The Powerpuff Girls
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The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series about three little girls born with superpowers who have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil. The series was created by animator Craig McCracken, and first produced by Hanna-Barbera (now Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network.
Contents
Overview
History
Originally the Whoopass Girls, the Powerpuff Girls were created by CalArts student Craig McCracken in 1992 in his short film The Whoopass Girls! in A Sticky Situation. The short was selected for Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation in 1994; subsequently McCracken submitted it to Cartoon Network while working on Dexter's Laboratory http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ap/cmccracken.html. As Cartoon Network couldn't keep the offending name, the girls were renamed the Powerpuff Girls. Their first appearance on Cartoon Network was the short Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins as part of World Premiere Toons.Current status
The Powerpuff Girls ended its production as a cartoon on August 30, 2004, although two episodes unaired in the United States aired as promos in the U.K. on March 25, 2005. Until recently, reruns of The Powerpuff Girls have been playing on Cartoon Network in reverse chronological order, but due to bad scheduling and a lack of popularity, it has now been taken off the air as of March 2006. However, episodes still air in Britain in the Cartoon Cartoons hour on the channel, as well as in half-hour compilations on the UK-only Cartoon Network TOO. Also, new stories featuring the Girls are printed regularly in Cartoon Network Block Party.In Japan, an anime adaptation of this series, Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, began airing in Japan on July 1, 2006.
Characters
The Powerpuff Girls
- Blossom (voiced by Cathy Cavadini): Red-haired, pink-eyed, and dressed in pink. The ending theme refers to her as "commander and the leader", and she is therefore the most mature, level-headed and composed member of the group, which helps hold the group together, although her personality can spill over into being fussy, overbearing and overly analytical. Her special superpower is Ice Breath, though she has been known to breathe fire.
- Bubbles (Voiced by Tara Strong in the series and Kath Soucie in the What-a-Cartoon! ): Blonde, blue-eyed, and dressed in blue. The ending theme refers to her as "the joy and the laughter", meaning that she acts as the baby of the group (despite being the same age) and is defined by her innocence, playfulness and gentle demeanour. She does, however, have a tendency to be naive, submissive and overemotional, leading to her often being (unfairly) regarded, by friends and foes alike, as the group's weak link. She speaks every language from Spanish to Squirrel.
- Buttercup (voiced by E.G. Daily): Black-haired, green-eyed, and dressed in green. Referred to in the ending theme as "the toughest fighter", she is the group's tomboy, meaning that she is fierce, proud, and always ready for a fight. She has a habit, though, of letting her aggression get the better of her, making her reckless, stubborn and overly-agressive, and she can be said to possess a mean, vindictive streak not shared by her sisters. Her 'special power' is the ability to roll her tongue (Blossom and Bubbles cannot do this, and nor can anyone else in Townsville. The narrator claims he can, but we cannot see him, and we cannot be sure if Miss Bellum can, the Mayor claims she can't).
In the series, the girls are drawn with physical traits to make them "super-cute". They have large eyes and are drawn without noses, ears, fingers, or toes. The animation director is Genndy Tartakovsky, of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack fame. He has also directed many of the shows themselves.
They also have many superpowers similar to those possessed by Superman, including:
- Super-strength
- Flight
- Super-speed
- Ability to project a variety of energy blasts
- Limited invulnerability
Others include:
- A triple attack from side to side and front
- Creating after-image doubles (who can also fight)
- Morphing into a ball to save people or strike them out
- A twister with devastating after-effects
Main Townsville citizens
Friends and allies of the Girls include:- Professor Utonium: A scientist who creates the Powerpuff Girls in this series. The Professor is very "square" and old-fashioned, and he is unlucky in love (which perhaps explains why he created the girls through science, rather than getting married and having kids). He is fiercely protective of the girls, sometimes to a fault. (voiced by Tom Kane).
- Ms. Keane: Teacher of Pokey Oaks, she is patient, understanding and very protective of her students, making her a well-liked figure. Kindergarten (voiced by Kath Soucie in the "What-A-Cartoon" episodes and by Jennifer Hale in the series).
