The Powerpuff Girls | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Based on | The Powerpuff Girls by Craig McCracken |
Developed by | |
Directed by |
|
Voices of | |
Narrated by | Tom Kenny |
Theme music composer | Tacocat |
Opening theme | "Who's Got the Power?" (performed by Tacocat) |
Ending theme | "The Powerpuff Girls" (lyrics and performed by Tristan Sedillo and Hannah Watanabe-Rocco) |
Composer | Mike Reagan |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 119 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producer | Pernelle Hayes |
Running time |
|
Production company | Cartoon Network Studios |
Original release | |
Network | Cartoon Network |
Release | April 4, 2016 – June 16, 2019 |
Related | |
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated superhero action television series developed by Nick Jennings and Bob Boyle. It is both a reboot and a spin-off series of the Cartoon Network series of the same name created by Craig McCracken. It follows Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, a trio of superpowered girls living in the city of Townsville who are frequently called upon by the townsfolk to protect its residents from evil. The girls were created in a lab by the scientist Professor Utonium, who sought to create the perfect little girls by using sugar, spice, and everything nice along with the accidental addition of the ingredient Chemical X, the source of the girls' superpowers.
It was first announced on June 16, 2014. A year later, it was announced that it would feature new voice actors for the main characters. The series premiered on April 4, 2016, in the United States and Canada, April 21, 2016, in Italy, and April 23, 2016, in Germany. The series ended on June 16, 2019, lasting for three years.
The Powerpuff Girls features Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, three superheroes whose purpose is to reduce crime while living a normal childhood. [1]
Cartoon Network announced on June 16, 2014, that they had rebooted The Powerpuff Girls in a new series, which was to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios. In their 2015 upfront on February 19, the network announced that Nick Jennings, who was an art director on SpongeBob SquarePants and Adventure Time , would be its executive producer. [1] Bob Boyle, who previously has produced Clarence , has created Jetix's Yin Yang Yo! and Nick Jr.'s Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and also former producer and art director of Butch Hartman's animated series The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom , would also produce. Meanwhile, Craig McCracken, the creator of the original series, would not work on the series. McCracken has stated on Twitter that the executives at Cartoon Network had considered bringing him back to do the reboot, but his contract with Disney Television Animation prevented him from doing so.
Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li, and Natalie Palamides were announced as the new voice actors of the main characters, playing Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, respectively, [3] replacing the original voice actors Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, and E. G. Daily. [4] However, Tom Kenny reprises his roles as the Mayor and narrator, while Tom Kane reprises his roles as Professor Utonium [5] and Him. Meanwhile, Roger L. Jackson reprises as Mojo Jojo and Jennifer Hale reprises as Ms. Keane, but not as Princess Morbucks. [6] In April 2016, Jennings revealed that the producers had considered bringing back the original voice actors for the new series, but decided that recasting the roles would infuse new energy. [5]
After the network revealed multiple promotional images from the new series in June 2015, writers from news sites described the visual look as similar to the original series, [3] despite the 15th anniversary special Dance Pantsed, which was broadcast on January 20, 2014, featuring a different art style rendered in 3D. [4] On May 26, 2016, Natalie Palamides confirmed that the series had been renewed for a second season. [7] The reboot had a crossover with Teen Titans Go! that aired on June 30, 2016. [8] On September 17, 2017, a new and fourth Powerpuff Girl named Bliss was added in a 5-part special of the reboot, "The Power of Four". Prior to the announcement, a one-shot footage of Bliss was leaked on Cartoon Network Russia. [9] [10] The show's villainess Sedusa was confirmed to be excluded from the reboot as a new character Bianca Bikini took over her role as the main villainess. [11] Some of the older villains, with exceptions of Mojo Jojo, Princess Morbucks, and HIM, are given limited appearances for few episodes as new villains are introduced for this reboot.
The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on April 4, 2016. It also premiered in Canada on Cartoon Network on the same day. [12] [13] The series was released across the Asia-Pacific region on April 9 and in Africa on April 30. [14] [15] [16] [17] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it premiered on Cartoon Network on April 25 and on November 7 on CITV and aired on its sister channel Boomerang on October 17, 2016. [18] [19] [20] In Australia, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 9 and additionally airs on 9Go!. [21] [22] In the Philippines, it debuted on Cartoon Network on May 2, 2016, in English. On free TV, after the original TV series of the same name that run from 1998 to 2005, it premiered on October 15, 2016, on 5 (now TV5 since August 15, 2020) as one of the two new Cartoon Network shows on the channel along with We Bare Bears and is dubbed in Filipino/Tagalog. [23] Both shows also premiered on CNN Philippines as part of their morning block starting September 1, 2018, alongside two other shows from Cartoon Network: Ben 10 and Adventure Time . However, they are broadcast in Filipino dub. [24]
The series also premiered in the United States and Latin America on Cartoon Network's sister network, Boomerang on November 1, 2016. [25]
The series also premiered in the Middle East on Cartoon Network Arabic on April 29, 2016. It debuted in India on Cartoon Network in 2016 and 2017 and is broadcast on the country's Cartoon Network HD+.
