The Powerpuff Girls[c] is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network. The show centers on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers. They 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.
While attending his second year at CalArts in 1992, McCracken created a short film, Whoopass Stew!, about a trio of child superheroes known as the Whoopass Girls, which was only shown at festivals. Following the name change to The Powerpuff Girls, McCracken submitted his student film to Cartoon Network, who aired the series' refined pilot, "Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins", in its animation showcase program World Premiere Toons on February 20, 1995, along with its follow-up, "Crime 101", on January 28, 1996. Network executives gave McCracken the greenlight for a full series, which debuted as a Cartoon Cartoon on November 18, 1998.
The Powerpuff Girls aired on Cartoon Network for six seasons, three specials, and a feature film, with the final episode airing on March 25, 2005. A total of 78 episodes were produced, in addition to the two pilots, a Christmas special, the film, a tenth anniversary special, and a special episode in computer animation. 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, and an upcoming 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.
Premise
The show revolves around the adventures of three kindergarten-aged girls with an array of various superpowers: Blossom (pink), Bubbles (blue), and Buttercup (green). 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,[8] personal hygiene,[9] going to school, bed wetting,[10] or dependence on a security blanket.[11] Episodes often contain hidden references to older pop culture (especially noticeable in the episode "Meet the Beat Alls",[12] which is a homage to the Beatles). The cartoon always tries to keep different ideas within each episode with some small tributes and parodies thrown in.[13]
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."[14]
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 them superpowers, including flight, superhuman strength, superhuman speed, superhuman senses, limited invulnerability, x-ray vision, red heat vision, energy projection, space survivability, and thermal resistance. In the original concept, the accidental substance was a can of "Whoopass", which was replaced by "Chemical X" in the television show.[15]
The three girls all have abnormally large eyes inspired by Margaret Keane's art,[16] and stubby arms and legs, and lack of noses, ears, fingers, flat feet, toes, and necks. McCracken preferred them to look more symbolic of actual children rather than going for a "realistic" look, meaning fewer body parts were needed.[17] Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup normally wear dresses that match the colors of their eyes with black stripes, as well as white stockings and black Mary Janes. They individually represent body, mind and spirit,[18] and despite being the same age, they adopt the characteristics of the oldest, middle and youngest child.[19] The closing theme song offers a nutshell description of their personalities: Blossom, commander and the leader. Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter. Buttercup, she is the toughest fighter.
Blossom (voiced by Cathy Cavadini) is the self-appointed leader of the Powerpuff Girls. Her personality ingredient is "everything nice", her signature color is pink, and she has long red-orange hair with a red bow.[20] She was named for having spoken freely and honestly to the Professor shortly after her creation, as shown in The Powerpuff Girls Movie. She often behaves as the most level-headed and composed member of the group, with a strong and determined attitude. Her unique abilities include ice breath, microscopic vision, lightning bolts, and advanced intelligence. As the leader, she is a master strategist and apt planner, so she figures everything out and keeps control of the situations.[21]
Bubbles (voiced by Tara Strong in the series, and by Kath Soucie in the What a Cartoon! episodes) is the "softest and sweetest" of the three.[20] She is the most innocent and childish, as she most enjoys the regular occupations of any child, such as playing games and coloring.[21] Her personality ingredient is "sugar", her signature color is blue, and she has blonde hair in pigtails. Bubbles is kind and sweet, but she is also capable of extreme rage and fights just as well as her sisters. She loves animals and her best friend is a stuffed octopus doll she calls "Octi". She has the ability to both understand multiple languages and communicate with various animals. Her unique powers are projecting powerful sonic screams, and creating a shockwave of thunder with a single clap from her hands.
