The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.
“Powerpuff Girls” Created by Craig McCracken; Written by Craig McCracken, Jason Butler Rote, Amy Keating Rogers, Chris Savino, and Cindy Morrow; Narrated by Tom Kenny; Starring Cathy Cavadini, Elizabeth Daily, Tara Strong, Tom Kane, and Roger Jackson; Run time: 22 minutes; Originally aired November 18, 1998.
Professor Utonium was attempting to make the perfect little girls when in his laboratory he mixed sugar, spice, and everything nice. Fortunately for us the professor was irresponsible and left a huge vial of the mysterious Chemical X just above his stirring hand resulting in his creations being infused with its mysterious properties. Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born.
“The Powerpuff Girls” takes place in the city of Townsville, a seemingly normal American town, except for its strange attraction to super villains. The bumbling mayor often calls in the help of these three little girls to pause growing up and use their super powers to save the day from the likes of Mojo Jojo, Princess Morbucks, Sedusa, the Gangreen Gang, Fuzzy Lumkins, and HIM (one of the creepiest incarnations of the devil in cartoon history).
When they’re not fighting crime, they’re dealing with every day kid troubles like loose teeth, peer pressure, self esteem, and school.
What makes the show special is that it is a parody of itself; it gets around all of the usual problems of super hero cartoons by not taking itself too seriously and couching itself in pop culture references and prodding fun at itself. “Powerpuff Girls” was able to find a balance between appealing to a young audience as well as their parents, and young adults.
The animation is stylized and looks like the imagined future of the 1950s. The series has been roundly appreciated from fans and critics alike attaining a longtime following as well as twelve award nominations and four wins over the course of its run.
Before the show’s cancellation in 2005 a total of 78 episodes were produced as well as two shorts, a feature film, and a Christmas special.
Cartoon Network recently announced that the show will receive a reboot to air sometime in 2016. Rob Sorcher, chief content officer at Cartoon Network stated that the series is being rebooted due to “overwhelming demand” from fans. Tom Kenny will reprise his role as narrator and Mayor of Townsville but Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup will be replaced with Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li, and Natalie Palamides.
I’m sure that the new cast will do well, the new direction has the approval of the network as well as the McCracken, the series creator. However the Tara Strong has stated on Twitter that the network never contacted any of the three voice actors of the titular trio about reprising their roles, Strong called it a “stab in the heart.”
Hopefully Cartoon Network knows what they’re doing, but it feels like bad form for people who helmed one of your most successful and popular properties.
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