- Mayor of Townsville: An empty-headed mayor who is referred throughout only as "Mayor." (In one episode where he was forced to run for re-election as Mayor, he ran with the campaign slogan "Vote for Mayor for Mayor!"). The mayor is very, very fond of pickles, and his little hat. The mayor is almost infantile in his stupidity, and without the Powerpuff Girls Townsville would have been destroyed long ago. The Mayor is married (to a woman who is shown in pictures looking a lot like he does), although apparently their marriage is a troubled one and he rarely mentions her.(voiced by Tom Kenny)
- Ms. Sara Bellum: Mayor's very competent assistant, the statuesque redheaded person, whose face is always either just out of shot or otherwise obscured (similar to the appearances of Nanny in the animated series Muppet Babies and all adults in Peanuts comic strips and animated cartoons). She handles things the Mayor can't, which is practically everything. She is named after the cerebellum (voiced by Jennifer Martin).
Enemies
Major recurring villains
- Mojo Jojo: A mad scientist chimp with vast intelligence, notable for his cod-Japanese accent and his overly convoluted manner of speaking. He has been known to go completely berserk and howl and rage like a ravenous chimp. He used to be Professor Utonium's pet before Professor Utonium created the Powerpuff Girls. His appearance was based off of Darth Vader from Star Wars and Jafar from Aladdin(voiced by Roger L. Jackson)
- Fuzzy Lumpkins: A large, husky, furry pink hillbilly monster who loves his hunting gun (or "boomstick") and his banjo (nicknamed "Joe"), and who will shoot anything he finds "on his property." He is well-known for his insane anger and possessing immense physical strength. (voiced by Jim Cummings)
- Him: A mysterious, super powerful, red-skinned, and effeminate devil-like creature with crab-like hands. He is so evil that his real name can never be said but it can be written "Satan Claws". He often disguises himself or creates psychological events or catastrophes which he uses as an attempt to cause the Powerpuff Girls to break mentally. When forced to fight, he is a force to be reckoned with, as he heralds doom in every direction. He has shown numerous satanic forms, most of which are revealed in hell or apocalyptic situations or realms. His voice and character were inspired by the Chief of the Blue Meanies in Yellow Submarine. Him is undoubtedly the most powerful villain of all, as Mojo Jojo fears him and it was Him who, in an alternate universe without the Powerpuff Girls, controlled Townsville. Him and Mojo's parts in the Powerpuff universe could be matched to that of Maleficent and The Evil Queen in the Disney Villain universe. This means that while Maleficent is normally seen as the most powerful, The Evil Queen is normally seen as the leader. (voiced by Tom Kane)
- The Gangreen Gang: A gang of green-skinned (hence the name) hoodlums that are somewhat mutated looking. They have the personality of juvenile delinquents and have been known to form a good stratagem or two. Grubber communicates entirely through raspberry sounds, though in one episode, Telephonies, he has the uncanny ability to perform perfect impressions of other characters e.g. The Mayor/Ms Bellum. (voiced by Jeff Bennett (Ace, Grubber, and Big Billy), Tom Kenny (Snake & Lil' Arturo), and Carlos Alazraqui (Lil' Arturo (two episodes))) Buttercup dates Ace from the Gangreen Gang in one episode, and joins their group for a brief while.
- The Rowdyruff Boys: Male evil versions of the Powerpuff Girls created by Mojo Jojo. They have bully-like personalities and are very violent.
- Sedusa: A woman considered to be a master of disguise. When her identity is revealed, she often fights with her whip-like hair which she can control. In one episode, she had the ability to whip off globs of uber-sticky hair gel adhering people to walls. Her name is a combination of seduce (which she does quite often) and Medusa. Her appearance was based off of The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (particularly, the witch played by the actress before Margaret Hamilton).(voiced by Jennifer Hale)
- The Amoeba Boys: The harmless pack of amoebae who first appeared in the World Premiere Toons "Crime 101," are somewhere in between enemies and friends. That is, their crimes are as primitive as their species (they considered stealing a discarded orange to be their greatest crime ever), and they have some ties with the Powerpuff Girls.
