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T.U.F.F. Puppy

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T.U.F.F. Puppy
GenreAnimated comedy
Superhero
Action
Science fantasy
Slapstick
Surreal humor
Adventure
Spy-fi
Created byButch Hartman
Voices of
Theme music composer
ComposerGuy Moon
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes60 (115 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerButch Hartman
Producers
  • Deirdre Brenner
  • Dave Thomas (seasons 1–2)
  • Ray DeLaurentis (seasons 2–3)
  • Randy Saba (seasons 2–3)
Running time11 minutes (regular)
23 minutes (specials)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNickelodeon
ReleaseOctober 2, 2010 (2010-10-02) –
August 9, 2013 (2013-08-09)
NetworkNicktoons
ReleaseOctober 20, 2013 (2013-10-20) –
April 4, 2015 (2015-04-04)

T.U.F.F. Puppy is an American action animated children's television series created by Butch Hartman. It premiered on October 2, 2010, along with Planet Sheen, which premiered a half hour earlier. T.U.F.F. Puppy is Hartman's third animated show for Nickelodeon, after The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom and before Bunsen Is a Beast. The show was canceled after three seasons and its final episode aired on April 4, 2015.

Plot

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The show is about a dog named Dudley Puppy, who works as a spy for T.U.F.F. HQ.[1] His partner is Kitty Katswell, a cat.[2] Other helpers are The Chief and Keswick. The setting is the fictional city of Petropolis (distinct from Petrópolis, Brazil), populated by anthropomorphic animals. As a member of T.U.F.F. HQ, Dudley helps Kitty protect Petropolis from villains including Verminious Snaptrap, The Chameleon, Bird Brain, Larry, Ollie, Francisco, Zippy, Owl, Bad Dog, and Skunk.

Episodes

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SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast releasedNetwork
15026[3]October 2, 2010 (2010-10-02)May 13, 2012 (2012-05-13)Nickelodeon
21726[a]9May 27, 2012 (2012-05-27)August 9, 2013 (2013-08-09)
3317October 20, 2013 (2013-10-20)May 17, 2014 (2014-05-17)Nicktoons
3158July 26, 2014 (2014-07-26)April 4, 2015 (2015-04-04)[4]

Characters

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T.U.F.F.

[edit]

The Turbo Undercover Fighting Force (T.U.F.F.) headquarters (HQ) is an organization which protects Petropolis from crime.

  • Dudley Puppy (voiced by Jerry Trainor) is a white mixed-breed dog who wears a black t-shirt.
  • Kitty Katswell (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a tan cat who is Dudley Puppy's partner.
  • The Chief (voiced by Daran Norris) is a good-natured flea who leads T.U.F.F. HQ.
  • Keswick (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a prairie dog who's a scientist wearing glasses.

Other T.U.F.F. personnel (various background characters) include agents, office workers, and/or scientists. Some of the minor members of T.U.F.F. that have been identified or mentioned include:

  • Agent Groundhog (voiced by Bennett) is a T.U.F.F. agent who first made a cameo in "Hot Dog". He resides under an office printer and is the one who tells about the end of winter.
  • Agent Jumbo (voiced by DeLisle) is an elephant T.U.F.F. agent who has a fear of mice. This results in her jumping up when she sees them and accidentally crushing others.
  • Agent Moby (voiced by Maddie Taylor) is a whale T.U.F.F. agent. Like Jumbo, Moby has a tendency to accidentally crush the Chief.
  • Agent Nutz (voiced by Bennett) is a squirrel T.U.F.F. agent who has a tendency to blast anything that scares him with his laser gun.
  • Tammy (voiced by DeLisle) is a rabbit who works as a secretary at T.U.F.F. HQ.

