'SpongeBob SquarePants' Becomes the Longest Running Animated Kids Show

SpongeBob SquarePants has now surpassed Arthur’s record to be the longest running animated kids show of all time

Nickelodeon / PBS Kids / ComicBook.com

Nickelodeon's beloved animated series SpongeBob SquarePants has been in the midst of celebrating its landmark 25th anniversary this past year, but now it has officially overthrown Arthur to become the longest running animated series for kids of all time!

Fans have been getting to see animated hits of all kinds go on to very long runs of episodes, and that has been especially the case with many adult sitcoms like The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, American Dad and more which had recently celebrated their own 35th, 26th, 25th, and 20th anniversaries, respectfully. But this same success has been seen with children’s animation as well with many crossing over some huge milestones too.

SpongeBob SquarePants has been one such case as it not only officially kicked off its 25th anniversary celebration last year, but the fact that it continues to be in production means it is going to hit even more impressive milestones in the near future too. As pointed out by @Toonhive on X/Twitter, SpongeBob SquarePants has now officially become the longest running animated children’s show of all time. Beating a record previously held by the PBS Kids classic, Arthur.

SpongeBob Becomes Longest Running Animated Kids Show

Arthur first aired with PBS Kids in October 1996, and ran for 25 seasons across 26 years with the final episode airing back in 2022. The series finale offered a much more conclusive ending than fans of the long running animated adaptation ever expected as Arthur and his friends had aged into adulthood through a special time skip that revealed their future careers. Arthur, for example, actually became an artist that ultimately illustrated all of his adventures as a kid and turned that into the “Arthur” series itself. So it was a real full circle moment when it all came to an end.

But with the series ending its production, and SpongeBob SquarePants having no plans to end any time soon, Arthur no longer holds that record. The Nickelodeon animated series currently only has about 15 seasons under its belt of regular episodes, but it’s become an entire universe that has spread across multiple shows, feature films, and more in the years since its debut. SpongeBob SquarePants now being the longest running animated children’s show is a huge honor, and is likely not going to lose this record in the future. It’s still just as popular as it ever was.

What’s Next for SpongeBob?

As SpongeBob SquarePants continues with new episodes of its own show and The Patrick Star Show, but the series is continuing with all sorts of other new entries such as a brand new movie coming to Netflix next month. Plankton: The Movie will be exclusively streaming with Netflix beginning on March 7th, and is written (and stars) Mr. Lawrence. The film also stars longtime members of the SpongeBob SquarePants cast such as Jill Talley, Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Clancy Brown, and Rodger Bumpass. There is also a brand new movie coming to theaters soon.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Search for SquarePants is currently slated to release in theaters beginning on December 19th. Very little has been revealed about this film as of the time of this publication, but it has teased that it will have a large focus on the Flying Dutchman’s Ghost. Mark Hamill will be the voice of the Flying Dutchman in the upcoming film, who will be replacing Brian-Doyle Murray (who had voiced the character in his appearances in the TV series). But as we get closer to its release, we’ll likely see more of what to expect soon enough. There could also be a new character-centric spin-off in the ocean pipeline, too..

Watch the SpongeBob SquarePants Universe, including Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show on Nickelodeon and Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com.

Shop SpongeBob: https://www.paramountshop.com/pages/spongebobsquarepants

Stream the SpongeBob BingePants podcast here!

Listen to The SpongeBob Musical here!

CALLING ALL GOOFY GOOBERS! (ROCK!) Are ya ready for a deep dive into the world of SpongeBob SquarePants? The SpongeBob YouTube channel is THE PLACE for all fan-favorite SpongeBob moments! Subscribe now at https://www.youtube.com/SpongeBobOfficial!

More Nick: Paramount and Nickelodeon Announce Launch of 'SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change', A New Global Ocean Conservation and Sustainability Initiative!

Originally published: February 23, 2025.

Original source: ComicBook.com.

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Pluto TV UK Adds 'Arthur' Channel

And Pluto TV says "hey!"

