The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network, and the fifth of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in its first four seasons, and by Cartoon Network Studios in its final two seasons. It centers on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers. The girls all live in the fictional city of Townsville with their father and creator, a scientist named Professor Utonium, and are frequently called upon by the city's mayor to help fight nearby criminals and other enemies using their powers.
McCracken originally developed the show in 1992 as a cartoon short entitled Whoopass Stew! while in his second year at CalArts. Hanna-Barbera Productions president Fred Seibert screened the short and, following a name change, picked up the first Powerpuff Girls short films in its animation showcase program What a Cartoon! in 1995 and 1996.
The series premiered on November 18, 1998, and ended on March 25, 2005. Excluding the two original shorts, the series ran for a total of six seasons, totaling 78 episodes. In addition, a feature film was released in July 2002 and a Christmas special aired in December 2003. Two additional specials were made: a tenth-anniversary special, aired in 2008, and a CGI special, aired in 2014, the latter of which was made without McCracken's input.
Various spin-off media include an anime, three CD soundtracks, a home video collection, comic books, a series of video games, a 2016 reboot series, as well as various licensed merchandise. The series has been nominated for six Emmy Awards, nine Annie Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award during its run.
It was the last cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera, which was closed in 2001 after co-founder William Hanna's death.
Premise
The show revolves around the adventures of three kindergarten aged girls with an array of various superpowers: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. The plot of an episode is usually some humorous variation of standard superhero and tokusatsu shows, with the girls using their powers to defend their town from villains and giant monsters. In addition, the girls have to deal with the normal issues that young children face, such as sibling rivalries, loose teeth, personal hygiene, going to school, bed wetting, or dependence on a security blanket. Episodes often contain hidden references to older pop culture. The cartoon always tries to keep different ideas within each episode with some small tributes and parodies thrown in.The show is set mainly in the city of Townsville, USA. Townsville is depicted as a major American city, with a cityscape consisting of several major skyscrapers. In his review of The Powerpuff Girls Movie, movie critic Bob Longino of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said, "the intricate drawings emanate 1950s futuristic pizzazz like a David Hockney scenescape," and that the show is "one of the few American creations that is both gleeful pop culture and exquisite high art."
Characters
As depicted in the opening sequence of each episode, the Powerpuff Girls Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were created by Professor Utonium in an attempt to create the "perfect little girl" using a mixture of "sugar, spice, and everything nice". However, he accidentally spilled a mysterious substance called "Chemical X" into the mixture, creating three girls and granting all three superpowers including flight, super strength, superhuman speed, near invulnerability, x-ray vision, superhuman senses, red heat vision, energy projection, invisibility, and control over lightning and fire. In the original pilot, the accidental substance was, which was replaced by "Chemical X" in the aired version.The three girls all have oval-shaped heads, abnormally large eyes inspired by Margaret Keane's art, flat feet and stubby arms and legs, and lack noses, ears, fingers, toes and necks. McCracken preferred them to look more animated rather than going for a "realistic" look, meaning fewer body parts were needed. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup normally wear dresses that match the colors of their eyes with black stripes, as well as white tights and black Mary Janes. The closing theme to the cartoon offers a nutshell description of the three Powerpuff Girls' personalities: Blossom, commander and the leader. Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter. Buttercup, she is the toughest fighter.
- Blossom is the self-proclaimed leader of the Powerpuff Girls. Her personality ingredient is "everything nice", her signature color is pink, and she has long strawberry blonde hair with a red bow. She was named for having spoken freely and honestly to the Professor shortly after her creation as shown in The Powerpuff Girls Movie. She is often seen as the most level-headed, and composed member of the group and also strong and determined. Her unique abilities include "Ice Breath", microscopic vision, and advanced intelligence; she is also a master strategist and apt planner.
- Bubbles is the "softest and sweetest" of the three. Her signature color is blue, her personality ingredient is "sugar", and she has blonde hair in pigtails. Bubbles is seen as kind and very sweet but she is also capable of extreme rage and can fight monsters just as well as her sisters can. Her best friend is a stuffed octopus doll she calls "Octi", and she also loves animals. She exhibits the ability to both understand multiple languages and communicate with various animals, and her unique power is emitting supersonic waves.
- Buttercup is described as a "tough hotheaded tomboy". Her personality ingredient is "spice", her signature color is green, and she has black hair in a flip. She loves to get dirty, fights hard and plays rough; she does not plan and is all action. Buttercup is the only Powerpuff Girl without any unique superpowers. McCracken originally wanted to name the character "Bud" until a friend suggested the name Buttercup.
Episodes
Production
During Craig McCracken's first year in the character animation program of CalArts, he created a series of short cartoons based on a character called "No Neck Joe". In June 1991, he created a drawing of three girls with large eyes, inspired visually by the 'waif' paintings of Margaret Keane, on a small sheet of orange construction paper as a birthday card design for his brother. The following year he included the three girls as the main characters of his short film Whoopass Stew! The Whoopass Girls in: A Sticky Situation. Initially, McCracken wanted to animate four Whoopass Girls shorts, but only one came to be. McCracken's shorts were selected to be shown at Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in 1994., and his wife Lauren Faust was a director and writer for the later seasons.