Buttercup (voiced by E. G. Daily) is described as a "tough hotheaded tomboy".[20] Her personality ingredient is "spice", her signature color is green, and she has short black hair in a bob cut. She loves to fight hard, play rough and get dirty; she does not plan and only wants to punish the bad guys instead of solving the crimes.[20][21] Her unique powers are curling her tongue, spinning into a tornado, and creating fireballs by rubbing her hands together until smoke comes out. This action forms a flaming ball that she throws at an opponent. McCracken originally wanted to name the character "Bud", until a friend suggested the name Buttercup.[5]
Production
The first early animated versions of the Powerpuff Girls, who were originally known as the "Whoopass Girls"
During Craig McCracken's first year in the character animation program of CalArts,[22] he wanted to produce an animated short film based on a wrestler-type character he made named "El Fuego". In June 1991, he drew three girls with large eyes, visually inspired by the paintings of Margaret Keane,[16] on a small sheet of orange construction paper as a birthday card design for his brother. Looking for some "diversity and balance" in the drawing, he had created a blonde, a redhead, and a brunette.[23] He liked how "cute" they looked and turned them into superheroes, thus replacing the aforementioned wrestler.[5][24] The following year, the girls starred on McCracken's animated short Whoopass Stew! The Whoopass Girls in: A Sticky Situation.[25] Initially, McCracken wanted to animate all four Whoopass Girls shorts, but only one was produced.[5] McCracken's shorts were selected to be shown at Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in 1994.[25][26]
While he was working on 2 Stupid Dogs in 1992, McCracken's Whoopass Girls short was picked up for a series by Cartoon Network. The name Whoopass was dropped for inclusion as part of the What a Cartoon! animated shorts showcase. McCracken explained that Cartoon Network executives believed no one would make a children's show with the word "ass" in it, so the title changed to The Powerpuff Girls and the "can of whoopass" was renamed "Chemical X".[5] McCracken's new short, titled "The Powerpuff Girls in: Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins", aired as part the network's World Premiere Toon-In on February 20, 1995.[27] The short was not as popular as Dexter's Laboratory, a project McCracken and former classmate Genndy Tartakovsky (who also directed many episodes of The Powerpuff Girls) worked on together; being the most popular of the shorts, Dexter's Laboratory was the first to be greenlit by the network.[5][28] Furthermore, McCracken's cartoon did not do well with a test audience composed by 11-year-old boys; "They were saying, 'This is stupid, little girls can't be heroes'", he recalled in 1999. They also found the girls' designs to be disturbing, which caused McCracken to panic and attempt to redesign them in a more realistic style.[29] However, Cartoon Network executive Mike Lazzo convinced McCracken to stay true to his original vision, and allowed him to produce a second 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 and died of cancer in 1997, was replaced by Tom Kenny when it became a series.[30]
Following the second short, Cartoon Network picked up The Powerpuff Girls for a regular animated series. McCracken said that the show did not go through a large development process, but he was advised to change the name of the three main characters to Pink, Blue and Green, since the network executives found it hard to differentiate them by Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.[31] Instead, he put together a bible for the show, explaining the essential aspects of the characters.[31]The Powerpuff Girls series debuted 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.[15][32] In October 2000, Cartoon Network credited the series for its Friday night prime time ratings win among cable networks.[33] 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.[15] 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."[15] The cost per each episode was $500,000.[34] A theatrical film based on the show, The Powerpuff Girls Movie, was also commissioned that year and was released July 3, 2002. The film received positive reviews from critics but was a commercial failure, earning $16 million worldwide against its $11 million budget. The production of the film also marked the series' switch from traditional cel animation to the digital ink and paint technique.
Following the series' fourth season, the closing of Hanna-Barbera Productions and the death of its executive William Hanna in 2001, along with the muted reception to The Powerpuff Girls Movie, McCracken left the series to focus on developing his next animated series for the network, 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.[5] The show's last original run episode was on March 25, 2005; in all, six seasons were made.[35] 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.[5]
All of the original episodes were hand-drawn and produced at the Korean studio Rough Draft Studios,[36] 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, & Steve Rucker composed the opening theme of the series, and Scottish band Bis performed the ending theme song,[37] as played during the credits. The opening theme uses a sped-up drum break sample of "Funky Drummer" performed by Clyde Stubblefield.[38]
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 ThePowerpuff Girls special to celebrate the series' tenth anniversary.[39] Titled "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!", it aired on the Pan-Euro Cartoon Network on November 29, 2008, during the Powerpuff Girls Birthday Marathon, and in the United States on January 19, 2009, as part of its 10th anniversary marathon. Originally an idea for season 4, the special was meant to be the final episode of the series, but Cartoon Network was against giving their series a definitive ending at the time.[40] Unlike all the previous episodes, the special was animated using Adobe Flash at Cartoon Network Studios.[41] It also provides a glimpse of Sara Bellum's face as an easter egg, which at the time could be captured with a TiVo digital video recorder.[42]
2014 special
The Powerpuff Girls in the 2014 special.
