How A Cartoon About Superpowered Kindergarteners Changed Everything Forever 💗💙💚

It is Women's History Month, so I thought it'd be relevant to tackle The Powerpuff Girls and how it had a huge impact on not only Cartoon Network, but society as a whole. It may seem like a "Barbie-type" show at first glance.... it's really anything but.

The Powerpuff Girls centers around a trio of kindergarten girls named Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup; together, they use their powers to defend The City Of Townsville from crime and harm. By day, they are making crafts and playing make-believe.... but by night, they are karate-bound superheroes who could make even the most hardened criminal run for their mommy. If you don't know how old the girls are supposed to be, the general consensus among people is that they're aged between 5 and 6-years old.... so yeah, they're 5 (though you could say they're 6 at the most since they once celebrated a birthday). Just think about this for a second: a 5-6 year old girl twisting the wrists of a mafia boss 😮 Most kids that age would probably piss themselves out of fear or run off crying.... not these kids. If anything, they scare the monsters under their bed.

Other characters include their father/creator, Professor Utonium; their teacher Ms. Keane; the goofy Mayor of Townsville and his far smarter assistant, Ms. Bellum; the comic relief pet Talking Dog; and the class rebel Mitch Mitchelson (and their other classmates).

As for the villains, we have Mojo Jojo, who is the Professor's former lab assistant/pet turned supervillain chimpanzee. His goal is to take over the world and destroy The Powerpuff Girls. There's also flamboyant devil HIM; spoiled brat Princess Morbucks; the incompetent Amoeba Boys; ill-tempered hillbilly Fuzzy Lumpkins; a group of delinquent teenagers called The Gangreen Gang; beautiful b-word Sedusa; and the girls' bad male counterparts The Rowdyruff Boys.... think of them being like the Wario to the PPG's Mario.

Created by Craig McCracken (who also made Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder, and Kid Cosmic), the show is often brought up in conversations concerning the idea of "girl power" in animation. Well, he wasn't concerned about that; he just wanted to make a funny cartoon about little girls with superpowers. Still, the show continues to be brought up in discussions about female empowerment, nonetheless. The episode, "Equal Fights" further supported the idea of female empowerment.

The episode focuses on an angry blonde woman named Femme Fatale, who tries to push her idea of feminism among the citizens of Townsville. She manages to successfully fool The Powerpuff Girls (they bully their male classmates at school and refuse to do anything about The Professor and Mayor). Being naïve children, they manage to temporarily believe "all men are bad". This is reversed when Ms. Keane and Ms. Bellum sit them down for a talk and knock some sense into their heads.

The girls proceed to recite facts about Susan B. Anthony (rather impressive for kindergarteners) and ultimately give Femme Fatale a taste of her own medicine. And so once again the day is saved, thanks to The Powerpuff Girls.

The reason why The Powerpuff Girls is often brought up in discussions concerning girls/women in animation as a whole is simply due to the fact it was probably one of the earliest cartoons where girls played the role of the hero rather than the damsel in distress or love interest. I'm sure there were other shows from before that had capable girls as protagonists.... but still, girls (especially preschool and elementary-aged girls) loved seeing little girls like them be able to defend themselves and kick serious butt; they'd wish they'd do the same to their own bullies. And it wasn't just girls either; even boys loved The Powerpuff Girls, which was what Craig McCracken intended for his audience to be all along: everyone of all ages and genders. There were reports of boys being scared to have admitted to watching the show though (likely because the merchandising, not the actual show, was girly as hell). No kidding, pretty much all merchandise was aimed exclusively toward girls. And despite the show not being anywhere close to "girly", it still had very adorable, tiny little girls as protagonists. For outsiders, The Powerpuff Girls is a "Barbie or My Little Pony-type" show about little girls doing normal little girl things (which isn't true at all). Yes, it does happen sometimes, but a greater emphasis is placed on their crime-fighting and wild adventures. They're only shown doing normal kid things to remind us that while they're superheroes, they're still little girls. That's why they were shown at kindergarten even from the first pilot episode; it's like they really wanted to hammer it down your throat that they're superhero kids. Nonetheless, it was rather revolutionary for not only Cartoon Network, but animation as a whole.... it proved that even girls can make for engaging, capable protagonists without alienating boys. It was witty, charming, and had a unique premise to boot.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk 😌

doubledyke

mar-saturn

On an almost spring night, Nazz saw Ed lying in the garden of the house where they were all sleeping together. She came over and lay down with him. He, happy to see her, began to tell her about the figures he saw in the sky, formed by the brightest stars ✨🌌