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Stephen Hillenburg Passes Away at 57


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I could revel in the entire gamut of cliches to articulate what an impact this man has left, both in his creations and in his signature kindness. I could mention how this one television show has united every single member of this website: without it, we would never be bundled in a warm cozy community. I could throw in some anecdotes about the magnitude of influence the series imprinted on me in my formative years, how it shaped me and my personality in their explicit and more subtle aspects. But I'll eschew all conventions just to say this. Thank you, Hillenburg. Thank you for delivering your message of optimism and creativity through this cartoon. You have brought a profusion of joy to children around the world. Rich kid, poor kid, everyone is tethered to a web of intimacy through the exchange of SpongeBob quotes and moments. You have molded an entire generation in a way some claim is harmful to young attention spans, but I personally believe is a positive force in this universe. You were there when we laughed; you were there when we cried. But every time life brings the most buoyant souls down to hollow depths, we can always be assured a temporary escape into a colorful, vibrant world inhabited by an anthropomorphic sponge living in a pineapple under the sea who, at his best, is the embodiment of love.

Perhaps I might be exaggerating. There may be bad episodes, bad seasons, bad eras of the show. Some would argue that it hasn't been good for over a decade.  But those fond memories that have been left by the best episodes will remain there forever. Thank you, Hillenburg, I don't know what my childhood would be without you.

god i'm so pretentious

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When I first heard the news (first thing I heard when I woke up too, damn), I was utterly shocked and depressed. I think it really fucked my whole day up and my overall mood. This is the man who not only created my childhood and one of my favorite cartoons of all time, but he also created my favorite cartoon character I'm very passionate about (Squidward). Hillenburg and his wonderful show and crew is WHAT got me interested in animation and made me discover awesome people to talk about the show with when I started using the internet. And now I'm absolutely saddened I'll never get to meet him.

I'm very happy to hear he from the talented crew that he was a kind-hearted young man, and it's such a pity that he had to suffer with ALS and pass so soon before his creation became 20 years old. I want to thank him for all the memories I have related to SpongeBob, whether it be IRL, a funny moment from an episode or a funny conversation I've had with one of you guys. I hope Stephen is resting peacefully and in a happy place. Godspeed.

Edited by President Squidward
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I honestly still can't believe that this is really happened. It's so surreal, so hard to comprehend... Despite everything, I'm still sad. Maybe I didn't know Stephen personally, but I always admired him. I don't want to sound cliche, but Stephen was my inspiration. He and his yellow, porous creation. He shaped my sense of humor, he showed me what makes character memorable and entertaining. He and Spongebob were not just "part" of my childhood, Stephen and Spongebob were literally my childhood. But not only childhood, SpongeBob is big part of my life as a whole. I'm 17 now and I still watch new episodes and rewatch old episodes. I still hug my SpongeBob plush, listening to SpongeBob OSTs and reading SpongeBob comic books. I can't even imagine how my life would've turned out without SpongeBob.

Stephen wasn't just inspiring, but also very humble and nice man. Many cartoon creators on Nick turned out to be... Not very good people, to say the least. But everyone loved Stephen. Shame, that I didn't met him...

So, I just want to thank you, Stephen Hillenburg. Thank you for SpongeBob. Thank you for amazing memories. Thank you for many laughs. Thank you for inspiring me to draw and create my own stories and characters.

Rest in peace. 

 

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Copying what I posted on #davent on the Discord:

 

SpongeBob was literally the only show I watched for so many years. I remember switching to Nickelodeon and seeing this yellow, happy Sponge having goofy adventures. SpongeBob made me happy when I was down. Stephen created a wonderful cartoon that has touched the hearts of so many, both young and old. Rest in peace.

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First hearing about this really brought down my mood the other day. It's crazy how fast his disease took its toll. Taken away from this earth far too soon. He, without a doubt, was one of the masterminds behind what made my childhood so special. I may not have been the biggest fan of the show in my later years, hell I was just another one of those people who began gradually tuning out after the first movie, but those first couple of seasons (and even some later episodes that I've given a chance since) brought me many laughs. The gift of laughter is something that I consider to be truly special and I can't thank you enough for the laughs and good memories that you've provided for me as well as whole generations of other people. Your work and contributions have both impacted and influenced a good chunk of my own. Much like Stan Lee, you've lived a life and leave behind a legacy most can only dream of imparting onto the world, a legacy that I'm sure will keep your memory alive for many years to come.

