Mrs. Puff

Role in SpongeBob SquarePants

Mrs. Puff is an anthropomorphic blowfish who owns an underwater boating school that SpongeBob attends. Despite her efforts, she has never successfully taught SpongeBob how to drive a boat. He fails her class every time he takes it and often causes townwide destruction in the process. Mrs. Puff displays the blowfish's inflation defense mechanism whenever SpongeBob crashes one of her vehicles.

A running gag in the series is Mrs. Puff's large criminal record. SpongeBob regularly lands her in jail accidentally as a result of his incompetence. This gag is introduced in "Hall Monitor", in which Mrs. Puff is held responsible for SpongeBob's actions after he inadvertently destroys Bikini Bottom. In "Doing Time", SpongeBob and Patrick attempt to break her out of prison to no avail. She is revealed to prefer prison to working as a teacher, because she does not have to drive with SpongeBob. In "No Free Rides", it is implied that Mrs. Puff once had to move to a new town and start a new school with a new name.

Mrs. Puff's friendliness toward other characters varies. She sympathizes with the short-tempered Squidward Tentacles and considers him a good driver. Patrick, who has attended Mrs. Puff's class multiple times, is treated with respect by her in spite of his slow-wittedness. SpongeBob is the only resident of Bikini Bottom she truly dislikes. In the 2012 episode "Demolition Doofus", Mrs. Puff is shown to hate SpongeBob so much that she wants him dead, even though she has helped Spongebob at times.

Mrs. Puff is a widow, another misfortune from her past that she does not want to talk about. Mr. Puff's fate was becoming a novelty lamp. Mr. Krabs has a crush on Mrs. Puff and has taken her on many dates. According to Krabs in season ten's "Whirly Brains", he and Mrs. Puff have been dating for sixteen years. His love for her is so strong that it temporarily transcends his greed for money. He gives her a variety of pet names in the series and in spin-off media. In his review of the third season, Bryan Pope of DVD Verdict examined the two characters' relationship and mistook Mrs. Puff for Krabs' wife.

In other media

Mrs. Puff has appeared in many forms of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise, including action figures, aquarium ornaments, and video games. Tie-in books have prominently featured the character. Board games based on the show, such as "The Game of Life" and "Bikini Bottom Book of Games", use her schoolhouse as a playing location. In 2007, a Mrs. Puff-themed Lego set was released. SpongeBob's Boating Bash, a 2010 racing video game, takes place at Mrs. Puff's boating school. Mrs. Puff is a playable character in the Wii version and acts as a guide for the player in the Nintendo DS game.

Theme parks and events have featured Mrs. Puff, often as a costumed character. She was included on a boating school float as part of Sea World's "SpongeBob ParadePants" parade, which opened in December 2011. She appeared at Universal Studios Hollywood's "SpongeBob Fan Shellabration" in 2013 and at the 2015 SpongeBob SquarePants 400 in Kansas City. Mrs. Puff also made regular appearances at Nickelodeon Suites Resort and Nickelodeon Universe alongside Mr. Krabs. A section of the "SpongeBob StorePants" souvenir shop at the Universal Orlando Resort is modeled after Mrs. Puff's boating school.

Mrs. Puff plays a supporting role in the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and its 2015 sequel. Her lack of screen time in both movies was criticized. Jessica Walsh of the Reading Eagle felt that the first film was "missing something, since key characters, such as Sandy the Squirrel and Mrs. Puff, make only cameo appearances." Sandie Chen of Common Sense Media wrote that the decision to relegate characters like Mrs. Puff to small roles "won't go over well with some fans." About.com's Nancy Basille considered this the first movie's largest flaw and asked, "why didn't they use more of Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Gary, Mrs. Puff and all our other favorite secondary characters?" The novelization of the 2004 movie adds additional scenes starring Mrs. Puff and Squidward that were not included in the motion picture. Mrs. Puff appears in the 2009 stage adaptation of "The Sponge Who Could Fly", which debuted at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. The 2016 musical based on the series stars Abby C. Smith as Mrs. Puff.

Mrs. Puff sings a track on The Best Day Ever album, titled "Mrs. Puff's Boating School Ad". It was released on September 12, 2006 by Nick Records. Rita Engelmann, who voices Mrs. Puff in the German dub of SpongeBob SquarePants, recorded a single as her character titled "Hinterher! (feat. Mrs. Puff)". The song is a parody of Icona Pop's "I Love It" and was released in 2014 under Sony Music's label. Mrs. Puff is mentioned in Shingaling, a 2015 sequel to Wonder.

SpongeBob's inability to pass Mrs. Puff's course has been referenced in popular culture. In 2011, ice hockey player Taylor Hall failed his driving test and likened it to SpongeBob's situation at Mrs. Puff's school. The writers of Engadget compared a remote-controlled underwater camera to the boats in SpongeBob, remarking that Mrs. Puff should call her insurance agent if users channel their "inner SpongeBob while remotely driving the thing." In a satirical article, the writers of The Washington Post pretended to interview SpongeBob about his trouble graduating from Mrs. Puff's boating school.

Mrs. Puff's quotes and voice have also become popular with fans and casual viewers. Her quote "Oh, Neptune" became part of an Internet meme in 2016. Various memes covered by the comedy websites Smosh and BuzzFeed have featured other quotes from the character. In an interview with San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, the cast of Surprise Surprise (which starred Mary Jo Catlett) mentioned that "not one cast or crew person on the movie let a day go by without calling some relative ... and handing their cell phones to Mary Jo to do her best 'Oh noooooooo, SpongeBob, nooooooooooo!'"

Reception

The character has received positive reaction from critics. In 2004, film critic A. O. Scott named Mrs. Puff as one of his favorite characters on SpongeBob SquarePants, along with Squidward Tentacles and Sandy Cheeks. Mrs. Puff was ranked second on Chilango's list of favorite cartoon teachers. KSL-TV listed Mrs. Puff on their countdown of "13 teachers from pop culture you can't help but love". Andrew Whalen of IBT Media called Mrs. Puff's role in the "Doing Time" episode "a series highlight." Conversely, the National Expert Commission of Ukraine on the Protection of Public Morality criticized Mrs. Puff's name in 2012, citing the usage of the word "puff" as both a derogatory and affectionate term to describe a gay man.

Mary Jo Catlett's voiceover work as Mrs. Puff was nominated for a 2001 Annie Award. Catlett and the other major cast members were nominated for "Best Vocal Ensemble" at the 2013 Behind the Voice Actors Awards. Francis Rizzo of DVD Talk called Mrs. Puff’s voice "spot-on" thanks to "the perfectly cast Mary Jo Catlett."