In mainland China, the series was aired on Haha-Toonmax TV (formerly Haha Children's Channel and Shanghai Toonmax Cartoon TV).
The series was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics. Henry Solotaroff-Webber of The Badger Herald enjoyed the series, saying "Overall, this new rendition of a classic animated program is a triumph in my eyes. It recaptures much of what made the last show so important for kids to see while still thoroughly scratching a nostalgia itch for those looking to go back." [26] IGN gave the premiere episode "Man Up" an 8.0 out of 10, saying "While the new voice cast will take some getting used to, and the absence of Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily is strongly felt, the show still manages to capture the essence of the Powerpuff Girls." [27] The Nerdist gave the first two episodes a 4.5 out of 5, saying "if you loved the original show, chances are you'll love these new episodes." [28] Screen Rant gave it a positive review, saying "Although the revival doesn't quite hit the mark on what made audiences fall in love with McCracken's original series, The Powerpuff Girls is an excellent addition to the franchise." [29] Collider gave it 4 stars, saying "it's worth viewing the new version of The Powerpuff Girls on its own merits because it's a solid cartoon that delivers on its promises." [30]
The Occidental Weekly lamented that the series "lacks the impeccable comedic timing and wit of the original" and called the voice acting "mediocre at best", while also criticizing the writing, which it deemed subpar. [31] Slate was critical of the show's "self-conscious feminist overtones", and compared the show unfavorably to the original, particularly the second-season episode "The Powerpuff Girls' Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever". [32] Polygon criticized that the show lost what they considered made the original so special: "fighting seems like an afterthought, as if Cartoon Network wants to keep the Girls a safe distance from the fray", and that the show was a "step backward, not forward". [33] Jessica Swartz of Inverse said that new viewers might not know who the villains are or what their motivations are, as no introduction was given to the characters. Swartz also went on to say that the show focuses too much on the main characters, and overall called it a "mediocre cartoon". [34] Shelby Watson of The All State praised the show's voice acting, but criticized the increased focus on the girls' domestic lives rather than fighting crime, and was especially critical of the animation, writing: "The animation is beyond lazy... the art direction itself is catastrophic. Animators routinely forget their own rules on how to animate their characters, leading to a disjointed style that just comes across like the animators don't care." Watson also noted other technical issues in the series, such as inconsistencies in character design or misuse of perspective, saying that they "shouldn't happen in a professional studio." [35]
Despite its mixed reception and low ratings in its native United States, the reboot has been received more positively and met with higher viewership in Europe since being broadcast on free-to-air networks in the United Kingdom, France and Poland. [36] [37] [38]
Before the series aired, Cavadini, Daily, and Strong were displeased to learn the main characters had been recast; Strong called it "a stab in the heart" on Twitter. [4] Strong had announced after the upfront in February that this was a "strictly creative" decision by the network, [39] though in June of the same year said that the network had never contacted any of the three actresses prior to the decision to recast. [4] In an interview with The Comic Book Cast in May 2015, Kenny claimed that McCracken "does give it his blessing", [6] but in May 2016 McCracken denied doing so on his Twitter posts, commenting that he had never given the new reboot his official blessing. McCracken said that he wished that Cartoon Network had stopped their plans for a reboot of the original Powerpuff Girls property but also acknowledged from a financial view why the new series was commissioned. [40] [41] However, at the 2017 New York Comic Con, Strong stated that she had no ill will towards the new cast and had given the show her blessing. [42]
The season one episode "Horn, Sweet Horn" received scrutiny from the media after the episode's handling of transgender themes prompted criticism from LGBT viewers. [43] Sulagna Misra, writing for Fusion's official website, described the character Donny as an "interesting metaphor for transgender identity" but saw poor judgment in the choice to present the transformed character as a monster. She found the larger topic of identity reversed by making the plot so "convoluted" and preferred if the character's monstrous transformation had been a temporary gag instead. [44] Marie Solis of Mic also viewed the episode as a failed attempt to convey social issues, on par with the "Twisted Sister" episode from the 1998 Powerpuff Girls series, in which the main characters conjure up a mentally challenged and physically deformed sister. [45] Dorian Dawes of the magazine Bitch was extremely critical of the episode, calling its message questionable and dangerous in the wake of the House Bill 2 controversy. Dawes denounced the episode as irresponsible to the series' primary demographic and felt it was written solely to make the producers feel righteous about their inclusion of transgender themes. [46] One of the writers has claimed to have not intended to imply any subtext and blamed the advertising surrounding the episode. [47]
One of the female characters, Ms. Bellum, was written off the show. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nick Jennings explained "We felt like Ms. Bellum wasn't quite indicative of the kind of messaging we wanted to be giving out at this time, so we sort of had her move on... And that was a good choice I think on our part". [11] This change caused a negative response from critics and fans of the original show, who complained that the removal of Ms. Bellum's character (as well as villainess Sedusa being completely dropped from the show) negated the feminist message of the reboot. [48]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Animated Program [49] | Nick Jennings, Rob Sorcher, Brian A. Miller, Jennifer Pelphrey, Curtis Lelash, Bob Boyle, Pernelle A. Hayes, Haley Mancini, Kyle Neswald, Benjamin P. Carow, Jake Goldman, Julia 'Fitzy' Fitzmaurice, Robert Alvarez & Richard Collado (for "Once Upon a Townsville") | Nominated |
2017 | Gracie Awards | National Family Series [50] | The Powerpuff Girls | Won |
2018 | Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production [51] | Mike Reagan & Bob Boyle (for "Home, Sweet Homesick") | Nominated |
The Powerpuff Girls reboot has seen two Region 1 DVD releases, six Region 2 DVD releases, and two Region 4 DVD releases. All of these have been presented in 16:9 aspect ratio formats.
