Who doesn’t love a mischievous microorganism? Back in July 1999, when Plankton first appeared on Nickelodeon’s then-recently launched show SpongeBob SquarePants, few would have guessed that the cyclops copepod would be alive and kicking over 25 years later. Voiced by the prolific Mr. Lawrence, and accompanied by his mad supercomputer, Karen (Jill Talley), Plankton is now starring in his own movie, which just premiered on Netflix.
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| PLANKTON: THE MOVIE - Plankton’s world is flipped upside down when his plan for world domination is thwarted. Cr: Netflix/Nickelodeon Movies © 2025 |
Plankton and Karen, who began as minor characters in early seasons of the show, are the married owners of the unsuccessful Chum Bucket restaurant. They are always coming up with schemes to steal the famous Krabby Patty recipe from Mr. Krabs’ popular Krusty Krab restaurant just across the road. In the new movie, Plankton’s lifelong dreams of world domination are scuttled when his long-suffering AI wife decides to take charge. Directed by Dave Needham (The Loud House Movie), The Plankton Movie is based on a story by Mr. Lawrence, with a screenplay by Lawrence, Kaz and Chris Viscardi. The show’s longtime voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) and Rodger Bumpass (Squidward Tentacles) also reprise their roles.
Mr. Lawrence’s Little Fiend
“I came up with the idea for the movie four or five years ago,” Mr. Lawrence (aka Douglas Lawrence Osowski) told Animation Magazine for their April 2025 issue. “In my head, it was going to be a half-hour special for the series, but around the same time, the studio was asking us to come up with new movies for Sandy and Plankton, and my story (Karen becoming Plankton) was perfect for a movie.”
Lawrence, who is largely responsible for fleshing out Plankton’s character throughout the series, believes that he is a fascinating villain. “His frustrations are relatable to everyone, even though his aspirations to rule the world are not,” he explains. “Plankton is the only character who’s married on the show, so he has a home life that’s a bit more realistic than the others. But because of his size and his ego, he never really wins or gets what he wants. He becomes sympathetic but easy to laugh at. People tell me sometimes that they feel Plankton’s pain. And I guess that means I’m getting to the root of something very human with my portrayal. He’s insane, he’s megalomaniacal, he’s a criminal, but he’s got a wife pointing out his faults all the time, [which] makes him funny and humble even though he’s screaming in protest. There’s a little part of Plankton in all of us, a very small and angry part, but it’s there!”
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| Evil Masterminds: The creative team on the Plankton movie included from top Exec producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vince Waller, voice actor and writer Mr. Lawrence and director Dave Needham. Images courtesy of Nickelodeon/Netflix |
The film’s executive producers are none other than franchise veterans Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller. “When Vince and I took over the show about 10 years ago, all of these projects were in the pipeline, and now we’re finally getting to roll them out, because everything takes so long to develop and produce,” says Ceccarelli. “This project was being written and developed at the same time as the next SpongeBob movie, which will be coming out later this year. This one was on top of The Sandy Cheeks Movie as well, and we were working on both projects around the same time.”
“Doug (Lawrence) remained a constant throughout the whole thing, like from beginning to end,” says Ceccarelli. “It was sort of Doug’s movie, and it’s really helpful when he’s writing his voice. He is this unique talent, as he’s been both a writer and a main character on the show since the early days. So, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore both sides of what he has to offer for the show.”
“This movie is a real up-close, personal look at Plankton and Karen’s relationship, which we’ve explored before but not on this nitty-gritty ‘nuts and bolts’ level,” Waller adds. “Another reason why we love it is because it slowly and sneakily became a great musical project, which is unusual for us as well,” says Waller.
“How often do you have a movie with a star where he sings an entire song about what a total jerk he is?” Ceccarelli asks. “We’ve always been a fans of Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), and working with musical stars like Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh (Devo) and Linda Perry has been a dream come true.”
