Puff Ball

Puff Ball Gender: Male Age: 1 season old (third youngest) Species: Toad Group role: Heavy lifter; third in command Friends and Family Siblings: Fur Foot Beauty Stem Elf Cup Shaggy Mane Oyster Slippery Jack Panther Cap Friends: Calypso Earth Star Mistle Toad Newt Enemies: Erebus Medea Behind the Scenes First Appearance:   "One for All" Voiced by: Rick Jones

“	Down the hill, up the hill. It never ends.	”
— Puff Ball, "Scooped"

Puff Ball (voiced by Rick Jones) is the third youngest toadlet and the muscle of the Toad Patrol. Although he may be young, Puff Ball shows a great deal of maturity, which places him as third in command within the group.

Physical appearance

Unlike his brothers and sisters, Puff Ball presents a heavier bulk, although this is only evident because of his potbelly. Otherwise, he looks just like any other toadlet, sharing the usual blue eyes that the other members of the group also have. Despite being one of the youngest, he's approximately the same size as Beauty Stem and Fur Foot. He wears a green leaf sleeveless shirt and a string around his waist that helps him carry around his hammer.

Personality

Among the Toad Patrol, Puff Ball is certainly the most down-to-earth toadlet. He always keeps a realistic and straight-forward perspective whenever he is confronted by new situations. This can make him seem like a pessimist, which isn't too far from the truth. A big fan of sarcasm, Puff Ball will never fail to deliver a quick quip when given the chance, even to someone else's expense. However, it's always all in good fun and meant as childish teasing rather than true contempt. He can sometimes be susceptible when others point out his weight, but he rarely, if ever, raises his voice. Others may find him grumpy or even lazy at times, but when push comes to shove, he'll set everything aside to lend a hand. When it comes to saving someone's life, Puff Ball is incredibly selfless. in some occasions, He does break the fourth wall.

Skills

From the very beginning, Puff Ball has shown to be quite strong for his size. Whenever strength is needed to complete a task, he'll usually be the one designated for the job. From carrying toadlets to pushing boulders aside, Puff Ball has shown time and time again that, despite his weight, he has enough endurance to carry the whole team.

Tool

During the events of "The Fire", Puff Ball finds his tool, a wooden hammer, within the branches of a beaver dam. He calls it a "Thunder Stick" since it originates from a Thunder Tree. With it, his strength is multiplied; he can easily plow down a thick layer of rock or a thin wall of ice with a single swing. It also becomes very useful in the second season as a performing tool for the melody of the Ancients.

Relations with other characters

Family

Fur Foot

Puff Ball and Fur Foot share a strong bond, mostly due to their maturity and mutual understanding of the dangers surrounding them. They're often paired up during missions, acting as a duo of brain and brawn. There are times when Puff Ball questions Fur Foot's decisions or makes snarky remarks on his leadership, but this never gets in the way of their friendship.

Beauty Stem

Because Beauty Stem is the mother figure of the group, Puff Ball has a lot of respect for her and her efforts to keep the group together. It is rare to see him question her orders, or to even make fun of her. The only exception is when Earth Star enters the fray: Puff Ball won't miss a beat to tease Beauty Stem about the toadlet's obvious crush on her.

Elf Cup

For Puff Ball, Elf Cup is mostly a source of irritation. His laid-back attitude contrasts greatly with her wild personality, causing strains in their relationship from time to time. Nevertheless, Puff Ball cares a lot for his older sister and wouldn't skip an opportunity to playfully tease her.

Shaggy Mane

Although they don't appear to be particularly close to each other at the beginning of the series, Puff Ball and Shaggy Mane gradually come to openly respect each other's strengths and weaknesses. Despite conflicting personalities, both get along just fine and seem to understand each other's feelings quite well.

Oyster

Despite not sharing many moments with Oyster early on, Puff Ball seems to hold a tighter bond with her than with the rest of the younger toadlets. He definitely doesn't tease her as much as Slippery Jack, but still refers to the two of them as "the twins," which she doesn't tolerate well. In the second season, Puff Ball and Oyster spend much more time together, tightening their bond considerably.

Slippery Jack

Among the Toad Patrol, Slippery Jack is probably Puff Ball's favourite target when it comes to teasing. He insists on calling him SJ, a surname the younger toadlet absolutely despises. He further enrages him by referring to him and Oyster as "the twins," another term Slippery Jack is not very fond of. But all in all, Puff Ball cares for him just as much as all the others.

Panther Cap

Although he often calls him "squirt" and taunts him about his abilities, Puff Ball cares deeply about Panther Cap. The teasing is mostly his way of looking out for his younger brother. As the series progresses, Puff Ball eventually drops picking on Panther Cap, having realized his full potential and importance within the group.

