Nick Soaks Up More SpongeBob

Things are going swimmingly for the sea-faring gang on SpongeBob SquarePants, with Nickelodeon committing to another 20 episodes of the Emmy Award-nominated cartoon for 2005.

The series launched on the kids’ network July 1999 and has been the number-one children’s show on broadcast and cable for almost three years.

"SpongeBob is the most successful property in our 25-year history and we’re thrilled to bring his fans more adventures from Bikini Bottom," said Cyma Zarghami, President of Nickelodeon Television, in a statement.

SpongeBob and his gang will also hit the big screen Nov. 19, with Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor and Alec Baldwinco-starring with the TV show’s original voice cast.

The show is created and executive produced by Stephen Hillenburg, who previously wrote and directed Nick’s animated show, Rocko’s Modern Life. Produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, it is a Nicktoons Production with Hillenburg’s United Plankton Pictures.