While working on 2 Stupid Dogs in 1992, McCracken's Whoopass Girls short was picked up for a series by Cartoon Network. However, the name Whoopass had to be dropped for the channel to include it as part of its new What a Cartoon! animated shorts showcase. McCracken explained it was because many executives at Cartoon Network didn't think that anyone would make toys for kids with the word "ass" in it. So the title was changed and became The Powerpuff Girls, the name Whoopass was also changed to Powerpuff by Craig McCracken, and the "can of whoop ass" was renamed "Chemical X". McCracken's new short, entitled "The Powerpuff Girls in: Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins", aired as part the network's World Premiere Toon-In on February 20, 1995. The short was not as popular as Dexter's Laboratory, a project McCracken and former classmate Genndy Tartakovsky worked on together; being the most popular of the shorts, Dexter's Laboratory was the first to be greenlit by the network. Cartoon Network executive Mike Lazzo allowed McCracken to produce a new Powerpuff Girls short titled "Crime 101", which aired on What a Cartoon! in early 1996. Veteran ABC announcer Ernie Anderson, who narrated the pilot episodes, died of cancer in 1997, and he was replaced by Tom Kenny when it became a series.
The Powerpuff Girls series made its debut on November 18, 1998, and was the highest rated premiere in Cartoon Network's history at the time. During its run, the series consistently scored the highest rating for an original series each week for the network across a wide range of demographics—from young children to adults. In October 2000, Cartoon Network credited the series for its Friday night prime time ratings win among cable networks. By the end of 2000, merchandising based on the series encompassed a whole variety of products, including T-shirts, toys, video games, lunchboxes, and dishware. Concerning the show's success, Craig McCracken has stated, "I thought it would get on Cartoon Network and college kids would watch it and there would be a few random T-shirts out there in the rave scene or in record shops. But I had no idea that it would take off to this extent." Following the series' fourth season, the closing of Hanna-Barbera Productions and the death of its executive William Hanna in 2001, McCracken left it to focus on his new animated series, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, leaving Chris Savino to take his place while production of The Powerpuff Girls was moved to Cartoon Network Studios. The show's last original run episode was on March 25, 2005; in all, six seasons were made. Cartoon Network had offered to give McCracken and Savino a seventh season of the series, but they believed six was enough, and that the series had run its course. Much of the people who worked on the new seasons also worked on seasons 3 and 4 of Dexter's Laboratory, but included other new crew members, such as Thurop Van Orman, who then created The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack in 2008.
All of the original episodes were hand-drawn and produced at Rough Draft Studios in South Korea, except the What a Cartoon! shorts, with the first one being animated at Animal House in Japan and the second being animated at Fil Cartoons in the Philippines. James L. Venable, Thomas Chase, & Stephen Rucker composed the opening theme of the series, and Scottish band Bis performed the ending theme song, as played during the credits. The opening theme uses a sped-up drum break sample of "Funky Drummer" performed by Clyde Stubblefield.
Tenth anniversary special
In August 2008, McCracken revealed on his DeviantArt account, as had been announced in that year's Comic Con, that he was working with Cartoon Network on a new half-hour Powerpuff Girls special to celebrate the series' tenth anniversary. The special, titled "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!", aired on the Pan-Euro Cartoon Network on November 29, 2008, on the Powerpuff Girls Birthday Marathon, and in the United States on January 19, 2009, as part of its 10th anniversary marathon. Unlike previous episodes in the series, the anniversary special was animated using Adobe Flash at Cartoon Network Studios. In March 2012, the series returned to Cartoon Network in reruns on the revived block, Cartoon Planet.2014 special
On January 28, 2013, a new CGI special titled Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed was announced to premiere that year, though it was later delayed to January 20, 2014. Former Beatle Ringo Starr promoted the special on Cartoon Network singing a new original song "I Wish I Was a Powerpuff Girl" with previews leading up to the airdate. Ringo also voiced a new character named Fibonacci Sequins in the episode. The special was directed by Dave Smith, who directed episodes for the series in the past, and featured the original cast members reprising their roles. This Powerpuff Girls special marked the first time that series creator Craig McCracken had no input. The episode's plot has Mojo Jojo kidnap Fibonacci along with an opera singer and a badger. The girls rescue all of them, and the Powerpuff Girls defeat Mojo yet again. Not deterred, he then goes on to invent an evil video game called "Dance Pants R-EVILution" to take over Townsville. Common Sense Media gave the special 3/5 stars citing the "tasteful update of the original animation style" however recommends it for older kids around the age of 7. GON gave the show a B rank and described it as "...a good special with the return of the characters that many of us grew up ", while they said that the special has few flaws. Den of Geek gave the special a 2.5 out 5 said "The Powerpuff reboot needs those paddles to jump-start it. I want more. But I want better."Reception
Critical reception
In a 2000 Entertainment Weekly review, Marc Bernardin complimented the show on its "spot-on pop-culture acumen" and "unparalleled sense of fun", giving it a warm welcome from earlier "lame" superhero cartoons that he grew up with. Peter Marks of The New York Times noted the show's use of adult humor and pop culture references, declaring it "the sort of playful satire that can appeal as much to a viewer of 37 as 7." Joly Herman of Common Sense Media describes the show as a "cute, highly stylized series thrills the senses with its strange characters, funny situations, and lots of lowbrow humor". She goes on to say, however, that the show does go from innocent to violent in no time and that there is not much protecting young viewers against the violent undertones. Robert Lloyd of the LA Times said that the series might be "transgressive" based on little violence but "also cute." The TV Guide chose the Powerpuff Girls as No. 13 in a list of the 50 Greatest cartoon characters of all time.IGN ranked the series 18th in its Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time list in 2006. Delta Express promoted the series by having a Boeing 737-200 jet painted with a special livery featuring the characters Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup on its exterior. The plane's inaugural flight was held at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 17, 2000. In 2002 the aircraft was repainted with a different Powerpuff Girls theme to promote The Powerpuff Girls Movie. The Powerpuff Girls series has won two Primetime Emmys, two Annie Awards, and including those four wins, has been nominated a total of sixteen times for various awards.
