Fans filled the room to the gills at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 for Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants: The Legend of Boo-kini Bottom panel on Saturday, July 22. During the panel, series’ notable voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), and surprise guest Brian Doyle Murray (Flying Dutchman) performed a live table read of a fan-picked classic episode, “Shanghaied.”
Moderated by Claudia Spinelli (Executive in Charge, SpongeBob SquarePants, Nickelodeon), a look at the upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants stop-motion special was given from Nickelodeon’s Vincent Waller (co-executive producer), Marc Ceccarelli (co-executive producer), Mr. Lawrence (story editor, voice of Plankton), and Screen Novelties’ Chris Finnegan, Seamus Walsh, and Mark Caballero.
The panel’s sneak peeks included: The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom trailer and clip, highlighting the upcoming stop-motion special premiering October 2017, and a first look at Boo-Kini Bottom’s spookiest citizen, the Flying Dutchman, in stop-motion. As previously announced, The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom is being produced at Screen Novelties, a Los Angeles-based stop-motion animation production company, where miniature puppets and sets bring Bikini Bottom to life in three dimensions.
The production features 27 unique sets, across five stages, where 15 boxes of breakfast cereal were used to create texture on Bikini Bottom’s coral reefs; eight pounds of glitter were used to decorate SpongeBob’s Halloween pineapple house; hundreds of popsicle sticks created the planks of the rollercoaster track that Patrick and SpongeBob ride; and “black lights” were used to create a fluorescent glow across the puppets and sets. Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller are the supervising producers on SpongeBob SquarePants. The special was written by Mr. Lawrence, with Brian Morante serving as the storyboard director. The special is being directed by Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh, and produced by Chris Finnegan of Screen Novelties.
Viewers can visit the SpongeBob SquarePants page on Nick.com, the Nick App, and the Facebook page, along with the SpongeBob Facebookpage and SpongeBob Instagram, to get an exclusive look at the series. Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants are available on Nick.com and the Nick App, along with platforms including iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and Nick On Demand.
SpongeBob SquarePants is voiced by Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants, an incurably optimistic sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea; Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star, SpongeBob’s silly best friend; Roger Bumpass as Squidward, an aloof cashier of The Krusty Krab and SpongeBob’s neighbor; Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob’s boss and greedy owner of The Krusty Krab; Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, Bikini Bottom’s only resident rodent aquanaut and scientist; and Mr. Lawrence as Plankton, owner of the Chum Bucket and chief rival of Mr. Krabs.
SpongeBob SquarePants is executive produced by creator Stephen Hillenburg, who previously worked as a writer, director, and creative director on Nickelodeon’s animated series Rocko’s Modern Life. Hillenburg graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a master’s degree in experimental animation and studied marine biology and art as an undergraduate. Hillenburg created and executive produced his first feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which debuted Nov. 19, 2004 and his second theatrical, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, hit theaters Feb. 6, 2015. The series is produced at Nickelodeon in Burbank.
