Earlier this year Cartoon Network decided to bring back a classic cartoon, the slice of nostalgia in question; The Powerpuff Girls. So first a little exposition. Originally the Powerpuff Girls was an action comedy featuring 3 superhuman little girls who were created by a Professor in his lab. The three cute and cuddly girls were; Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. We followed their adventures in the city of Townsville as they battled evil and stopped crime. The show is widely considered a classic and a staple of many childhoods. So because of the show's extreme popularity, it was rumored for years that the show would
be rebooted. Fans of the show got a remake/special with a surreal animation style in 2014, by the name of The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed. The special was deemed “acceptable” by most fans. However, on April 4, 2016, the show received a brand new series reboot, featuring a ton of new elements. The reaction to the series has not been necessarily positive, however, some fans don’t deem it nearly as bad as some have received it. So has this show failed or is it just rose-tinted nostalgia glasses stopping us from seeing this show in a good light. We often like to pretend certain things were better than they were and even the stuff that was rightfully good (like Powerpuff Girls) we hold in such high regard that we can’t look past that. Could that be why the show has gotten such a jaded response from some viewers?
First of all the show does feature some major changes. Mainly; the three girls have completely different voice actors. This is a very questionable decision as changing an iconic voice is considered somewhat taboo in the voice acting department. Kevin Conroy still plays Batman in lots of projects, even Shaggy’s old voice actor had complete dominance over the role before he died. He wasn’t even going to play Shaggy in a few specials unless the character went Vegan like he was, and you know what he got his wish. I could understand trying to differentiate yourself but those iconic voices just seemed to suit the girls just fine. That being said the new voice actresses do a fine job voicing the trio.
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Another major change has been the removal of the fan-favorite character Ms. Bellum. Producer Nick Jennings said this in regards to the removal: "We felt like Ms. Bellum wasn't quite indicative of the kind of messaging we wanted to be giving out at this time, so we sort of had her move on," Jennings explained. "And that was a good choice I think on our part." Ms. Bellum was somewhat suggestive with her “well-drawn” figure and seductive voice and attitude. I guess that the sentiment was that the show didn’t need a sexualized female character. I understand that, but why not just tweak the character instead of removing her. Wouldn’t it be better to just tone down the sexuality if it’s such an issue, keep in mind that this show features the little girls twerking, but that’s an issue for later.
Those major changes out of the way, you might be asking “how did they mess up one of my favorite cartoons”, and to that I say let’s not jump the gun. This show does a number of stuff well. For one, some of the old voice actors make a comeback. Tom Kenney, who does the mayor, the narrator and other voices came back as good as ever. Professor Utonium and Mojojojo also came back sounding the same. The intro is also very unique and different (in a good way). We get new designs for a lot of the monsters as well as some new characters. In terms of writing sometimes the show has some genuinely funny moments that not only capture the original essence but also make me appreciate this as a stand-alone series. So keeping that in mind does this show deserve some of the unequivocal hate it’s been getting?
Well, sadly those positives are accompanied by numerous failures. For starters, this show tries to incorporate a bunch of memes (incredibly outdated ones) and loads of vine and internet jokes into their humor. Unfortunately, these come across as lazy attempts to connect with their fan base and they really are just cringeworthy. The show used the “Can I has Cheeseburgers” meme as a joke and at one point Bubbles turns into the “No Me Gusta” face. It felt as if I had just stepped out of a time machine that sent me back to 2007. The show features other lazy and soon to be dated jokes like; Bubbles screaming YAAS at the top of her lungs and the girls twerking with an anthropomorphic Panda bear. “Because that’s what the kids like; twerking all the time and they must love Pandas because I keep hearing a guy rap about them on the radio,” said the soulless out-of-touch corporate executive. This is a truly disgusting attempt at cultural relevancy that just fails entirely. And combine that with the sometimes sloppy writing, you find yourself sighing more often than not. Speaking of writing; the show sometimes tries to re-due old episodes. In the original, there was an episode about Buttercup joining the Gang-Green Gang (They all actually had Gangrene and were Green) because they were tough and more abrasive than her sisters. In the newer show, she joins a tough group of Skater girls because they are more abrasive than her sisters. The episode plays out almost exactly the same.
Also, the animation is somewhat atrocious at times. There are times when characters are missing entire body parts. In Some scenes, things are so janky and rendered so poorly that you constantly find yourself squinting in disbelief. The original main point of the animation, was to have these cute and non-sharp girls fight crime in a pointy and edgy environment. But the new show makes almost everything seem harmless and bright.
The new show also controversially tried to tackle some complex issues. They had a transgender acceptance themed episode about a pony that wanted to become a unicorn. Only bubbles see it as a unicorn, however. Professor Utonium tries to turn the pony into a unicorn but it goes horribly wrong and the creature becomes a grotesque abomination. I’m not a person who gets offended a lot but; comparing a trans person to a mythical monster, just…..wow.
But can’t those things can be overlooked. No show is perfect, and every reboot is bound to do things that piss off fans. Hell, even the old show wasn’t without its flaws. I normally would think so but in this case no. This show deserves a failing grade. From the insufferable attempts at cultural relevancy to the bad writing and janky animation there just is no way I could say this doesn’t fail. Even with the positives, it just can’t find its footing and the bad is just so heavy. The overlying issue is that the show has no idea how to distinguish themselves. They are stuck in that purgatory of being a reboot yet sequel that tries to be different, yet capitalize on their predecessor’s success and they just execute so poorly. So yes as much as it pains me to say it: “no your nostalgia glasses aren’t too rose-tinted, this show just fails.”