Waller also points out that SpongeBob creator, the late, great Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away in 2018, also tried to include a nice selection of eclectic bands to provide music for the show. “It was something that you don’t expect to get weaved into the show, and we just wanted to carry on that great tradition.”
For the film’s director, Dave Needham, the movie provided a chance to work on something that was different from earlier material. “This one was a bit weirder and a little bit darker [and] sits just to the edge of what you’d expect from a SpongeBob movie,” he says. “Of course, Karen becomes the real villain of this story, and it’s hilarious to see Plankton go through all the stages of grief and revenge and acceptance to kind of become the hero. Not only that, but we got to play with different animation styles, from 1920s rubber hose to a 1980s Transformers vibe in different sequences!”
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| We learn about Plankton’s childhood in a cleverly animated sequence which pays homage to classic rubber-hose animated shorts. |
Eclectic Stylings
The movie also stands out because of the way it mixes CG animation with various kinds of 2D animation. (The film’s animation was produced by four studios: ReDefine, Mikros Animation, Yukfoo Animation and mcbess.)
“We have four different styles of animation, as well as live action in this movie,” adds Waller. “It’s really a wild trip!” “The visual style is just as eclectic as the music styles we included in the feature,” adds Ceccarelli. “We’ve always been a big fan of mixing different styles. The storyline offered a structure where we could have different parts of Plankton’s life being shown in different animation styles, so we jumped on that opportunity. It might be a cliché, but we think there’s never a dull moment! If you don’t like something, just give it seconds, and the style will change, and you’ll see something completely different. We even have exciting battle scenes with giant robots.”
Since yet another SpongeBob movie, "Search For SquarePants," is coming later this year, Animation Magazine asked the producers to give them a special scoop on the project. “We are sworn to secrecy, so we can’t tell you much, except that it’s going to be awesome,” says Waller. “However, I can give you a little Easter egg about The Plankton Movie: When you watch the most recent trailer, you’ll see a live-action shot of a man wearing a wet suit running toward the camera as he screams his brains out. That’s Mr. Lawrence!”
The Plankton Movie is streaming now on Netflix.
From Cinemablend:
The Greatest Thing About Working On SpongeBob SquarePants, According To The Cast Who Have Done It For 25 Years
If you grew up watching SpongeBob SquarePants, then you know just how much this series shaped our childhoods. The talented voice actors behind the show—like Mr. Lawrence and Jill Talley, the voices of Plankton and Karen—have been part of it since the very beginning. Now, they've shared what has made working on the show such a joy for 25 years.
In promotion for the upcoming Plankton: The Movie releasing on the 2025 Netflix schedule for those with a Netflix subscription, I had the opportunity to speak to the two long-time voice actors for Plankton and Karen and ask what they think is the greatest thing about working on this show for so long. After all, it’s approaching its 26th birthday. Jill Talley gave a sweet answer: that they love each other in real life. As she told me,
"We all love each other in real life. To me, the greatest thing about SpongeBob, aside from everything else, is that for 25 years, we have all worked together, and we all like each other. There isn't a clunker in the bunch, honestly."
Mr. Lawrence agreed, joking that their lives have become an endless cycle of "bumping into each other" at events, like supporting L.A. firefighters. He even compared it to bumping into co-workers at the grocery store:
"It's pretty crazy -- especially the firehouse thing. We're waiting for people to come in, and there's this little firehouse where we were there to thank the firefighters, you know, for the fires we had and meet their kids. And you're walking around, and there's these little rooms, and all of a sudden, I walk, turn the corner, and there's, you know, there's Rodger [Bumpass]. That's how it feels like. Our whole lives are bumping into each other on purpose because we're doing a job. It's almost like we're just running into each other at the supermarket and happy to see each other, you know?"
For those who may not know, Bumpass is the voice behind Squidward and has been co-starring alongside Mr. Lawrence since the show began. The Plankton voice actor also reminisced that attending Comic-Con together as the whole cast is always excellent because there's this "electricity" in the air unlike any other:
"There's something electric, too. Like when we're doing stuff, when we do Comic-Con and things like that, you could feel it. There's this great electricity from us all being there at once. I think that's so delightful and great when we're all there, you know what I mean?"
