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"Shut the Fuck up! Your teacher will be here in a minute."
— Steinbeck to Cody.
"Someone call the principal?"
— Steinbeck when he enters a room.

Principal Steinbeck is a supporting antagonist in the SML series. He is the cruel, ruthless, intimidating and somewhat insane principal of Y U DUMB? Elementary School and the archenemy of Junior and arguably Junior's biggest. He loves it when the students get into trouble, so he can punish them. It is unknown why Principal Steinbeck is evil and how he became that way. He is shown to be very abusive, harsh, and mean towards the students as he is shown to hate Junior and his friends much more than any other character in the series, but he appears to be nice and smooth-talking towards other adults, including the teachers. However, now that SML has been family friendly since 2019, many people thought he might not return ever again which was proven false since he appeared in Cody Goes to College.

As of Cody Goes to College, Steinbeck seems to be friendlier only by telling Junior his grades were trash rather than screaming and swearing at him or beating anyone up like what he did in his older appearances. However, in Cody's Drawing!, he is shown to still be abusive and threatening towards the kids, but this is mostly turned down.

History[]

During Steinbeck's childhood, he loved Doofy O's and possibly watched Doofy The Dragon which must have made him a ruthless psychopath. At some point in time, he became the principal of his school.

In "Junior's First Grade Part 4" Principal Steinbeck has a conference meeting with the students and their parents. He says that they goofed up after enrolling Mr. Winkle as the new teacher. Bowser gets angry with him and asks why they didn't know he was a pedophile and thinks they didn't do enough background checks. Principal Steinbeck responds by saying that they tried everything but has Officer Goodman explain the rest. As Goodman says that Mr. Winkle called him "hot" Principal Steinbeck remarks that he called him "hot" too and started to bicker angrily. After Joseph's Mom reveals they need more "Windex", Joseph remarks that that's not what was going on. Steinbeck laughs evilly and says that the next replacement teacher will be perfect.

In Part 5 of the 1st Grade series, Bowser Junior answers the door to their apartment and sees Principal Steinbeck. He explains that he needs to see Bowser. So, Junior goes to Bowser's room and tells him that Steinbeck needed to see him. Then, Principal Steinbeck tells Bowser that they'll let Junior pass 1st grade and says that 2nd grade won't be easy.

He returns once more in First Day of School, where Principal Steinbeck barges into the classroom and tells the students that if they fail, he'll punish them in the worst way possible. Cody asks when the teacher would arrive, but Steinbeck tells him to shut up. Afterward, he leaves the classroom.

He returned in Cody Goes To College! after a near 3-year hiatus since First Day of School!. Then he returned in Cody's Drawing!, and again in Jeffy's Summer Detention!.

Quotes[]

See /Quotes

Trivia[]

  • He wore a hat in Bowser Junior's 1st Grade! Part 4. He also wore a different suit in First Day of School!
  • According to some fans, he is similar to The Joker from Batman.
  • He is somewhat similar to Mr. Krupp from the Captain Underpants series. Because he is a mean principal, Steinbeck is also a lot similar to Principal Greedyguts from the Canadian animated series Jacob Two Two and Miss Agatha Trunchbull from the 1988 Roald Dahl novel Matilda.
    • He is also similar to Dr. Eggman from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise: Both act cruel, ruthless, have no respect for others, and hate the main characters. However, Eggman has a much more friendly and likeable personality compared to that of Steinbeck's.
    • He is also somewhat similar to "PC Principal" from the comedy central television series "South Park" albeit a much smoother and slightly friendlier version.
  • In his first two appearances, he has a slight British accent, but in later videos, his accent sounds more American.
  • In some appearances, when he introduces himself, he draws out the “ck” sound at the end of his name, making it sound as if he is gagging.
  • Shrek calls Steinbeck “Mr. Steindonkey”.
  • He may be named after John Steinbeck, an American book author and the winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • Despite his insane and abusive disposition, Steinbeck is not completely evil, as he shows an intense dislike for pedophiles, because in Bowser Junior's Summer School 7, he calls the police when Bowser Junior told him he was being "molested" by Chef Pee Pee in the men's bathroom.
  • He is believed by some fans to be Charleyyy in disguise. This makes sense because of his ability to get along with Bowser so easily and similar appearance.
  • It is revealed in Bowser Junior's 1st Grade! Part 5 that he liked to eat Doofy O's as a kid and is possible he watched Doofy The Dragon which possibly made him learn to be a psychopath.
  • It is hinted, yet unconfirmed that he is Joseph's dad, because in Bowser Junior's 1st Grade! Part 1, Joseph says that his mother sleeps with him.
  • "Steinbeck" could possibly be a pun on "stand back" as seen in Bowser Junior's Summer School when he writes "Steinbeck" on the chalkboard, telling the class to "Steinbeck."
  • It’s unknown if he will make a comeback in the series as he has not made any newer appearances since First Day of School!.
    • However, nearly 5 years later, he makes a cameo return in Cody Goes to College! indicating that he likely originally quit his job but changed his mind and came back.
  • According to Logan, he was going to play Steinbeck but was impressed with Lovell doing a "crazy voice" that he let him play the character.
  • It's revealed that in Cody Goes To Preschool Part 3 that he has a son named Daryl.

Gallery[]


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