The Powerpuff Girls Movie

The Powerpuff Girls Movie is a 2002 American animated superhero film based on the Cartoon Network animated television series The Powerpuff Girls. It was co-written and directed by series' creator Craig McCracken (in his feature-length directorial debut), co-written by Charlie Bean, Lauren Faust, Paul Rudish, and Don Shank. The film serves as a prequelto the series, and tells the origin story of how the Powerpuff Girls were created and came to be the defenders of Townsville and how Mojo Jojo became a supervillain. It was the first theatrical film to be based on a Cartoon Network series, The Powerpuff Girls Movie was released in theaters on July 3, 2002, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Voice Cast

Japanese

English

Trivia

• During the PPG argument, the first channel shown in this movie was CTN News. It might stand for Car(C)toon(T) Network(N) and a parody of CNN News and the CTW (from Sesame Street (until Season 32)) sign. It was later seen again as Buttercup flew upward and left the Talking Dog in front of the building.
• During the part where all three girls lose their self-esteem from watching the news, Master Shake, Meatwad and Frylock from Aqua Teen Hunger Force make a cameo in one of the TV screens.
• The Movie takes by the flashback in Prime Mates where Mojo Jojo saws a mutated monkey with no brain named Mopey Popo.
• Fuzzy Lumpkins makes a cameo appearance at the beginning, robbing the grocery store. And at the end, he is seen in jail with Mojo Jojo and The Gangreen Gang. Also, he does not speak whatsoever.
• The Powerpuff Girls Movie is the first theatrical film to be based on a Cartoon Network show. The Powerpuff Girls Movie is also the first movie to be produced by Cartoon Network and Moving Pictures.
• The drawing Bubbles drew of herself, her sisters and the Professor and the wanted poster of the four are pieces of fan art used in it. They were winners of a drawing contest Cartoon Network held.
• At the end of this movie, during the newly introduced 2002-2005 animated episode outro, the Narrator doesn't say the "once again" part of "The day is saved" narration because the movie explains how the girls were first created, The Narrator says "for the very first time" instead.
• The British virtual band Gorillaz makes a cameo in a newspaper.
• Bubbles was the only Powerpuff Girl glaring at the camera.
• According to a deleted scene on the movie DVD, the timeline of the movie was supposed to be two weeks, with the time-span of the girls helping Jojo build the volcano-top lair taking place over four nights, instead of one.
• This movie seems to contradict the flashback scenes in "Mr. Mojo's Rising", but the beginning of the movie could possibly reflect how much Jojo was being ignored and forgotten, given that we never see him.
• Mojo Jojo's Mo' Mojo form makes another appearance as his special attack in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion.
• Professor Utonium didn't wear his overcoat the first day.
• It is unknown why the powers Mojo gained when the Powerpuff Girls were created weren't drained away by the Antidote X.
• Bubbles beats up Snake and Grubber at the end of this movie in the exact same way Blossom beats them up in the episode "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey".
• Dexter made a cameo on a car when Blossom said that the people are safe.
• This is the only time The Gangreen Gang went to jail.
• As the Powerpuff logo zooms out, the word "Movie" doesn't appear on the bottom.
• The Narrator only narrates at the beginning and end of the movie.
• Despite being a major box office bomb during original theatrical release, the film was soon rushed to home video and has managed to gain a cult following ever since among Powerpuff Girls fans.
• Buttercup saying the phrase "Get your hands off him, you darn dirty ape!" is a reference to the 1968 film Planet of the Apes.
• In theaters, a Dexter's Laboratory short entitled "Chicken Scratch" was shown prior to the film, which later aired as an episode of that series' fourth season.
• If the film had been more successful, other Cartoon Network movies would have been made.
• When giant Mojo Jojo rips open the side of the building he's climbing with the Powerpuff Girls in tow, it shows the interior of the second floor of Cartoon Network studios with caricatures of the actual employees.
