The Powerpuff Girls (1998)
♥ | This article is dedicated to Chuck McCann (September 2, 1934 - April 8, 2018), who voiced The Amoeba Boys |
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Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra superpowers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil!
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The Powerpuff Girls is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network from November 18, 1998, to March 25, 2005, with the series finale The Powerpuff Girls Rule! airing on January 19, 2009. The show centers on Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, three girls with superpowers, as well as their father, the brainy scientist Professor Utonium, who all live in the city of Townsville. The girls are frequently called upon by the town's childlike and naive mayor to help fight nearby criminals using their powers. The series first started as pilot episodes in 1995 titled "Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins" and in 1996 as "Crime 101".
Plot
The show focuses on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three super-powered little sisters who were accidentally created in a lab by Professor Utonium who raises them as his daughters. They regularly save the City of Townsville from villains such as Mojo Jojo, the Gangreen Gang, The Amoeba Boys, Fuzzy Lumpkins, Princess Morbucks and Him. Blossom is the self-proclaimed leader of the trio, Bubbles is the cute one and Buttercup is the toughest one.
Why They Are Able To Save The World Before Bedtime
- The concept of the five-year-old girls who are in kindergarten being artificially created with superpowers is a pretty cool idea for the show.
- Simple, clean, smooth, detailed, and very cutesy animation, thanks to the unforgettable studios of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and Rough Draft Studios, the animation got even better in the last two seasons due to the switch to digital ink-and-paint animation.
- Very appealing and cute character designs that are pleasing to look at.
- The intro and outro are both cool, and they’re pretty catchy to listen to.
- The outro is played by BIS.
- It launched Craig McCracken's career as show creator, who then created Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder, and Kid Cosmic.
- In addition, also led to launching the careers:
- Paul Rudish (who developed The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse)
- Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Sym-Bionic Titan and Primal and the director of the Hotel Transylvania films)
- Lauren Faust (who developed My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and DC Super Hero Girls)
- Rob Renzetti (creator of My Life as a Teenage Robot)
- Lynne Naylor and Chris Reccardi (who created the failed pilot the Modifyers)
- Chris Savino (creator of The Loud House, producer of The first season of Johnny Test (2005) and director of Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil)
- Thurop Van Orman (creator of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, writer of Camp Lazlo and the director of The Angry Birds Movie 2 film).
- John McIntyre
- A hilarious and overly-dramatic narrator; it helps that he's voiced by Tom Kenny (mostly known for being Spongebob SquarePants).
- The voice cast is amazing, with the talents of Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong (Harley Quinn from Batman Arkham Series), E. G. Daily (Tommy Pickles from Rugrats (1991), Baby Doll from Streets of Fire and served as a singer performer for certain music in Scarface, Tom Kane, Tom Kenny (The titular character of Spongebob SquarePants), Roger L. Jackson, Jennifer Hale (Gladys from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy), Jeff Bennett (The titular character of Johnny Bravo), Kath Soucie, the late Christine Cavanaugh (The titular protagonist of Dexter's Laboratory (seasons 1-3a), Jennifer Martin and Jim Cummings (The titular character of Winnie The Pooh).
- The crime-fighting and action scenes are awesome to watch.
- Memorable supporting characters such as Professor Utonium, The Mayor, Ms. Bellum (who later on became a fan favorite/fan service), Ms. Keane, etc.
- Plenty of cool and threatening villains such as Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, Sedusa, the Gangreen Gang, Princess Morbucks, HIM, the Amoeba Boys, The Rowdyruff Boys, Mask Scara, etc.
- There are lots of awesome references to Dexter's Laboratory, such as the voice cast and certain cameos from Dexter himself in certain episodes.
- Plenty of funny comic reliefs such as The Mayor of Townsville.
- The girls themselves are cute, awesome, adorable, and work off each other well:
- Blossom is the leader and the smart girl of the group, and also the most rational, meaning it's her plans that contribute to victory. She is the Everything nice of the group.
- Bubbles is the cute girly girl of the group who is the most optimistic and shy, meaning it's her openness to friendship that sometimes allows the girls to gain an upper hand by not fighting without a reason. She is the Sugar of the group.
- Buttercup is the sporty, no-nonsense tomboy who is always eager for a good fight, making her the key to overpowering enemies that can only be taken head-on. She is the Spice of the group.
- The fact the girls' personalities were based off single words from the kids' song "What are Little Boys Made Of?" makes this even more ingenious.
- It has a perfect mix of humor, drama, and action.
- The song, Love Makes The World Go Round from the episode, "Mime for a Change", is much better than expected.
