Robert Eggers, the visionary director behind a few of the greatest horror motion pictures of latest reminiscence, The Witch and The Lighthouse, isn’t any stranger to discovering inspiration in sudden locations. Identified for his meticulous method to historic and literary variations, the filmmaker has now turned his sights on reimagining the traditional vampire story along with his upcoming Nosferatu. However, in a humorous twist, the filmmaker lately credited an unlikely spices in regard to his newest venture: SpongeBob SquarePants. Yeah, that’s a 2024 headline I by no means thought I’d write.
Sure, you learn that proper. I am referring to one of many greatest animated Nicktoons of the ’90s, which options the animated sponge who lives in a pineapple underneath the ocean. Some might or will not be conscious that the long-running collection has a connection to the Nosferatu character. Whereas discussing his 2024 film schedule launch with The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Eggers had this to say about Spongbob familiarizing individuals with Rely Orlok:
There was a present referred to as Muppet Infants after I was a child that might play little clips of Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera and early variations of Cyrano de Bergerac and stuff; that bizarre cartoon gave me publicity to loads of motion pictures that I watched after I was slightly older with recollections from Muppet Infants. So, thanks SpongeBob.
For some millennials, their first encounter with the long-lasting vampire character of Rely Orlok can, partly, be traced again to the second season of the Nickelodeon collection. Nosferatu famously appeared on the episode “Graveyard Shift” as a punchline gag. At the moment, that fan-favorite episode remains to be mentioned amongst followers, and speak has ramped again up once more as of late as a result of Northman filmmaker’s newest movement image.
It is superb how individuals discover out about iconic items of popular culture in a myriad of the way. With that, it is attention-grabbing to listen to Robert Eggers speak about how Muppet Infants launched him to profound items of artwork at such a younger age. Contemplating his personal private experiences with animated collection, it is smart that Eggers would perceive the Spongebob connection, and kudos to him for giving the aquatic character some props.
Initially launched in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent movie, Nosferatu is a chilling, all be it an unauthorized, book-to-screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and a cornerstone of horror cinema. The character’s unsettling look, elongated fingers and ghoulish grin made him a horror icon lengthy earlier than he made a cameo in kids’s cartoon. Take a look at how he was utilized on the Nick present:
Watch On
Robert Eggers’ tackle the horror property guarantees to return to the character’s sinister roots, crafting a gothic retelling that stays true to its haunting origin. And, based mostly on the optimistic early crucial response to Nosferatu, it is shaping as much as be part of the ranks of horror remakes that don’t suck. This reimagining is poised to distinction sharply with the humorous portrayal followers keep in mind because the cheeky gentle switch-flipping vampire from SpongeBob SquarePants.
Nonetheless, the SpongeBob connection is a reminder of how popular culture variations—regardless of how irreverent—can preserve traditional characters related. In the end, Eggers’ level about how Muppet Infants and different kids’s exhibits first uncovered him to cinematic classics underscores how formative these early, seemingly lighthearted experiences will be for impressionable viewers.
Eggers’ Nosferatu opens in theaters on December twenty fifth, and followers of “elevated” horror and underwater antics will undoubtedly be intrigued by this weird but pleasant connection. Whilst you wait, how about revisiting Bikini Backside? 13 seasons of Spongebob Squarepants can be found to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.