00:00 ♪ Worst day ever ♪
00:01 ♪ The ocean's no place for a squirrel ♪
00:04 ♪ Bow, dow, dow ♪
00:05 (indistinct)
00:08 ♪ Carrie's been snail-mapped ♪
00:10 ♪ We've gotta go help them ♪
00:12 ♪ Yeehaw ♪
00:14 (screaming)
00:16 (upbeat music)
00:19 - I'm 31 years old, I'm a millennial,
00:20 I grew up on SpongeBob,
00:22 and when I say what interviews I'm doing,
00:25 my friends get most excited about SpongeBob.
00:29 I'm wondering what it is about this character
00:32 and this show that still appeals to full-grown adults
00:36 and spans across generations.
00:38 We can start with Carolyn.
00:39 - I think it's happiness, I think it's great themes,
00:43 I think our writers are phenomenal, I think it's humor.
00:47 It's just a good, fun time.
00:49 - I second that, and I would add
00:51 that it's all about shapes and colors.
00:54 Good shapes and bright colors.
00:57 It's like a slot machine.
00:59 Bill? - Yeah, baby.
01:00 - Just hit it!
01:01 - Clancy's hit right on it.
01:03 There's a strange alchemy at work, you know,
01:06 and it's a formula that no one can ever know.
01:10 Certainly many studios have chased it.
01:12 - And you're taking the secret formula.
01:14 (laughing)
01:16 - Ravioli, ravioli, give me the formuoli.
01:20 - And the secret ingredient, of course,
01:22 is the character of SpongeBob,
01:23 and the world that Hillenburg created,
01:25 it created an entire world
01:28 that everyone in the world recognizes.
01:32 - It's a utopia.
01:33 - You know, it really is just classic comedy.
01:35 I mean, there's really no,
01:37 there's not a whole lot of snark.
01:38 And the comedy comes from the characters,
01:41 and it's, you know, surreal,
01:42 but it's also quite real in its own weird way.
01:45 Like, the characters are always very true to themselves,
01:47 and the universe kinda has its own rules.
01:51 And, you know, in a way,
01:53 I think there's a comfort food factor, too,
01:55 with people your age, Jeff, that, you know,
01:57 I mean, if you're 31,
01:58 you were probably in fourth grade or something
02:00 when the show came out, you know, fourth, fifth grade.
02:02 And so now, here you are, 30 years old,
02:06 or 31 years old, during like a global pandemic,
02:09 and you're going, "I need stuff
02:11 "that's just kinda sweet and funny and stupid
02:14 "and makes me laugh.
02:15 "I don't want anything deep.
02:16 "I don't wanna watch anything about,
02:17 "I don't wanna watch a 10-part documentary
02:19 "about serial killers.
02:21 "You know, I don't wanna watch Chernobyl miniseries.
02:25 "I just wanna watch a sponge and a squid."
02:28 - Do not think you are old, Jeff, 31.
02:30 That's the same age as those french fries
02:33 under my car seat right now.
02:35 There is no age limit for this show.
02:38 You will love this until you're pulling Social Security.
02:42 - It's got a universality to it, which is,
02:45 and it's, by the way, worldwide.
02:46 It's just a goofy character who's really positive
02:48 and really innocent.
02:50 He's in no way mean, you know?
02:51 He's just a very positive person.
02:54 For me, anyway, and he makes me laugh, so.
02:57 It's important.
02:58 And, you know, it's just funny, that's all.
03:02 - He makes us all laugh.
03:04 - You know, starting in the '90s,
03:06 it embodied this kind of chaotic,
03:11 kind of kitsch vibe that was
03:15 kinda more on the underground scene, I guess,
03:18 like when I was in Seattle in the '90s.
03:20 So it had that spirit of kind of like
03:23 a DIY underground vibe.
03:25 And I think that's what grabbed a lot of my younger friends
03:29 as young people, but also as a person in my 20s at the time.
03:33 I hate to use the word like alternative or whatever,
03:35 but it appeals to people who are on the underground
03:37 and also people in the mainstream.
03:39 It really kind of hits everything at once.
03:42 It was just a treat to work on something
03:44 that is fast, creative, and kinda gonzo.
03:48 It's great.
03:49 - This is gonna be like one of those buddy movies.
03:52 (laughing)
03:55 - I'm curious about, this show has so much positive
03:59 and frenetic energy.
04:01 What is it like on those days when you come into the booth
04:04 and you're just not feeling it?
04:07 Something's going wrong in your life,
04:08 you're not in the best mood.
04:09 How do you embody that?
04:10 And is it difficult to have to make that transition?
04:14 - This is our security blanket.
04:15 This is when we come in and do what we're professional about
04:18 and this is what keeps us sane, is doing the characters.
04:23 So you can come in feeling really, really cruddy,
04:26 but you start doing it
04:27 and all that stuff is washed away instantly.
04:30 - Yeah, I gotta say, Jeff, that really is true.
04:34 I mean, it sounds corny and phony,
04:36 but you can be having the worst day,
04:40 the worst day ever, and you come in
04:43 and just being in SpongeBob's world
04:46 and being him, assuming that mantle
04:51 and then acting with these other guys.
