Bubbles, she is the joy and the laughter!
Buttercup, 'cause she's the toughest fighter!
Powerpuffs save the day!
Fighting crime, trying to save the world
Here they come just in time...
The Powerpuff Girls! (x2)
POWERPUFF!"
One of Cartoon Network's classic franchises originally created by Craig McCracken, which then expanded to other media.
When Professor Utonium attempted to make the perfect daughter, he combined sugar, spice, everything nice... and Chemical X. Out came the Powerpuff Girls, pint-sized superheroes dedicated to defending Townsville from all sorts of danger and evil (and hopefully still have some time just to be girls).
The show gained its origins as, surprisingly enough, a drawing that a college-aged McCracken had made for a birthday card. When the silliness of their designs were pointed out, he decided to make them into the subjects of his art student film, dubbing them "The Whoopass Girls". After graduating and working his way through as an animator for Hanna-Barbera, he was given a chance to submit a cartoon pilot for the then-fledgling Cartoon Network, who was moving into producing their own works. Once again, he used the girls as his subject, re-christening them as the more kid-friendly Powerpuff Girls. The short was showcased on a Space Ghost Coast to Coast special, which displayed a selection of pilots (among them being the pilot for Dexter's Laboratory) and apparently "won" it (if only because Craig was willing to dance in a silly get-up at Space Ghost's demand). Said pilot premiered on The What A Cartoon! Show. After it gained a positive response, another short was commissioned, and ultimately the series was greenlit for a full-blown series in 1998. It gained acclaim for both its silly yet creative premise and its passionate drive to push the boundaries of what can be shown on an animated show for kids. Because of this, it's no surprise to see why it became one of the flagship shows of the network in the late 90's and early 2000's. The original series lasted until 2005, through six seasons and 78 episodes.
The franchise consists of 252 episodes, 10 seasons, 10 shorts, 4 specials, and 2 movies. Although the original show aired on US television for 12 years (14 if one counts Powerpuff Girls Z, which was aired outside the United States), the franchise is actually over 20 years old, since it was introduced on November 18, 1998.
Shorts:
- The Whoopass Girls in A Sticky Situation (1992): The original short, featuring prototype versions of the girls fighting the Gangreen Gang and Amoeba Boys.
- Meat Fuzzy Lumpkins (1994) and Crime 101 (1996): Early concept shorts created for the What A Cartoon! Show animation anthology series.
TV Series:
- The Powerpuff Girls (1998) (1998-2005): The original series, centered on the comedy/action adventures of the titular characters. Lasted for 78 episodes.
- Powerpuff Girls Z (2006-2007): An anime adaptation of the original series produced by Aniplex. An alternate continuity wherein the girls are classmates who become magical girls after a laboratory accident causes citizens across New Townsville to mutate or gain superpowers. Lasted for 52 episodes and never aired in the United States despite receiving an English dub.
- The Powerpuff Girls (2016) (2016-2019): A Soft Reboot of the series with a more Slice of Life bent, produced by Bob Boyle and Nick Jennings with no involvement from McCracken.
- Powerpuff (TBA): A live-action adaptation
created by Greg Berlanti for The CW. This incarnation follows the girls as young adults trying to live normal adult lives after a childhood of crimefighting, only to begrudgingly find themselves becoming superheroes once again. Originally planned for the 2021-22 season, poor internal response to the pilot lead to them reworking the concept; months later, Chloe Bennet (who was cast as Blossom) would exit the series due to scheduling conflicts, leaving it currently unknown if the series will ever see greenlight.
Movies:
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002): An origin story of the girls' creation, early days and how they became the protectors of Townsville. The first theatrical movie based on a Cartoon Network property.
Specials:
- The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!! (2009): Created for the franchise's 10th anniversary, written and directed by Craig McCracken. Word of God considers this to be the Grand Finale for the original show.
- The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed (2014): A second special, directed by David P. Smith and the first Western Powerpuff Girls production to be done without McCracken's involvement. Featured Ringo Starr. Noted for being entirely CGI animated.
- TTG v PPG : A crossover between the 2016 series and Teen Titans Go!.
Comic Books:
- DC Comics Issues (1999-2006)
- CN Block Party: Merged into this series along with other CN series after main comics ended, ended in 2009.
- IDW Comics Issues: Picked up the license from DC in 2012; original six issue series followed. Also publishes comics for the 2016 series
- Cartoon Network Super Secret Crisis War: Part of a crossover with Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Ben 10 Omniverse and Ed, Ed and Eddy.
- Super Smash-Up: Another crossover which sees the girls visiting different dimensions inhabited by other CN shows.
Video Games:
Consoles:
- The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction (2001) An arena fighter, similar in the vein of Power Stone (Playstation, Nintendo 64)
- The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage (2002) (Playstation 2, Gamecube) A free roam action game.
Handhelds:
- The Powerpuff Girls: Bad Mojo Jojo (2000) (Game Boy Color)
- The Powerpuff Girls: Paint the Townsville Green (2000) (Game Boy Color)
- The Powerpuff Girls: Battle HIM (2001) (Game Boy Color)
- The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo A-Go-Go (2001) (Game Boy Advance)
- The Powerpuff Girls: HIM and Seek (2002) (Game Boy Advance)
- Game de Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z (lit Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z: The Game) (2007) (Nintendo DS, never released outside of Japan)
PC:
- The Powerpuff Girls: Gamesville (2002)
- The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo's Clone Zone
- The Powerpuff Girls: Princess Snorebucks
- The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo's Pet Project
- The Powerpuff Girls: Defenders of Townsville
Music:
Albums featuring music inspired by the original show.- Heroes & Villains (2000)
- The City of Soundsville (2001)
- Power Pop (2003)
Crossovers:
- Cartoon Network Racing (2006)
- FusionFall (2009): An MMO crossover with the girls making guest appearances.
- Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion (2011): A crossover fighting game with the girls as playable characters.
- LEGO Dimensions (2017): 2 packs consisting of a Team Pack and a Fun Pack renders all 3 girls playable, and an Adventure World adapting the show is also included. All of these are based on the 2016 series.