As someone who grew up on the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes and has steadily seen the series grow over the last couple of decades, I find it warm to hear Mr. Lawrence and Talley talk so warmly about their experiences. These were the voices of my childhood, and hearing them all get along in real life only warms my heart more.
The show itself is also still prevalent. Adults still watch SpongeBob SquarePants today, years after older episodes released. While some past episodes have been removed from streaming platforms (thanks to today's standard of TV), it's still a beloved show by many.
And it's clear of its social impact. Heck, even Robert Eggers, director of Nosferatu, thanked the iconic Nickelodeon show for introducing a whole new generation (my generation) to that of the classic vampire monster because of one of their famous episodes. It's incredible to think of how far this show has come over the years.
But with the knowledge that this cast truly loves each other in real life? That's the kind of information that will live on forever in my mind as a long-time SpongeBob fan – even when I'm old and grey.
While Plankton: The Movie, detailing Karen and Plankton's hilarious relationship in glorious fashion, releases on March 7, watching some of the best SpongeBob specials in the meantime just to feel this warmness all over again. It may be time for a Bikini Bottom marathon.
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From UPI:
'Plankton' actors say 'SpongeBob' spinoff tells 'touching' love story
SpongeBob helps Plankton stop Karen in "Plankton: The Movie," on Netflix Friday.
Voice actors Mr. Lawrence and Jill Talley say their SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff film Plankton: The Movie, on Netflix Friday, is a love story between SpongeBob villain Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) and his computer wife, Karen (Talley).
In the film, Plankton removes Karen's emotions chip to encourage her to develop a successful world domination plan. However, when she overpowers even Plankton, he and SpongeBob must travel back in time to see how Plankton originally invented Karen.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Mr. Lawrence and Talley said the movie allowed them more character development than the usual 11-minute Nickelodeon shorts, or supporting roles in SpongeBob movies.
"It gets touching a couple times," Mr. Lawrence said. "We get a chance to really dive in a little bit further than we normally would."
The plot of Plankton: The Movie was originally an idea Mr. Lawrence had for a special. When asked to pitch ideas for SpongeBob spinoff movies, he expanded the idea into a feature film.
"It was all about what haven't we done yet?" Mr. Lawrence said. "Karen taking over, we hadn't done that yet."
Talley was delighted that the more Plankton tries to create his ideal partner, the more it backfires on him.
"The best thing about Plankton is that he creates a wife and the wife puts him down," Talley said. "She's not worshipful. She doesn't walk around just going, 'Yes, whatever you want, dear.'"
The removal of her emotions chip, which previously kept Karen from being as evil as Plankton desired, offered Talley new performance opportunities.
"Who wouldn't want to play a more villainous character or the dark side of your character?" Talley said. "That was just a blast to do."
Time travel shows Karen's earlier voices, which evolved with each update Plankton made. At one point, all of Karen's past voices speak to each other.
SpongeBob voice Tom Kenny directed Talley's recording sessions and helped her keep the different Karen voices straight.
"Sometimes I would answer in the wrong voice," Talley said. "We started trying to record it so that we stayed in one character which was helpful."
The biggest challenge of Plankton: The Movie, though, was singing. Bret McKenzie, Linda Perry and Devo's Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh wrote original songs for the film, which Karen sings in her robot monotone.
"I almost cried because I was so scared," Talley said. "It was stressful, but then when it was done, I was like wow, I did this thing."
Talley and Mr. Lawrence said the musicians were supportive, but they could not shake their nerves hoping to impress the recording legends. They recorded the songs at Perry's studio.
"All I'm thinking is, 'I hope she likes this,'" Mr. Lawrence said.
Karen has had one unintended legacy since the late SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenberg created the show. On social media, "Karen" has become the name for any annoying woman who complains a lot.
