The Powerpuff Girls (2016 TV series)

Plot

The Powerpuff Girls, featuring Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, are three superheroes whose purpose is to reduce crime in between living a normal childhood.

Production

Cartoon Network announced on June 16, 2014, that they had revived The Powerpuff Girls in a new series, which was to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios. In their 2015 upfront on February 19, the network announced that Nick Jennings would be its executive producer. Bob Boyle, who previously has produced Clarence, has created Disney XD's Yin Yang Yo! and Nickelodeon's Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and also former producer and art director of the Butch Hartman's animated series The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom would also produce. Meanwhile, Craig McCracken, the creator of The Powerpuff Girls, would not work on the series. Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li and Natalie Palamides were announced as the new voice actors of the main characters, playing Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, respectively, replacing the original voice actors Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and Elizabeth Daily. However, Tom Kenny reprises his roles as the Mayor and narrator, while Tom Kane reprises his roles as Professor Utonium and Him. In April 2016, Jennings revealed that the producers had considered bringing back the original voice actors for the new series, but decided that recasting the roles would infuse new energy. After the network revealed multiple promotional images from the new series in June 2015, writers from news sites described the visual look as similar to the original series, despite the 15th anniversary special Dance Pantsed, which was broadcast on January 20, 2014, featuring a different art style rendered in 3D. Meanwhile, Roger L. Jackson reprises as Mojo Jojo and Jennifer Hale reprises as Ms. Keane, but not as Princess Morbucks. On May 26, 2016, Natalie Palamides confirmed that the show has been renewed for a second season. The reboot had a crossover with Teen Titans Go! that aired on June 30, 2016.

Broadcast

The series premiered in the United States and Canada on Cartoon Network on April 4, 2016. The series was released across the Asia-Pacific region on April 9 and in Africa on April 30. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it premiered on Cartoon Network on April 25 and on November 7 on CITV. In Australia, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 9 and additionally airs on Go!. In the Philippines, it debuted on October 15 on TV5 as one of the two new Cartoon Network shows on the channel along with We Bare Bears.

The series also premiered in the United States and Latin America on Cartoon Network's sister network, Boomerang on November 1, 2016.

Critical reception

The series was met with mixed reviews from critics and generally negative reactions from fans who criticized the show's drop in quality compared to the original TV series. Henry Solotaroff-Webber of The Badger Herald enjoyed the series, saying "Overall, this new rendition of a classic animated program is a triumph in my eyes. It recaptures much of what made the last show so important for kids to see while still thoroughly scratching a nostalgia itch for those looking to go back." IGN gave the premiere episode "Man Up" an 8.0 out of 10, saying "While the new voice cast will take some getting used to, and the absence of Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily is strongly felt, the show still manages to capture the essence of the Powerpuff Girls." The Nerdist gave the first two episodes a 4.5 out of 5, saying "if you loved the original show, chances are you'll love these new episodes." Screen Rants gave it a positive review, saying "Although the revival doesn't quite hit the mark on what made audiences fall in love with McCracken's original series, The Powerpuff Girls is an excellent addition to the franchise."

The Occidental Weekly lamented that the series "lacks the impeccable comedic timing and wit of the original" and called the voice acting "mediocre at best", while also criticizing the subpar writing. Slate was critical of the show's "self-conscious" feminist overtones, and compared the show unfavorably to the original, particularly the second-season episode "The Powerpuff Girls' Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever". Polygon criticized that the show lost what they considered made the original so special: "fighting seems like an afterthought, as if Cartoon Network wants to keep the Girls a safe distance from the fray", and that the show was a "step backward, not forward". Jessica Swartz of Inverse said that new viewers might not know who the villains are or what their motivations are, as no introduction was given to the characters. Swartz also went on to say that the show focuses too much on the main characters, and overall called it a "mediocre cartoon". Shelby Watson of The All State praised the show's voice acting, but criticized the show's increased focus on the girls' domestic lives rather than fighting crime, and was especially critical of the animation, writing: "The animation is beyond lazy... the art direction itself is catastrophic. Animators routinely forget their own rules on how to animate their characters, leading to a disjointed style that just comes across like the animators don’t care." Watson also noted other technical problems in the series, such as inconsistencies in character design or misuse of perspective, saying that they "shouldn't happen in a professional studio."

Original participants

Cavadini, Daily, and Strong were displeased to learn the main characters had been recast; Strong called it "a stab in the heart" on Twitter. She had announced after the upfront in February that this was a "strictly creative" decision by the network, though in June of the same year said that the network had never contacted any of the three actresses prior to the decision to recast. In an interview with The Comic Book Cast in May 2015, Kenny suggested that McCracken "does give it his blessing", but in May 2016 McCracken denied doing so on his Twitter posts, commenting that he had never given the new reboot his official blessing. McCracken also wished Cartoon Network had stopped their plans for a reboot of the original Powerpuff Girls property but that he acknowledges from a financial view why the new series was commissioned.

"Horn, Sweet Horn" controversy

The season one episode "Horn, Sweet Horn" received scrutiny from the media after the episode's handling of transgender themes prompted criticism from LGBTQA viewers. Sulagna Misra, writing for Fusion's official website, described the character Donny as an "interesting metaphor for transgender identity" but saw poor judgment in the choice to present the transformed character as a monster. She found the larger topic of identity reversed by making the plot so "convoluted" and preferred if the character's monstrous transformation had been a temporary gag instead. Marie Solis of Mic also viewed the episode as a failed attempt to convey social issues, on par with the "Twisted Sister" episode from the 1998 Powerpuff Girls series, in which the main characters conjure up a mentally challenged and physically deformed sister. Dorian Dawes of the magazine Bitch was extremely critical of the episode, calling its message questionable and dangerous in the wake of the House Bill 2 controversy. Dawes denounced the episode as irresponsible to the series' primary demographic and felt it was written solely to make the producers feel righteous about their inclusion of transgender themes. It was eventually revealed that the episode's writer did not even intend for the episode to be about gender identity, and it was merely marketed as such.

Female modifications

For the reboot, it was announced that the character Ms. Bellum would be written off the show, her only appearance being the episode "Bye Bye, Bellum". In an interview with LA Times, Nick Jennings explained "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" "And that was a good choice I think on our part". This change caused a negative response from critics and fans of the original show, who complained that Ms. Bellum's character was just removed for looking too sexy. The character model for Ms. Keane was modified as well, removing her bustline entirely and giving her outfit longer sleeves.

Toys

Before the show premiered, a toy line for the series was announced to be released in 2016 by Spin Master, with more toys set to be released in 2017. The toys include the new 2-in-1 playsets and more

From June 14 to July 5, 2016, the series had released mini action figures, rings, and collectibles in McDonald's Happy Meals in the United States.

Comic books

In April 2016, it was announced that a new line of Powerpuff Girls comic books would be released in July of that year, being published by IDW Publishing (who has also published comic books for the original series).