- Princess Morbucks: A spoiled, insecure little rich girl, whose hatred of the Powerpuff Girls stems from her rebuffed attempt to become one of them. Her name is a play on Daddy Warbucks from Annie. (voiced by Jennifer Hale)
- The Smiths: The Girls' apprently dull and ordinary but covertly bitter and evil next-door neighbors. They actually appeared twice in the show, the first time when Harold was so incensed by the perfection of Utonium and the girls that he became an inept super-villain hoping to defeat them, and the second time when Harold's family joined him as a team of super-villains.
- *Harold: The Father (voiced by Jeff Bennett)
- *Maryanne: The Mother (voiced by Kath Soucie)
- *Julie: The Daughter (voiced by Kath Soucie)
- *Bud: The Son (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh)
- The Micropuff Girls: A trio of miniature look-alikes of the Girls who have only appeared occasionally in the comic book. They continually distract the girls by either criticizing what they're doing or encouraging them to show off.
Guest enemies
One-time villain appearances include:- Femme Fatale — A feminist, but petty criminal who hates men to a fault, especially on dollar bills and coins. She prefers to steal Susan B. Anthony coins. However she has no idea who Susan B. Anthony is. She was voiced by Grey DeLisle.
- The Kat — A white cat that hypnotized Proffesor Utonium into doing his evil deeds. He is left stuck in a tree after the girls rescue the Professor and defeat the cat. Voiced by Mark Hamill.
- Abracadaver — A zombie magician who tried to reek revenge on Townsville after dying in a needle coffin. Hypnotized Blossom, believing that she was a reincarnation of the little girl that led him to his death.
- Roach Coach — A disgusting old man who commands an army of roaches that the Powerpuff Girls hate so much. Is actually a cockroach himself, commandeering a robotic body. (voiced by Roger L. Jackson)
- The Dooks of Doom — A trio of troublemaking biker characters.
- Major Man — An archetypical superhero who came to Townsville trying to take the Girls' place as town heroes. However it was discovered he was nothing but a big fraud- he set up his own crimes, and the Girls made him leave Townsville. (voiced by Jeff Bennett).
- The Boogie Man — A legendary monster who tried to block out the sun with a giant disco ball. He rides in a white limo that changes into a spaceship when he chased them into space. Bubbles destroys the ball with her laser vision and Blossom and Buttercup sends Boogie Man's ship spinning out of control. This episode has many references to late 70s disco & funk, and The Boogie Man is a facsimile of George Clinton's Dr. Funkenstein. (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson).The Explosion of the disco ball also has a marked simillarity to the destruction of the Death Star in Star Wars:Episode IV:A New Hope.
- The Giant Fishballoon — A giant fish monster representing Godzilla.
- Mr. Mime (not to be confused with Pokémon's Mr. Mime) — An evil mime bent on making the world silent and without color. His alter-ego's imprisonment is considered the most controversial issue in the series.
- Lou Gubrious: Villain from the episode "Frownsville"; Inventor of the "Miseray", his name is a homophone of the word "lugubrious" which means mournful.
- The Ministry of Pain — A trio of evildoers from the old days (1930's) who were beaten by Captain Righteous and his sidekick Lefty. The incident left them in intensive care.
- * Mastermind: the leader
- * Cohort: the short but deadly man
- * Counterpart: the muscleman
- Mask Scara
- Bernie Bernstein — A criminal posing as a film director.
- Donnie — A criminal posing as Bernie's assistant director.
- Dick Hardly — Professor Utonium's former roommate in high school, and always takes advantage of Utonium and comes up with get-rich-quick schemes. He tricked the Powerpuff Girls into giving him Chemical X, and created the Powerpuff Girlz Xtreme, commercialized, mass-produced versions of the Powerpuff Girls. He accidentally drank Chemical X, turning into a monster, and was destroyed.
- Lenny Baxter — A Powerpuff Girls memorabillia collector who looks and acts like a stereotypical otaku. A creepy version of The Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.
