The Powerpuff Girls Movie

2002 / DVD

fantasy elements

Review

In the city of Townsville, the rectangularly-visaged Professor sets about creating the perfect little girls, from sugar, spice, and all that's nice -- but a laboratory accident adds some Chemical X, and the result is the round-headed, round-eyed Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, superhero tots. Oh, and also, as a side-effect, Mojo Jojo, the large-brained, evil ape. The girls accidentally wreck Townsville during an energetic game of tag, and are denounced by its citizens. Saddened, they are approached by Mojo Jojo, who tricks them into building a Make-the-Town-a-Better-Place machine. But it only makes the town a better place for Jojo, and a gang of uplifted simians wreak havoc. The girls fight back, beat Jojo, and normality is restored, and the girls are asked to stay on as superheroes, to make Townsville a better place.

The plot is trivial, the animation minimal. What makes this fun is the sly, tongue-in-cheek, self-mocking approach. The portentous voice-over, the surreality of superheroes "saving the world before bedtime", the Mayor's faceless secretary, the silliness of Jojo's evil plots, the outrageousness of his super-villain speeches, combine to make this funny enough for adults to enjoy.

Rating: 4