Rest in paradise, Mr. Hillenburg. 

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I cried all day when I heard....it feels like I lost a part of myself. Mr. Hillenburg created a show that I'll always be connected to, it brings me constant joy and happiness. It brings people together, i.e. SBC, and a few of my real life friends who enjoy the show as well. Thank you Mr. Hillenburg, you will always be remembered through Spongebob and live on in the hearts of millions of people including myself. Rest in Peace.

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On 12/4/2018 at 2:57 AM, SpongeBronyPH said:

Goodbye Mr. Hillenberg. I'll never forget you. If I were you, I would have done the ALS Ice Bucket Challence back in 2014 to prevent ALS.

how does that make any sense??? doing the ice bucket challenge wouldn't cure or prevent him from developing ALS. That's like saying if I do a cause for cancer it'll prevent me and others who did it from getting cancer.

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I honestly must agree with Prez, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge surely was a nice thing for people to do then but it really could not prevent or stop anything related to ALS, unfortunately it's not like we can fight the disease with fists y'know. I thought the best thing we could do is donate to the ALS Association, I donated 10 dollars the other day in Hillenburg's tribute. If any of you have the time or money, then you should do this too! For Stephen.

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It's going to feel incredibly cheap that I'm expressing my grievances after nearly two weeks. I've been meaning to express them once as I would make my own little tribute to Hillenburg, but with life and school getting in my way at the moment, I can't delay giving out my thoughts on Stephen Hillenburg's passing any longer. As I've said before, I'm not good at being emotional and whatever I might say could feel redundant, but I'm going to speak from the top of my mind.

This news about Hillenburg's death left me in shock when I first heard about it. Thinking about the death of the creator of a very well-known work already drew me parallels to the recent deaths of big name creators, albeit in different fields, like Stan Lee, who passed away on the same month, Isao Takahata who died in April of this year, and as well as the deaths of big name creators in the past like Charles Schulz back in 2000 and Jim Henson back in 1990. I can't help but paint the titular SpongeBob creator in that similar light because the man built up quite a legacy. He changed the face of children's animation and gave us a cartoon show that would not only continue thriving for so long, but has also inspired and entertained people of any age, background, social group, and so forth.

What made Hillenburg's death pretty hard-hitting for me is that his cartoon has, in many ways, shaped up the person that I usually am. I've been an animation fan and have been a part of the ever-so divisive cartoon community because of SpongeBob. I've been enthused to try and get into the animation industry because of SpongeBob. I've found that I've had a creative side and became influenced in writing fanfiction and later, stories of my own because of SpongeBob. In other words, Stephen Hillenburg has served as my main artistic influence and a catalyst towards realizing my dream profession. Although I don't tend to treat people like idols, he was like a godfather to me. Yet, while his work has become so significant to me, I've never got to meet him nor have I ever got to know him personally. Sometime after I've become an adult, I've had my mind made up that I didn't have to meet him personally, but sometimes, I still wish that I've had the chance to see him.

Since his death, I've been thinking about him almost every day. Now hearing that his ashes have been scattered across the sea only gives my temporary avatar change some more sense. In his memory, I've made my display picture a funeral lei to go along with SpongeBob's Hawaiian themes. On top of that, I've also since learned that the process of letting a lei drift off in sea is part of Hawaii's sea burial tradition (if I'm completely right).

Thanks for everything that you have done for your beloved show and may you rest in peace, Stephen Hillenburg.

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I know I'm a little late to this topic but holy fuck, after I heard about this, my jaw almost dropped to the ground. In fact, it's pretty much the most depressing death of 2018. Ever. Some deaths I usually get over with fast but I will never (and I mean, NEVER) get over this one at all. As somebody who's grown up with this show all my life, hearing about this is like a stab to the heart. Even worse is that he went away much too young. AT MY DAD'S AGE. That just makes me even more depressed than ever.

 

He was one of the greatest cartoonists who've ever lived and was a complete inspiration. And I'm really sad that he never made it to see SpongeBob turn 20. So long, Stephen, and thanks for all the fish.

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