Let me just say up front, this post is not going to be about the awful Powerpuff Girls reboot that Cartoon Network recently produced. I’ve had a much more fun watching its scathing reviews than I’ve even attempted watching the actual show.
I was a huge Powerpuff Girls fan when I was a kid! So, I want nothing to do with the pandering memes, twerking characters, and poor animation of this new reboot. However, it did make me think of what I would like to see as a Powerpuff Girls reboot. These are my thoughts…
The original show ran from 1998-2005. This was the childhood of Gen-Y. Reboot it for its original audience, not Gen-Z. Feed our nostalgia, but keep our age in mind. What happens to Cartoon Network kids when they grow up? Adult Swim.
Fan art by Karl Liversidge
A gritty reboot of The Powerpuff girls would be awesome! Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are sexy, adult badasses who – when they aren’t kicking ass at their individual hobbies – save the day. Staying as true to the source material as possible, reimagine The Powerpuff Girls for a more mature audience.
The opening would be a dubstep remix of the original. The narrator would have a cooler, grunge tone. The animation style would be very dark, but artistic – think Black Dynamite meets Samurai Jack.
- Blossom: The HBIC; runs some business or club with an iron fist
- Bubbles: Cute, seductive voice; the most gentle yet the most ruthless if you get her angry enough
- Buttercup: Daredevil; doesn’t talk much; most badass on a regular basis
The Professor (in more of a Charlie of Charlie’s Angels role than a father), The Mayor, and Miss Bellum should be featured. No Miss Keane – they’re not in preschool anymore.
Twisted versions of Mojo Jojo, Him, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and other villains should make an appearance, too, as old episodes are revamped with a TV-MA rating. For example:
The episode “Buttercrush”, where Buttercup has a crush on Ace from the Gang Green Gang, would be so cool if The Gang Green Gang was a badass motorcycle gang that Buttercup secretly joined. When she realizes she’s being used and her sisters are in danger, Buttercup beats the living crap out of Ace in a cool anime-style fight.
The late time-slot allows for more graphic violence, profanity, smoking, and more overtly sexual themes (e.g. Sedusa), and keeping the stories and characters relatively similar feeds that nostalgia and reminds you that this is still The Powerpuff Girls. That’s what makes a good reboot.
Very Geeky Girl 