help wanted

"Help Wanted" is the pilot episode of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 1, 1999, following the television airing of the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards. The episode follows the protagonist, an anthropomorphic young sea sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants, attempting to get a job at a local restaurant called the Krusty Krab. However, he is tasked to find an apparently rare high-caliber spatula because the owner, Mr. Krabs, considers him unqualified for the position. Eventually, crowds of ravenous anchovies stop by the Krusty Krab and demand meals. SpongeBob returns from his errand, having fulfilled the request of Mr. Krabs and found a mechanical spatula. He utilizes the spatula to satisfy the anchovies' hunger. SpongeBob is then welcomed by Mr. Krabs as a Krusty Krab employee against the wishes of Squidward Tentacles, the cashier of the Krusty Krab.
Series creator Stephen Hillenburg initially conceived the show in 1994 and began to work on it shortly after the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life in 1996. To voice the character of SpongeBob, Hillenburg approached Tom Kenny, who had worked with him on Rocko's Modern Life. For the series pitch, Hillenburg originally wanted the idea of having SpongeBob and Squidward on a road trip, inspired by the 1989 film Powwow Highway. Hillenburg gave up the idea and started new with the idea he and Derek Drymon came up for "Help Wanted" based on an experience Hillenburg had in the Boy Scouts. The original idea would be used for the later episode "Pizza Delivery".
The episode was written by Hillenburg who also functioned as storyboard director as well as storyboard artist, Derek Drymon, who also functioned as the credited storyboard artist, and Tim Hill. The animation was directed by the show's supervising director, Alan Smart. "Help Wanted" features a posthumous musical performance from Tiny Tim singing his song "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight".
"Help Wanted" was excluded from the DVD release of the series' first season because Nickelodeon did not want to pay Tiny Tim's estate for the DVD rights, although it had since been released on various DVDs of the series. "Help Wanted" gained an average of 6.9 million views, receiving positive reviews from media critics.

View More On Wikipedia.org