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Recap / The Powerpuff Girls (S1E1): "Monkey See, Doggie Do"/"Mommy Fearest"

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Original air date: 11/18/1998

Production code: PPG-102

Monkey See, Doggie Do: Primitive Mojo Jojo steals the elusive Anubis Dog Head which turns every human in the world into dogs, forcing them to do his bidding.

Mommy Fearest: The Professor is lonely, so the Girls set him up with a woman, Ima Goodlady, to give him company, but Ima soon turns out to be not as nice as she seems.

Monkey See, Doggie Do contains examples of:

  • Animorphism: The Anubis Dog Head turns people into dogs.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When Mojo is turned into a dog after the curse is reversed at the end of the episode, the girls ask the Professor if they can keep him as a pet. The Professor reminds the girls that if they do, they'll need to stop him from causing mayhem, chaos, and chewing the furniture.
  • Artifact of Doom: The Anubis Dog Head and its two corresponding ruby eyes. When combined, they give the wielder the power to turn everyone into dogs.
  • Body Horror: Plenty of it to go around, and most of it isn't Played for Laughs.
  • Butt Biter: Buttercup in her dog form. She defeats Mojo this way.
  • Characterization Marches On: Bubbles lacks her ability to Speak Fluent Animal in this episode. In fact, both Blossom and Buttercup ended up understanding Dog!Professor Utonium better than she does.
  • Eiffel Tower Effect: The Anubis Dog Head's laser reaches France, an unspecified area in the North Pole and Japan. You know that the first one is France because of the Eiffel Tower in the background, and the same goes to Japan with Mt. Fuji being in the background (though the man being transformed is clearly asian and is eating sushi).
  • Forced Transformation: Mojo Jojo uses the Anubis Dog Head to turn everyone, including the girls, into dogs.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Mojo even turns the Narrator into a dog at one point.
  • His Name Is...: The first human-turned-dog and the Mayor try to explain who’s responsible for everyone turning into dogs, but their speech turns into barking just before they could say the name.
  • Killed Mid-Sentence: A non-fatal example; The Mayor, whose already half dog completes his transformation just as he's about to say Mojo's name. Same with the first talking dog the girls run in to, who begs for help before being reduced to barks.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Mojo gets a little too cocky and thus is easy prey for Buttercup when she bites him in the butt, causing him to break the Anubis Dog Head; the resulting shockwave restores everyone to normal and leaves him as a mutt. Bonus points for being the effect of an actual laser.
  • Literal-Minded: As a dog, Professor Utonium can only say "Bow Wow Wow Wow" when reciting Mojo's name. Bubbles misinterprets this as the villain's real name until Blossom realizes what he actually meant to say.
  • Morphic Resonance: When the citizens turn into dogs, they retain some of their human traits. For example, the girls' fur is the same as their hair colors and they retain their faces, while the Professor's fur is the same white as his coat.
  • Nonstandard Character Design: Professor Utonium is just as square as a dog as he is as a human.
  • No Ontological Inertia: Breaking the Anubis bust also breaks the curse and turns everyone back to normal (plus, it somehow turns Mojo into a dog himself).
  • Police Are Useless: No wonder, as one officer is fast asleep during the whole thing.

Mommy Fearest contains examples of:

