Russell is a sea green sea otter with typical pirate fashion accessories such as a Jolly Roger hat, a striped red/white shirt, a hook, an eyepatch and two wooden peglegs. He enjoys fishing, sailing and eating seafood, one of his animal instincts, especially mussels, which was why he was named Russell.
He also likes kite flying and even runs his own fast-food restaurant, as seen in the episode "Mime to Five". Russell's initial character design depicted him with a five o'clock shadow, though since his early appearances, it seems as though he shaves regularly. Typically, his vocabulary consists mostly of "Yar", 'Aha!' and 'Huh?'. It is evident that Russell's legs are partially amputated. He lives in a big pirate ship shaped treehouse and sleeps on a purple hammock. Because Russell spends most of his time in the water, he is rarely seen with the other characters. His deaths usually involve getting impaled.
Russell was voiced by Jeff Biancalana for the first two seasons and is currently voiced by Francis Carr.