On January 28, 2013, a CGI special titled Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed was announced to premiere that year, though it was later delayed to January 20, 2014.[43][44] Former BeatleRingo 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.[45] 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.[46] This Powerpuff Girls special marked the first time that series creator Craig McCracken had no input.[47] 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" (a parody of the video game Dance Dance Revolution) to take over Townsville.[48]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.[49] Geeked Out Nation 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 [with]", while they said that the special has few flaws.[50]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."[51]
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.[52] 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."[53] Joly Herman of Common Sense Media described the show as a "cute, highly stylized series [that] thrills the senses with its strange characters, funny situations, and lots of lowbrow humor". She went 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.[54] Robert Lloyd of the LA Times said that the series might be "transgressive" based on little violence, but "also cute."[55] In another review, he had called it "perfectly drawn, perfectly written and perfectly voiced."[56]
The show began airing at the height of the "Girl power" trend in entertainment media.[57][58] The Powerpuff Girls were often compared to the likes of Sailor Moon, Lara Croft, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who are also strong and heroic female leads.[57][58] Craig McCracken argued that he did not create the show to fill a gap in the market encompassed by the "Girl Power" slogan, but that its true vehicle was "good, strong characters" that made for good storytelling.[59] However, he did believe that it gained momentum from being considered a "girl power" cartoon, and that it became successful among boys and girls for the inclusion of action scenes.[60][61] Terrence Briggs of Animation World Network noted that, "at the very least, Powerpuff Girls works as an interesting comic deviation from the more sexual presences" of other fictional heroines.[57]
TV Guide chose The Powerpuff Girls as No. 13 in a list of the 50 Greatest cartoon characters of all time.[62]IGN ranked the series 18th in its Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time list in 2006.[63]Entertainment Weekly gave it the number one spot in its list of "10 Best Cartoon Network Shows" in 2012.[64]
Awards and nominations
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.
The Powerpuff Girls Movie was released in the United States on July 3, 2002, by Warner Bros. Pictures.[80] The movie, a prequel to the series, tells the story of how the Powerpuff Girls were created, and how Mojo Jojo became a supervillain.[81] The movie received a rating of 63% at review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, as well as some criticism for the violence involved.[82][83] In all, the movie grossed $16 million worldwide with an $11 million budget.[84]
In April 2005, plans for a Japanese anime series based on the cartoon, Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, were announced.[85] 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.[86] It features junior high school students Momoko Akatsutsumi (Hyper Blossom), Miyako Gotokuji (Rolling Bubbles), and Kaoru Matsubara (Powered Buttercup) as the three heroes.[87] McCracken told NPR's Talk of the Nation that he had little involvement in this version: "I said, well, as long you keep that core foundation the same, feel free to reinterpret or re-imagine it in a way that you feel is going to better play in your marketplace [...] once we did the initial development on it, I kind of gave them my blessing and said, you guys can go off and make this show [...] I was really just there in the initial conception of it."[88]
On August 24, 2020, a live-action television series based on The Powerpuff Girls was announced to be in development at The CW. According to Variety, it would depict Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup as "disillusioned twentysomethings" resentful at losing their childhood to fighting crime and faced with the choice of reuniting "when the world needs them more than ever." The project, produced by Warner Bros. Television Studios, was being written by Heather Regnier and Diablo Cody, who were also serving as executive producers with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and David Madden.[93] Craig McCracken was not involved; however, he declared his liking of Berlanti's superhero shows and admitted he was "curious" to see what they would do with their adaptation.[94]Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed and produced several episodes of the original show, also expressed a similar sentiment, suggesting that the idea was "strong" and could work if there's "good people attached to it".[95][96]
A pilot was officially ordered on February 9, 2021, and Maggie Kiley was hired as the director.[97]Variety later reported that Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron and Yana Perrault were cast as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.[98][99] On March 30, 2021, following the title change to Powerpuff, Donald Faison was cast in the role of Professor "Drake" Utonium.[100] On April 1, Nicholas Podany was cast as Joseph "Jojo" Mondel Jr., the son of Mojo Jojo.[101] On April 7, production on the pilot began.[102] On April 9, Robyn Lively was cast as Sara Bellum and Tom Kenny was confirmed to be reprising his role as the Narrator from the original series.[103] On May 24, The CW announced that the pilot would be reworked off-cycle, with the cast and crew remaining on board.[104] The script was later leaked to overwhelmingly negative reviews on social media.[105]Mark Pedowitz, the head of The CW, stated that the script would be largely rewritten.[106] On August 11, Bennet dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.[107] In May 2022, it was said to be in "some stage" of redevelopment.[108] However, on May 18, 2023, The CW announced that the series had been cancelled by its new majority owners, Nexstar Media Group, and that the rights had been returned to Warner Bros.[109] On July 5, it was reported that the series was no longer in development at Warner Bros. Television.[110]