Awards and nominations
Merchandise and media
Anime and manga
In April 2005, plans for a Japanese anime series based on the cartoon, Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, were announced. The series premiered in Japan the following year with 52 half-hour episodes, airing each Saturday from July 1 to December 23, 2006, and from January 6 to June 30, 2007. Powerpuff Girls Z deviates from the original series in terms of genre and animation style. The characters feature three junior high school students Momoko Akatsutsumi, Miyako Gotokuji, and Kaoru Matsubara as the three heroes. A manga adaptation, illustrated by Shiho Komiyuno, was serialized in Shueisha's Ribon magazine between June 2006 and July 2007.Film
The Powerpuff Girls Movie was released in the United States on July 3, 2002, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie, a prequel to the series, tells the story of how the Powerpuff Girls were created, and how Mojo Jojo became a supervillain. After Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were created by Professor Utonium to help the city against crime, they end up only causing chaos in Townsville. Down about how everyone refers to them as freaks, they turn to Mojo Jojo, a monkey who says he is there to help make people like them again. Unknown to the girls, Mojo Jojo was Professor Utonium's lab chimp helper who was mutated when the Powerpuff Girls were made. The mishap made him super smart, and he has become jealous of the girls. Mojo Jojo ends up tricking the girls into helping him make a machine to mutate other chimps. Seeing what they have done, the kids run away in shame, but come back after seeing Professor Utonium in trouble. Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup end up beating Mojo Jojo and his army of mutated smart chimps and save the day, thus becoming Townsville's new defenders. The movie received a rating of 63% at Rotten Tomatoes, and received some criticism for the violence involved. In all, the movie grossed $16 million worldwide with an $11 million budget.Music
Three CD soundtracks were officially released for the series. The first, entitled Heroes & Villains, features original songs about the Powerpuff Girls characters by a number of artists, including the new wave group Devo, Bis, The Apples in Stereo and Frank Black. The first album did well, topping the Billboards children's music chart for six weeks. Another album entitled The City of Soundsville features electronica-style character themes and also did well with critics. The third album, entitled Power Pop, features a more teen-oriented variety of pop songs. This third and final album was considered a "big disappointment" and was not received as well as the previous albums. The British girl group Sugababes also released a song called "Angels with Dirty Faces" to promote The Powerpuff Girls Movie. The song received generally positive reviews from critics, and peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. The music video hearkens to "Nano of the North", an episode from the fourth season of The Powerpuff Girls, in which each Sugababes member portrays a Powerpuff Girl.Parodies and comics
A crossover parody of The Powerpuff Girls and 2 Broke Girls was done in the second season of Cartoon Network's TV series MAD, known as "2 Broke Powerpuff Girls". The parody, which aired on January 30, 2012, is of Bubbles and Buttercup, who are broke and work for "Him" in a diner after the show got placed on permanent hiatus. Tara Strong and Tom Kane reprised their roles here. The MAD episode with the parody ranked #26/30 for the week with 1.903 million viewers. In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to produce comics based on its properties and this series was one of the titles announced to be published.A fan-produced webcomic series called PowerPuff Girls Doujinshi was created in 2004 and released through Snafu Comics. The girls are shown to be a bit older, but with the same personalities as, their T.V. counterparts, and the comic includes many characters from other Cartoon Network shows. The story has the kids now going to school in a neighboring city of Townsville known as Megaville. The comic was the "Outstanding Superhero Comic" and "Outstanding Character Art" winner on the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards in 2005.
Shortly after the 2014 CGI special's release, a comic which was published by IDW Publishing. The comic, which shows the Powerpuff Girls with breasts and dressed in latex, was designed by an artist who works for Cartoon Network. The artist was "thinking of it more along the lines of 'female empowerment' than the kind of thing you guys are talking about". Cartoon Network said in a statement: "We recognise some fans' reaction to the cover and, as such, will no longer be releasing it at comic book shops."