Susan Granger’s review of “The Powerpuff Girls” (Warner Bros.)
If it seems like there are more family films right now, that’s true. There are 40 G and PG-rated movies set for this summer – and it’s already paying off at the box-office. Most of these have moderate budgets and a built-in small-fry audience who bring along their parents. The heroines of this animated adventure are the squeaky-voiced, saucer-eyed five year-old triplets who have captivated the Cartoon Network. Created by director Craig McCracken with a collaborative screenplay by Charlie Bean, Lauren Faust, Paul Rudish and Don Shank, the story tells how they were accidentally created in the laboratory of Professor Utonium (voiced by Tom Kane). Each energy-propelled girl has a distinctive signature color. Redheaded Blossom (voiced by Catherine Cavadini) is the leader. Adorable, blond Bubbles (voiced by Tara Strong) is the artist, and green-tinted, brunette Buttercup (voiced by E.G. Daily) is the feisty fighter. Narrated by the Mayor (Tom Kenny) of Townsville, the good vs. evil plot shows how the sly kindergarten girls must earn their superhero status after making two disastrous mistakes which nearly destroy the city which they’re supposed to protect. Eventually, they marshal their forces to battle the nefarious outcast monkey, Mojo Jojo (voiced by Roger L. Jackson), and his ape army of warlords who have been instructed: “Wake up and seize the town!” While there are some raucous, scary scenes of destruction and death, they should not adversely affect the rambunctious rugrats who routinely view this kind of cartoon mayhem on the tube. Think of the violence in “Pokemon.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Powerpuff Girls” is a fast, frenetic, funny, even punny 6 – aimed specifically at a grade-school audience. More power to the teensy, candy-colored trio!
