The Powerpuff Girls Movie
Encyclopedia
The Powerpuff Girls Movie (known within the film simply as The Powerpuff Girls) is a 2002 American animated film based on the Cartoon Network
animated television series of the same name
. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios
for Warner Bros. Pictures and Cartoon Network
, the film debuted in the United States on July 3, 2002. It was more or less a prequel
of the series, telling the origin story
of how the Powerpuff Girls were created and how they came to be the defenders of Townsville. Despite the film receiving positive reception, it performed poorly at the box office despite being made profitable. It was the first Hanna-Barbera
/Cartoon Network Studios
theatrical feature film since 1993's Once Upon a Forest
, and is the only film based on a Cartoon Network series to be released theatrically.
to make Townsville, a city plagued by criminals and villains, a better place. Things take a disastrous turn when his laboratory assistant, a destructive chimpanzee named Jojo, shoves the Professor, causing him to accidentally break a container of Chemical X, a mysterious substance that spills into the mixture, which explodes in Jojo's face. The Professor finds that the experiment was a success, having produced three little girls whom he names Blossom (the smart and mature one), Bubbles (the cute and bubbly one), and Buttercup (the tough and scrappy one; Utonium calls her "Buttercup" because it starts with a B, just like the other two). However, these girls also have superpowers
as a result of the additional Chemical X, though they all immediately grow to love each other as a family.
On their first day of school, the girls learn about the game tag
and begin to play amongst themselves, which quickly grows destructive when they begin using their powers. They take their game downtown, inadvertently causing massive damage to the city until the Professor calms them down. The Professor advises the girls not to use their powers in public for their own safety. The girls are completely oblivious to the impact they had on the town until the next day, when the citizens of Townsville begin to despise them and treat them as outcasts, and the Professor is arrested for creating the girls. When he doesn't arrive to pick them up from school, the girls are convinced he hates them as well. Despondent, the girls try to make their way home on foot, but end up hopelessly lost.
Seeking shelter from a thunderstorm in an alley, the girls are attacked by the vicious Gangrene Gang, but are rescued by Jojo, whose brain has mutated and grown as a result of the Chemical X incident, granting him great intelligence and the ability to speak. However, he was quickly overshadowed by the girls in the Professor's life and chose to leave, now living on the streets. Planning control of the city, Jojo gains the girls' sympathy by telling them that he too is a freak neglected by all. He then manipulates them into using their powers to help him build a laboratory over a volcano in the middle of town and a machine he claims will gain them the affections of the town; he also has them steal a batch of Chemical X from the Professor's lab. As a reward for their hard work, Jojo takes the girls to the local zoo and secretly implants small devices on all the primates there.
The girls return home to find the Professor being released from jail, and promise him that things will be much better. That night, Jojo teleports all the primates from the zoo into his volcano lair, hooking them up to his new machine and injecting them with Chemical X, turning them into evil mutant primates like himself. The next morning, the girls prepare to show the Professor all the "good" they did, only to discover the city being attacked by the monkeys. Jojo, renaming himself Mojo Jojo, publicly denounces the girls as willing participants of his plan, turning everyone, including the distraught Professor, against them. Crushed and dejected, the girls blast off into space.
Mojo Jojo announces his intentions to rule the planet, but his minions, now as intelligent and evil as he is, also wish to rule, and begin concocting evil plots of their own to terrorize the people of Townsville, much to Mojo Jojo's frustration. Overhearing this turmoil, and discovering that they can use their powers to combat the primates, the girls return to Earth, defeat the primates and rescue the citizens. Desperate, Mojo injects himself with vast quantities of Chemical X and grows into a giant monster, but the girls defeat him after an intense battle by pushing him off a skyscraper. Hoping to help the girls, the Professor develops an antidote for Chemical X which Mojo Jojo lands on, shrinking the defeated ape back down to size.
The girls contemplate using the Antidote X to eradicate their powers, thinking they would be accepted as normal little girls, but the citizens of Townsville protest, apologizing for misjudging the girls and thanking them for their heroic deeds. At the insistence of the Mayor, the girls agree to use their powers to defend justice in Townsville and become the city's beloved superhero crime-fighting team: the Powerpuff Girls.
reported that voice actresses Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily had gone on strike, protesting that they weren't being paid enough to star in a feature. The studio threatened to replace them with more popular actresses, but soon a deal was reached and the voice actresses continued their roles as Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
with the consensus "It plays like an extended episode, but The Powerpuff Girls Movie is still lots of fun". On Metacritic, the film currently has a rating of 65 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Bob Longino of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave the movie perhaps the highest praise of all, writing, "The intricate drawings emanate 1950s futuristic pizazz like a David Hockney
scenescape. The inspired script is both sinfully cynical and aw-shucks sweet". He also called it "one of the few American creations that is both gleeful pop culture and exquisite high art."