  • Abusive Parents: Sedusa, as Ima Goodlady.
  • An Aesop: People aren’t always who they seem; looks can be deceiving.
  • Bait-and-Switch: After Sedusa has been caught by the professor in her true form, she tries to manipulate him once again and begs for forgiveness. The Professor is pensive, then he takes her hand, and the girls are upset...then he immediately tells them to call the police, as he's no longer fooled by her.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Sedusa, right from the beginning.
  • The Cameo: The girls watch the Puppet Pals at the beginning of the episode.
  • Caught Coming Home Late: Twice: The first time is the traditional "parent catches child" setup, as the girls return after fighting crime and Sedusa catches them. The second time has the roles reverse, as Sedusa returns after a crime spree and the girls catch her.
  • Chores Without Powers: The villainess Sedusa becomes the girls' Wicked Stepmother and forces them to clean the house. The heroines accomplish the task in a split second thanks to their Super-Speed, but Sedusa retaliates by thrashing the living room and ordering them to clean it again as "normal little girls". Forbidden from using their powers, the girls become unable to answer the city's calls for help, as they only manage to finish the job by nightfall.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Sedusa didn't take any precautions to prevent the Mayor from calling the Powerpuff Girls for help, and instead of making off with her prize she returns to the Girls' house with her stash of jewels. By then, the Girls had already put all the pieces together.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: When Professor decides to tell the girls to call the police to arrest Sedusa. And Professor tells the girls Sedusa will not deceive him anymore.
  • "Eureka!" Moment: After Ima punishes the girls, Blossom gets a call from the Mayor that Sedusa is stealing his jewels; this causes Blossom to realize the coincidence and put it all together, determining both Ima and Sedusa are one and the same.
  • Gibberish of Love: When the Professor meets Ima in the grocery store, he's so dumbstruck by her beauty that he can only say, "I...I...I...I...I...I..."
  • Grounded Forever: Which failed as the girls get angry at her.
  • Here We Go Again!: Said by the Narrator at the end where another woman shows up and baked a pie for the Professor and the girls when she heard about Sedusa being caught.
  • Honey Trap: Sedusa lays one for the Professor to gain control over the girls.
  • Ironic Echo: When the girls return home after fighting crime past their curfew, Ima/Sedusa stops them in their tracks by saying, "And just where have you three been? Well?" When Sedusa returns home after stealing the Mayor's jewels, the girls stop her in her tracks by saying the exact same thing.
  • Ironic Name: Double Subverted. Sedusa’s alias name is Ima Goodlady (I’m a good lady), which she appears to be indeed…at first. Of course, she is anything but.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Subverted. "Ima" seems somewhat justified in making the girls clean up the huge mess they caused before allowing them to fight crime, but then after they do so she messes up the living room again and makes them clean without their powers.
  • Kick the Dog: After putting the girls to bed, Ima snatches Octi from Bubbles, making her cry.
    Ima: And growing girls don't play with stupid dolls!
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The girls set up their dad on a date with who they think is a nice lady. They end up getting a Wicked Stepmother who makes them clean the living room by hand, makes Bubbles sleep without her favorite toy, and grounds them so they can't fight crime.
  • 1-Dimensional Thinking: It somehow didn't occur to the girls to fly through their bedroom windows so Ima wouldn't catch them (like how they did when the hotline went off) the first time they snuck out of the house to fight crime.
  • Papa Wolf: The Professor becomes this when he finally sees who his girlfriend actually is, and restrains her until the police arrive.
  • Punny Name: Ima Goodlady ("I'm a good lady").
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Being a master of disguise, Sedusa is definitely this. Often subverted though by her ever-present Nightmare Face when her true colors become clear.
  • Smash Cut: When the girls are shocked that Professor has become smitten once again, they fly over to interfere, but just as they reach the door, it immediately cuts to the end shot.
  • Status Quo Is God: Reconstructed. The Professor will continue life without a significant other to be the girls' mother, but their family as it is proves to be happier than if the Professor married the likes of Sedusa.
  • The Unmasking: Bubbles does this when she unmasks Ima as Sedusa.
  • That Liar Lies: When Sedusa is finally exposed and The Professor sees her for who she really is, she calls the girls "Liars!" when they explain to The Professor how she had grounded them so that she would be able to get away with nicking the Mayor's jewels.
  • Why Did It Have To Be The Dark?: In this episode, Bubbles is revealed to be afraid of the dark, which means the Professor has to leave the hall light on and crack the bedroom door open just a tiny bit so that Bubbles can go to sleep.
  • Wicked Stepmother: Ima/Sedusa is this to the girls....or rather, might have, if the Professor married her.
  • Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Sedusa pulls one on the Professor twice to get him to ground the girls. The latter one fails miserably due to her identity being exposed and she ends up arrested.
  • You Are Grounded!: Sedusa, as Ima Goodlady, makes sure the girls get grounded so they won’t interfere with her evil plans. She even says it word for word.

 
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Mommy Fearest

After Ima Goodlady gets the girls grounded, Blossom gets a call from the Mayor that Sedusa is stealing his jewels, causing Blossom to put the pieces together and realize who Ima really is.

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