- Officer Mike Brikowski — A fat, lazy police officer who, when fired, blames the Girls because they were "taking away the work of good cops". Ends up arrested and jailed. Loves and can't get enough doughnuts.
- The Salami Swami (cut scene only)
- Robber Dude
- Steve the Monster — He is actually the PPG's friend and helped them rid of Major Man.
- K.A.R.R. — A car with artificial intelligence and loads of hi-tech functions, probably a tribute to Knight Rider, where another K.I.T.T.-like car named K.A.R.R. appears twice. (voiced by Tom Kenny).
- Powerpuff Bluffs -Three criminals that (badly) disguised themselves as the Powerpuff Girls to escape from prison. They commit various crimes, and everyone in Townsville actually believe they are the Powerpuff Girls.
Miscellaneous
- Narrator: The series' entusiastic but unseen narrator, known for opening nearly every episode with "The city of Townsville!" and ending them with "So once again, the day is saved, thanks to...The Powerpuff Girls!". He will often comment on the proceedings of the episoed, and frequently breaks the fourth wall, both with the viewers at home and the characters in the show. (voiced by Tom Kenny)
- The Talking Dog: He mostly appears as a background character, but always has something to say, and once had his own episode. (Voiced by Tom Kane)
- Mitch Mitchelson: The bully at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. Usually talks in a gruff voice and can be seen tormenting the kids in the class in a few episodes though not an overly major threat. His laugh is almost the same as Popeye. Buttercup may have a crush on him.
- Elmer Sglue: A classmate of the Girls who is constantly made fun of for eating paste. His name is a play on Elmer's Glue, a famous brand of adhesive for schools. Upon eating a radioactive fly, Elmer turns into a giant paste-monster, who is only calmed down when Buttercup apologizes for being mean to him.
- Twiggy The class's pet hamster. Was mutated in one episode and almost ate Mitch (who was in charge of caring for Twiggy, but mistreated the hamster instead). Was supposedly restored its normal state.
- Mr Green: A substitute teacher for Ms Keane, with green skin similar to the Gangreen Gang. Was mistaken for an evil monster by the Powerpuff Girls, but was not.
- Major Glory: From Dexter's Laboratory, who also appears with Val Hallen and other national superheroes as the Association of World Super Men. In the episode "Members Only" they rejected the Powerpuff Girls' membership for their organization, despite passing the entrance tests, as they don't accept female members. However later they were attacked by a supervillain, and has to call the girls for help.
- The Steamypuff Girls: The past/western versions of the Powerpuff Girls with huge steamers on their backs that also represent their "powers." Needs coal to keep running however.
- The Powerpunk Girls: Alternate evil versions of the girls named Berserk, Brat, and Brute (Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup respectively). Unlike the girls, they cause nothing but destruction. Seen in the 50th issue of the Powerpuff Girls comic.
- Powerpuff Girlz Xtreme: Commercialized and mass-produced versions of the Powerpuff Girls, created by Professor Dick, who marketed these girls internationally to fight off local crime. Originally they resemble the Powerpuff Girls, but later on Professor Dick reduced their ingredients and created deformed versions. They turned against him after seeing Professor Utonium showing love for the Powerpuff Girls, something Professor Dick never showed for them.
Episodes
- Main article: List of Powerpuff Girls episodes
- 78 episodes in 6 seasons, and 1 self-titled movie called The Powerpuff Girls Movie, have been made. No more episodes have been planned.
- There is an hour-long Christmas episode "Twas the Fight Before Christmas," where Princess Morbucks switches Santa Claus's naughty and nice lists.
Trivia
- The end credits theme tune is performed by Scottish band Bis.
- In the "Power Prof." episode, it is revealed that Bubbles has a bedwetting problem.
- In the "Crazy Mixed-up Puffs" episode, there is a scene in which Buttercup farts.[link]
- In the "Boogie Frights" episode, the last sequence is a remake of the Death Star trench run at the end of .
