The Powerpuff Girls Movie
| The Powerpuff Girls Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Craig McCracken |
| Produced by | Donna Castricone |
| Screenplay by |
Charlie Bean Lauren Faust Craig McCracken Paul Rudish Don Shank |
| Story by |
Charlie Bean Lauren Faust Craig McCracken Amy Keating Rogers Paul Rudish Don Shank |
| Based on |
The Powerpuff Girls by Craig McCracken |
| Starring |
Cathy Cavadini Tara Strong E.G. Daily Roger L. Jackson Tom Kane Tom Kenny |
| Narrated by | Tom Kenny |
| Music by | James L. Venable[1] |
| Cinematography |
Genndy Tartakovsky Mike Moon |
| Edited by | Rob Desales |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $16.4 million[2] |
The Powerpuff Girls Movie is a 2002 American animated superhero 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 is a prequel to the series, telling the origin story of how the Powerpuff Girls were created and how they came to be the defenders of Townsville.
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, but was a box office failure. In theaters, a Dexter's Laboratory short entitled "Chicken Scratch" was shown prior to the film, which later aired as part of the series' fourth season. The film made its TV debut on Cartoon Network on May 23, 2003.[3]
Plot
Professor Utonium hopes that he will create three perfect little girls, using a mixture of sugar, spice and everything nice to improve Townsville, a fictional city plagued by crime. He is shoved by his laboratory assistant and a destructive chimpanzee named Jojo, but he accidentally breaks a flask of a mysterious substance called Chemical X that spills into the mixture and explodes in Jojo's face. The Professor realizes that the experiment is successful, having produced three little girls, whom he names Blossom (the smart and mature one), Bubbles (the cute and bubbly one) and Buttercup (the rough and tough one). They also have superpowers as a result of the additional Chemical X, though they all immediately grow to love each other as a family.
During their first day of school, the girls learn about the game tag and begin to play amongst themselves, which quickly grows destructive every time they use their powers. They take their game downtown, accidentally causing massive damage to the city until the Professor calms them down and cautions them against using their powers outside. As a result of the destruction, the citizens of Townsville treat the girls as outcasts and arrest the Professor for creating the girls. The despondent girls try to make their way home on foot, but become lost in an alleyway and were ambushed by the Gangreen Gang. They are rescued by Jojo, whose brain has mutated and given him superintelligence as a result of the Chemical X explosion.
Planning control of the city, Jojo gains the girls' empathy, saying he is also hated for his powers, manipulating them into helping him build a laboratory and machine over a volcano in the middle of town that he claims will gain them the affections of the city. The girls give a batch of Chemical X to Jojo. As a reward, Jojo takes them to the city's local zoo and secretly implants small transportation devices on all the primates there. That night, Jojo transports all the primates from the zoo into his volcano lair while using his new machine to inject them with Chemical X in his attempt to turn them into evil mutant primates like himself. The next morning, after the Professor is released from prison, the girls show him all the "good" they have done, only to discover the city is being attacked by the monkeys. Jojo, renaming himself Mojo Jojo, publicly announces the girls as his assistants, turning everyone and the distraught Professor, against them. The girls blast off into outer space, dejected.
Mojo Jojo announces his intentions to rule the planet, but becomes frustrated when his minions, now as intelligent and evil as he used to be, begin concocting their own plans to terrorize the people of Townsville. Overhearing the turmoil from outer space, the girls return to Earth and use their powers to defeat the primates and rescue the citizens. In response, Mojo injects himself with Chemical X and grows into a giant monster, but the girls defeat him after an intense battle by pushing him off a decrepit skyscraper. Hoping to help the girls, the Professor develops an antidote for Chemical X which Mojo Jojo lands on, causing him to shrink down to his original size. The girls consider using the Antidote X to erase their powers, thinking they would be accepted as normal little ones, but the people 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 Townsville and become the city's beloved crime-fighting team of superheroes: the Powerpuff Girls.
Cast
| Voice Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Cathy Cavadini | Blossom |
| Tara Strong | Bubbles |
| E.G. Daily | Buttercup |
| Roger L. Jackson | Mojo Jojo |
| Tom Kane | Professor Utonium |
| Tom Kenny | Mayor Narrator Li'l Arturo (uncredited) Snake (uncredited) Cha-Ching Cha-Ching (uncredited) Mitch Mitchelson (uncredited) |
| Jennifer Hale | Ms. Keane |
| Jennifer Martin | Sarah Bellum |
| Jeff Bennett | Ace Big Billy Grubber Baboon Kaboom (uncredited) Go-Go Patrol (uncredited) Hacha Chacha (uncredited) |
| Grey DeLisle | Linda Woman at Zoo Charlotte or Screaming woman (uncredited) |
| Phil LaMarr | I.P. Host Local Anchor |
| Rob Paulsen | Hota Wata Killa Drill The Doot Da Doot Da Doo Doos (uncredited) Blah-Blah Blah-Blah (uncredited) |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Rocko Socko Ojo Tango |
| Dee Bradley Baker | Bongo Bango (uncredited) Rolla Ova (uncredited) Tonsa Muncha (uncredited) Whacko Smacko (uncredited) Pappy Wappy (uncredited) Unnamed newscaster (uncredited) Screaming telephone man (uncredited) |
| Frank Welker | Whole Lotta Monkeys |
Critical reception
Based on 100 reviews, the film holds a 63% approval rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes 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 praised the film, 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 also gained controversy for some of its violence, which many felt was too extreme for a family-oriented film.[4] Ebert & Roeper gave it "two thumbs down," criticizing that the movie was too violent.
Box office performance
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.
Home video
The film was released on Region 1 DVD and VHS on November 5, 2002 in America. The DVD included extras such as deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries and more. Despite being filmed in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the DVD and VHS are in fullscreen only, just like the original television show.[5] The Region 2 DVD release presents the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio, but omits the audio commentary and deleted scenes bonus features.
See also
References
- ↑ "Detail view of Movies Page". afi.com. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ↑ "The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002) - Box Office Mojo". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ↑ "Carton Network airs 'Powerpuff Girls Movie'". Herald-Mail.com. 2003-05-2003. Retrieved May 11, 2013. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Violence overpowers 'Powerpuff Girls'". seattlepi.com. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ↑ "DVD Verdict Review - The Powerpuff Girls Movie". DVD Verdict. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
External links
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie at the Internet Movie Database
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie at Box Office Mojo
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
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