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Patrick Star is a fictional character in
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
's
animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...
''
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
''. He is voiced by actor Bill Fagerbakke and was created and designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. He first appeared in the series' pilot episode " Help Wanted" on May 1, 1999. In addition to his supporting role on ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', Patrick also serves as the main protagonist of '' The Patrick Star Show'', which premiered in 2021. An
overweight Being overweight is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is especially common where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. , excess weight reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than ...
coral-pink
starfish Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...
, Patrick lives under a rock in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, and is the best friend of
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
. His most significant character traits are his laziness and low intelligence, although he occasionally shows surprising intelligence. Patrick is unemployed and a self-proclaimed expert in the "art of doing nothing". The character has received positive reactions from critics and fans alike. Patrick has been included in various ''SpongeBob SquarePants''-related merchandise, including trading cards, video games, plush toys, and comic books. He is also a leading character in the three films and
stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
based on the franchise.


Development


Creation and design

Stephen Hillenburg first became fascinated with the ocean and began developing his artistic abilities as a child. During college, he majored in
marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...
and minored in art. He planned to return to college eventually to pursue a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in art. After graduating in 1984, he joined the Ocean Institute, an organization dedicated to educating the public about
marine science Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...
and
maritime history Maritime history is the study of human interaction with and activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant. As an academic subject, it ...
. While he was there, he initially had the idea that would lead to the creation of ''SpongeBob SquarePants'': a comic book titled ''The Intertidal Zone''. In 1987, Hillenburg left the institute to pursue a career in animation. A few years after studying experimental animation at the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
, Hillenburg met Joe Murray, creator of the Nickelodeon series '' Rocko's Modern Life'', at an animation festival, and was offered a job as a director of the show.Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews Joe Murray, creator of Rocko's Modern Life
," ''The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ''
Martin Olson, one of the writers for ''Rocko's Modern Life'', read ''The Intertidal Zone'' and encouraged Hillenburg to create a television series with a similar concept. At that point, Hillenburg had not even considered creating his own series. However, he realized that if he ever did, this would be the best approach. Production on ''Rocko's Modern Life'' ended in 1996. Shortly afterwards, Hillenburg began working on ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. For the show's characters, Hillenburg started to draw and used character designs from his comic book—including starfish,
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...
, and
sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...
. He described Patrick as "probably the dumbest guy in town".Hillenburg, Stephen. (March 1, 2003). ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' (''The Absorbing Tale Behind The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'') (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon. The character was conceived as a starfish to embody the animal's nature; according to Hillenburg, starfish look "dumb and slow", but they are "very active and aggressive" in reality, like Patrick.Hillenburg, Stephen. (March 1, 2003). ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' (''The Case of the Sponge "Bob"'') (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon. Hillenburg incorporated character comedy rather than topical humor on the show to emphasize "things that are more about humorous situations and about characters and their flaws." He designed Patrick and SpongeBob as such because "they're whipping themselves up into situations—that's always where the humor comes from. The rule is: Follow the innocence and avoid topical humor." In spite of being depicted as having a good temperament or state of mind, Patrick has been shown in some episodes to have a tantrum. Patrick's emotional outbreak was originally written only for the first season episode "Valentine's Day", where SpongeBob and Sandy try to give Patrick a
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
gift, and "was supposed to be a one-time thing". However, according to episode writer Jay Lender, "when that show came back it felt so right that his dark side started popping up everywhere. You can plan ahead all you want, but the characters eventually tell you who they are." Every main character in the show has its own unique footstep sound. The sound of Patrick's footsteps is recorded by the show's Foley crew, with a Foley talent wearing a slip-on shoe. Jeff Hutchins, show's sound designer said, " oingbarefoot makes it tough to have much presence, so we decided that Patrick would be performed with shoes on."


