|
The dark side of the fun
[Warner Bros. Pictures]
The Powerpuff Girls -- Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles -- get caught up in the sinister world of Mojo Jojo, left. Given the movie’s focus on the dark and eerie, young filmgoers could, too. |
The Powerpuff Girls Movie fails to capture the Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup we know, instead focusing on their growth from destructive whirlwinds to determined do-gooders.
By BILLY NORRIS
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 4, 2002
What do you get when you mix sugar, spice and everything nice? In the case of The Powerpuff Girls Movie, you get a truly bizarre film.
Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup are the Powerpuff Girls, a sisterhood of young ones created by Professor Utonium, who blended the above ingredients to come up with a dream trio of daughters. But he accidentally added Chemical X, a mystery substance that gave the girls superpowers.
So begins this strange animated feature film based on the popular TV series on the Cartoon Network. Are the girls as perfect as they're intended to be? Not really. The main purpose of this film seems to be explaining how the Powerpuff Girls evolved into the sweet, young, evil-fighting superheroes portrayed on the show.
But it takes way too long to reach that point. What kind of impressions are made on young viewers when these so-called superheroes are shown wreaking havoc on a city and destroying everything in sight without a second thought? The last time I checked, a kids movie is supposed to be happy-go-lucky, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but this was dark and eerie. More than half the film showcased bad morals, showing the girls constantly fighting with one another and having zero respect for people, places or things. Then, the girls help the main villain, a crazed ape named Mojo Jojo, create a device to develop mutant monkeys to help him in his quest to take over the world.
Sure, the girls didn't know at the time what they were getting into, but what kind of a frenzied message was this sending?
Not until three quarters of the way into the film did these wild little beings realize they'd been doing wrong, and they finally decided to devote their lives to fighting evil. That's way too much time spent emphasizing the dark side in a film that is 100 percent geared toward children.
To those who have not been indoctrinated by the television show (which seems totally innocent compared with the film) this movie appears perverse. The show features bratty but cute characters, bright backgrounds and positive messages. There is cartoon-style violence, but it is not as graphic (fights are obscured by clouds, for instance).
Kids I talked to at an advance screening Saturday seemed to like the movie. "It was pretty good," said Courtney Ricardo, 12, of Dade City. "It showed the whole beginning and what happened. It told the whole Powerpuff Girl story."
Juwan Cherry, 10, of Tampa, agreed. "I think it was nice. I liked it better than the TV show because it had more action. It was cool."
Parents will have a hard time keeping fans of the show away. But be forewarned: The Powerpuff Girls Movie just isn't as peachy as what you see on the Cartoon Network.
Billy Norris, 14, is the film critic for the Times XPress section, which appears on Mondays. He will be in the ninth grade at Seminole High School and is a former member of the Times' X-Team.
The Powerpuff Girls Movie
- Director: Craig McCracke
- Cast: Voices of Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily
- Screenplay: Craig McCracken, Charlie Bean, Lauren Faust, Paul Rudish, Don Shank
- Rating: PG for frenetic animated action
- Running time: 87 minutes
Back to Weekend
© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
|