04:53 Even, we usually used to be all in the same room together
04:57 and now it's all on Zoom,
04:58 but it's still seeing these guys a few times a week,
05:02 couple of times a week,
05:03 is still by far the high point of my week
05:05 and doing that deep dive into Bikini Bottom.
05:08 It's a restorative.
05:09 It's kind of like the tank in "Altered States."
05:12 You just kinda climb in
05:15 and it's great.
05:18 And then of course, when it ends,
05:20 you have to walk out of the studio
05:22 and get hit in the face with the real world.
05:24 But that time that you spent in Bikini Bottom
05:27 helps you get through all that.
05:29 And that's for real.
05:30 - It's therapy.
05:31 Absolute therapy. - Therapy.
05:32 - I saved a lot of money on psychiatry fees.
05:35 (laughing)
05:36 - I think what's so amazing is that
05:38 a lot of cast say they get along and it's not true,
05:41 but we really do.
05:42 So when I have days like that
05:44 and I can walk into the booth and see my friends
05:46 and we can all start playing,
05:48 that stuff just dissipates.
05:50 It just floats right away.
05:53 - You know, when you have those days,
05:55 we wish we would have a session together.
05:58 You know, we look forward to it that way.
06:00 That's because, Carolyn's right, it is.
06:03 It's the antidote.
06:05 There's absolutely nothing better
06:07 than walking in the booth with these knuckleheads
06:10 and recording.
06:11 - I often consider our sessions as therapy.
06:16 Oh my God, I miss our sessions so bad together
06:19 because, you know. - Me too.
06:20 I might have to start taking meds now
06:22 'cause we're not all,
06:24 the gang's all here.
06:26 - Tim, did you write the likes of Keanu Reeves
06:31 and Snoop Dogg into the script?
06:34 Or was it just like celebrity placeholder here
06:37 and then you kind of find who you can get?
06:39 - Actually, no, Keanu was on my mind
06:43 when I wrote the Sage character.
06:45 - I'm made out of Sage and I am a Sage.
06:47 So it works out pretty well.
06:49 - And I just, and then we started basically storyboarding
06:52 with a Keanu drawing and a photo of him.
06:56 So we were building a lot of momentum
06:58 and we were lucky that he agreed.
07:00 So, and for Snoop, I don't know,
07:05 like we really wanted that, like a cowboy gambler rapper.
07:10 And it was the only, you know what I mean?
07:12 It was the only thing, it was like, it has to be him, right?
07:15 So it was so cool that everyone said, yeah, I'll do that.
07:20 That was really exciting for me.
07:22 - My favorite part of the show, I think,
07:24 is there's so many original musical numbers
07:26 that are deeply embedded in my brain.
07:28 I was wondering if you have a favorite musical number
07:35 throughout SpongeBob's entire run.
07:37 We can start with Carolyn again.
07:38 - Wish I was back in Texas.
07:41 The ocean's no place for a squirrel.
07:43 - If I could come back in life, another lifetime,
07:48 I'd want to be a rock and roll star.
07:50 And I did not get that gift this time around.
07:53 So it's so fun when they let me sing
07:54 'cause a squirrel doesn't have to be good.
07:56 - Well, that was beautiful.
07:59 - For me, it's hard to beat the campfire song
08:02 and the way Tom does it.
08:03 ♪ C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song ♪
08:06 - And Patrick gets to be a complete buffoon
08:10 and just try to, "It's C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G!"
08:13 You know, just trying to keep up with his own playing.
08:16 And we had so much fun when we recorded that.
08:20 And every time I see that, it makes me laugh.
08:22 ♪ C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song ♪
08:24 ♪ Patrick! ♪
08:25 ♪ Sold C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G! ♪
08:27 ♪ Squidward! ♪
08:28 ♪ Good! ♪
08:29 - That is such a solid choice.
08:33 - Yeah, fun is good too.
08:34 Fun is like-
08:35 - Oh, fun's a classic.
08:37 - That's your fire that burns down the whole town!
08:39 You use for your iridium bomb.
08:42 ♪ And it's for no survivors! ♪
08:45 (laughing)
08:47 - My favorite isn't even like a real song.
08:49 It's just stepping on the beach,
08:50 (imitates beat)
08:51 Like,
08:52 ♪ Stepping on the beach, boo, boo, boo, boo! ♪
08:53 (laughing)
08:55 - It's always in my head.
08:56 - Oh my gosh, I want that as a ringtone, Jeff.
08:58 That'd be so fun!
09:00 - All right.
09:00 (laughing)
09:01 - Best gig in the world.
09:03 I'm a big fan of y'all.
09:05 Thank you for the time.
09:05 - Patrick, what are you doing?
09:07 - Free food!
09:08 (screaming)
09:10 - My kids keep knocking on the door.
09:17 I'm so sorry!
09:18 (laughing)
09:19 And they're gonna be pounding in the background.
09:20 - Congratulations on solving your Rubik's cube.
09:23 - Oh, thank you.
09:24 There's three of them.
09:25 I did that for you.
09:26 - You're smart.
09:27 - Did you do it backwards?
09:28 - I did not.
09:29 (laughing)
09:31 No, I did it one-handed without looking.
09:33 - My daughter brought me lunch, you guys,
09:34 so that's what that was about, so.
09:36 - Aw, very sweet.
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