• According to the Hollywood Reporter, the principal voice actresses Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and Elizabeth Daily went on strike because they felt they weren't being paid enough to do a movie, so Cartoon Network threatened to replace them with more popular voice actresses for the movie as well as for the TV series. Fortunately, a deal was made and Cavadini, Strong and Daily were able to reprise their respective roles as Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
• The date on the town's newspaper is Wednesday July 3, 2002, the day that the movie opened in the USA.
• The newspaper reporting the girls "tag" disaster has a picture of Powerpuff creator and director Craig McCracken in the top corner.
• The television scene which Mojo Jojo punches during the opening credit sequence displays an image from Craig McCracken's student film Whoopass Stew! (1992), which was the basis of the original The Powerpuff Girls (1998) series.
• When Mojo Jojo is reading the newspaper, on the back of it, there is an advertisement for the band "Gorillaz", the world's first virtual band. The title of the article states, "Gorillaz playing at Townsville Music Festival!". This was when Gorillaz released their first studio self-titled album back in 2001. This counts as the first time Gorillaz are featured in a Cartoon Network cartoon. Ace from the Gangreen Gang would later become a temporary member of the band in 2018 after Murdoc got arrested, confirming that both The Powerpuff Girls and Gorillaz are canon and part of the same universe.
• While the Mayor is watching from his big window as the Powerpuff Girls are wreaking havoc, Bubbles's blue trail spells out her name in longhand.
• According to Craig McCracken, the executives gave him the freedom of creativity and went on to make it the way he wanted to. Then new executives arrived, who saw the completed film and said they should make it a colorful film; he calls this conflict in style as one of the reasons for the film to flop at the box-office.
• In The Powerpuff Girls: Who, What, Where, How, Why... Who Cares? (2009), Craig McCracken expressed his disappointment with the movie, wishing he had made it brighter and sillier and not too heavy the whole time.
• According to Craig McCracken, he said that he and the team behind the movie met the band Gorillaz and asked if they can do a song for the movie, but there were scheduling conflicts.
• Roger Jackson almost fainted while recording the Mojo Jojo's speech after his minions turn on him.
• During the television sequence, there are two characters in front of a record store being interviewed. Their lines are made up of Van Halen song titles.
• The registration plate on Professor Utonium's car reads "PRFDADY".
• Genndy Tartakovsky co-directed the film but didn't received any credit in the end.
• When the girls are watching the news reports about them, right after they walked off and just before the report on the Professor's arrest came on, the TV's show a news flash screen with cloud and thunderbolts. That is the same one used on the "News Flash" on older episodes of Sesame Street.
• During the part where all three girls lose their self-esteem from watching the news, Master Shake, Meatwad and Frylock from Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000) make a cameo in one of the TV screens.
• During their game of 'Tag' at the beginning of the movie (around 16:40), the sound effect of the DeLorean Time Machine revving up in Back to the Future (1985) can be heard as the girls fly away from the tower.
• The British virtual band Gorillaz makes a cameo in a newspaper.
• The Professor's car is a simplified version of the Studebaker Avanti, which was produced in 1962 and 1963.
• Townsville gets the most destruction in the movie, more than any other time in The Powerpuff Girls (1998).
• According to a deleted scene on the movie DVD, the timeline of the movie was supposed to be two weeks, with the time-span of the girls helping Jojo build the volcano-top lair taking place over four nights, instead of one.
• This movie seems to contradict the flashback scenes in "Major Competition/Mr. Mojo's Rising (1999)", but the beginning of the movie could possibly reflect how much Jojo was being ignored and forgotten, given that we never see him.
• Mojo Jojo's Mo' Mojo form makes another appearance as his special attack in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion (2011).
• It is unknown why the powers Mojo gained when the Powerpuff Girls were created weren't drained away by the Antidote X.
• This is the first Powerpuff Girls movie produced by Cartoon Network Studios without a division of Hanna-Barbera, until it was shut down in 2001 and was folded into Warner Bros. Animation. Also, this is the only Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. feature movie to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios until Teen Titans GO! To the Movies (2018), which was now produced by Warner Bros. Animation instead of Cartoon Network, released sixteen years later.