"Yeah, didn't plan on that," Mr. Lawrence said. "Actually Steve Hillenberg's wife is Karen. That's where Karen came from, the name for it."
Talley expected the Karen phenomenon to pass, but it hasn't.
"It stuck around," she lamented.
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From BuzzFeed:
"SpongeBob's" Mr. Lawrence, Writer And Voice Of Plankton, Revealed The Surprising Inspiration Behind "Rock Bottom"
Mr. Lawrence opens up on Mr. Krabs and Plankton's real-life friendship, the origin of "My Leg!", and inspiration from childhood events.
Mr. Lawrence has played a pivotal role in bringing the world of SpongeBob SquarePants to life for over 25 years. Not only is Mr. Lawrence the voice of Plankton and Larry the Lobster (among others), but he's also part of the writing team.
Continuing to celebrate 25 years of the iconic show, I sat down with Mr. Lawrence to learn about the production and performance sides of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BuzzFeed: One thing I love about Plankton is he has such a big voice in such a little body. Can you tell me about the origin of his voice?
Mr. Lawrence: The voice itself was something that I was doing every so often on Rocko's Modern Life. I would do it in the background, and I remember particularly that Tom Kenny [voice of SpongeBob] would always laugh. Then, when the pilot happened for SpongeBob, Steve [Stephen Hillenburg, the creator] knew he wanted me to be in the cast.
I auditioned for all the characters, and I actually read for SpongeBob with the Plankton voice—and I knew that wasn't going to be SpongeBob's voice. But Steve heard it, and we were laughing, and Steve said, "If I had any guts at all, I would push to make that the voice of SpongeBob. That would be so silly and funny and a really over-the-top choice."
Tom, Steve, and I were already on Rocko's Modern Life together, and we were already friends, so we got a little more intimate knowledge of what the show was going to be. We got a chance to sort of refine what we wanted to do. And after I did that voice, Steve was like, "You know, I think that might be Plankton." Plankton's voice is kind of like a combination of Tony the Tiger and the actor Gregory Peck. I was also imitating a friend of mine, a lifelong friend who I've known since I was in grade school. He had a really deep voice, but he didn't look like that. That's sort of the fun of Plankton, that he doesn't look like his voice at all.
So initially, I think it was always me imitating my friend and then fine-tuning it. I started playing around with the idea that it's kind of like Thurl Ravenscroft, who was the voice of Tony the Tiger, and a little Gregory Peck. It's always a combination of things. It's never one thing, but that's the real origin of it.
"I went to college!"
One of my favorite Plankton moments is the "F.U.N." song. Is it difficult to sing as Plankton?
Mr. Lawrence: I love the "F.U.N." song too. It's actually fun. People always ask me, "Does it hurt to do his voice?" The only time I get sort of irritated in my throat is when I'm screaming as Plankton because of the gravel of the screams. Mel Blanc [voice of the Looney Tunes characters] used to talk about how he had no problem with any of the characters except Yosemite Sam. He would have to save Yosemite Sam for the end of the week because he needed to recover after that. When I yell and scream as Plankton, especially the kinds of screams I do that are just sort of blood-curdling—those I have to recover from.
But singing is actually easier than some of the stuff I have to do with him vocally on the show. I've always been singing since school, so it's sort of a natural fit to move over to doing voices. You would think it would be tougher to do that, but I think it's actually fun. We've done it live, too—I've sung as Plankton live. And it's kind of delightful. I really like singing as him.
One of the most complicated relationships is between Mr. Krabs and Plankton, especially after the "Friend or Foe" episode. What is your take on their 'frenemy' relationship?
Mr. Lawrence: Well, they're similar in their goals; it's just that Plankton wants way more. Mr. Krabs got what he wanted in life—he got the restaurant, he got the right fry cook, he got the right ingredients for his big selling burger, and Plankton's the opposite in that way. We've kind of hinted that they knew each other before this whole thing, and we play with that all the time in the show and in the movies. There are times when they've been forced to have to deal with one another. I think that they could be friends if it wasn't for Plankton's trying to steal from him. If it wasn't for that, I think they might actually get along.