However, it was also reviewed negatively by some for its violence, which many felt was too extreme and highly inappropriate for a family-oriented film. Especially devastating: Ebert & Roeper gave it "two thumbs down," criticizing that the movie was too violent; their negative rating may well have kept many would-be viewers away. Indeed, the film was a disappointment at the box office due to poor marketing and publicity, competition with the more successful Spider-Man
and Scooby Doo in addition to opening week competition with Men in Black II
and Like Mike
, and the fact that the show lost much of its popularity. It was released straight-to-VHS and DVD in some countries. Shortly after its poor commercial performance, a Samurai Jack
movie that had been in development was canceled. The Powerpuff Girls Movie earned $3.5 million and ninth place in its opening weekend and ultimately grossed $11 million in North America against its $11 million budget. Although it covered its budget (except for advertisement), the film performed way below expectations. It ended up with $16 million worldwide, making the film unsuccessful. As a result of its relatively low performance at the box office, it earned the title of "Lowest Grossing Animated Film of 2002," becoming one of the worst-grossing wide releases of 2002, including other flops such as The Adventures of Pluto Nash
and Treasure Planet
.
s, behind-the-scenes footage
, commentaries
and more. Despite being filmed in 1.85:1 aspect ratio
, the DVD is fullscreen only, to the chagrin of reviewers and fans. Region 2 DVD's present the film in its widescreen
original aspect ratio.
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
animated television series of the same name
The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera for Cartoon Network...
. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System , Cartoon Network Studios focuses on producing and developing animated programs only for and related to Cartoon Network...
for Warner Bros. Pictures and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, the film debuted in the United States on July 3, 2002. It was more or less a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
of the series, telling the origin story
Origin story
In comic book terminology, an origin story is an account or back-story revealing how a character or team gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances under which they became superheroes or supervillains....
of how the Powerpuff Girls were created and how they came to be the defenders of Townsville. Despite the film receiving positive reception, it performed poorly at the box office despite being made profitable. It was the first Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
/Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System , Cartoon Network Studios focuses on producing and developing animated programs only for and related to Cartoon Network...
theatrical feature film since 1993's Once Upon a Forest
Once Upon a Forest
Once Upon a Forest is an animated film produced by Hanna-Barbera in association with HTV Cymru/Wales, Ltd. and released on June 18, 1993 by 20th Century Fox....
, and is the only film based on a Cartoon Network series to be released theatrically.
Plot
Professor Utonium hopes to create the perfect little girl using a mixture of sugar, spice, and everything niceWhat are Little Boys Made of?
"What Are Little Boys Made Of?" is a popular nursery rhyme dating from the early nineteenth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 821.-Lyrics:Here is a representative modern version of the lyrics:...
to make Townsville, a city plagued by criminals and villains, a better place. Things take a disastrous turn when his laboratory assistant, a destructive chimpanzee named Jojo, shoves the Professor, causing him to accidentally break a container of Chemical X, a mysterious substance that spills into the mixture, which explodes in Jojo's face. The Professor finds that the experiment was a success, having produced three little girls whom he names Blossom (the smart and mature one), Bubbles (the cute and bubbly one), and Buttercup (the tough and scrappy one; Utonium calls her "Buttercup" because it starts with a B, just like the other two). However, these girls also have superpowers
Superpower (ability)
Superpower is a popular culture term for a fictional superhuman ability. When a character possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used...
as a result of the additional Chemical X, though they all immediately grow to love each other as a family.
On their first day of school, the girls learn about the game tag
Tag (game)
Tag is a playground game played worldwide that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to tag or touch them, usually with their fingers. There are many variations...
and begin to play amongst themselves, which quickly grows destructive when they begin using their powers. They take their game downtown, inadvertently causing massive damage to the city until the Professor calms them down. The Professor advises the girls not to use their powers in public for their own safety. The girls are completely oblivious to the impact they had on the town until the next day, when the citizens of Townsville begin to despise them and treat them as outcasts, and the Professor is arrested for creating the girls. When he doesn't arrive to pick them up from school, the girls are convinced he hates them as well. Despondent, the girls try to make their way home on foot, but end up hopelessly lost.
