''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American
animated superhero action television series and a
reboot of the
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
series of the same name created by
Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American animator, writer, producer, director, storyboard artist, and designer known for creating the Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Chann ...
. It follows Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, a trio of
superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural ...
ed 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.
Plot
''The Powerpuff Girls'' features
Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three superheroes whose purpose is to reduce crime while living a normal childhood.
Voice cast
*
Amanda Leighton
Amanda Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'', and Polly Plantar ...
as Blossom
*
Kristen Li
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American animated television series franchise that takes place in the fictional city of Townsville and stars the titular Powerpuff Girls, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, who appear in the 1998 ''Powerpuff Girls'' seri ...
as Bubbles
*
Natalie Palamides
Natalie Palamides (born January 6, 1990) is an American actress, comedian and writer.
Early life
As a young child living outside Pittsburgh, Palamides made comedic home videos in her backyard. She would do bits in the corridors at school. Disn ...
as Buttercup
Episodes
Production
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
announced on June 16, 2014, that they had rebooted ''
The Powerpuff Girls
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Telev ...
'' in a new series, which was to be produced by
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating ...
. In their 2015
upfront
''UpFront'' is a current affairs discussion, debate and analysis programme on Al Jazeera English. The show premiered on 4 September 2015 shortly after Al Jazeera moved into their new Washington D.C. hub. The show has a politics focus although othe ...
on February 19, the network announced that
Nick Jennings, who was an art director on ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...
'' and ''
Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
'', would be its executive producer.
Bob Boyle, who previously has produced ''
Clarence Clarence may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division
* Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow
* Clarence River (New South Wales)
* Clarence Strait (Northern Territory)
* City of Clarence, a l ...
'', has created
Jetix
Jetix (stylized as JETIX) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the ...
'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
''Danny Phantom'' is an American animated superhero action adventure television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows Danny Fenton, a teenage boy who, after an accident with an unpredictable portal between the h ...
'', would also produce. Meanwhile,
Craig McCracken
Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American animator, writer, producer, director, storyboard artist, and designer known for creating the Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and '' Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Chann ...
, 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
Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney Ge ...
prevented him from doing so.
Amanda Leighton
Amanda Leighton is an American actress. She is known for her voice acting as Blossom in the 2016 Cartoon Network animated series ''The Powerpuff Girls'', Poppy in the 2018 Netflix animated series '' Trolls: The Beat Goes On!'', and Polly Plantar ...
,
Kristen Li
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American animated television series franchise that takes place in the fictional city of Townsville and stars the titular Powerpuff Girls, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, who appear in the 1998 ''Powerpuff Girls'' seri ...
, and
Natalie Palamides
Natalie Palamides (born January 6, 1990) is an American actress, comedian and writer.
Early life
As a young child living outside Pittsburgh, Palamides made comedic home videos in her backyard. She would do bits in the corridors at school. Disn ...
were announced as the new voice actors of the main characters, playing Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, respectively,
replacing the original voice actors
Cathy Cavadini,
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...
, and
E. G. Daily
Elizabeth Ann Guttman, (born September 11, 1961) better known as E. G. Daily and Elizabeth Daily, is an American actress and singer.
Daily is best known for her animation voice roles as Tommy Pickles on ''Rugrats'' and its spin-off ''All Grown ...
.
However,
Tom Kenny
Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...
reprises his roles as the Mayor and narrator, while
Tom Kane reprises his roles as Professor Utonium
and Him. Meanwhile,
Roger L. Jackson reprises as Mojo Jojo and
Jennifer Hale
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', '' Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Sta ...
reprises as Ms. Keane, but not as Princess Morbucks.
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.
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,
despite the 15th anniversary special ''Dance Pantsed,'' which was broadcast on January 20, 2014, featuring a different art style
rendered in 3D.
On May 26, 2016, Natalie Palamides confirmed that the series had been renewed for a second season. The reboot had a crossover with ''
Teen Titans Go!'' that aired on June 30, 2016. 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. 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.