Likewise, Clancy [voice of Mr. Krabs] and I get along really well. Clancy and I have actually tried to sell shows together and have taken a few road trips together. He's a good buddy, and so that's fun, too. The fact that we are rivals on the show maybe even pushed us to be more friendly. We don't see each other all the time, but we got to spend some time together this year with the 25th anniversary. It's always nice to take a long walk with Clancy, and especially people seeing us at Comic Con was so funny. They're like, "Hey, it's those two guys. You guys are friends!"
If you're friends, it's almost easier to be more confrontational because you trust each other that way. Clancy is a movie star, one of my favorite actors, and one of everybody's favorite actors—but he's also my friend.
My favorite quality of Plankton is his unfiltered sass—he's hilarious! What are some of your favorite aspects of Plankton's character?
One is that he's married, and I'm married, so I relate to a married guy. He's got his wife right there to kind of cut him down to size and go, "You're not that big a deal." There's something about it that's just perfect for comedy.
I always thought that there's a lot of backstory between those two characters [Plankton and Karen] that you feel, and Jill Talley [voice of Karen] is fantastic. She's one of my favorite comedy performers and writers. I connect with her a lot when we're doing the characters, and it's great to have a friend that you can do that with. That's probably my favorite aspect of playing him, is that Jill's usually there.
But then it's also great to play the guy who's just dumbfounded. I mean, he's kind of an idiot because he's short-sighted. He's trying so hard, he's reaching so far—he's a smart guy, but he's too smart for his own good, in a way. He's always gobsmacked by how stupid everybody else is around him. In a way, he's dumber than them because he's over-shooting. He's trying to be an overlord; he's trying to usurp, and he's trying to take over. He'd probably have a better time if he would just lower his expectations in life and do something else.
You've voiced a lot of fun background characters on SpongeBob, my favorite being "CHOCOLATE!" What was the inspiration behind such an iconic moment?
What's really funny is I can just go on my phone and type 'chocolate' into the memes, and that will come up. That's just so wild to me that it's part of the lexicon in that way.
At the time, I was not writing on the show, but I remember seeing the script and just going, "Wow, this guy's just screaming his head off. What is that? What am I supposed to do?" I don't know if there was any particular inspiration other than me having to get ready for that one and say, "Okay, here I go. I'm gonna do this now." People at the Comic Cons ask me to yell "Chocolate!!" alongside the other things I yell, like "My leg!" Yelling things is kind of what I'm known for. It's very silly, and I enjoy it. It's quite fun.
"CHOCOLATEEEE!!!"
"My Leg!" has also had a similar cultural impact. I read that it was an improvised moment in the recording booth?
Fred started out as a "no-name" character and a character that was not even on camera. We started using him more often as time went on. There's always some horrible accident or some tragedy that's happened to the citizens of Bikini Bottom, and everybody's yelling stuff. I was the last one to yell something, and I yelled, "My legs!" I think it started as "My legs"—it was plural. It sort of evolved past that, where all of a sudden he's on camera.
It took off with fans where I think there was a contest to name him, and they came up with Fred, which is funny because that's one of my grandfather's names. We listened to the fans on that one, and we're like, "If you want more of him, we'll do it!" I did an episode called "My Leg!," which is one of my favorite I've ever written. I think we've been successful in keeping him alive without doing the same old thing again and again. I just want to make sure we're not overplaying it or wearing out his welcome.
"My Leg!"
The final character I wanted to mention before we chat about your writing is Larry the Lobster. Did you know you'd be voicing so many characters when you started the show?
I already knew the drill working on SpongeBob, which is, once you're a main player on the show, you're gonna get asked to do other characters. It's part of your contract, and also so they don't have to get a brand-new actor for every single character. When Larry came up, I initially didn't want to play him. He's kind of antithetical to my experience in my life, with me being more on the art side of things and less on the sports side. But then I saw it as a challenge—I wanted to bring something to that character so he isn't one-note.