• At the time of its original release, June 7, 2002, the film received some criticism for being dark and having Townsville destroyed; the late was because of the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, critics and parents at the time didn't find suitable that the creators wrote a film with scenes of destruction on a kids movie. The movie was a disappointment at the box office and Craig McCraken became dissatisfied with it. HOWEVER, with the 2016 series' reboot and the 20th anniversary of the show, the film has received more acceptance and appreciation from the fans that it has gathered some "cult following", later in 2018 fans had started a petition for Warner Bros. to release the film for a Blu-ray remastered edition.
• Almost at the end of the movie, when the Mayor is asking the girls to protect the city, you will see a man wearing Johnny Bravo's clothes behind the Mayor.
• The film was reserved poorly by critics because it was dark. The film also bombed at the box office, hence the reason why further movies from Cartoon Network went straight to television.
• The plans for Mojo Jojo's "make the city a better place" machine have the serial number "PPG-801." Originally, the film was set to release on 8-01-02 (August 1st). Numerous other references to 801 appear in the film.
• Phil LaMarr's first theatrically released animated film, later he'd go onto voice the Prawn Shop Owner in Shark Tale (2004), the Fabric Merchant in Battle in Battle for Terra (2007), a tour guide in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), Ernesto the Rat and Wood the Pig in Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs Evil (2011), the Announcer Bird in Zambezia (2012), one of the elders in Khumba (2013), and Helectrix, Krushaur, and the Judge in Incredibles 2 (2018) as well as appearing as an additional voice in TMNT (2007), Bolt (2008), Cars 2 (2011), Monsters University (2013), Inside Out (2015), Minions (2015), Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), Cars 3 (2017), The Emoji Movie (2017), and Smallfoot (2018).
• 13 Year-old Laura Kramer won the Be an artist contest and was credited in the film. The youngest animator to work on an animated theatrical feature film.
• Cartoon Network held a Be A Artist contest for a chance to get your drawing featured in the movie. 10 finalists were chosen, and the winner with the most online votes gets the grand prize: your drawing will be featured in the movie.
• 'The Powerpuff Girls Movie' was originally intended for a fall 2001 release, but due to the 9/11 attacks that destroyed the twin towers in New York City, it was later moved to summer of 2002. It pushed back to June 7, July 5 and August 2 before getting its final release date of July 3. However, it was box office failure.
• The Movie takes by the flashback in Prime Mates where Mojo Jojo saws a mutated monkey with no brain named Mopey Popo.
• The Powerpuff Girls Movie is the first Hollywood film to be based on a Cartoon Network show. The Powerpuff Girls Movie is also the first movie to be produced by Cartoon Network and Moving Pictures.
• This is the first Powerpuff Girls movie not to feature the Hanna-Barbera logo at the end.
• This is the first Powerpuff Girls movie to feature the new Cartoon Network Studios logo at the end.
• Production on this movie began in late 1999, and it was made by Hanna-Barbera productions. But then after Hanna-Barbera shut down and was folded into Warner Bros. Animation after the death of William Hanna in 2001, Cartoon Network Studios took over to finish this movie back in March 2001 and its release was delayed until July 2002. Due to the box-office disappointment of this movie, creator Craig McCracken left to work on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and was replaced by Chris Savino after the movie released.
• This was the last movie where Genndy Tartakovskyworked on prior to his work for Samurai Jack (2001), but until the movie's release he is worked on for the film.
• This is the first Powerpuff Girls movie to have a new 2002-2004 opening intro and closing credits.
• This is the first Powerpuff Girls movie to have a new 2002-2004 design.
• This is the first Powerpuff Girls movie not produced by Hanna-Barbera productions after it closed down in 2001.
• This is the first movie to use a 'Cartoon Network Studios' byline trademark.
• Production on this movie began in October 2001 and ended sometimes in June 2002.