Yo, listen up! There's no other cartoon out there that has had such a massive impact on both the young and the old like our boy SpongeBob SquarePants. Created by Stephen Hillenburg, who was all about the ocean life, SpongeBob made a huge splash in the world of animation when Hillenburg dropped a sick 11-minute clip of a show starring Bob the Sponge and his crazy underwater adventures. This got the bigwigs at Nickelodeon hyped, and they greenlit a pilot in 1997.
The first episode of SpongeBob SquarePants aired on May 1, 1999, and within a month, it blew Pokémon out of the water as the top Saturday morning cartoon on TV. This hilarious animated series won over not just kids but also adults. Believe it or not, a whopping 40 percent of the show's average 2.2 million viewers were over 18 years old.
Sadly, Hillenburg is no longer with us, but his epic contribution to the cartoon universe lives on as a $13 billion franchise with over 700 licensing deals worldwide. It's spawned a bunch of SpongeBob-themed products, from home goods and clothes to toys and, you guessed it, candy.
The SpongeBob icon has even invaded Universal Studios with the SpongeBob StorePants, and candy stores like Candy Warehouse are stocked with Gummy Crabby Patties, PEZ dispensers with our favorite characters, chocolate bars, lollipops, and candy rings. After two decades, SpongeBob candy is still going strong, and let's be real, it's no surprise. Sweet treats played a major role in this legendary series.
The first time candy got in on the action was in the episode "Chocolate with Nuts," when SpongeBob and Patrick went all out selling chocolate to live the high life. Let me tell you, being a chocolate bar salesperson isn't as easy as it sounds, and these two ended up exaggerating a bit to get rid of their stock.
Finders Keepers Spongebob Squarepants
In another candy-themed episode called "Life of Crime," our favorite oddballs get into a heated argument when Patrick's chocolate bar mysteriously disappears (he actually ate it but had no recollection), and he accuses SpongeBob of sneaking a taste behind his back. SpongeBob, fed up with Patrick's nonsense, decides to savor his chocolate bar oh-so-slowly, right in front of an angry and hungry Patrick.
For two whole decades, we've had the pleasure of laughing and learning some life lessons alongside the quirky inhabitants of Bikini Bottom. This place taught us that curse words can be fancy sentence enhancers and that squirrels can actually live underwater. We discovered that "cool" sounds more like "coral" and that FUN takes on a whole new meaning. We were scared of the hash-slinging slasher and cheered for Pinhead Larry and Dirty Dan, right up there with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. It's an iconic show that appeals to all ages and will probably stand the test of time, just like the awesome candy it inspired.
Krabby Patties 2.54 Oz Peg Bag
So, next time you pop a gummy Crabby Patty into your mouth, take a moment to ponder the fact that no one, not even Plankton, has ever cracked the secret formula of the Crabby Patty. Maybe that legendary recipe isn't some kelp and chum concoction like we thought... maybe, just maybe, the infamous Crabby Patty is simply gummy candy in a genius disguise. Mind-blowing, right?