Villains

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  • D.O.O.M. (short for Diabolical Order of Mayhem) is an evil organization which is the main enemy of T.U.F.F.
    • Verminious Snaptrap (voiced by Maddie Taylor) is an evil rat who is the leader of the Diabolical Order of Mayhem.
    • Larry (voiced by Bennett) is a shrew and Snaptrap's brother-in-law who is often mistreated by him.
    • Ollie (voiced by Bennett) is a sensible and smart British possum who is one of Snaptrap's henchmen.
    • Francisco (voiced by Norris) is a green alligator with red and yellow eyes who is one of Snaptrap's henchmen.
    • Bad Dog (voiced by Bennett in the first appearance, Norris in later appearances) is a pit bull who is one of Snaptrap's henchmen. The character does not appear after the first season.
    • Leather Teddy (voiced by Eric Bauza) is a leather clad blue bear and one of Snaptrap's henchmen. He wears an eyepatch despite having a working eye. The character does not appear after the first season.
    • The Mole (voiced by Maddie Taylor) is a literal mole who is a spy for Snaptrap. The character does not appear after the first season.
  • The Chameleon (voiced by Norris impersonating Peter Lorre) is an evil green chameleon who is one of the main antagonists of the series. He wear a molecular transformation suit which allows him to blend in with walls and disguise himself as anything or anyone.
  • Bird Brain (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is an evil blue-bottomed booby bird criminal genius who cannot fly naturally.
    • Zippy (voiced by DeLisle) is Bird Brain's scatterbrained hummingbird sidekick/partner.
    • Owl (voiced by Bennett) is an owl.
    • Bat (voiced by Norris impersonating Bela Lugosi) who wears a bat in sunglasses.
    • Duck (voiced by Bennett) is a duck whose name causes the rest of Bird Brain's henchmen to actually duck.
    • Ewe (voiced by DeLisle) is a female sheep.
  • R.I.T.A. (voiced by DeLisle) is a super-intelligent toaster created by Keswick.
  • Snowflake and Slush (voiced by Mary Birdsong and Dave Boat) are evil rabbit siblings.
  • Dr. Rabies and Madame Catastrophe (voiced by Jerry Trainor and DeLisle) are two villains who resemble Dudley Puppy and Kitty Katswell with eyepatches and goatees.
  • Crazy Horse (voiced by Norris) is a horse who uses chainsaws.
  • Jack Rabbit (voiced by Norris) is Kitty's T.U.F.F. partner.
  • The Caped Cod (voiced by Chris Parnell in the first appearance, Mick Wingert in later appearances) is a crazy cod who thinks he is the ruler of the seven seas.
  • The Stink Bug (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is Petropolis' worst smelling villain.
  • Desirah (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) is a golden jackal genie who grants wishes to masters and mistresses.
  • Lunch Lady Bug (voiced by Candi Milo) is a ladybug who worked as a lunch lady at Petropolis High School and makes disgusting food that only Dudley likes.
  • F.L.O.P.P. (short for Fiendish League of Potential Perpetrators) is a criminal organization that would often do minor criminal activities.
    • Meerkat (voiced by Daran Norris impersonating Paul Lynde) is a meerkat with a black cowboy hat who is the eccentric leader of F.L.O.P.P.
    • Wanna-Bee (voiced by Jerry Trainor) is a bee with a high voice who is a member of F.L.O.P.P.
    • Escape Goat (voiced by Maddie Taylor impersonating Paul Reubens) is an escape artist goat who is a member of F.L.O.P.P.
  • Quacky the Duck (voiced by Maddie Taylor impersonating Bobcat Goldthwaite) was originally a kid show host seen in "Kid Stuff" until he later went rogue when he heard that his show was getting cancelled.
    • The Sharing Moose (voiced by Bennett) is a moose that is the buff and violent best friend of Quacky the Duck.
  • Katty Katswell (voiced by DeLisle) is Kitty Katswell's evil twin sister.

Recurring characters

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  • Peg Puppy (voiced by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph) is Dudley's overprotective mother.
  • Mrs. Katswell (voiced by DeLisle) is Kitty and Katty Katswell's mother.
  • Wolf Spitzer (voiced by Norris) is a wolf who is Petropolis local news reporter for KPET News.
  • Eric (voiced by Norris) is a buff cat who delivers the water to T.U.F.F.
  • Bob Barky (voiced by Norris) is a dog game show host who hosts various game shows in Petropolis..
  • Phil (voiced by Maddie Taylor) is a bulldog who is Dudley's friend.
  • Mr. Wong (voiced by Maddie Taylor) is a duck who is the owner of a buffet restaurant.

Production

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Butch Hartman began conceiving a show for Nickelodeon in the fall of 2006, after production on the fifth season of The Fairly OddParents was completed.[5][6] Around 2008–2009, Hartman began production of his third show for Nickelodeon, which became T.U.F.F. Puppy. He said that he had created the central character wanting to make a crime-fighting show based on Dudley Puppy. Because a previous animated series of his, Danny Phantom, has superheroes, Hartman decided that he would focus on making Dudley a secret agent. He pitched the series to Nickelodeon as "Get Smart with a dog."[7] The show premiered in 2010 alongside the Jimmy Neutron spin-off, Planet Sheen.[8] The show ended in 2015 on Nickelodeon's spinoff network, Nicktoons.

Eric Bauza (who voices Foop in The Fairly OddParents and Leather Teddy in T.U.F.F. Puppy), was originally chosen to be the voice of Dudley Puppy, but the creators did not feel that he was right for the character and Jerry Trainor was chosen instead.[9] The original title of the show was Stud Puppy.[10][11]

Home media

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T.U.F.F. Puppy home video releases
SeasonEpisodesYears activeRelease dates
 United States
1 262010–12iCarly: Season 2, Volume 3: April 5, 2011
Episodes: "Purr-fect Partners" / "Doom-mates"
SpongeBob SquarePants: Heroes of Bikini Bottom: June 14, 2011
Episodes: "Mall Rat" / "Operation: Happy Birthday"
SpongeBob SquarePants: Frozen Face-Off: January 10, 2012
Episodes: "Snappy Campers" / "Lucky Duck"
It's a Nicktoons Christmas!: October 30, 2012
Episodes: "A Doomed Christmas"
Note: This disc was exclusively included with copies of the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! DVD sold at Target.
The Complete First Season: June 23, 2014[12]
Episodes: Entire season included
2 262012–14The Complete Second Season: January 8, 2015[13]
Episodes: Entire season included

Note: The episode "A Doomed Christmas" along with Christmas episodes of The Fairly OddParents and Fanboy & Chum Chum were supposed to be on the It's a SpongeBob Christmas! DVD, but they were dropped from the actual release.[14] However, the Target exclusive of It's A SpongeBob Christmas! included the Christmas episodes of those shows on a bonus disc.