- The Ferocious Fiery Feline attack is an obvious homage to the Japanese anime show Gatchaman, in which the Gatchaman team uses their spacecraft to defeat enemies with an attack called "The Fiery Phoenix" (the ship literally transforms into a firebird-shape).
- The "Cat Man Do" episode includes a white cat on the knees of a well-dressed criminal who supervises operations and pets the feline. That is a reference to Ernst Stavro Blofeld's famous pose in the James Bond movies, although in this case it's the cat that makes the orders. There is also a place in Asia named Katmandu
- In "Imaginary Fiend," when Blossom falls into a pile of clothes, she comes out dressed in a large red jacket, a round blue cap and yellow gloves, which make her look just like Eric Cartman from South Park. However, this is the only reference to an adult cartoon made in the show in that season.
- In The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Jody Irwin, one of Juniper's friends, claims there are over three hundred episodes. (Despite the fact above)
- In "Collect Her," while trying to find who captured the Powerpuff Girls by naming off all the citizens of Townsville, the Mayor says "Genndy McCracken" as one of the last names, a nod to the creator, Craig McCracken, and another cartoonist, Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dexter's Laboratory.
- In "Nano of the North", Dexter (from Dexter's Laboratory) appears. Dexter is also shown attending Pokey Oaks kindergarten in "Powerpuff Bluff".
- In one episode where professor Utonium steals toys for the girls, one of the toys that Bubbles picks up is a Dexter toy.
- The episode "Meet the Beat-Alls" was purposely saturated with references to The Beatles, from an intro to their songs playing as background music to song titles slipping into dialogue. Another Beatles reference was in the episode "Mime for a Change" when Mr. Mime colors Townsville a depressing grey and how the girls used music to give the town back its color. This is similar to how in the animated film, Yellow Submarine, the Blue Meanies overtook Pepperland and how The Beatles thwarted their evil plan.
- In the episode "Hot Air Buffoon", two robbers dressed as Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble can be seen.
- The closing logo seen at the end of this cartoon through 2002 is an update of the 1986 CGI variation of Hanna-Barbera's "Swirling Star" logo (which originally was used by the company in 1979), except that the company name referenced here is of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, and has appeared with the "A Time Warner Company" byline.
- In the Cat Man Do when you see the laser the Professor built, the shadow has the shape of the jewel in it, but he hasn't stolen the jewel yet.
- In various episodes, a character resembling Hanna-Barbera's George Jetson is seen.
- The name of the girls' teacher, Ms. Keane, is a tribute to Margaret Keane, an artist whose paintings feature children with huge eyes very similar to the Powerpuff Girls.
- All the Powerpuff Girls' names start with the letter "B", including their powerpuff chipmunk (Bullet), and the Rowdyruff Boys.
- A young character watches the Powerpuff Girls upside-down while channel surfing in the film Unbreakable (2000).
- A scene in the film Blade II (2002) depicts Blade's assistant, Scud, watching an episode of "The Powerpuff Girls."
- In an episode of "X Presidents" (from TV Funhouse on Saturday Night Live) the Powerpuff Girls come to rescue SpongeBob Squarepants from being held prisoner for refusing to star in a pro-Gulf War II propaganda commercial. The X Presidents proceed to beat the Girls up, and President George W. Bush takes the liberty of making the Girls look like Muslim terrorists in a video of the fight, using CGI.
- In episode 14 of the anime, Excel Saga, Blossom is seen flying out of a time bomb as it is being disarmed.
- An ad on Cartoon Network showed the Powerpuff Girls save Aquaman and Wonder Woman from Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom. Luthor incorrectly calls them "The Powderpuff Girls" which gets the girls angry. They proceed to bring down the Leigon and save the heroes, who the girls refer to as "Old School". Wonder Woman says that the girls are developing into good super heroines to which Bubbles replies "Someday we will be as developed as you!", which prompts laughter from everyone in the room.
See also
- List of The Powerpuff Girls episodes
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie
- Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z, a spin-off anime series
- Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi, a fan-created comic
References
External links
- [Official site] at Cartoon Network (USA)
- [The Powerpuff Girls] at the Big Cartoon DataBase
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