Voice

Patrick's voice is provided by actor Bill Fagerbakke, who also does the voices of numerous other characters on ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. While creating the show and writing its
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
in 1997, Hillenburg and Derek Drymon, the show's then-
creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
, were also conducting auditions to find voices for the show's characters. Fagerbakke auditioned for the role of Patrick after
Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...
, SpongeBob's voice actor, had been cast. Fagerbakke said, "Steve is such a lovely guy, and I had absolutely no feeling for the material whatsoever." He described his experience in the audition, saying "I was just going in for another audition, and I had no idea what was in store there in terms of the remarkable visual wit and really the kind of endearing child-like humanity in the show. I couldn't pick that up from the audition material at all. I was just kind of perfunctorially trying to give the guy what he wanted." Fagerbakke referred to Patrick as "AquaDauber" (a reference to his role as Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the 1990s sitcom ''Coach'') in the first few years of working on the show. Patrick is "enormously entertaining to portray" because, according to Fagerbakke, "when I'm performing Patrick, there are many secrets that I could never divulge". Fagerbakke's approach in voicing Patrick is "much the same way I would do oany kind of character." "I'm always looking for opportunities to explore that freewheeling imagination and insanity of children. To be able to plug in to that and let that carry you in to a performance is such a gas, I have so much fun with that. I love kids; I raised two girls and I love being a parent," he said. The cast members record as a whole cast. Fagerbakke says that the situation improves his performance as a voice actor because "there is something remarkable that happens when people are working together that is unique to that." Fagerbakke modeled his performance whenever Patrick is angry after that of American actress Shelley Winters. Fagerbakke has been compared to Patrick's character, which he concurs with. Kenny said that "Bill agerbakkeis a big guy. The world is almost too small for him. He's a force of nature, like Patrick." Writer Jay Lender said, describing Fagerbakke in the recording studio, "Bill Fagerbakke is the most thoughtful performer I've ever seen in the booth—he was always asking questions and really trying to get into the mindset, such as it is, of Patrick." Writer Kent Osborne said of Fagerbakke, "He is this big guy, and he plays Patrick so well. He's just this big guy, and he lumbers around." Fagerbakke said, "I'm clumsy. I'm goofy. I make mistakes all the time" and agreed that "I guess I'm a lot of Patrick."Fagerbakke, Bill. (November 16, 2010). ''Legends of Bikini Bottom'' (''Behind the Scenes: Legends of Bikini Bottom'') (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon.


Appearances


Role in ''SpongeBob SquarePants''

Patrick is the ignorant but humorous best friend of SpongeBob SquarePants. He is portrayed as being an overweight pink starfish, who serves as the village idiot of the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Patrick gets dumber throughout the series and has been shown to make many ludicrous mistakes. Despite this, he has occasionally been portrayed as a
savant Savant syndrome ( , ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with the condition generally have a neurodevel ...
, with articulate observance to certain subjects in specific detail. However, he always reverts quickly back to his usual, unintelligent self after displaying a moment of wisdom. He holds no form of occupation except for several very brief stints working at the Krusty Krab and at the Chum Bucket in a variety of positions, and mostly spends his time either clowning around with SpongeBob, catching jellyfish with him, or lounging beneath the rock under which he resides. At home, Patrick is usually depicted either sleeping, watching TV, or engaged in the "art of doing nothing", at which he is an expert. All the furnishings in the space under his rock are made of sand, and Patrick can simply opt to quickly build up furniture as needed; even so, his living space is sparse and contains only the barest essentials. Aside from his best friend SpongeBob, who is often impressed by Patrick's capacity to come up with naïve yet genius plans or solutions, Patrick frequently irritates those around him and is confounded by the simplest of questions or subjects. The characters of Mr. Krabs and Squidward have no patience for Patrick's stupidity, and the former does not pay him much regard;
Clancy Brown Clarence James Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. His film roles include Rawhide in ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Ban ...
, who provides Mr. Krabs' voice, said, "The only person that he r. Krabsdoesn't hire is Patrick because Patrick is just too stupid to work for nothing."Brown, Clancy. (March 1, 2003). ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' (''The Absorbing Tale Behind The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'') (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon. Sandy often gets annoyed by Patrick, but still sees him as a friend.