Larry's become a fun character to play over the years, and we've used him more often now, even on the other shows. He's got a certain personality that he brings to the table, and he's got a good outlook on life. And then, of course, he was in the Super Bowl this year, and that was super fun. I never thought I'd be doing that. I see him as a positive kind of role model, so I do enjoy playing him now.
At the New York Comic Con, you mentioned Plankton's "I went to college!" line was based on a real-life experience. Off the top of your head, can you think of an episode that was based on one of your real-life experiences?
Particularly in the "Rock Bottom" episode, [writer] Derek Drymon, Steve Hillenburg, and I were in the room, trying to mine our childhoods. Stories would come up, like the "Ripped Pants" episode, came from an embarrassing thing that happened to Steve when he was a kid.
With "Rock Bottom," I think this must have been first grade, and I got on the wrong bus coming back from school. I was not paying attention because I was little, and I was late for the bus. I assumed it was my bus because another kid from my neighborhood got on it, so I just followed him. We're talking, we're sitting on the bus, and then all of a sudden, I look around and notice I don't recognize anybody from my neighborhood on this bus. It became a panic. I mean, I was six years old, and it was absolutely terrifying.
"This isn't your average everyday darkness. This is...advanced darkness."
We're freaking out, and I'm about to burst into tears, but the kid I was with just had a massive meltdown. He just freaked out. And I went, "It's okay, man, you know, we'll find our way." I went up to the bus driver, and I told her where we were supposed to go, and she said, "It's okay. When I'm done, I'll drop you off."
Of course, our mothers were waiting at the bus stop, wondering what happened, and luckily, they stuck around. It probably wasn't even that long. It was probably 20 minutes later, a half hour later, by the time she brought us home, and my friend was just a mess by the time we got there. It was super traumatic, but it was one of those life lessons at a young age where you learn you don't have to freak out. It's not like we're alone here, stranded in the middle of nowhere, though SpongeBob is really stranded in that episode.
That became the basis for "Rock Bottom," and that's how a lot of episodes came out. It's stuff that kids could relate to right away and go, "Yes, that happened to me," and then see the way SpongeBob deals with it. He's scared, and he's a little terrified, but he learns to cope with the fact. Like it or not, traumatic things that happen are perfect for comedy.
It's the old cliché to write what you know. Write about your experiences, as small as they are, as little as they are, especially on a comedy show where a lot of visual craziness happens. For example, SpongeBob not being able to tie his shoelace—that's such a little thing, but you can blow that up into comedy, really big. You can just take that and expand, and that's what we're looking for all the time on the show, even to this day. That's the comedy gold. Often, it's the simplest stuff, and that's the best stuff.
To wrap up, I wanted to ask about my personal favorite episode, "Band Geeks." What do you remember working on that episode?
That was one where we had already established a lot of the characters at that point. "Band Geeks" was one of the first episodes where we said, "Oh boy, let's get all the characters together and give them all little juicy parts so that you can see them all existing together!" When it's a Plankton episode, you kind of just see Plankton and Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob, and you don't necessarily see Patrick; you don't necessarily see all the characters at once.
I do remember, particularly in that one, playing the harmonica and running back and forth. I remember doing that scene in the records, and I'm thinking just how silly this is. It was fun to suspend [my] own disbelief. When you're sitting in a room with people in a booth, and you're just at a microphone, you have to really pretend. That's part of the fun of the voices, really kind of just putting yourself in there and sort of blocking out everything and saying, "I'm giving myself up for this performance. I have to pretend I'm really there."
Our group is extremely talented in every aspect, from the storyboarders to the animators, the people who voice the show and write the show. There are so many aspects that come together with just super talented people.
Thank you to Mr. Lawrence for sharing so many fun memories! Don't miss SpongeBob & Sandy's Country Christmas, now streaming on Paramount+.
Have any favorite Plankton moments? Let me know in the comments below!
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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.
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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!
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!
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