Intended to be the series finale of SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), the show was renewed for a fourth season due to the film's success and the show's popularity. Further episodes were told to take place before the events of this movie, but this was confirmed to be untrue by the show's cast and crew, who have claimed that the show has "never really been chronological".
Final Nickelodeon animated movie to be released on VHS.
The original "cover-up" plot of the film had SpongeBob going to rescue Patrick from a fisherman in Florida. This was an obvious reference to Finding Nemo (2003) and was later revealed by Tom Kenny to be just a "joke" plot which he made up to keep the fans busy.
An 11-foot long David Hasselhoff figure was built so cameramen could film without straining the real Hasselhoff.
David Hasselhoff's part was written before the actor was even approached. He readily agreed without reading the script, largely at the behest of his daughters.