The following work contains material and themes that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images that may be disturbing to some viewers. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age or above.
If you are 18 years old or above, or are comfortable with mature content, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another one. Reader discretion is advised.
The Powerpuff Girls (CW)
The first page of the script. shown above. Trust us, this is the least disturbing part...
Genre:
Superhero Action "comedy" Slice of life Fiction
Release Date:
2020s
Network(s):
The CW
Starring:
Chloe Benett (left, replacement actor currently unknown as of 2022) Dove Cameron Yana Perrault Donald Faison Nicholas Podany
The Powerpuff Girls (CW) is a planned live-action series based on the 1998 series of the same name by Craig McCracken. It is the second direct reboot of the series after the 2016 series of the same, and the third after Powerpuff Girls Z and The Powerpuff Girls 2016.
The script for the pilot was so critically panned that the production of the show had to start over from scratch. Unfortunately, however, the show ceased production before it can be made.
First of all, it is very, and we mean very unfaithful to the source material, so much so it makes Dragonball Evolution, The Last Airbender (2010), Super Mario Bros. (1993), Artemis Fowl (2020), Postman Pat: The Movie, Charlie's Angels (2019 movie), and this franchise's 2016 counterpart look interesting in comparison. Everything from the original show is completely forgotten in this reboot and replaced with all of these pointless changes here and there. In fact, because of that, this reboot doesn't even feel like an actual Powerpuff Girls reboot at all, and it instead looks more like a rejected episode for a certain Marvel show or a random sitcom rather than an actual reboot.
This show tries too hard to be ''edgy'' and adult-oriented like the original show by shoehorning subjects such as drugs and sex but fails too because it completely botches the child-like nature the original show had, and to an extent, the previous reboot. Soundfamiliar? On that note, this concept could've worked if it wasn't so poorly executed.
Sure, the original 1998 series did have adult jokes in it, but most of them were creative and actually worked. The adult jokes in this reboot, however, just come off as tasteless and forced.
It tries to be as political as humanly possible, by mentioning something that has to do with this every so often, in conjunction with the adult-related subjects, but it also fails at doing so too. It reaches the point where it makes Ghostbusters (2016), Terminator: Dark Fate, and Elizabeth Banks' attempts at being political and inclusive look like good examples of equality in comparison.
Shameless product placement, including Slurpee, Hpnotiq, Uber, Spirit Airlines, various social media websites, and more, which is something that neither the show nor the other reboots had.
Like with Postman Pat: The Movie, they even have the guts to insult the source material with a scene where Bubbles comments on how the show and merchandise portrayed them as whitewashed figures, both of which were made by Professor Utonium without their consent.
Both Mojo Jojo and his son are portrayed as humans rather than anthropomorphic monkeys for the former, which only further emphasizes how unfaithful to the source material and just plain stupid this change is this is on par with Bowser's horrible portrayal in the 1993 Mario movie. Not to mention, that sounds like wasted potential, since they could have made a photorealistic version of the former instead. And to make matters worse, Mojo Jojo only gets as much as a few mentions, as he is killed off by Blossom offscreen.
The writing itself is even worse than the 2016 reboot, With the way the dialogue is written, it seems more like a written fanfiction of the franchise than an actual pilot.
Redeeming Qualities That Were Saved by the Powerpuff Girls
The costumes that the girls wear for the flashback scenes are the only things faithful to the original show, although that does not make up for anything about this reboot.
At least its not lighter and softer like the previous reboot and instead tried to bring back the violent tone the original series had despite the poor execution.
Trivia
The script was considered to be so bad they ended up scrapping it, and it forced the CW to start production from scratch. [1]
Chloe Bennet ended up leaving the show because of how bad the script turned out.
The script was universally panned by fans, others, and even the haters alike, for its abysmal writing in general, its failed attempts at being political, and being one of the most unfaithful adaptations/reboots of all time. The reception for the script was so negative, that the CW scrapped it. Many fans swore to stop watching both Powerpuff Girls incarnations altogether.
