Toony Tuesday: The (New) Powerpuff Girls

Hello, everyone. And welcome to the first edition of Toony Tuesday. And what way to start off a new segment on a new blog than with a review of...a revival of an old animated series?
Yep.
It's the 2016 revival/reboot of The Powerpuff Girls.



When Cartoon Network announced in June 2014 that it would revive The Powerpuff Girls--one of its best and most beloved original series of the Cartoon Cartoons era (and still memorable today), I just rolled my eyes in annoyance and irritability.

In my opinion on revivals, I don't like the concept very much, especially during this decade. Many of them have come from the woodwork as of late, and while some are deserving of a resurrection (Fuller House, Hey Arnold!, Arrested Development, Gilmore Girls, DuckTales, Twin Peaks and the upcoming return of Samurai Jack), almost none of others were/still are needed (Coach [which was later cancelled], Heroes Reborn, Legends of the Hidden Temple [A MOVIE!!], MacGyver Celebrity Deathmatch and The Tick).

One of the latter in my opinion was The Powerpuff Girls, an supremely awesome show from when I was a kid, and still is now that I'm an adul(lescen)t. But after the announcement (and the terrible "Dance Pantsed" special from 2014, which I'm not touching with a 20-foot pole), I was really peeved. (What also makes me peeved is the new voices/actors of the titular Powerpuffs, but I'll get to that in a little bit.)

But I alas thought, "It can't be that. I mean, they're putting effort into this." So I thought it's best to try it our with fresh eyes and not let the original series get that nostalgia bug up my butt for too long. So let's check it out for my sake.


The animation is really nice. I like and enjoy the smooth fluid look throughout; it's not like the original, with its harder, rougher style (hey, that was the 90s; things were different then). I really enjoy the movements of the characters and specially the fight scenes, as what "Man Up" gave us. (the 'fire and waaaater" scenes were really cool too.)
Also, the new design of the Girls' and Professor Utonium's house looks super cool to me. This one adds some color and a layer of interest into the house, making the original look even duller than it was years ago (and I don't mind it at all).
That's one reason to watch the series without thoughts of the original blocking it.

The new(er) Powerpuff Girls

The Girls themselves are more or less (definitely less) the same crime-fighting, preschool-learning young firecrackers we've known and loved since adulthood, with nice little new(er) looks in designs, hairstyles and voices.
-Blossom now sports a bigger, rounder bow,
-Bubbles now wears scrunchies on her pigtails, and
-Buttercup has a cowlick over the left side of her hair.
It's not major, but still noticeable and is a nice indicator of the reboot.
What is major, though, is their voices, which (I don't even have to tell you) are definitely different.

The Girls, in this version, are voiced by Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li, and Natalie Palamides; they are replacing Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, and Elizabeth Daily of the original. I was pretty crushed to learn that the latter three wouldn't return for this series, but I understood why. Cartoon Network didn't even contact them about offering them to reprise their roles, and that they'd plan to replace them.
(Umm...HELL TO THE NO.)
Even more frustrated and heartbroken about it was Tara, who posted this tweet:

I don't remember ordering a stab in the heart today https://t.co/wmomYvtCDG

— tara strong (@tarastrong) June 8, 2015

You can definitely feel her pain and betrayal.
Alas, she wished no ill will to her (and her former co-stars') replacements, with this tweet sending solidarity and good luck:

I have NO ILL FEELINGS 4 the actresses in the new #ppg, We were just beyond hurt we were NEVER asked..every role I breathe life into I love

— tara strong (@tarastrong) June 9, 2015

I need a bit of luck myself trying to adjust to these new voices.
Blossom's is a little more high-pitched, Bubbles' is less cutesy and slightly more deep, and Buttercup's is much less gruff and much more...Max Black.

Seriously, there has to be a comparison between them.
To be honest, I actually kinda like new Bubbles' and new Buttercup's voices more than new Blossom's, which to be honest, sounds like a kid Caroline. Which goes back to--and even expands--my Buttercup/Max parallel.
I am very mixed with the new voices of the Powerpuffs. I like them a lot in their own right...but they're not those of Cathy, Tara and E.G., so that really hurts my heart (Maybe from a stab). I don't feel malicious at all towards the new actress at all, and I do wish them well as the voices of the Girls from now on.
Even more happily, some of the other voice actors from the original have returned, like Tom Kenny as "The Narrator" and The Mayor, Tom Kane as Professor Utonium and Jennifer Hale as Ms. Bellum (the woman we all wet-dreamed to in childhood) and Medusa. Having them all still work on this version is a brilliant decision, makes the series more exciting and memorable and saves it from outright outright condemnation. It still doesn't feel right without the main three, though; it would've felt like a perfect reunion with our childhoods.

The humor of this series is a lot different than the original: It feels a lot more girly. What made the original so awesome is the fact that it didn't just cater to girls; but to boys and adults too. That was a major reason why my siblings and I (who were almost all boys) loved this show when we were kids. And now watching this...it just doesn't feel right. At all.

The fact that original series creator Craig McCracken is not taking part in this revival series is the second worst of the whole ordeal. He basically built the original with his own hands and put a lot of sugar, spice and...you know into it, along with a lot of love too. And our love, dedication and devotion to it was proof. And now that he's not there, it just hurts.
I have some faith that the producers here, Nick Jennings and Bob Boyle, will do their very best to make this a close to memorable as the original. I like what they've done so far, so I hope their future plans will keep me around.

There's one last thing I'd like to say here. It's because of the new PPG that I had to go back and revisit the original after so many years. And the feeling of watching it again gives me intense feels of watching it as a kid again. I loved watching it with my family, so watching this now, today, was a hugely great feeling.

Well, those are my thoughts on the new Powerpuff Girls.
There are things I really like (the return of the original supporting voice actors and the nice animation style) and things I don't like (the original three voice actors didn't return, the fact that CN ordered a revival in the first place, and that the revival craze still hasn't died down yet)

Thanks for checking out this Review of the reboot of the Powerpuff Girls.
I'll be back soon with another one. See you later!