Calling it "the Holy Grail of animation gigs," rock icon David Bowie has completed a voice acting session for cult cartoon hit SpongeBob SquarePants.
David Bowie said Alexandria, his daughter with wife Iman, right, is a big fan of SpongeBob. 'Nothing else need happen this year, well, this week anyway,' he wrote on his website.
(Dima Gavrysh/Associated Press)
The 59-year-old performer voiced a character named Lord Royal Highness for an upcoming episode of the under-sea children's series, which originates on U.S. network Nickelodeon but is also broadcast around the world.
"It happened. At last, I've hit the Holy Grail of animation gigs," Bowie wrote in an online journal entry on his website last week.
The singer said his six-year-old daughter, Alexandria Zahra, is a huge SpongeBob fan.
"Oh yeah! We, the family, are thrilled. Nothing else need happen this year, well, this week anyway."
The episode is set for broadcast next year, he added.
"It won't air unfortunately for another eight or nine months but then, watch out. Or at least watch."
Aside from his career in music, Bowie has appeared in the Ricky Gervais sitcom Extras and films such as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Labyrinth and the upcoming movie The Prestige.
SpongeBob SquarePants counts both kids and adults as fans, and the Nickelodeon series is broadcast around the world.
(Nickelodeon/AP)
Worldwide following for SpongeBob
Created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants debuted on U.S. children's network Nickelodeon in 1999. The show has also developed a following in Canada and the U.K., as well as in Asia, Africa and South America.
The animated series is set in the city of Bikini Bottom on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and stars the titular sponge, a silly character who gets into absurd situations and adventures with his friends.
Aside from its primary young audience base, the cartoon has also won over adults fans because of more mature references worked into the show.
However, some religious groups in the U.S. have criticized SpongeBob SquarePants because they feel the yellow sponge is depicted as a homosexual character. Critics cite the character's affectionate relationship with his sidekick Patrick and other references, like the name of his favourite TV show, The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
With files from the Associated Press.Related
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