patrick Star Show, a talk show starring Patrick.
TheSpongebob SquarePantsfranchise also covers video games, comic books, music, and even a stage musical and different theme park rides.
TheSpongeBob SquarePantsfranchise also has three movieswith one more –The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants– scheduled for a 2025 release, along with the spinoff moviesSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks MovieandPlankton: The Movie, this one also set for a 2025 release. Of course, the franchise also covers video games, comic books, music, and even a stage musical and different theme park rides – and with more material from some of these branches in development, the franchise will keep expanding for the foreseeable future.
SpongeBob SquarePants Is Very Different To Arthur (But It’s More Popular)
SpongeBob SquarePants & Arthur Don’t Have The Same Target Audience
SpongeBob SquarePantshas takenArthur’s place as the longest-running children’s TV show, which would feel fitting if it wasn’t for how different they are. Despite both being aimed at a young audience,SpongeBob SquarePantsandArthurhave a different target audience:Arthurwas made for children aged four to eight, whileSpongeBob SquarePantsis for an audience from six to 12 years old. This is obvious in the type of humor, the overall style, and the topics addressed in both, withArthurbeing a lot more educational thanSpongeBob SquarePantswill ever be.
SpongeBob SquarePantscontinues to be widely popular beyond its target audience.
SpongeBob SquarePantsis more for entertaining purposes than educational ones, though one could say that, at least the first seasons, have a message of friendship and being one’s authentic self (unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the rest of the show). Despite how much its quality has decreased over the years,SpongeBob SquarePantscontinues to be widely popular beyond its target audience – maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe the sense of humor of younger generations has changed, or maybe it has had to adapt to the shorter attention span of kids nowadays.
Arthurno longer being the longest-running children’s animated TV show doesn’t take away its value and importance as one of the best and most beloved children’s shows of its time, in the same way thatSpongeBob SquarePantsisn’t suddenly high quality for now holding this title. It’s to be seen whereSpongeBob SquarePantswill go now on the main show and its other branches, as well as for how long it will continue.