[
]
Broadcast
The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
on April 4, 2016. It also premiered in Canada on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
on the same day. The series was released across the Asia-Pacific region on April 9 and in Africa on April 30. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it premiered on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
on April 25 and on November 7 on CITV and aired on its sister channel Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
on October 17, 2016. In Australia, the series premiered on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
on April 9 and additionally airs on 9Go!. In the Philippines, it debuted on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
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. Both shows also premiered on CNN Philippines
CNN Philippines (abbreviated as CNN PH) is a commercial broadcast, cable and satellite television network in the Philippines. It is owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation, together with Radio Philippines Network (RPN) as the main con ...
as part of their morning block starting September 1, 2018, alongside two other shows from Cartoon Network: '' Ben 10'' and ''Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
''. However, they are broadcast in Filipino dub.
The series also premiered in the United States and Latin America on Cartoon Network's sister network, Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
on November 1, 2016.
The series also premiered in the Middle East on Cartoon Network Arabic
Cartoon Network Arabic ( ar, كرتون نتورك بالعربية) 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 th ...
on April 29, 2016. It debuted in India on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
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).
Reception
Critical response
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." 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." ''The Nerdist
''ID10T with Chris Hardwick'' (formerly ''The Nerdist Podcast'') is a weekly interview show "about what it really means to be a nerd" hosted by Chris Hardwick, once usually accompanied by Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. The audio podcasts are typicall ...
'' 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." ''Screen Rant
''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' 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." ''Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particl ...
'' 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."
''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. ''Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' 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". ''Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two ...
'' 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". Jessica Swartz of ''Inverse
Inverse or invert may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Inverse (logic), a type of conditional sentence which is an immediate inference made from another conditional sentence
* Additive inverse (negation), the inverse of a number that, when a ...
'' 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". Shelby Watson of ''The All State'' praised the show's voice acting, but criticized the show's 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 problems in the series, such as inconsistencies in character design or misuse of perspective, saying that they "shouldn't happen in a professional studio."
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
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
networks in the United Kingdom, France and Poland.
Original cast and crew
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. Strong had announced after the upfront in February that this was a "strictly creative" decision by the network, 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. In an interview with ''The Comic Book Cast'' in May 2015, Kenny claimed that McCracken "does give it his blessing", but in May 2016 McCracken denied doing so on his Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
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. However, at the 2017 New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006.
History
The New York Comic Con is a ...
, Strong stated that she had no ill will towards the new cast and had given the show her blessing.
Controversies
The season one episode " Horn, Sweet Horn" received scrutiny from the media after the episode's handling of transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
themes prompted criticism from LGBT viewers. 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. 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. Dorian Dawes of the magazine ''Bitch
Bitch may refer to:
* A female dog or other canine
* Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female
Bitch or bitches may also refer to:
Arts and media Film and television
* ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins
* ''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. It was eventually revealed that the episode's writer did not even intend for the episode to be about gender identity, and it was merely marketed as such.
Female modifications were also made which included the character Ms. Bellum being 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". 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.
Awards and nominations
Merchandise and media
Home media
''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.
Toys
Before the series premiered, a toy line for the series was announced to be released in 2016 by Spin Master
Spin Master is a Canadian multinational toy and entertainment company that markets consumer products for children. Its brands include ''Bakugan'', Gund, Etch A Sketch, Meccano/ Erector, Air Hogs, '' PAW Patrol'', Aquadoodle, Tech Deck, ...
, with more toys released in 2017. The toys include the new 2-in-1 playsets and more.
A McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
Happy Meal
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley fac ...
promotion for the series ran from June 14 to July 5, 2016, in the United States, including mini action figures, rings, and collectibles.
On August 24, 2018, two Lego
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocki ...
sets were released in the United States and United Kingdom.
Comic books
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
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...
(who also published comic books for the original series).
Video games
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.
A pair of ''Powerpuff Girls''-themed packs for the toys-to-life video game ''Lego Dimensions
''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. I ...
'' 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.[.] Also, there was a crossover exclusive '' Teen Titans Go!'' episode for ''Lego Dimensions
''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. I ...
'' that included the "Powerpuff Girls" fighting the '' Gremlins'' in Jump City.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powerpuff Girls, The (2016 Tv series)
2016 American television series debuts
2019 American television series endings
Television series by Cartoon Network Studios
English-language television shows
2010s American animated television series
Anime-influenced Western animated television series
American children's animated action television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated fantasy television series
American children's animated superhero television series
Cartoon Network original programming
Animated television series reboots
The Powerpuff Girls mass media
Animated television series about children
Animated superheroine television shows
Animated television series about sisters
Television shows set in the United States
2010s American superhero comedy television series
Television series created by Bob Boyle