- Has so many great and memorable episodes, such as:
- "Meat Fuzzy Lumkins" (the show's pilot)
- "Crime 101" (the show's 2nd pilot)
- "Monkey See Doggie Do" (which gave an overall good potential to the series as well as season 1)
- "Mommy Fearest"
- "Telephonies"
- "Major Competition"
- "Ice Sore"
- "Bubblevicious"
- "Just Another Manic Mojo"
- "Mime for a Change"
- "The Rowdyruff Boys"
- "Uh-Oh, Dynamo"
- "Stuck Up, Up, And Away"
- "Supper Villain"
- "Birthday Bash"
- "Boy Toys"
- "Seed No Evil"
- "Bubble Boy"
- "Prime Mates"
- "Coupe D'Etat"
- "Live & Let Dynamo"
- "Custody Battle"
- "Mizzen in Action"
- "Nuthin' Special"
- "Neighbor Hood"
- "What's the Big Idea?"
- "Bang For Your Buck"
- "Lying Around the House"
- "Too Pooped to Puff"
- 'You Snooze You Lose"
- "Beat Your Greens"
- "Imaginary Fiend"
- "The Powerpuff Girls’ Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever"
- "Twisted Sister" (despite the sad ending)
- "Mojo Jonesin"
- "Child Fearing"
- "Meet The Beat-Alls"
- "All Chalked Up"
- "Get Back Jojo"
- "Knock It Off"
- "Stray Bullet"
- "Forced Kin"
- "Superfriends"
- "Power-Noia"
- "Divide and Conquer"
- "Burglar Alarmed"
- "Substitute Creature"
- "The Boys Are Back in Town"
- "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey" (despite some controversial scenes; see Trivia for more info)
- "Shotgun Wedding"
- "Curses"
- "Silent Treatment"
- "Makes Zen to Me"
- "Live and Let Dynamo"
- "A Made Up Story" (which ended season 5 on a high note)
- "Aspirations"
- "I See A Funny Cartoon In Your Future"
- Some villains also save the day just the first time in various memorable episodes, such as "Telephonies", "Just Another Manic Mojo", "Aspirations" and especially "Forced Kin", showing how they’re not completely evil.
- It spawned two memorable movies as The Powerpuff Girls Movie in 2002 (which serves as a prequel to the series) and The Powerpuff Girls: Twas the Fight Before Christmas in 2003 (the Christmas special).
- In 2009, it also spawned a 10th anniversary series finale, titled "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!", which is the first Powerpuff Girls cartoon to be animated in Flash.
- In one scene when the girls look at everyone's sad faces and moan in disbelief, Mac and Bloo from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends (another Craig McCracken show) make a cameo appearance.
- We even get to see Ms. Bellum's face as a freeze-frame bonus.
- It was an overall great way to end the original series.
- Mojo Jojo has a good singing voice. He sang two verses of ''Everybody Wants To Rule The World'' by Tears for Fears.
- In 2009, it also spawned a 10th anniversary series finale, titled "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!", which is the first Powerpuff Girls cartoon to be animated in Flash.
- Despite it's flaws, it also received a 15th special CGI episode titled "Dance Pantsed".
- There are lots of good morals in most of the episodes.
- Despite the title saying "Girls", which resulting in many thinking it's a feminist show, it can be watched by both girls and boys, teens, adults and heck even for everyone who wants to be gay or lesbian.
Bad Qualities
- The N64/PS1 game is not very good, along with the mediocre game released in 2002 titled "The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage".
- It has its fair share of bad episodes, such as:
- "Powerpuff Bluff" (the first terrible episode of the series)
- "Schoolhouse Rocked"
- "Dream Scheme" (the most disturbing episode of all)
- "Down 'n' Dirty"
- "A Very Special Blossom" (arguably the worst episode of the series)
- "Daylight Savings"
- "Cover Up" (a Buttercup torture episode)
- "Fallen Arches" (which started season 3 on a sour note)
- "The Mane Event"
- "Town and Out"
- "Getting Twiggy With It" (which is infamous for animal cruelty)
- "Three Girls And A Monster"
- "Candy Is Dandy"
- "Hot Air Buffoon"
- "Equal Fights" (an episode that is sexist towards men)
- "Moral Decay" (also counts as the worst episode of the series)
- "Helther Shelter"
- "Monstra-City" (which started season 5 on a sour note, in broadcast order)
- "Little Miss Interprets"
- "City Of Nutsville" (a Bubbles torture episode)
- "Shut the Pup Up"
- "Toast of The Town"
- "Save Mojo"
- "Pee Pee G's"
- "City of Clipsville" (filler episode)
- "Girls Gone Mild" (a Powerpuff Girls torture episode)
- "Sweet N' Sour"
- "Say Uncle"
- "Reeking Havoc" (the most disgusting episode of the series)
- "Mo' Linguish"
- "Oops, I Did It Again"
- "Night Mayor"
- "That's Not My Baby"
- "Simian Says"
- "Sun Scream" (another disturbing episode)
- "The City of Frownsville" (the most annoying episode of the series)
- "West in Pieces" (filler episode that also counts as wasted potential)
- "Crazy Mixed Up Puffs"
- "Roughing It Up"
- "Octi Gone" (which ended season 6 and the TV series as a whole on a negative outlook, in airing order)
- It can at times be mean-spirited towards Buttercup, as she tends to get slightly less respect compared to Blossom and Bubbles. There have been episodes where Buttercup was punished for something that Bubbles are equally guilty of doing, but the difference is that Bubbles never suffers consequences, presumably due to her innocent and sensitive personality, though Buttercup herself can be unlikable at times such as in the episode "Moral Decay". The most torture she got was in the episode "Cover Up".