Friends

Calypso

Ever since his encounter with Barnaby, Puff Ball has been very wary around frogs; Calypso is no different. Despite valuing her life and risking his own for her, he doesn't take much of a shine to her and would rather avoid any kind of interaction.

Earth Star

Even though Puff Ball considers Earth Star as a friend, their relationship is somewhat complicated. When they first meet, Puff Ball is immediately distant towards Earth Star and even openly tells Fur Foot that he doesn't trust him. Even if Earth Star shows to be helpful towards the Toad Patrol throughout the series, Puff Ball takes pleasure in getting the minstrel in uncomfortable situations, especially when girls are concerned. However, he does value Earth Star's help and would return the favour any day.

Mistle Toad

While the Toad Patrol already respects Mistle Toad, Puff Ball seems to hold him in even higher regards. They both share a similar down-to-earth way of thinking, even though their ideas may differ somewhat when taking action. Their tight bond is further reinforced when Puff Ball gets uncharacteristically angry after realizing that the Toad Patrol might not be able to help Mistle Toad when the toad needs it most.

Newt

The relationship between Puff Ball and Newt is a bit complicated, having formed under peculiar circumstances. The two of them get along right from the beginning, but the newt quickly becomes dependent of the toadlet's friendship. Although Puff Ball promises to stay with Newt forever, the newt soon realizes that this isn't how friends treat each other. The two of them ultimately go their separate ways as good friends.

Memorable quotes

One for All

• "[Panther Cap]'s the youngest. Should've stayed in the deep wet a biiiit longer."
• (to Panther Cap) "You still hearing things?" (Panther Cap nods) "Huh, weird."
• "Isn't there anything here smaller than we are?"
• "Oh great. First he's hearing things, now he's seeing things."
• "Elf Cup...? Leader?”
• "You still hearing things, squirt?"
• ”I’d call that a Miss”

The Giver of Names

• (to Shaggy Mane) "We better change your name to Smelly Mane."
• "[Earth Star]'s making fun of us. I don't trust him."
• "[Shaggy Mane] wants us to ride on a smell tail?"

The Fire

• "I think I'd rather be a Toadstool."
• "Uh oh, I've upset half a twin."
• (at the thought of flying on a bird) "I don't think I'm gonna like this..."
• (about his Thunder Stick) "Well I'm gonna keep this forever!"

The Crystal Caverns

• "Just what I needed... a mud bath."
• "Great. I save everybody, and what thanks do I get?"
• "I was wrong, Newt. I should've stayed with them. The only way to be safe and find Toad Hollow is to stay together."
• "I have to help them. That's what families do. That's what friends do."
• "You really are a friend, Newt."
• "I guess Newt won't be missing me too much, huh?"

Scooped

• "Don't worry, Slippery Jack. Just do what I do: think bouncy thoughts."
• (sarcastically) "I hope you all had a soft landing."
• "First we come in, then we come out..."
• "Down the hill, up the hill. It never ends."

The Stay Away Place

• "Oh come on, that'll take ages. This place can't hurt you -- whoa!" (falls into a deep hole) "Uh, maybe we should go around..."
• (to Beauty Stem, teasingly) "Let me guess: [Earth Star] likes you."
• "That was a pretty smart thing you did back there, SJ... uh, Slippery Jack."
• (deadpan) "Well, that was exciting."

Trojan Duck

• "I don't think I like frogs."
• (proudly) "Who said frogs are better than toadlets?"
• (to a Woofer) "Pick on someone your own size!"

Night Fright

• "I sure thought we were toadsplat that time."
• "Aha! Genius."
• "Don't ever let me be a genius again."

Trapped

• "Moving stones? That's my job."

Bird's Eye View

coming soon

The Cure

• (to Mistle Toad) "I sure am glad to see you."
• "[Elf Cup] took off." (sarcastically) "Great, that helps."

The Temple of Bufonidae

coming soon

The Fairy Ring

• "Do you think now would be a good time to get [Earth Star]?"
• "Rather be a Toadstool than toad toast."
• (cheering) "Come on, squirt!"
• "Here I come!" (runs and rams Shaggy Mane into the Fairy Ring)

A Cry for Help

• "Deep wet? Big climb?"

Trivia

• Although Puff Ball is not afraid of heights, he is, however, very uncomfortable when travelling on a bird's back. This could mean he has aviophobia.
• Puff Ball's name is based on several different kinds of mushrooms that look inflated like a ball, called puffballs.
• Puff Ball’s voice actor, Rick Jones, is the only Toad Patrol cast member to have been Cast in a Don Bluth Movie, namely, the 1997 Animated Movie, Anastasia.
• In French, Puff Ball's name is Fierabras, which is a combination of the words "fier" and "bras" that literally translate to "proud" and "arms" respectively. As a whole, "fierabras" can also be translated as "braggart."

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