Pluto TV, the global leader in free ad-supported streaming television (FAST), has launched a Arthur channel dedicated to the beloved animated series in the U.K.!

Based on the beloved books by Marc Brown, Arthur follows the adventures of Arthur, an 8-year-old aardvark, and his family and friends as they grow up in Elwood City and learn how to be good neighbours to one another.

Available on Pluto TV channel 35, the channel airs episodes of Arthur around the clock. Interestingly, episodes airing on the channel include "A Word from Us Kids" interstitials, which were originally cut-out when the series aired on Nickelodeon UK and CBBC.

Arthur ran for 253 episodes over 25 seasons between October 7, 1996 – February 21, 2022. It's currently unknown how many seasons Pluto TV UK has the rights to, however, it does include the first two seasons.

Users can watch Pluto TV via Web at www.pluto.tv, via the Pluto TV app for Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung and LG devices, and via mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play. No registration is required to watch programming on the service.

Paramount+ UK & Ireland is HERE! Stream a Mountain of Entertainment, including your Nickelodeon favourites! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!

More Nick: Nickelodeon UK Announces First-Ever Multi-Year Partnership with The Luna Cinema; To Launch 'The Nickelodeon Experience' in Summer 2022!

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'Arthur' Character Mr. Ratburn Comes Out as Being Homosexual, Gets Married in Season 22 Premiere

Here are two things you probably didn’t know: First, the animated children’s series Arthur is still on the air, entering its 22nd season on PBS Kids in the U.S.. Second, Arthur’s teacher — the well-read, well-dressed, well-liked Mr. Ratburn — is a homosexual.

The news comes out in Monday, May 13’s premiere, titled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone,” in which Arthur and his pals are shocked to discover that Mr. Ratburn is engaged — mostly because they refuse to accept that their teachers actually have lives outside of school. “When they go home, they sharpen pencils, eat kale and dream up homework assignments,” Buster insists. “They don’t even sleep! They just go into low-power mode and watch documentaries.”

This paranoia only grows when the gang spots Mr. Ratburn having lunch with an uptight woman (voiced by special guest star Jane Lynch, iCarly, Two and a Half Men, Glee), who tells Mr. Ratburn that he’s “too soft” and needs to “toughen up.” They decide that marrying her will make Mr. Ratburn miserable, which will then make his students miserable, so they set off to nip the nuptials in the bud. Little do they realize, the woman in question is actually Mr. Ratburn’s sister, who just wants the best for his big day.

Arthur and his gang of mostly recognizable animal friends show up to the wedding ready to object, but when they see who Mr. Ratburn is actually marrying — not to mention how happy the couple appears — they decide not to sabotage their teacher’s big day, after all. They do, however, make fun of the way Mr. Ratburn and his new husband dance, which is fair.

Mr. Ratburn’s partner doesn’t have any lines in the episode, he simply winks at the children as he walks by them going down the aisle with his third grade teacher husband. From the looks of him, he is an aardvark like the show’s titular hero.

The news that Mr. Ratburn is gay exploded social media, making the term 'Mr. Ratburn' trend on Twitter.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the Arthur-verse has featured a gay character. In 2005, PBS was forced to pull an episode of the Arthur spinoff Postcards from Buster in which Buster visited a family with lesbian mothers. Before it was to air, former education secretary under George W. Bush Margaret Spellings asked PBS to pull the episode for fear that children might be exposed to — gasp! — lesbians.

Arthur creator Marc Brown said he was “disappointed” by PBS’s decision to comply with Spellings’ request.

“What we are trying to do in the series is connect kids with other kids by reflecting their lives,” Brown said. “In some episodes, as in the Vermont one, we are validating children who are seldom validated. We believe that Postcards From Buster does this in a very natural way —and, as always, from the point of view of children."

For what it’s worth, the word “lesbian” wasn’t actually used in the episode, just as Mr. Ratburn doesn’t use the word “gay” in Monday’s Arthur premiere.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm posting about Arthur, as it's not a Nickelodeon show - it did, however, air on Nickelodeon UK (and CBBC) in the mid-nineties!