Seeking shelter from a thunderstorm in an alley, the girls are attacked by the vicious Gangrene Gang, but are rescued by Jojo, whose brain has mutated and grown as a result of the Chemical X incident, granting him great intelligence and the ability to speak. However, he was quickly overshadowed by the girls in the Professor's life and chose to leave, now living on the streets. Planning control of the city, Jojo gains the girls' sympathy by telling them that he too is a freak neglected by all. He then manipulates them into using their powers to help him build a laboratory over a volcano in the middle of town and a machine he claims will gain them the affections of the town; he also has them steal a batch of Chemical X from the Professor's lab. As a reward for their hard work, Jojo takes the girls to the local zoo and secretly implants small devices on all the primates there.
The girls return home to find the Professor being released from jail, and promise him that things will be much better. That night, Jojo teleports all the primates from the zoo into his volcano lair, hooking them up to his new machine and injecting them with Chemical X, turning them into evil mutant primates like himself. The next morning, the girls prepare to show the Professor all the "good" they did, only to discover the city being attacked by the monkeys. Jojo, renaming himself Mojo Jojo, publicly denounces the girls as willing participants of his plan, turning everyone, including the distraught Professor, against them. Crushed and dejected, the girls blast off into space.
Mojo Jojo announces his intentions to rule the planet, but his minions, now as intelligent and evil as he is, also wish to rule, and begin concocting evil plots of their own to terrorize the people of Townsville, much to Mojo Jojo's frustration. Overhearing this turmoil, and discovering that they can use their powers to combat the primates, the girls return to Earth, defeat the primates and rescue the citizens. Desperate, Mojo injects himself with vast quantities of Chemical X and grows into a giant monster, but the girls defeat him after an intense battle by pushing him off a skyscraper. Hoping to help the girls, the Professor develops an antidote for Chemical X which Mojo Jojo lands on, shrinking the defeated ape back down to size.
The girls contemplate using the Antidote X to eradicate their powers, thinking they would be accepted as normal little girls, but the citizens of Townsville protest, apologizing for misjudging the girls and thanking them for their heroic deeds. At the insistence of the Mayor, the girls agree to use their powers to defend justice in Townsville and become the city's beloved superhero crime-fighting team: the Powerpuff Girls.
Cast
| Voice Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Cathy Cavadini Cathy Cavadini Catherine Janet "Cathy" Cavadini is an American voice actress and singer. Most famous as the voice of Blossom on Cartoon Network's animated television series The Powerpuff Girls and Tanya Mousekewitz in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West and Fievel's American Tails. She is also the successor voice... |
Blossom |
| Tara Strong Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:... |
Bubbles |
| Elizabeth Daily Elizabeth Daily Elizabeth Ann Guttman , better known by her stage names of Elizabeth Daily and E.G. Daily, is an American voice actress, actress, singer-songwriter, and musician... |
Buttercup |
| Roger L. Jackson Roger L. Jackson Roger Labon Jackson is an American voice actor. He is best known for voicing the killer Ghostface in the Scream films, leaving him to keep an unknown identity to withhold the mystery of Ghostface... |
Mojo Jojo |
| Tom Kane Tom Kane Tom Kane is a prominent American voice actor with over 25 years of experience. He is most widely known for his animation work... |
Professor Utonium |
| Tom Kenny Tom Kenny Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on... |
Mayor Narrator Li'l Arturo Snake Cha-Ching Cha-Ching the Bonobo Bonobo The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee... Mitch Mitchelson |
| Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-born American actress and singer best known for her voice over work in video games like Grandia II, the Mass Effect trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Tales of Symphonia, the Metroid Prime trilogy, the Metal Gear Solid games, Brütal Legend, and Disney's... |
Ms. Keane |
| Jennifer Martin Jennifer Martin Jennifer Martin is an American voice actress, who is best known for her deep sexy voice.She provides the voice of Ms. Sara Bellum, who is the Mayor of Townsville's assistant, in the Cartoon Network-Hanna Barbera animated television series The Powerpuff Girls, as well as in the movie and in all the... |
Sarah Bellum |
| Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett Jeffrey Glenn "Jeff" Bennett is an American voice actor and musician, listed "among the top names in the voice-over field", best known as the voice of Johnny Bravo in the series of the same name... |
Ace Big Billy Grubber Baboon Kaboom the Olive Baboon Olive Baboon The olive baboon , also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae . The species is the most widely spread of all baboons: it is found in 25 countries throughout Africa, extending south from Mali to Ethiopia and to Tanzania. Isolated populations are also found in some... Go-Go Patrol Hacha Chacha the Proboscis Monkey Proboscis Monkey The proboscis monkey or long-nosed monkey, known as the bekantan in Malay, is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey that is endemic to the south-east Asian island of Borneo... |
| Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads... |
Linda Woman at Zoo |
| Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction... |
I.P. Host Local Anchor |
| Rob Paulsen Rob Paulsen Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr... |