Reception

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Critical

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Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the series 2 out of 5 stars; criticizing the “iffy messages” the show sends to kids and the frequent use of name calling, but adding, “Kitty's attractive appearance and overly emotional response to Dudley's successes are memorable.”[15]

Ratings

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The series premiere of T.U.F.F. Puppy drew 3.6 million viewers.[16]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2011 38th Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production Fred Gonzales Won [17]
Outstanding Achievement in Character Design in a Television Production Ernie Gilbert Won
Gordon Hammond Nominated
38th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Kaz Aizawa Won [18]
2012 39th Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Character Design in a Television Production Gordon Hammond and Mike Dougherty Nominated [19]
Outstanding Achievement in Directing in a Television Production Ken Bruce Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Storyboarding in a Television Production Dave Thomas and Fred Gonzales Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Writing in a Television Production Ray DeLaurentis, William Schifrin, and Kevin Sullivan for episode "Thunder Dog" Nominated
39th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Ernie Gilbert Won [20]
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition Guy Moon Nominated
2013 40th Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement in Character Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Gordon Hammond for episode "Dudley Do-Wrong" Nominated [21]
Outstanding Achievement in Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Guy Moon for episode "Mission: Really Big Mission" Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Jeff Bennett as "Keswick" for episode "Pup Daddy" Nominated
40th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Jerry Trainor as "Dudley Puppy" Nominated [22]

Notes

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  1. ↑ 50 segments total

References

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  1. ↑ "iCarly's Jerry Trainor Stars in Nicktoons T.U.F.F. Puppy 2010". Animation World Network. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  2. ↑ Reiter, Amy (September 16, 2010). "Fall TV preview: Kid-oriented shows There are many new children's series to choose from on Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS and Cartoon Network". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  3. ↑ "T.U.F.F. Puppy: Season 1: Jerry Trainor, Grey DeLisle, Daran Norris, Michelle Bryan, Ken Bruce, Butch Hartman, Ray De Laurentis, William Schifrin, Kevin Sullivan: Movies & TV". Amazon. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ "T.U.F.F. Puppy Schedule – TV Listings". LocateTV.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Butch Hartman [@butchhartman]; (November 4, 2025). "Tuff Puppy Concept Drawings (2006)". Retrieved August 12, 2026 – via Instagram.
  6. ↑ Butch Hartman [@butchhartman]; (June 25, 2026). "CONCEPT ART: TUFF PUPPY! Year: 2006. Been going through my old archives and found these concept drawings of the development of what would eventually become TUFF PUPPY" – via Instagram.
  7. ↑ "Toonzone News Interviews Butch Hartman on "T.U.F.F. Puppy" - Anime Superhero News". Anime Superhero News. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ Lloyd, Robert (October 2, 2010). "Television reviews: 'T.U.F.F. Puppy' and 'Planet Sheen'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Interview with Butch Hartman". Toon Zone. September 29, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  10. ↑ Butch Hartman [@realhartman] (November 4, 2017). "The original title of TUFF PUPPY was..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ Butch Hartman [@butchhartman]; (July 3, 2026). "Original TITLE of TUFF PUPPY! This is an original concept sketch drawn by me with ink on paper. Drawn in 2008. What do you think?" – via Instagram.
  12. ↑ "T.U.F.F. Puppy: The Complete First Season". Amazon. June 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ "T.U.F.F. Puppy: The Complete Second Season". Amazon. January 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ Lambert, David (August 6, 2012). "SpongeBob SquarePants - 'It's a SpongeBob Christmas! this Fall, on DVD...AND on Blu-ray Disc!!". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  15. ↑ Ashby, Emily (October 2, 2010). "T.U.F.F. Puppy review". Common Sense Media.
  16. ↑ Gervais, Lisa (October 21, 2010). ""Fairly Odd Parents" creator comes home for Macomb Community College speaker series". Macomb Daily. Retrieved December 8, 2010.[dead link]
  17. ↑ "38th Annual Annie Awards Legacy Past Nominees & Winners". annieawards.org. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  18. ↑ "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE 38TH ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARD NOMINATIONS, WAYNE BRADY TO HOST THE LIVE TELECAST". Emmy Online. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  19. ↑ "39th Annual Annie Awards Legacy Past Nominees & Winners". annieawards.org. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  20. ↑ "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES THE 39TH ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARD NOMINATIONS". Emmy Online. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. ↑ "40th Annual Annie Awards Legacy Past Nominees & Winners". annieawards.org. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  22. ↑ "40TH ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARDS NOMINATIONS". Emmy Online. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
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