DVD title | Season(s) | Episode count | Total running time | Release dates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tiara Trouble [52] | 1 | 12 | 132 minutes | February 14, 2017 |
The Last Donnycorn [53] | 1, 2 | 12 | 143 minutes | August 15, 2017 |
DVD title | Season(s) | Episode count | Total running time | Release dates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Important Friends [54] | 1 | 4 | 44 minutes | July 4, 2018 |
Battle! [54] | 1 | 4 | 44 minutes | July 4, 2018 |
Cute Trouble Edition [54] | 1 | 4 | 44 minutes | July 4, 2018 |
Hidden Secret Hen [54] | 1 | 4 | 44 minutes | July 4, 2018 |
Always Gently Knows [54] | 1 | 4 | 44 minutes | July 4, 2018 |
DVD Box [54] | 1 | 20 | 220 minutes | July 4, 2018 |
DVD title | Season(s) | Episode count | Total running time | Release dates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tiara Trouble [55] | 1 | 12 | 132 minutes | December 1, 2016 |
Season 1 [56] | 1 | 39 | 470 minutes | October 25, 2017 |
Before the series premiered, a toy line for the series was announced to be released in 2016 by Spin Master, with more toys released in 2017. The toys include the new 2-in-1 playsets and more. [57]
A McDonald's Happy Meal promotion for the series ran from June 14 to July 5, 2016, in the United States, including mini action figures, rings, and collectibles. [58]
On August 24, 2018, two Lego sets were released in the United States and United Kingdom. [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64]
In April 2016, it was announced that a line of Powerpuff Girls reboot comic books would be released in July of that year, being published by IDW Publishing (who also published comic books for the original series). [65]
Cartoon Network has released five mobile games based on the series titled, "Flipped Out", "Glitch Fixers", “Mojo Madness”, “Ready, Set, Monsters", And “Monkey Mania”. The latter two are free but the former is $2.99. All games are available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. [66] [67]
A pair of Powerpuff Girls-themed packs for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions were released on September 12, 2017. These include a Team Pack, containing playable Blossom and Bubbles figures and constructable Octi and PPG Smartphone items; and a Fun Pack, containing a playable Buttercup figure and a constructable Mega Blast Bot. The packs add a new Powerpuff Girls-themed open-world area and battle arenas to the game. [68] Also, there was a crossover exclusive Teen Titans Go! episode for Lego Dimensions that included the "Powerpuff Girls" fighting the Gremlins in Jump City.[ citation needed ]
The Powerpuff Girls is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera 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.
Dexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network as the first Cartoon Cartoon. The series follows Dexter, an enthusiastic boy-genius with a hidden science laboratory in his room full of inventions, which he keeps secret from his unsuspecting parents, who are only referred to as Mom and Dad. Dexter is at constant odds with his older and more extraverted sister Dee Dee, who always gains access to the laboratory and inadvertently foils his experiments. Dexter has a bitter rivalry with his neighbor and classmate Mandark, a nefarious boy-genius who attempts to undermine Dexter at every opportunity. Prominently featured in the first and second seasons are other segments focusing on superhero-based characters Monkey, Dexter's pet lab-monkey/superhero, and the Justice Friends, a trio of superheroes who share an apartment.
