Bowie guest stars in 'SpongeBob' movie

BURBANK, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- British rock icon David Bowie lends his distinctive voice to a character in SpongeBob Square Pants' upcoming first TV movie, Nickelodeon has announced.

To celebrate the Nov. 12 premiere of the new movie, "Atlantis SquarePantis," the cable network plans a 12-hour SpongeBob marathon, featuring an airing of the 2004 theatrical release, "The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie," followed by viewers' favorite episodes.

The event will culminate with the premiere of "Atlantis SquarePantis" and the "Behind the Pantis -- How We Made 'Atlantis SquarePantis'" special.

Throughout the day, Patchy the Pirate (Tom Kenny) will present his own talk-show with special guest star Devon Werkheiser of "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide," navigating viewers through the episodes kids voted for online.

"SpongeBob has become somewhat of a celebrity among celebrities. When you have a rock legend like David Bowie interested in doing a guest role on the show, there's no question that SpongeBob commands serious star power," said Marjorie Cohn of Nickelodeon Television.

"In fact, David had so much fun recording his role as Lord Royal Highness, that he called it 'the Holy Grail of animation gigs' on his personal Web site."