Spongebob - "The" historic cartoons of our generation?

I don't think it will. imho, Spongebob isn't being molded to become the next Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. Mickey and Bugs have stayed in people's hearts for decades. I don't see Spongebob going beyond 2020.
 
Okay, what? Rugrats was huge back when they were still making new episodes. There was merchandise for Rugrats all over. Not to the level of Spongebob, obviously, but there were ample shirts and backpacks. Rugrats also had two movies out, which is one more than Spongebob.

I agree that Spongebob has more popular force than Rugrats did, but Rugrats was certainly no slouch. I argue that Rugrats is held back from being a force by its subject and format, and not by its popularity or quality.
 
No. It might be considered a defining cartoon, but it cant possibly be considered THE defining cartoon. Because that title can only belong to The Simpsons. The Simpsons has made a tremendus impact not only in animation, but in popular culture at large, without a doubt more so than any other televison series in the last two decades.

I once read this quote by some litterary professor (or some other academic) stating that people of the younger generations could very well be quoting The Simpsons more often than the Bible. And i can very well imagine this to be perfectly true.
 
Rugrats is the longest running Nicktoon in history. The shows lasted 13 years. Spongebob has lasted 10 years so far.

I'm not trying to be too critical, but Rugrats was on a time when there were a lot better cartoon shows around it. Hey Arnold, Doug, CatDog, Rocko's Modern Life, etc... and it still outlasted all of them and was very popular and even had holiday specials on CBS.

I'm not trying to knock Spongebob, but really Spongebob came it at a perfect time, because you can go down the list and see the other cartoons after Spongebob, haven't been as strong and didn't last as long as other Nicktoons.

Spongebob dominates Nick now, because it's basically the only strong cartoon show left. Nick can focus and center their lineup around Spongebob becsause Spongebob sells so well and is their cashcow because not many other shows can compete with it when it's their only cartoon that they show constantly day and night.
 
I know that Hey Arnold! and Doug did well enough to get unsucessful movies, but really, did any of those shows do nearly as well as Rugrats? Spongebob's probably had at least the same level of competition, if not more so.

As for my take on the main issue here, I doubt that Spongebob will ever surpass The Simpsons, but it will almost certainly warrant second place.
 
Spongebob - "The" historic cartoons of our generation?

Bugs Bunny gave us "What?s up Doc?"

Fred Flinstone gave us "Yabba-dabba-do"

Scooby Doo gave us "Scooby-Doby-Doo"


This lines are still tatooed on several generation?s minds. What memorable quote does Bob has? Is he relatable? Is he adorable? He is only a merchandising phenomenon, not a classic.
 
You forgot how Simpsons has "D'oh!"

The closest Spongebob has is "I'm ready!" but it's nowhere near as popular as the above four catch phrases. Heartening, to be honest. :sweat:
 
I dunno, while I was going down the street from my college, I saw a man (and he very much looked like a man) wearing an Angelica Pickles t-shirt. A hipster one, sure, but a guy all the same.

And yeah, I'd say Spongebob will probably be the defining cartoon of this decade. Granted, the show isn't as good as it was during the apex of its popularity, but I guess some people are entertained by low standards.
 
It's entirely possible that Spongebob will be considered the defining cartoon of this decade, sure, but the topic starter asked whether we thought it would be the defining cartoon of "our generation". Im not sure exactly what generation he was talking about, but im 22, and i know for a fact that my generations defining cartoon is The Simpsons. I say "for a fact" since i really dont think anyone could propose with a straight face that there is any cartoon that comes even close to having been as watched, quoted, and acclaimed by the people who are now twenty-something year olds as The Simpsons has.
 
Is Spongebob Squarepants the "historic cartoon of our generation?"

Depends on which side of the generation you come from. I was born on the cusp of the end of Generation X and the beginning of Generation Y/Millennial Generation.

The Generation X part of me says that The Simpsons is the most historic cartoon of my generation. I was a kid when the original shorts aired on the then-fledgling Fox network back in '87 and was there when the series premiered as a series years. If it wasn't for The Simpsons, animation on television would be dead. There would be no Beavis and Butthead, South Park, Family Guy, nor Adult Swim if The Simpsons hadn't came along. One could argue that there probably wouldn't be Nicktoons nor a Cartoon Network without the series' success. That's how far-reaching the significance and impact of the series had when it began and what it still has today, despite the snark emitting from the younger half of the readers here who feel The Simpsons is no longer entertaining.

Young punks. :evil:

The Millennial part of me agrees with the notion that Spongebob Squarepants is the most historic animated series of my generation. I was an adult, a 21-year-old college student, when the series began. It didn't really catch on with the public until about two years in. And the public never let him nor the series go. Spongebob Squarepants the series and Spongebob Squarepants the character have both reached across demographics and age groups and has become an international phenomenon. The last animated character to impact a large population the way the little, optimistic, silly fry cook has is Mickey Mouse. Seriously, if you went around the world with flash cards featuring many different cartoon characters, kids and adults will instantly recognize the little absorbent character.

So what if Spongebob doesn't have a catch phrase? Mickey Mouse doesn't have a catchphrase other than "Hot dog!" or "Oh boy!" Woody Woodpecker, like Spongebob, is recognized easily by his laugh. Spongebob has made over 250 shorts/specials. Nothing to sneeze at, but I'd have to say if any series is the most historic from this generation, it's Spongebob Squarepants.
 
Spongebob is EASILY making a bigger impression over the past decade than Scooby did when he was still fresh. Spongebob has every single making of a future "classic icon," he's lasted a decade and is popular all around the world.

I think you're defining "merchandising phenomenon" in an arbitrary way. You come across as disagreeing for subjective reasons. Even someone who hated spongebob would have to admit he's not only massively popular, but he's rather unlike any other character to come before him. Just his extremely simple but extremely unusual design is enough to make him a classic.
 
I agree with this 100%

As a character, Spongebob has the level of fame that Mickey Mouse has. Maybe even moreso. There's not really a lot of Mickey cartoons or movies produced nowadays.

However, after Hillenburg's departure the show has become nothing more than a soulless product of the Viacom coroporation designed to bring in oodles of $$$. I'd like for the franchise to just end already. The odor of Spongebob's rotting corpse gets smellier with every new episode.
 
Absolutely not. Spongebob might be among the most famous cartoon characters in the world, but Mickey is one of the most famous characters in the word period (as in, compared to characters in any other media). Hell, Mickey is among the most famous people in the world, fictional or real. Jesus, Hitler, Mickey Mouse... there are only a few select real people or fictional characters that everyone in the world has heard about, and Mickey is one of them. Let's say for instance that you went to a retirement home in, say, Romania and showed the 80-year olds a picture of Mickey and asked "who is this?". I guarante you that everybody would be able to recognize him. The same is not the case with Spongebob.
 
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