- There is some gross-out and toilet humor, mostly notable in the episodes "Down 'n' Dirty", "Reeking Havoc", "Crazy Mixed-Up Puffs", and "Pee Pee G's".
- Down 'n' Dirty main plot is about Buttercup not wanting to take a shower.
- In "Reeking Havoc", the Professor wins the 2nd Annual Townsville Chili Cook-Off with the Chemical X chili, and everyone who did eat the chili in Townsville (including the Utonium family) farts up an entire methane monster.
- Other examples include Buttercup farting in "Crazy Mixed Up Puffs" and Mojo Jojo peeing on the girls' bed in "Pee Pee G's".
- The Mayor of Townsville, while funny, can also be flawed at times due to how dumb and childish he can be, especially in the episodes: "Hot Air Buffon", "Toast of the Town" and "Night Mayor".
- It got a very awful reboot in 2016, even worse, Craig McCracken is not involved in this one despite being the creator of the original series and being the executive producer and story developer of the last two seasons.
- The script for the CW reboot is somehow even worse.
- Hopefully, the new reboot (which is in development), will be an improvement since Craig McCracken will be involved in it.
- It has a mediocre anime adaptation titled "Powerpuff Girls Z", even though it's better than that awful 2016 reboot.
Reception
TBA
Trivia
- Originally "Déjá View" was going to be made as an episode in the show, but due to the amount of time spent by the show's crew making The Powerpuff Girls Movie, the episode was never produced, instead, it was made as a story in the 50th edition of The Powerpuff Girls comic book published by DC Comics.
- Series' creator Craig McCracken was offered a job to work on The Ren & Stimpy Show from Nickelodeon during its first season, but he did refuse due if he was still studying in CalArts in the early 90s.
- Speaking of Ren & Stimpy, the creator of the series: John Kricfalusi is a fan of the show, mainly due of the colors that the original series used.
- The original voice actors of the Girls came back in Craig McCracken's new series, Kid Cosmic, as the Planet Protection Group featuring Agent Pink (Cathy Cavadini), Agent Blue (Tara Strong), and Agent Green (E.G. Daily).
- Three of the Dexter's Laboratory cast are here as the Harold Family in the "Supper Villain" episode such as: Jeff Bennet, Kath Soucie and Christine Cavanaugh.
- The show is popular in Japan. So much so, that they made their own version of the series. It's even had merchandise released into The New '10s and even got it's own alternate opening.
- In terms of airing order as well as on consumer purchase platforms and home media releases, the episodes "Keen on Keane", "Not So Awesome Blossom", and "Power-Noia" are officially listed as the final three episodes of Season 4, rather than the first three episodes in Season 5, as per production order (they were also the first three episodes to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios excluding The Powerpuff Girls Movie). This is possibly due to these episodes being the final inputs from the show's creator, Craig McCracken himself, as he helped direct these episodes before leaving the show to create Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends; the series also went on hiatus for eight months after "Power-Noia" first debuted on December 13, 2002, until September 5, 2003. Similarly, the episodes "Nuthin' Special", "Neighbor Hood", "I See a Funny Cartoon in Your Future", and "Octi-Gone" are officially listed as the final four episodes in Season 6, as per airing order. However, as per production order, "Nuthin' Special" / "Neighbor Hood" and "I See a Funny Cartoon in Your Future" / "Octi-Gone" are Season 5's 3rd and 5th episodes respectively.
- Mucci Fassett, known for being the director of Bratz (2005 TV series) and The Proud Family, was the writer of the episode "Octi Gone".
- "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey" episode was banned in the United States because Cartoon Network claimed that the metal beams in the destroyed buildings looked too much like crosses and that one of the hippies looked like Jesus; it was also speculated that it was banned due to the stroboscopic effects seen in the "Hear Me Fathers" sequence. However, the episode only aired on YTV in Canada on March 18, 2004, followed by Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia on April 19, 2005, and later in Latin America and Brazil on May 20, 2006.
- As of September 3, 2023, just like Ben 10 (2005), the original series is now on Netflix, albeit only the first two seasons.
- The late Filipino YouTuber and fanartist Jerimin Dilao (known as Jerimin19) loved this show.
- Cathy Cavadini and Tara Strong later on starred in the next Craig McCracken's show, Kid Cosmic.
- The older wiki Terrible TV Shows & Episodes stated that the last two seasons were bad, this has now been fixed.
- The fourth season is the last season to be animated by Hanna-Barbera before switching to Cartoon Network Studios in the last two seasons in 2003.
- The series was going to be named: The Whoop-ass Girls, but due to Moral Guardians, it has been changed.
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