Hota Wata the Japanese Macaque Japanese Macaque The Japanese macaque , historically known as saru , but now known as Nihonzaru to distinguish it from other primates, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to Japan.... Killa Drilla the Mandrill Mandrill The mandrill is a primate of the Old World monkey family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the drill. Both the mandrill and the drill were once classified as baboons in genus Papio, but recent research has determined they should be separated into their own genus, Mandrillus... Blah-Blah Blah-Blah the Chimpanzee Chimpanzee Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:... The Doot Da D Doot Da Doo Doos |
| Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show... |
Rocko Socko the Mountain Gorilla Mountain Gorilla The Mountain Gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic... Ojo Tango the Orangutan Orangutan Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping... |
| Frank Welker Frank Welker Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:... |
Various Primates |
Production notes
During production, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
reported that voice actresses Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily had gone on strike, protesting that they weren't being paid enough to star in a feature. The studio threatened to replace them with more popular actresses, but soon a deal was reached and the voice actresses continued their roles as Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
Design
The film featured substantially revised designs for many of the TV show's characters, with a much more angular look. Many of these changes were incorporated in the final seasons of the show, such as the Professor's new eyes and Ace's sharper teeth.Reception
The film received mixed to positive reviews. Based on 100 reviews, it has a 63% "Fresh" rating on the website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
with the consensus "It plays like an extended episode, but The Powerpuff Girls Movie is still lots of fun". On Metacritic, the film currently has a rating of 65 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Bob Longino of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave the movie perhaps the highest praise of all, writing, "The intricate drawings emanate 1950s futuristic pizazz like a David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
scenescape. The inspired script is both sinfully cynical and aw-shucks sweet". He also called it "one of the few American creations that is both gleeful pop culture and exquisite high art."
However, it was also reviewed negatively by some for its violence, which many felt was too extreme and highly inappropriate for a family-oriented film. Especially devastating: Ebert & Roeper gave it "two thumbs down," criticizing that the movie was too violent; their negative rating may well have kept many would-be viewers away. Indeed, the film was a disappointment at the box office due to poor marketing and publicity, competition with the more successful Spider-Man
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
and Scooby Doo in addition to opening week competition with Men in Black II
Men in Black II
Men in Black II is a 2002 science fiction action comedy starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The film also stars Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson and Rip Torn...
and Like Mike
Like Mike
Like Mike is a 2002 film, directed by John Schultz and starring Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki and Brenda Song. It was produced in association with NBA Entertainment and features many cameo appearances by NBA stars...
, and the fact that the show lost much of its popularity. It was released straight-to-VHS and DVD in some countries. Shortly after its poor commercial performance, a Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack is an American animated television series created by animator Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on both Cartoon Network and Toonami from 2001 to 2004. It is noted for its highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as for its cinematic style and pacing...
movie that had been in development was canceled. The Powerpuff Girls Movie earned $3.5 million and ninth place in its opening weekend and ultimately grossed $11 million in North America against its $11 million budget. Although it covered its budget (except for advertisement), the film performed way below expectations. It ended up with $16 million worldwide, making the film unsuccessful. As a result of its relatively low performance at the box office, it earned the title of "Lowest Grossing Animated Film of 2002," becoming one of the worst-grossing wide releases of 2002, including other flops such as The Adventures of Pluto Nash
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
The Adventures of Pluto Nash is a 2002 science fiction comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Eddie Murphy as the owner of a lunar nightclub investigating who was behind the arson that destroyed his club...
and Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet is a 2002 animated science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 27, 2002...
.
Home video
The film is available in America on Region 1 DVD with extras including deleted sceneDeleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, behind-the-scenes footage
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
, commentaries
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
and more. Despite being filmed in 1.85:1 aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
, the DVD is fullscreen only, to the chagrin of reviewers and fans. Region 2 DVD's present the film in its widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
original aspect ratio.
See also
- Theatrically released films based on Hanna-Barbera animations
- Box office bombBox office bombThe phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...