Stephen Hillenburg directed The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Stephen Hillenburg . A former marine-biology teacher , he created SpongeBob SquarePants ( 1999 ) , which has gone on to become one of the longest-running American television series as well as the highest-rated show ever to air on Nickelodeon . In 1994 , Hillenburg began developing The Intertidal Zone characters and concepts for what became SpongeBob SquarePants . He also directed The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ( 2004 ) , for which he received a nomination for an Annie Award for Directing in a Feature Production . The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie . The film was directed by series creator Stephen Hillenburg and starred the series ' cast of Tom Kenny , Bill Fagerbakke , Clancy Brown , Rodger Bumpass and Mr. Lawrence , with guest performances by Scarlett Johansson , Jeffrey Tambor , Alec Baldwin and David Hasselhoff .