Gennady Borisovich "Genndy" Tartakovsky is a Russian-American animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the creator of various animated television series on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, including Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, Primal, and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as the network's first show animated primarily with Adobe Flash, which was done both by Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank and in Ireland by Boulder Media. Set in a world in which imaginary friends coexist with humans, the series centers on Mac, an eight-year-old boy who is pressured by his mother to abandon his imaginary friend Bloo. After the duo discover an orphanage dedicated to housing abandoned imaginary friends, Bloo moves into the home and is kept from adoption as long as Mac visits him every day. The episodes revolve around Mac and Bloo as they interact with other imaginary friends and house staff and live out their day-to-day adventures, often getting caught up in various predicaments.
Craig McCracken is an American cartoonist, animator, director, writer, and producer known for creating the Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Disney Channel and Disney XD's Wander Over Yonder, and Netflix's Kid Cosmic.
The Powerpuff Girls Movie is a 2002 American animated superhero film based on the Cartoon Network television series of the same name. It was co-written and directed by series' creator Craig McCracken, co-written by Charlie Bean, Lauren Faust, Paul Rudish, and Don Shank, and stars the regular television cast of Catherine Cavadini, Tara Strong, E. G. Daily, Roger L. Jackson, Tom Kane, Tom Kenny, Jennifer Hale, and Jennifer Martin. The film serves as a prequel to the series, and tells the origin story of how the Powerpuff Girls were created and came to be the defenders of Townsville and how Mojo Jojo became a supervillain.
Powerpuff Girls Z is a 2006 Japanese anime television series created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Toei Animation. Planned by Cartoon Network and produced by TV Tokyo, Aniplex, and Toei Animation, the series is directed by Iku Ishiguro, with Yoshio Urasawa handling series scripts, Miho Shimogasa designing the characters and Hiroshi Nakamura and Taichi Master composing the music. The anime is based on the 1998 American animated television series The Powerpuff Girls, created by Craig McCracken and produced by Cartoon Network.
Lauren J. Faust is an American animator, writer, director, and producer, best known as the creator of the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and DC Super Hero Girls. Faust has collaborated with her husband Craig McCracken on his four animated series The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder, and Kid Cosmic.
Blossom is a fictional character that serves as one of the three main protagonists of The Powerpuff Girls franchise. She was created by Craig McCracken and made her first appearance in the Whoopass Stew! short "A Sticky Situation" in 1992, and was fully introduced in the television series The Powerpuff Girls in 1998. She is portrayed as the tactician and self-proclaimed leader of the Powerpuff Girls, alongside her sisters Bubbles and Buttercup, with whom she fights crime in the city of Townsville. She is the most level-headed, intelligent, and composed member of the team, and has orange waist-length hair worn in a ponytail, decorated with a red bow and a hair clip. Her unique abilities include ice breath, microscopic vision, and advanced intelligence.
Cartoon Network Arabia is a pan-Arab free-to-air children's television channel that is broadcast to Arab audiences in the Middle East and North Africa. It is one of two Arabic-language versions of the original Cartoon Network, the other being a pay television channel on beIN and additional providers known as Cartoon Network MENA, which is available in both English and Arabic.
Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe Ltd., formerly Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe and Cartoon Network Studios Europe, is a British animation studio headquartered in London, England, and owned by the UK division of Warner Bros. International Television Production, a subsidiary of the Warner Bros. Television Group, the television business segment of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is the EMEA arm of Cartoon Network Studios.
Teen Titans Go! is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series was announced following the popularity of DC Nation's New Teen Titans shorts. The production companies of the series are DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, with the animation outsourced to Canada at Copernicus Studios and Bardel Entertainment.
DC Super Hero Girls or DC Superhero Girls is an American superhero web series and franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Cartoon Network based on characters from DC Entertainment that launched in the third quarter of 2015.
Blisstina "Bliss" is a fictional character created for the 2016 series The Powerpuff Girls. She made her first appearance in the five-part television film The Power of Four, which was released in 2017. The character was introduced as the older sister to the three original Powerpuff Girls, having been absent during all their lives because she ran away when she lost control of her powers. She is portrayed as a teenager, being much taller and having wider hips than the other Powerpuff Girls, and she also has darker skin. The character has been widely interpreted as being Black and to a lesser degree Hispanic. She is marketed as the fourth Powerpuff Girl and was met with mixed reactions from fans and critics.
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated media franchise created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera. The franchise originated on the cartoon short Whoopass Stew! in 1992 and centers on Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three genetically engineered little girls with superpowers. They live in the fictional city of Townsville with their father and creator, the scientist Professor Utonium, where-in they are frequently called upon by the city's mayor in order to help fight criminals and other enemies using their powers. They especially deal with their arch-enemy, Mojo Jojo, a chimpanzee who wants world domination.
Lego The Powerpuff Girls was a Lego theme based on the Cartoon Network television series of the same name created by Craig McCracken. It was licensed from Cartoon Network. Before the launch of the Lego The Powerpuff Girls theme, two packs were released for the Lego Dimensions toys-to-life video game in 2017. The theme was introduced in August 2018 and was discontinued by the end of 2019.