Forget the economic recession and bleak forecasts because 2009 is shaping up to be bright yellow…and porous. Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants is celebrating ten years of existence and not holding anything back.

The network has designated 2009 as the year of the sponge, and new SpongeBob merchandise, a website, a documentary, and even a live cast performance are rounding out the celebration.

Created by cartoonist/marine biologist Steve Hillenburg, who produced the Rocko’s Modern Life cartoon up until its 1996 cancellation, SpongeBob began as an arguably outrageous concept in July of 1999. SpongeBob, originally called “Spongeboy”, was the product of sketches and short comics created by Hillenburg. Despite this meager start the show has become a pop culture phenomenon that engrosses children and adults alike.

According to a Nick Press article on the ten-year celebration, the SpongeBob series boasts a viewership of 70 million monthly, is seen in 171 markets, and airs in 25 different languages. The plethora of SpongeBob fan sites, Facebook groups, MySpace pages, and blogs that litter the Internet bring the series to a cult like stature.

The newest site, part of the ten-year celebration, features SpongeBob games, old and new SpongeBob episodes, and a shop to outfit your self from head to toe. Have you ever been interested in reading personal blogs by the team behind the iconic sponge? That’s on the site too.

To go along with SpongeBob’s pop icon status, Nickelodeon is teaming up with big names to push the sponge mania even further. On January 14, Nickelodeon/Viacom Consumer Products announced their partnership with Simmons Jewelry Co. to create a SpongeBob Squarepants fine jewelry line.

The jewelry company, headed by none other than former Phat Pharm mogul Russell Simmons, unveiled the line at the 2009 Utah Film Festival in Park City Utah on January 18. The festival featured a 12-carat diamond encrusted SpongeBob necklace that was auctioned off, and also happened to be the site of the first live SpongeBob performance.

On top of teaming up with hip-hop moguls, SpongeBob is following the celeb trend and going green by teaming up with Nickelodeon’s “The Big Green Help” program.

“This year, the campaign will devote much of 2009 to raising awareness about the oceans and water conservation through SpongeBob and You Save the Big Blue–in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF)” shares the Nick Press article.

SpongeBob-themed social consciousness, as well as the up and coming SpongeBob documentary produced by Sundance Film Festival alumni, display that the series has transcended simple childhood entertainment.

A post on The Big Cartoon Forum cites that the documentary, with a title that has yet to be revealed, will air on MTV Networks in July of this year as an all SpongeBob special. It will chronicle the buck-toothed sponge’s clime to the top of cartoon royalty.

Produced by Patrick Creadon and Christine (is that a typo?) O’Malley, or O’Malley Creadon Production Company, the documentary promises to offer insight into the creation and lasting power of the sponge in the pants. The O’Malley Creadon name is already behind the award nominated Sundance documentaries “Word Play” and “I.O.U.S.A”, a film about the American financial crisis. With serious work such as this under their belts it is no surprise that the Sundance duo is ready for something as upbeat as a smiling, burger flipping sponge.

New SpongeBob episodes can be seen Saturdays at 8pm/7c on the Nickelodeon Network.