Arthur is the latest animated series to include a prominent LGBTQ character. In 2016, Nickelodeon made network history with their first-ever portrayal of a same-sex male couple on their animated series The Loud House. The show has also revealed that Lincoln's sister, Luna, and her crush, Sam, are bi-sexual. The series' positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters has earned it two GLAAD Media Awards nominations.

The network also featured a younger unmarried female same-sex couple in the 2014 conclusion of its hit animated action series The Legend of Korra, which ended with Korra and Asami, two of the shows female characters, embarking on a romantic relationship, with fans endearingly calling the couple 'Korrasami'. Korra and Asami's relationship continues in comic book sequels to the series, including the upcoming Ruins of the Empire.

Further back in the '90s, Nickelodeon's iconic animated series Hey Arnold!, one of Arnold's teachers, Mr. Simmons, was gay. Craig Bartlett, the creator of Hey Arnold!, has also hinted that Arnold's friend, Eugene Horowitz, was also gay.

Most recently, Nickelodeon's revived Double Dare featured it's first family with two dads. A major milestone.

These representations are big deal considering that Nickelodeon has millions of viewers around the world, and the network's TV shows and movies featuring LGBTQ+ characters is an important step forward for mainstream visibility and acceptance of same-sex couples among younger viewers.

Congrats to the happy couple! :)

More Nick: Nickelodeon Embarks on New Direction with its Biggest, Most Wide-Ranging Content Slate Ever!

Original source: TVLine.com; Additional source: Out, Twitter /@WOLFNOlR.

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ARTHUR Theme - Saturday Morning Acapella | Triforcefilms

In their latest addition to Triforcefilms' "Saturday Morning A Capella" playlist, Mr. Dooves performs a capella cover version of the opening theme to the popular animated series Arthur!:



Original Composer - "Believe in Yourself" by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers

"Believe in Yourself" lyrics:

Everyday when you're walking down the street,
And everybody that you meet
Has an original point of view

And I say hey! (Hey!)
What a wonderful kind of day
If we could learn to work and play
And get along with each other

You gotta listen to your heart, listen to the beat
Listen to the rhythm, the rhythm of the street
Open up your eyes, open up your ears
Get together and make things better,
By working together!

It's a simple message,
And it comes from the heart
Believe in yourself,
For that's the place to start

And I say hey! (Hey!)
What a wonderful kind of day,
If we could learn to work and play
And get along with each other

Hey! What a wonderful kind of day. Hey!
What a wonderful kind of day

Hey!

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Arthur is an animated series that airs daily on PBS Kids. Aimed at viewers between the ages of four and eight, ARTHUR's goal is to help foster an interest in reading and writing, and to encourage positive social skills.

Based on the children's books by Marc Brown, Arthur premiered in 1996 as one of the first ongoing animated programs based on a book series. The show chronicles the adventures of Arthur (an eight-year-old aardvark) through engaging, emotional stories that explore issues faced by real kids. It is a comedy that tells these stories from a kid's point of view without moralizing or talking down. Situations on Arthur develop in realistic ways, and don't always turn out as we -- or Arthur and his friends -- might expect.

Arthur often deals with important issues families face such as asthma, dyslexia, cancer, diabetes, and Asperger syndrome. It also encourages reading and relationships with family and friends by explaining that people have different personalities and interests.

The series also spawned a spin-off series, Postcards from Buster, which followed Arthur's best friend, Buster Baxter.

With 229 episodes, Arthur is the second-longest active running show on PBS Kids, behind only Sesame Street. It is the longest-running children's animated series in the U.S., and the second longest-running animated series in the U.S., behind The Simpsons.

Created by Cookie Jar Group (formerly known as Cinar) and WGBH for PBS, the series airs on PBS Kids in the USA and aired on Nickelodeon UK in the late nineties. Arthur is distributed by 9 Story International Distribution.

See also: Power Rangers Dino Thunder | Saturday Morning Acapella | Triforcefilms!

Sources: PBS Parents, Wikipedia (I, II), Arthur Wiki.

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