Bob l'éponge

Logo from 1999 to 2013

Formerly: VRAK.TV (Quebec), Télétoon, Canal J, Gulli, Ludo (France 3), TF!/TFOU (TF1), AB3 (Wallonia)

### Country:

France
Canada
Belgium

### Original run:

2000-present

***Bob l'éponge*** is the French version of *SpongeBob SquarePants*. In addition to having the episodes dubbed into this language, the French version of the intro has some different animations that are also seen in the Korean (EBS version), Italian, Castilian Spanish, and Welsh versions of the opening. It airs on Nickelodeon (in France and Wallonia), and previously aired on VRAK Vrak (in Quebec). It was the second international dub of the show ever made and the first of 5 to have SpongeBob's actor be male.

## Episodes aired in this dub before airing in the United States

* "Nasty Patty" (France)
* "The Box of Imagination" (France)
* "Snowball Effect" (France)
* "One Krabs Trash" (France)
* "As Seen on TV" (France)
* "Can You Spare a Dime?" (France)
* "Chimps Ahoy" (France)
* "Ghost Host" (France)
* "Face Freeze!" (Canada)
* "Yeti Krabs" (France)
* "There's a Sponge in My Soup" (France)
* "Sanitation Insanity" (France)
* "Gary & Spot" (France)
* "Pineapple RV" (Wallonia and France)
* "Shell Games" (France)
* "My Two Krabses" (Wallonia and France)
* "Lighthouse Louie" (Belgium)

## Character Translations

### Main characters

* **SpongeBob SquarePants** - Bob l'éponge
* **Patrick Star** - Patrick Étoile
* **Squidward Tentacles** - Carlo Tentacule
* **Eugene H. Krabs** - Eugène Krabs
* **Sheldon J. Plankton** - Sheldon J. Plankton
* **Karen Plankton** - Karen (sometimes *Karène*)
* **Sandy Cheeks** - Sandy Écureuil
* **Mrs. Puff** - Madame Puff
* **Pearl Krabs** - Pearl Krabs
* **Gary the Snail** - Gary l'escargot (Gary Wilson Junior, in "Treats!")

### Supporting characters

* **Fearless Freddy the Shark Hunter** - Freddy le Chasseur de Requins Intrépide
* **Potty the Parrot** - Potty le perroquet
* **Mermaid Man** - L'Homme Sirène
* **Barnacle Boy** - Bernard l'Hermite
* **Flying Dutchman** - Le Hollandais volant
* **Dappermane Puff** - Bouffée de Dappermane
* **The Octopus in the Beaver Hat** - Le Poulpe Fantôme

## Voice Cast

### Narrators

* Érik Colin (until his death in 2013)
* Boris Rehlinger (2013-)

### French Cast

* **Bob L'éponge, Patrick Étoile, Freddy le Chasseur de Requins Intrépide** - Pierre Richard
* **Carlo Tentacule, Mzeebo le vautour** - Érik Colin (until his death in 2013), Boris Rehlinger (season 9-)
* **Monsieur Krabs, Sheldon J. Plankton**, **Larry le Hoamrd** - Michel Bedetti
* **Karen, Sandy Écureuil, Mme Puff, Pearl, Potty le perroquet (puppetry, head/right hand)** - Michèle Lituac
* **Painty le Pirate, Roi Neptune** - Michel Dodane
* **Bouffée de Dappermane** - Roger Carel
* **Le Poulpe Fantôme** - Michel Piccoli

### English Cast

* **Gary, Méduse** - Tom Kenny/Frank Welker
* **Huîtres hurlantes** - Bill Melendez, Carlos Alazraqui, Dee Bradley Baker, Frank Welker
* **Potty le perroquet** - Frank Welker, Tim Lagasse (puppetry, left hand)

## Trivia

* Pierre Richard himself taught Frank Welker how to speak French for this dub of the show.
* While dubbing season 6, the original dubbing studio (Studio SOFI) went bankrupt, and the dubbing of the show got moved to another dubbing studio (Dôme Productions.)
* In this dub, SpongeBob's first name is "Bob", not "SpongeBob".
* The different colored faces in the intro were used in the first *SpongeBob* promo.
* In Belgium, Nickelodeon Wallonia airs the HD episodes in 576i, as the channel doesn't have a HD feed.
* In the earlier seasons, the background characters had different voices throughout the episodes.