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The French Narrator (captions on TV call it as Narrator or French Man is some episodes) is a man with a heavy French accent who speaks at the beginning, and sometimes middle and/or end, of most episodes. His only physical appearance was in "No Free Rides", where he got run over by SpongeBob. The French narrator is based on Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the world-famous sealife expert who died in 1997. On the November 16, 2004 episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Tom Kenny admitted that Cousteau was the inspiration for the French narrator, as SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg considers Cousteau an idol.

SpongeBob SquarePants (born July 14, 1986) is the main protagonist and the eponymous character of the Nickelodeon animated comedy of the same name. He was designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, and is voiced by Tom Kenny. SpongeBob is a childish, eccentric sea sponge who lives in a pineapple in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. He works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, a job which he is exceptionally skilled at. SpongeBob is very immature and is a constant annoyance to those around him, but he is very good natured.