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The Powerpuff Girls

Starring: Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily
Director: Craig McCracken
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2002
Rating: 2 / 5

All too often, I have heard The Powerpuff Girls described as a movie much more fit for adults than for children, and I have to say that this is a very interesting proposition. Based on the popular television program, The Powerpuff Girls reunites everyone’s favorite heroines – Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup – as they attempt to thwart the evil plans of the nefarious Mojo Jojo. Of course, on the way to maintaining world peace, these three super-powered tykes kick more cartoon butt than the rowdy casts of G.I. Joe and Transformers back in the 1980s! In a day and age when critics decry the abundance of violence on television and in movies, it is downright ironic that a 2002 film would be more violent than anything offered over a decade ago. Understandably, this should give any parent pause before trucking the little ones over to the neighborhood multiplex.

Professor Utonium is a scientific genius, upset at the dearth of goodness in the world and eager to rectify the situation. In his laboratory, he mixes sugar and spice with a dash of “everything nice,” hoping to produce a little something to make the world a better place. Alas, when a splash of the mysterious Chemical X falls into the professor’s concoction, strange things begin happening. Instead of three normal little girls, the professor produces three super-charged dynamos, sporting incredible strength and speed, as well as the ability to fly! As these three girls – named Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup by Professor Utonium – begin to learn more about themselves, they learn how different they are from their town’s other children. This proves to be the opening needed by a sinister mastermind to create havoc throughout the world.

During the disastrous lab experiment that produced the Powerpuff Girls, remnants of Chemical X also reached a monkey named Mojo Jojo. With his brain capacity literally and figuratively expanded by this contact, Mojo Jojo begins whipping up some schemes to take over the world. What he needs, though, is the help of three young girls, now societal outcasts due to their unusual powers. When his diabolical plan finally comes to pass, the girls face a moral crisis. They finally get their act together, uniting to do battle with their foe Mojo Jojo and save the city that once turned against them.

As someone who had seen precious little of the television series prior to viewing the film, I might not have been in a position to fully appreciate the big screen adaptation. After all, the young fans at my viewing all cheered at the film’s conclusion. I was left with the feeling, however, that the film was not able to hook new fans, as the disappointing opening box office seemed to prove. Parents will be forced to weigh the ample amounts of violence against their children’s likely enjoyment of the film, a decision which I do not envy. To this filmgoer, the film appeared to be little more than light, summer fluff, lacking the substance to be viewed as anything more than a ninety-minute piece of filler.

Cast:

Certification: Rated PG for violence.
Running Time: 87 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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