Powerpuff Girls

▪ American television series

      American animated television series starring a trio of preschool-age girls who possess superpowers.

      The Powerpuff Girls, defenders of the fictional metropolis Townville, consist of the red-haired, level-headed leader, Blossom; the sweet, blonde, and often underestimated Bubbles; and the quick-tempered, black-haired Buttercup. According to series lore, the good-hearted scientist Professor Utonium was attempting to engineer perfect little girls in his lab when a mystery ingredient called Chemical X was accidentally added to the mix. The result was the three superheroines, whose round heads resembled powder puffs.

      During the experiment-gone-awry the professor's lab-assistant monkey mutated into an evil genius, Mojo Jojo, who would become the girls' greatest foe. The Powerpuff Girls took up the mantle of heroism, fighting a number of nasty villains, including the one-celled gangsters the Amoeba Boys, the lobster-clawed Him, the wily and nefarious Sedusa, and a group of juvenile delinquents known as the Gangreen Gang.

      Animator Craig McCracken first created the Powerpuff Girls (though under a different name) while he was a student in the California Institute of the Arts' character-animation program. After finishing school, he sold the concept to producers Hanna and Barbera, and the series premiered in 1998 on cable television's Cartoon Network. Although it appealed to children, the Powerpuff Girls was noted for its adult elements of camp and irony. It satirized Japanese special-effects shows of the 1960s and '70s, and frequently paid homage to the pop culture of that era. The series became a sensation on the air, and a feature-length motion picture followed in 2002.

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