SpongeBob Cast Recalls How Their Kids Reacted to Seeing the Show — and One 'Never Really Liked It' (Exclusive)
SpongeBob SquarePants' Carolyn Lawrence, Bill Fagerbakke and Tom Kenny shared what their kids really thought of the show
SpongeBob SquarePants has captivated audiences for two decades — but what did the actors' kids think when it first came out?
A few members of the cast of the animated TV series chatted with PEOPLE about the Super Bowl LVIII telecast crossover event with Nickelodeon + CBS Sports, where they shared what each of their kids thought about the show when it first premiered in 1999.
"I have two girls. My oldest never liked the show." admits Carolyn Lawrence, who voices Sandy Cheeks on the show. "But my youngest, I still hear her giggling. She'll watch it, I can hear her laughing and laughing."
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"That was the way I realized the pilot was as good as I thought it was," says Bill Fagerbakke, who voices Patrick Star. "Because I knew nothing, I didn't get it when we recorded it, and then we got the pilot in the mail on a video cassette."
Speaking about his daughters Carson and Hannah, whom he shares with wife Catherine McClenahan, Fagerbakke says, "They were, at that time, 4 and 6. And I called them and I said, 'Watch this.' And they loved it."
"And I went, 'Yes, this is going to be fun.' I figured for a few months and then something else comes along, you hope. But 25 years later."
Tom Kenny, who voices the titular SpongeBob Squarepants, agreed. The actor shares his two kids – Mack and Nora — with wife Jill Talley.
"My kids grew up with SpongeBob being both the family business and also the biggest thing in the world with their classmates. And maybe because our faces aren't in it, they were always able to enjoy SpongeBob as something separate and apart from their dumb old parents. That was really good."
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