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Sunday, November 18, 2018

Powerpuff Girls 20 : Every Superhero has an Origin Story

Cartoon Network  The Flashback 



       The Powerpuff Girls  first premiered in November of 1998 on Cartoon Network (though pilots for the series were featured a few years earlier).   Personal note : PPG is one of my favorite Cartoon Network series and was when it first ran too.  I have written about Powerpuff Girls Z when the remake series was starting in 2016 so, this time I decided to look at the Powerpuff Girls Movie that came out in theaters in 2002. (Yes I call this  a TV blog, but it's more than that it's just easier to say TV blog plus, this is based on a TV show)  This movie is an origin story of the Powerpuff Girls, even though the intro does explain how they were made this movie sets to explain how they became Townsville's  dedicated heroes.   As the title stays,  Superheroes do need origin stories. Apparently, this movie is the reason Cartoon Network seems weary of releasing anymore of their TV series to theaters.

    The narrator is in the movie too!  He starts with mentioning that Townsville is riddled with crime (why? no body knows)  and he asks if there's anyone in this town that can help make this better.  It brings us to the professor who does sciencey-science things.  There's also a monkey who's destroying his lab because the professor doesn't believe in cages for some reason.  The mixture in the open re-acts the intro of the Powerpuff Girls where chemical x is added to the mixture Professor Utonium was working on , and it explodes.   Bringing us the title card of the movie.

Woah I created life! / Copyright Warner Media 

     Three girls appear from the explosion and ask the professor what is his name.  They suggest that he gives them names.  He gives them names Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup.  He quickly decides to get them gifts because it's their birthday. There's something different about these girls- they have superpowers. (what?!)  There's a green money with his brain protruding out and dramatic music, that'll probably bring nothing later.  There's a montage of the professor and the girls getting to know each other and setting up their lives.  Since, they weren't born babies the next day is for school. Everyone at the Poke Oaks Kindergarten seems to like the girls.   There are somethings to learn about though, like what is tag?
That'll buff out/ Copyright Warner Media 


    This tag game goes wrong when the girls do  a long chase around the city causing some destruction.  This tag thing does take up a good long chunk of this 73 minute long movie (yeah it's not that long)  The mayor , who called Mayor in the series and movie sees that girls causing destruction actually, he wants  pickles. This is his favorite thing in the series too,  and the girls stop him from enjoying his pickle (that sounds wrong some how).  Professor  Utonium tells them when putting them to bed, that they should try not use their powers around town.
Girls. don't destroy the town next time. / Copyright Warner Media 


     The  next day, the girls go to school, which shouldn't be open because who runs a school while there's a river of water running through it with rebuilding work going on ?  There's some health and safety problems somewhere there.  The other kids don't like the girls anymore. (Also, this school has no electricity who does this?)  Meanwhile, the Mayor forms and angry mob because that's what mayors do , to arrest the professor.  Meaning he can't pick up the girls from school  and the girls start  to think the Professor hates them now.  The news media in the town call the girls freaks because bad people. Plot convenience time  : the girls see the TV videos calling them freaks , but don' t see the news report that the professor is in jail.

     The three of them try to walk home but get lost.   This is when they run into a gang called the Gang Green Gang but they are saved by a shadowy figure. It's the monkey from before. ( I'm shocked)   His name is JoJo.  He gets the girls to help him with his plan to "make the town better".   Will this  make the  town better?  Find out after the jump!
     After, a montage of them building this building and getting the chemical X they go the zoo. (what?)  Jo Jo then starts taking pictures of all the primates which apparently is inserting devices on all of them. I am thinking that JoJo is evil, guys.   The professor is out of jail and he's not very happy.  While Jo Jo activates the devices on the primates and I think he is evil. (yep)   Oh my Gosh! Jo Jo is Mo Jo Jo Jo. (origin story 2)  Mo Jo Jo Jo uses his evil primate army to take over the town and depose the mayor. (that's how that works)  While, the girls think they did something good and he thanks them for helping in front of the whole town.   The professor doesn't believe the girls  when they didn't know he was evil.   JoJo's   primate army turns against him because they also want to be rulers of the world. (Maybe he shouldn't  make all the primates smarter than normal)
He didn't look evil before/ Copyright Warner Media 


    [Continuous montage of 90 different primates]  Meanwhile IN SPACE! Because the Powerpuff girls can breathe IN SPACE , are on an asteroid IN SPACE (sorry , I am stopping now).   and the girls starts getting mad at each other in space.  Bubbles hears the destruction in Townsville  go in to action to help the professor. In the middle of that they save other people around the town.   Then they start fighting the primates with their powers.   MoJo JoJo has the professor hostage so this stops the girls from fighting him.  Then he makes himself gigantic. The professor tells the girls they should all get out of  there and runaway but the girls say they want to make this right  so, they fight giant Mojo.  JoJo  tells them that they shouldn't be fighting him  because they are fighting for people who don't  care about them but that doesn't work.   They defeat Mojo.
Subtle.  / Copyright Warner Media 

     The girls suggest that they want to get rid of the powers but the whole town screams "No!" because they are grateful for what the girls have done.  Thus , this is the origin story of the "Powerpuff Girls"  the narrator at the end  recites the intro's first few lines. 

 
      When, I first saw the Powerpuff Girls , the series I did kind of wonder if I missed the real first episode of one where they first started  and wondering if I'd ever see such an episode but didn't. There is an episode from season 1 called "Mr. Mojo's Rising"  that gave an origin to MoJoJo being originally a monkey that the professor had  and he was the cause of the chemical X being dropped into the mixture. I am glad this movie showed that event.  This was a good story for the movie because all superheroes need origin stories.  It did have a long amount of filler to try to fit that 73 minute line  but at least they didn't try to fill 90 minutes.   It did have the quality of a TV movie or a set of episodes put together and not really a theater material.   The movie itself is fine and again pretty good it fits to the spirit of the show well and had lots of action.

    It wasn't a theatrical success though it did make it's money back and little more.  It had a mixed reviewing  though I mean it came out the same time as "Men in Black II" ,"Lilo and Stitch" were out so that could have had something to do with the showing.   As I stated above, I love the Powerpuff Girls, so this movie was a joy to watch and fun to see the origin story.   I would say it did get a little confused with the saying the townspeople don't like them because of the powers  when they were alright it was only after the destruction they caused they weren't liked.  That is kind of justifiable.   This is a fine movie to start with if you haven't watched Powerpuff Girls or because you have.

  That's our lookback, tune in next time when we type a post IN SPACE!

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