SpongeBob Mania Runs Wild!
May 23, 2019 by Rudy PanucciIt’s hard to believe, but SpongeBob Squarepants has been around for twenty years. That’s two decades, with over 250 half-hour shows (and counting) plus two movies (with a third on the way) and 86 issues of a comic book. Even with the passing of the show’s creator, Steven Hillenburg, last year, the SpongeBob juggernaut continues.
Millions of fans tune in to enjoy the exploits of our fry cook hero, SpongeBob Squrepants, and the folks who live under the sea in the town of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob Squarepants is a classic animated cartoon, created by cartoonists instead of “writers,” just like the beloved Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons of the Golden age of animation.
Nickleodeon is celebrating the beloved sponge and his Bikini Bottom pals with a series of special programming events all summer long. We’ll tell you more about those as their airdates approach. Nickelodeon has also teamed up with Alpha Products to produce some terrific collectibles and toys, and we’re going to look at a few of those today, and a few more in the coming weeks.
First, we have the SpongeBob Squarepants Mini-plush. These are cute soft six-inch plush figues of SpongeBob and his friends. They’re available at Target for under eight bucks (and at Hot Topic for a bit more) and they’re great little souvenirs of the show. These are on-model representations, so they look as close as possible to the characters as shown on the cartoon. Just look at ’em.
The small size makes them appropriate as office decorations, and they’re soft enough for kids to find them quite cuddly. You can find a couple of different versions of SpongeBob himself, plus his pals Sandy, Patrick, Squidward, and even the evil Plankton. These are cool, fun items, and they won’t break your budget.
Next up is the incredibly fun and ridiculous SpongeHeads. These are inflatable headgear shaped like your favorite SpongeBob Squarepants characters. When inflated they measure over 20 inches, and then you put them on your head., like in the photo below.
You can become the human host for SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward or Plankton, and reenact your favorite scenes from the show. My suggestion is that you get these to wear to work, but when people ask you about them, act like you have no idea what they’re talking about.
Made to fit most kid and adult heads, SpongeHeads can be found at Target and Amazon now, and should cost just under thirteen bucks. It’s a small price to be for the absolute finest in inflatable cartoon haberdashery.
Our last entry today is a pretty spectacular series of collectibles. Masterpiece Memes are eight-inch tall collectible vinyl figures that depict some of the images from SpongeBob Squarepants that have gained notoriety and infamy on the internet.