Merchandise
In 2001, Warner Bros. Consumer Products deemed The Powerpuff Girls
their flagship brand, given the success of the show's merchandise.[111] The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA) named it License of the Year at their 2001 awards ceremony.[112] The array of products was so extensive in 2002 that, according to Janan Sheria of the Dayton Daily News, even people without cable television could recognize the Powerpuff Girls.[113] The franchise made nearly $1 billion in retail sales by 2002, according to Cartoon Network.[114]
Beginning in 1999, Trendmasters made Powerpuff Girls dolls, playsets, and action figures, aimed primarily at girls ages 6–11.[115] Craig McCracken and Genndy Tartakovsky were initially involved in the conception of these toys.[116] From August 21 to October 1, 2000, Subway promoted the series with four toys in their kids' meals.[117] A set of six kids' meal toys was available as part of an April 2001 Dairy Queen promotion, which also included a sweepstakes offering the Powerpuff Girls VHS Boogie Frights.[118]Jack in the Box released six Powerpuff Girls toys in July 2002 as a tie-in for The Powerpuff Girls Movie.[119] On February 10, 2003, Burger King began a four-week promotion featuring The Powerpuff Girls and Dragon Ball Z toys as well as special codes to redeem online for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Orbit.[120] In the United Kingdom the characters of Buttercup and Mojo Jojo were given away in Kellogg's cereal boxes as part of the Cartoon Network Wobble Heads in 2003.[121]
From 2000 to 2006, DC published a series of seventy comics based on the television show.[122]Golden Books also published a series of Powerpuff Girls-themed activity books and storybooks, including one written and illustrated by Craig McCracken, titled Big, Terrible Trouble?.[123] Around 400,000 total units of these books had been sold by 2001.[124] From 2013 to 2017, IDW Publishing published a range of comics based on the series. In 2014, that company published a variant cover which showed aged-up versions of Powerpuff Girls with breasts and dressed in latex. The cover was designed by an artist working for Cartoon Network who 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."[125]
On October 12, 2023, Dynamite announced a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to create a new line of comics based on various properties, including The Powerpuff Girls.[126] The first issue was released in July 17, 2024.[127]
Three CD soundtracks were officially released for the series. The first, titled 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.[128]Mark Mothersbaugh, who originally sought out to be the series' composer, produced the album along with Bob Casale, his bandmate of Devo.[129] The album did well, topping the Billboard's children's music chart for six weeks.[13] Another album titled The City of Soundsville features electronica-style character themes and also did well with critics.[130][131] The third album, titled 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.[132] 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.[133][d] The music video hearkens to "Nano of the North", an episode from the fourth season of The Powerpuff Girls,[134] in which each Sugababes member portrays a Powerpuff Girl.[134]
Parodies
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 episode, 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 (Bubbles) and Tom Kane ("Him") reprised their roles here.[135] The MAD episode with the parody ranked #26/30 for the week with 1.903 million viewers.[136]
Several video games were made for this show all being action in genre. The Powerpuff Girls: Bad Mojo Jojo, released on November 14, 2000, follows Blossom as she tries to beat Mojo Jojo.[137] The game was called "simple and boring" by GameSpot and was a failure critically.[138][139]The Powerpuff Girls: Paint the Townsville Green, another game released in November 2000, follows Buttercup as she fights crime.[140]The Powerpuff Girls: Battle HIM follows Bubbles in her fight against HIM and was released in February 2001.[141]The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-traction was released in October 2001, where the girls battle enemies in a variety of settings in order to reclaim Chemical X and track down Mojo Jojo, who fed the material to all the villains in Townsville. IGN gave the game a positive review while giving the PSone version a 2.0/10 bad review.[142][143]The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage was released in November 2002. All three girls are playable in a 3D world, and the game received mixed reviews.[144]The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo A-Go-Go released in 2001 centers around the name of the Powerpuff Girls' mission to stop Mojo Jojo and his minions. The game received mixed reviews.[145][146]The Powerpuff Girls: HIM and Seek was released in 2002 where the girls battle their variety of enemies through Townsville while on a scavenger hunt. The game received mostly positive reviews.[147]PC games were also made for the series. These include: The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo Clone Zone, The Powerpuff Girls: Princess Snorebucks, The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo's Pet Project, and The Powerpuff Girls: Gamesville.[148][149][150][151]
^McCracken, Craig (August 9, 2008). "I'm Back". CMcC's DeviantArt Journal. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
^Plume, Ken (January 29, 2009). "A Bit of a Chat with Craig McCracken"(audio). A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume. 12:20-12:59. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Podbay.
^"Primetime Emmy Noms – List 1". Variety. July 22, 1999. Section: Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less.). Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
^Variety Staff (July 12, 2001). "Emmy 2001 Nomination List". Variety. p. Section: Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour). Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
^Hood, Duncam (July 1, 1999). "Licensing's feature frenzy". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications. Archived from the original on May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
^Callaghan, Dylan (January 20, 2001). "Power Chords". The Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 366, no. 31. Prometheus Global Media LLC. p. 8. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
