Mrs. Penelope "Poppy" Puff[1] is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants and all three films based on the franchise.

Puff is SpongeBob's paranoid driving teacher and the owner of the town boating school, which is similar to a driver's education facility.

SpongeBob's actions even result in her having a criminal record, frequently getting in and out of jail or on parole in many episodes; she has been arrested nine times in the series.

The character has received a positive critical reception and has become well known in popular culture for her distinctive voice and temperamental personality.

Puff along with Tom Kenny as the title character, making them the first SpongeBob cast members to be nominated for an award.

Puff is featured regularly in a variety of merchandise, such as plush toys and video games, and has appeared at theme parks and in Toyota commercials.

Puff is an anthropomorphic porcupine puffer,[3][a] specifically a porcupinefish, who owns the underwater boating school that SpongeBob attends.

[4] He is her most committed student, and knows the answer to every question on the oral exam, but panics every time he takes the driving part of her course.

Puff displays the pufferfish's inflation defense mechanism when she is scared or when SpongeBob crashes, akin to a car's airbag deploying.

[12] In "Lighthouse Louie", an old newspaper is very briefly seen which reads “DERANGED BOAT TEACHER MAKES GETAWAY: Distracts authorities with balloon animals” (referencing an otherwise non-sequitur moment in "No Free Rides" in which she makes a balloon animal before stealing SpongeBob’s newfound boat).

Puff in the past, but he was captured by humans and turned into a novelty lamp – SpongeBob tells Mr. Krabs that Mrs.

[18] In his review of the third season, Bryan Pope of DVD Verdict examined the two characters' relationship and mistook Mrs.

Nickelodeon executives originally wanted to make SpongeBob a child since their most successful cartoons at the time focused on young, school-age characters.

[21] Showrunner Vincent Waller suggested that if the network had creative control over the show, almost every episode would take place at Mrs.

Puff a pufferfish, who inflates into a ball when SpongeBob crashes, was made to evoke the appearance of car airbags.

[5] Because she was created late in production, her design incorporates elements of the earlier characters' appearances, such as the same type of skirt as Pearl and the same rounded teeth as Squidward.

In his 2013 book The SpongeBob SquarePants Experience, animation historian Jerry Beck argued that the former was the episode that "elevated Mrs.

Puff was nominated for a 2001 Annie Award in the category Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production.

[38] In a 2005 issue of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, columnist David Grimes challenged this interpretation, writing, "I do not consider [Mrs.

"[39] K. Sobschak of the St. Catharines Standard also denounced the debate, asking, "What is wrong with taking boating lessons from a fish?

In an interview with San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, the cast of Surprise Surprise (which starred Catlett) mentioned that "not one cast or crew person on the movie let a day [on the set] go by without calling some relative ... and handing their cell phones to Mary Jo [Catlett] to do her best 'Oh noooooooo, SpongeBob, nooooooooooo!

Puff has appeared in many types of SpongeBob SquarePants merchandise, including action figures,[48] aquarium ornaments,[49] and video games.

Puff is a playable character in the Wii version,[59] and acts as a guide for the player in the Nintendo DS game.

She was included on a boating school float as part of Sea World Australia's SpongeBob ParadePants parade, which opened in December 2011.

[66] In 2011, Mary Jo Catlett provided the voice-over for a road traffic safety commercial hosted by Mrs.

Puff in the German dub of SpongeBob SquarePants, recorded a single as her character titled "Hinterher!

Jessica Walsh of the Reading Eagle felt that the first film was "missing something, since key characters, such as Sandy the Squirrel and Mrs.

[75] About.com's Nancy Basille considered this the first movie's biggest flaw and asked, "why didn't they use more of Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Gary, Mrs.

In 2011, ice hockey player Taylor Hall failed his driving test and likened it to SpongeBob's situation at Mrs.

[82] In a satirical 2011 article, writers at The Washington Post pretended to interview SpongeBob about his trouble graduating from Mrs.