Released in 2002 the Powerpuff Girls movie was a flop. The film barely managed to recover its production budget (11 million dollars) and only grossed 16 million dollars worldwide. Adding to this disappointment was the fact that the film itself received mostly lukewarm reviews and was quickly forgotten. As for me, well I didn't even bother to watch this movie when it was released in theaters; in fact I didn't even see it at all until a few days ago (almost 9 years after its release).
For anyone who doesn't know, the premise behind the Powerpuff Girls goes something like this. While mixing the formula for the perfect little girl (Sugar and Spice and everything Nice) Professor Utonium accidently added an extra ingredient to the concoction ... Chemical X. The result of this mysterious chemical was an explosion that birthed not only three perfect little girls, but three perfect little girls with superpowers. Powers that Blossom, Bubble and Buttercup now use to protect Townsville and its citizens. Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born.
Now I said before that I was a big fan of the Powerpuff Girls back when it was on the air. Yet with the release of the Powerpuff Girls movie I not only didn't bother to watch the film in theaters, I didn't even check it out on home video for almost a decade. I mention this because my lack of urgency with regards to viewing a movie based on a show I enjoyed isn't just an amusing contradiction; it's the end result of the film's greatest flaw. Put simply, this story is an unnecessary prequel. Set just moments before Professor Utonium's fateful accident, the Powerpuff Girls movie retells the origin of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, and then shows us how they became Townsvilles most beloved superheroes. While this may seem like a good idea at first, the truth is any fan of the show already knows everything that is going to happen in the film; thus there was really no reason to be in a hurry to see it. I already know that JoJo is going to become Mojo JoJo, I already know that the people of Townsville will embrace the Powerpuff Girls, I already know ... well everything. And the things I don't know - like the origin of the girl’s names - really don't require a theatrical movie to be told. Ultimately this superfluous story may have worked fine as a TV special, but if you expect me (or others) to fork out cold hard cash to watch this, you had better bring something new to the table. Not just an obvious origin story with a little fan service and no surprises.
It's not all doom and gloom mind you. The film's pacing is solid, the humor is mostly funny (though occasionally labored) and the fan service mildly cute. But while the writing of the Powerpuff Girls movie itself isn't technically bad, it struggles greatly within its prequel boundaries and tries way too hard to be a belated introduction to the source material. One example can be found during the moment of enlightenment where Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup realize that they can beat up their opponents to save the day. Though the movie wants us to get excited over the idea of the Powerpuff Girls embracing their powers, the story illustrates this point by having them punch and kick people (or monkeys in this case). While this was simply done as a way to marry the movies social conflict (the people of Townsville don't want the Powerpuff Girls to use their powers) to the girls behavior in the TV show (the Powerpuff Girls are always fighting crime with their fists), the scene can easily come across as "violence solves everything". Personally I didn't have all that much of a problem with the questionable way this plot point was driven home - and I have no issues with my own children watching the film (which they have done on numerous occasions) - but others criticized the Powerpuff Girls movie for being excessively violent. Had the movie not been a prequel, perhaps the story wouldn't have needed to show us the "origin" of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercups ferocity; and maybe (just maybe) this controversy could have been avoided (though to be fair violence and the Powerpuff Girls do go hand-in-hand).
Other writing problems include the need for a slower buildup of friction between the people of Townsville and the Powerpuff Girls, as well as more exploration of secondary characters. These shortcomings culminate in a contrived climax where convenient changes of heart regarding the Powerpuff Girls take place so that the movie appears to segue into the original show. What I'm trying to say is that this story lacks the bold characterization, heart and story grandeur one desires from feature film animation; and the biggest reason for this is that the writers couldn't do anything that would go against their source material. This is not a poorly executed script; it's a poorly conceived script. It all comes back to the prequel thing. When you take a TV property like this and try to bring it to the big screen you need to up the stakes and push the story and characters to places they've never been. Instead the Powerpuff Girls movie handcuffs itself to the past, and tells us a story we mostly know while limiting itself to superficial character development that doesn't conflict with its TV origins. That's the problem with prequels like this, they don't offer anything new.
On a more positive note, the visuals in this film are fantastic. Though the TV show uses very simple designs, the Powerpuff Girls movie takes that streamlined look and polishes it beautifully for the big screen. Staging, layout and shading are all pushed further than the TV show and look very feature film worthy. Don't get me wrong, the movie still retains all of the visual charm of its TV counterpart, it just looks a lot more refined. Complementing this excellent style is some amazing color design as well. From the more washed out and monochromatic scenes (usually meant to emphasize emotion) to the colorful battle sequences, this film's color pallet is perfect.
From an actual animation and action choreography perspective, the Powerpuff Girls - once again - impresses. Supervised by Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack and Symbionic Titan) this movie benefits greatly from both the experience and "cool" factor Tartakovsky brings to animation. The film also manages to do something other - more realistic looking - animated features of this time couldn't. It perfectly merged computer generated images to traditional animation. Thanks to the heavily stylized and simple design work done on the Powerpuff Girls movie, CGI constructs like the giant mirrored ball and Mojo JoJo's doomsday machine fit naturally into their traditionally rendered surroundings; an achievement that we take for granted today, but was far too rare an occurrence in the early 2000s.
Overall I would have to say that the best thing about the Powerpuff Girls movie is its looks. The production and character designs are awesome, the color pallet inspired and the animation flawless. Had the story been better, I think this film could have potentially become a modern classic.
Voice acting and music are solid all around as well. While neither would be considered exceptional, I think the film does a good job of balancing both new and familiar sound. All the voice actors from the TV series reprise their roles in the film (or at least it sounds that way); and the music - while recognizable - has enough new beats to let the audience know this is more than just an average Powerpuff Girls story (I only wish the writers had gotten that same memo).
Taken as a whole, the Powerpuff Girls movie is just okay. While the visuals are everything I could have wanted - and the sound solid - the overly familiar story, predictable events and flat characters prevent this film from ever being anything special. From a DVD standpoint I'm afraid that - once again - I was very disappointed. Though I had no issues with the extras or packaging, the decision by Warner Bros. to use a pan and scan full screen version of the film was ridiculous. Sure, 4:3 TVs may have been the norm in 2002 (barely), but not including a widescreen option in the US is totally unacceptable (and yes, the film was animated in widescreen). This is doubly bad because - as I previously mentioned - the Powerpuff Girls movie has amazing staging and design; cutting away almost half of that fantastic artwork to give people a full frame video is just criminal. Anyway if you're a fan of the Powerpuff Girls then this movie is worth a watch; even if it's just to see the amazing visuals. As for younger viewers it might even be a good idea to start them out on this film before moving them on to the regular show (at least that's what I did with my kids).