In other media

Patrick has appeared in other ''SpongeBob SquarePants''-related media, including
board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
s,
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s, keychains, plush toys,
trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...
s and
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
s. Patrick has a major role in ''
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy film, animated adventure comedy film based on the television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. It was co-written, co-produced, and directed by series creator Stephen Hill ...
'', the first feature-length film adaptation of the show. The film was released on November 19, 2004 and has been a financial success, grossing over $140 million worldwide. He has also appeared in the film's sequel, which was released in theaters on February 6, 2015. In the second film, Patrick (along with SpongeBob, Sandy, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and Plankton) is rendered in 3D (using CGI) in the live action scenes. The group becomes an " ''Avengers''-type team", better known as “The Spongers”; Patrick transforms to Mr. Superawesomeness. In 2009, actor John Fricker portrayed Patrick in the musical adaptation of the third season episode " The Sponge Who Could Fly". Fricker and the musical itself were well received by most critics. Gordon Barr and Roger Domeneghetti of the '' Evening Chronicle'' described the musical as "a silly riot of colour ..as you'd have to expect from an adaptation of a cartoon TV show", while Viv Hardwick of ''
The Northern Echo ''The Northern Echo'' is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its the ...
'' said that Fricker and Martin Johnston ( Mr. Krabs) "win the biggest costume contest." A critic from the '' Chichester Observer'' wrote, "John Fricker is in his element as the simple but lovable Patrick Star". The character of Patrick has become viral in the Internet in the forms of
meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
s or image macros. A still from ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'', which displays Patrick in a drop-jawed look, inspired a
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
user to create a presentation of Patrick's expression using a number of different filters. Following this, a YouTube user uploaded another video featuring Patrick reacting to Canadian singer
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
's 2010 single, "
Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
". The meme called "Surprised Patrick" started to disseminate, with one of the first images was posted to
Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
by SeannyOC, and then reblogged onto I Can Has Cheezburger?'s Memebase. Comedy websites—including
BiteTV Makeful is a Canadian pay television channel owned by Blue Ant Media focused on lifestyle programming relating to do-it-yourself projects such as food, design, style, and crafts in connection with maker culture (from which the channel takes its na ...
,
CollegeHumor Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...
,
Mashable Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...
and Smosh—have published their own "Best of" lists and compilations, covering the "Surprised Patrick" meme's popularity. Mashable's Nena Prakash said, "For years, Patrick Star helped hold down Bikini Bottom while SpongeBob was flippin' burgers at e Krusty Krab. But now it's time for Patrick to come out from under that rock and take a seat upon his royal meme throne, because he's an Internet star(fish)." Another popular meme based on the character is the "Push It Somewhere Else Patrick" image macro, which was taken from the second season episode "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm", based on a scene where Patrick suggests that the town should relocate itself in order to deal with an Alaskan Bull Worm. A CGI version of Patrick was part of Nickelodeon's 2022 Christmas Day
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
game between the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
and
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
, with Fagerbakke providing real-time commentary for the character. Patrick's most notable call came during a
Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He has primarily played for the Seattle Seahawks. With the Sea ...
interception. "That's not what he wanted to cook," Patrick said, mocking the "let Russ cook" slogan adopted by fans of the Denver quarterback.


''The Patrick Star Show''

On August 10, 2020, it was reported that a Patrick Star talk show titled ''The Patrick Star Show'' was in development with a 13-episode order. The show features Patrick hosting an imaginary talk show in his parents' house. it was officially announced by Nickelodeon on March 4, 2021 and premiered on the network later in the summer.


