Spongebob - "The" historic cartoons of our generation?

I just meant in today's day and age, Spongebob is more popular. When it comes to longevity, yes, Mickey is more popular. He's been around for 50 years and is a cultural icon.

But how many Mickey cartoons have been produced in the past few years? There's been House of Mouse, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and that's it. Those weren't even big hits for the company. He hasn't been in any movies, and only had a bit part in the Kingdom Hearts series. He mostly just appears on merchandise and acts as a mascot for the company. (I remember seeing a news article online that profits for Mickey Mouse merchandise has gone down in the past several years, which is why Disney wants to reinvent his character, starting with the upcoming Epic Mickey.)

Spongebob however, is EVERYWHERE. He's got the TV show which is on ALL THE TIME, many videogames, a movie, his theme song is quoted all the time, his character is constantly parodied/referenced on TV, he's always appearing in Kids Meals at BK, he's got clothing lines, toys, CDs, he's been on everything. Not to mention his show has enormous ratings.

Spongebob is the Mickey Mouse for today's generation. He may not have been around as long as Mickey has, not accumlated as much profits that Mickey has over the 50 years he's been around, but at the present time, Mickey's popularity and profits are fading, whilst Spongebob's are growing.

I don't know how long Spongebob's popularity will last though. I remember Ren & Stimpy and Rugrats were Nick's cash cows for quite a while. Then when their popularity faded, and Viacom had milked the series for all they were worth, the shows went off the air and were forgotten. I don't think that will happen to Spongebob though. He's been in the public eye for 10 years and has become an icon.
 
Spongebob, Spongebob, Spongebob. What can I say that hasn't already been said about the yellow guy? Well, for one thing, he will end up being a signifigant pop culture icon for decades to come, but as far as being amongst the likes of Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo, he's not there yet.

Sure, he has an enormous fan base of all ages from young kids to older adults, numerous tie-ins with many corporations, merchandise as far as the eye can see, as well as being on TV for a decade. However, there is an unfair advantage here.

You see, as another member here stated, Rugrats was another cashcow for Nickelodeon and Viacom as a whole, but they had tough competition. Other shows on the same network such as Rocko, Ren and Stimpy, Kablam!, and various live action sketch and game shows, not to mention cartoons on other channels, all of which was, for the most part, just as good as Rugrats. Plus, the show lasted for a good 12/13 years, despite the competitors.

Spongebob, on the other hand, has mediocre, at best, competition with not only their own channel, but others as well. The only real competition the Sponge has are the likes of i-Carly, Penguins of Madagascar, Disney Channel, as well as the shows on Cartoon Network. Most of Nick's on channel competition didn't last very long, because Nick was blind to the potential these shows may have had. Some were indeed stinkers, but others I feel had their life support cut too soon (Wayside is a good example).

The point I'm trying to make clear is that though Spongebob is a important part to animation history and the pop culture world at large, there are far more prominent candidates for the cartoon that defines the i-Pod generation.
 
Give it some time.

Mickey has about 80 years in his career, enough to cement him in the history books. Spongebob has only been around for a little more than a decade, yet he's made quite the impact not only in America, but internationally as well. The Rugrats comparisons are hardly fair when that series was around for a little longer, yet didn't take off until the tail end of its original run. Not only that, but it was extended by a future spin-off and most likely didn't have the same proliferation as SpongeBob does now in international markets.
 
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