The more recent SpongeBob SquarePants episodes have widely been criticized for not living up to the standards of the older ones. Many critics believe the decline in quality began after the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, with the beginning of the fourth season. Fans also began to turn away from the series, and online fan sites became deserted.
A huge change was the resignation of series creator Stephen Hillenburg from being the series' producer, leaving that job to Derek Drymon. Drymon appointed writer Paul Tibbitt to produce the show beginning with fourth season. With this change brought many new writers, and many former writers (Kaz, Sam Henderson) moved on to different projects. The only visible writer with the show today that was there from the beginning is storyboard artist Aaron Springer. One critic said:
"I've been a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants for a long time, and consider it to be one of the best cartoons in the past ten years. But I also have to confess that the cheerful sponge and I parted company some time ago. I'm not sure I can peg the exact moment I stopped paying close attention to the hit series. I think it occurred sometime around the special episode "Dunces and Dragons", though I also remember feeling doubts about where things were headed while watching "SpongeBob B.C.". I really couldn't put my finger on what bothered me about those specials... but there was definitely something off-putting about them, and not long afterward I stopped seeking out new episodes. ...it's a disappointment to watch as the show becomes something it once wasn't: Just another kid-pandering attention-waster.
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