Instead, they dabble in slapstick and absurdist humor that's more miss than hit. More troubling than the shift toward broad comedy as opposed to the original series' smarter, occasionally adult sense of humor is that these Girls are no longer full of childish wonder.
They might still be 5-year-olds, but they have a decidedly more "tween" sensibility. I might not belong to that demographic anymore, but it seems like girls looking for shows in that direction have several options already.
The one episode that had potential featured the Girls pitted against a pint-sized, hyper-masculine villain named Man Boy. His attacks were paired with gendered insults, which the trio's hothead, Buttercup, did not take kindly to.
It was a major disappointment when the episode took a hard left turn, with Buttercup's sisters faulting her for her "irrational anger" instead of giving Man Boy the what-for for his stereotyping. In the 18 years since The Powerpuff Girls first debuted, many of the forces of evil have been beaten back.
The TV landscape features a variety of faces, voices and personalities, many of whom would never have gotten starring roles two decades ago. But kids channels — all channels, frankly — can still do a better job of diversifying their casts and, better yet, their representations of men and women, boys and girls.
The Powerpuff Girls was one of the strongest examples of what gender diversity could look like in cartoons. It's a shame that in , the new show bearing that name is a step backward, not forward. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Gaming PlayStation Xbox Nintendo. Movies TV Comics. Star Wars Marvel. Filed under: TV Opinion. The Powerpuff Girls reboot loses what made the original so special New, 29 comments. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. The Powerpuff Girls became the great equalizer My kindergarten teacher shuttled the other girls in my class and me to opposite corners away from the boys, encouraging us to play house while they got to destroy their building block skyscrapers.
Townsville is depicted as a major American city, with an impressive cityscape consisting of several major skyscrapers. The physical location of Townsville has never been determined. The logo since the introduction of The Powerpuff Girls Movie. Used on issued related products. This logo is not used for the intertitle.
For the first few seasons, the series consistently scored the highest rating each week for an original program for the network across a wide range of demographics—from young children to adults. There was also a CD entitled Heroes and Villains , featuring original songs about the Powerpuff Girls characters by a number of artists, including the New Wave group Devo. But I had no idea that it would take off to this extent. In April , plans for an anime version, Demashita!
Powerpuff Girls Z were announced and the series premiered in Japan the following year. The series deviates highly from its American predecessor in terms of style, storyline, and characterization. Cartoon Network in the USA currently has no plans to air this show.
James L. Venable composed the opening theme of the series and Scottish band Bis performed the ending theme song, as played during the credits. Veteran announcer Ernie Anderson more well known as "The Voice of ABC " in the s and 80's was the narrator of the two pilot episodes and would have likely continued to narrate.
However, Anderson passed away in February of , the year before the show became a series, which left the studio to hire voice actor and comedian Tom Kenny to be the series' narrator. Tom Kenny narrated the introduction, and also acted as narrator through the series era. The opening narration reads as follows: "Sugar, spice, and everything nice.
But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction: Chemical X! Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra super powers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil! As the narration reveals, Professor Utonium created the girls out of sugar, spice, and everything nice a reference to the nursery rhyme " What Are Little Boys Made Of? The opening of the series pays homage to the animated beginning of s live-action television series, Batman , as both shows feature a pan across a gallery of villains, with the animated heroes running toward the viewer while striking the villains, who are tossed away in slow motion.
In a - Entertainment Weekly review, Marc Bernadin 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. 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". A total of 78 half hour episodes were broadcast, spanning across six seasons and one self-titled movie.
There was also a Christmas episode that aired in , and one episode that was never aired in the U. There was also an episode that was in production entitled "Deja View" that was turned into a Powerpuff Girls comic instead.
In , production of a Powerpuff Girls movie began and suspended production of Season 4 leading to the show to be on a hiatus. On July 3, , The Powerpuff Girls Movie released in theaters telling the story of how Professor Utonium created the Powerpuff Girls and how they began to defend the city from the fearful villains. McCracken directed the film. According to C' Raggio's blog, it uses Flash Animation. The special's plot: The girls find out that the key to the world is coming to Townsville.
The girls have hoped that the key will never come to Townsville because it gives the person who has it the right to rule the world. Every villain except the Rowdyruff Boys searches for the key in the town.
The girls decide that they cant beat all the villains, so they look for the key themselves. They have no luck until Bubbles points out that the mayor is a complete idiot and probably left the key in his desk drawer. While The Powerpuff Girls is preparing to be reborn in a new decade, for a certain generation of its original young fans, its legacy has already somewhat been sealed.
Spinoffs, merchandising, and future feature films aside, the series proved that there was no single formula to make the ideal girl, and that sometimes the best move was to mix in something weird, undefinable, and mysterious along with the sweeter elements. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic.
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