Reception


Critical response

Critical reception for the character from both professionals and fans has been positive. In his DVD review for ''
DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revie ...
'', Bill Treadway called Patrick "the village idiot, who sometimes gives SpongeBob some really bad advice, but he is a loyal friend and that's something we don't see much of these days." He said, "Patrick is the definition of stupid and his antics will have you laughing out loud." In a review published in 2007, Peter Keepnews of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said, "Patrick is a popular character, and the new episodes illustrate why: He is unfailingly enthusiastic, touchingly loyal and absolutely undeterred by his intellectual limitations. Hilariously voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, he is not just an endearing comic creation but a role model for idiots everywhere." Nancy Basile of
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
called Patrick "one of the silliest characters on ''SpongeBob SquarePants''". In her DVD review of "SpongeBob and Friends: Patrick SquarePants", a Patrick-themed ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' home video release, Basile said, "The episodes included ..are hilarious. They're not only some of Patrick's best episodes, but also some of the show's classic episodes." She ranked " That's No Lady" as Patrick's best episode and said, "I was remiss not to include this episode in my top ten 'SpongeBob SquarePants'' episodeslist." She cited her favorite scene from the episode, where "Patrick can't read the number on Mr. Krabs' table, saying, 'Ford knee.' Mr. Krabs replies, 'That's a seven, Patricia.'" The Kids' Choice Awards, an annual awards show presented by Nickelodeon, added several new categories, including "Favorite Animated Animal Sidekick", in its 2014 ceremony. Patrick received the Kids' Choice Award Blimp for the category, winning to
Perry the Platypus Perry the Platypus is a fictional anthropomorphic bipedal platypus from the American animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' and '' Milo Murphy's Law''. Perry was created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Perry is featured as the star of ...
(''
Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...
''), Sparky (''
The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two Fairy godmother, fairy godparents named List of The Fai ...
'') and Waddles (''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twi ...
'').


Speculated homosexuality

In 2002, the show's popularity among the gay community grew, and it was reported that they had embraced the show, according to
BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...
. ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' also raised questions about SpongeBob and Patrick in a recent article that pointed out the show's popularity in the gay community.
Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...
, in response to the article, said " felt the insinuation was a stretch." "I had heard that gay viewers enjoy the show in the same way that lots of people—college students, parents and children—like the show ..I thought it was rather silly to hang an entire article on that. I don't think it's a case of it being a gay-friendly show—It's a human-being-friendly show. They're all welcome," Kenny said. In 2005, a promotional video that involves SpongeBob promoting
diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...
and tolerance was criticized by two U.S. Christian
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
groups, most notably
Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...
, because they saw the character was being used as an advocate for
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
though the video contained "no reference to sex, sexual lifestyle or sexual identity." The incident led to questions as to whether or not SpongeBob, his best friend Patrick, and the rest of the series' characters are homosexual characters. After this speculation and comments, Hillenburg repeated his assertion that sexual preference was never considered during the creation of the show. He clarified the issue and said "We never intended them to be gay. I consider them to be almost asexual. We're just trying to be funny and this has got nothing to do with the show." Tom Kenny and other production members were shocked and surprised that such an issue had arisen. Derek Drymon, the show's
creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
until 2004, said, "If SpongeBob holds hands with Patrick it's because he's his best friend and he loves him. I think the whole thing is a part of a larger agenda to stigmatize gay people." Focus on the Family founder
James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the m ...
later stated that his comments were taken out of context and that his original complaints were not with SpongeBob or any of the characters in the video but with the organization that sponsored the video, the We Are Family Foundation. Dobson noted that the foundation had posted pro-homosexual material on its website, but later removed it. Queer theorist Jeffrey P. Dennis, author of the journal article "The Same Thing We Do Every Night: Signifying Same-Sex Desire in Television Cartoons," argued that SpongeBob and Sandy are not romantically in love, while adding that he believed that SpongeBob and Patrick "are paired with arguably erotic intensity." Dennis noted the two are "not consistently coded as romantic partners," since they live in separate residences, and have distinct groups of friends, but claimed that in the series, "the possibility of same-sex desire is never excluded." Martin Goodman of '' Animation World Magazine'' described Dennis's comments regarding SpongeBob and Patrick as "interesting."


Legacy

In 2020, a new species of starfish from northwest
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
seamount A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...
s was named ''Astrolirus patricki'' in honor of Patrick Star. All known specimens of ''A. patricki'' were found closely associated with hexactinellid
sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...
s, and the species was thus named after the character Patrick Star as a reference to his friendship with SpongeBob.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Star, Patrick SpongeBob SquarePants characters Anthropomorphic animals Television characters introduced in 1999 Animated characters introduced in 1999 Fictional asexuals Fictional unemployed people Male characters in television Comedy film characters Male characters in animated television series LGBTQ characters in animated television series Television sidekicks