| Alt Name: | SpongeBob and the Big Birthday Blowout |
| Director: | Jonas Morganstein |
| Starring: | Tom Kenny Bill Fagerbakke Clancy Brown Rodger Bumpass Carolyn Lawrence Mr. Lawrence Jill Talley Mary Jo Catlett Lori Alan Dee Bradley Baker Kel Mitchell Jack Griffo Daniella Perkins David Hasselhoff |
| Narrated: | Tom Kenny |
| Music: | Steve Belfer |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Executive Producer: |
|
| Producer: |
|
| Editor: | Rick Weis |
| Runtime: | 44 minutes |
| Company: | United Plankton Pictures Nickelodeon Animation Studio |
| Network: | Nickelodeon Nicktoons |
SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout is a 2019 made-for-television live-action/animated comedy special based on the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants.[1] [2] It was written by Kaz and Mr. Lawrence, and was directed by Jonas Morganstein. The special, produced as part of the show's twelfth season, originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on July 12, 2019, celebrating the series' twentieth anniversary. The cut version of this episode was released on October 5, 2019. The bonus edition of this episode was released on July 17, 2020. [3] [4] [5]
The television series follows the adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny) in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. In the special, the citizens of Bikini Bottom plan a surprise birthday party for SpongeBob, while he and Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) tour the surface world and come across their real-life selves.[6] [7] [8] The live-action portions of the special also feature several guest stars including Kel Mitchell, Jack Griffo, Daniella Perkins, and David Hasselhoff, the latter of whom starred as himself in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.[9] [10] [11] Mindy The Mermaid made a special cameo in it since she was in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The special is dedicated to the memory of the SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died in 2018. Upon release, it received generally positive reviews.
In Encino, California, Patchy the Pirate attempts to get to Bikini Bottom to give SpongeBob SquarePants his birthday present. Down in Bikini Bottom, Sandy Cheeks gathers Patrick Star, Old Man Walker, Mr. Krabs, Mrs. Puff, Bubble Bass, and Plankton to orchestrate a plan to get SpongeBob's house keys and decorate his house, starting with Patrick. Patrick sends SpongeBob to a bus going to the surface, with help landing by the French Narrator.[12]
At SpongeBob's house, an argument occurs about the Birthday theme. Sandy gives everyone (now joined by Squidward Tentacles) a decision to divide the themes. The party goes through full swing, but chaos ensues and the house starts falling apart. Arriving at the Trusty Slab, the surface world equivalent of the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob notices that two customers, the cashier Manward, the owner Mr. Slabs, the Fry cook JimBob and Mr. Slabs’s rival Charleston appear as respective human counterparts to Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, himself and Plankton.[13] A lady mistakes the tour bus for an aquarium, and puts it on a shelf in a fish store.
Patrick pushes the tour bus to the other side, escaping with the other fish. In Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob discovers his destroyed house and thanks everyone for celebrating his birthday, when a Box falls out of the sky. The Box is revealed to be Patchy's head, congratulating SpongeBob, leading SpongeBob's friends to sing a birthday song reminiscent of the opening theme with different celebrities congratulating him. As the song finishes, Patrick asks SpongeBob how old he is, just to be interrupted by static. It turns out that SpongeBob got the birthday party he deserved after all. The episode ends by showing a dedication card writing "Thank you, Steve Hillenburg."
SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout premiered on July 12, 2019, simultaneously across Nickelodeon, and Nicktoons. The three-network premiere was collectively viewed by 2.2 million people in the United States, and it posted year-to-year gains for the network across multiple demographics, most notably, kids ages 2–11 (3.3/797K, +57%).[14] The special's premiere date is notable for taking place five days before the 20th anniversary of the series' official premiere, which took place on July 17, 1999.
It aired in other territories on July 12[15] and July 13, 2019,[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] Tom Kenny's 57th birthday.
Verne Gay from Newsday gave the episode 3.5 out of 4 stars, describing it as "[f]un, funny, and funky".[21]