Miscellaneous Topic Monday: Top 10 Powerpuff Girls Episodes
Top 10 lists aren't an easy task. Finding images let alone is enough of a difficult experience, but then there's finding something to say about each individual number. I don't really dislike top 10s, but they aren't my favorite thing to do. However, I guess I owe one since I neglected to post anything at all last Monday. So, since most of you may know my love for Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls, I suppose I'll present you with my favorite episodes. Remember that most of these might not be on your list, as it's my personal preference. Let's get started.
While I'm not the biggest fan of season five and six of The Powerpuff Girls and I do enjoy the original Dynamo episode, I felt Live and Let Dynamo was a fun trip into what make the series so great: action, humor, and a surprising, yet funny twist. The girls discover that Professor Utonium invention that was supposed to help them in battle has ironically turned against them. The girls come up with different scenarios of which villain could be inside the machine, but none of them seem to match. Bubbles also hilariously suggests that Buttercup could be in it, even though she's floating right next to her. I won't spoil who's actually in the machine, because while it may seem predictable to some, it was all the same funny to me. The animation in this episode is particularly enjoyable, blending 3-D with 2-D and increasing the visual fun of the action sequences. The scenarios are a highlight as well, especially HIM's. If that doesn't prove that he's a little fruity, I don't know what does. The girls have their funny moments as well. Buttercup telling the Townsvillians to leave worked well for an ongoing scene, and didn't quite lose its power. Live and Let Dynamo is a nostalgic trip down what made The Powerpuff Girls so great.
Meet the Beat-Alls was a bit puzzling as a kid, but it did work as a good episode. And if an episode can fit in dozens of reference and still make a lick of context without them, than Meet the Beat-Alls is a big achievement. Sick of being beaten, Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins, HIM, and Princess Morbucks attempt to individually destroy the Powerpuff Girls. However, in a well-timed set of events, all attack at once, successfully defeating the trio. It's at this moment that the four decide to team up, to become the "Beat-Alls". The leads to failure after failure for the girls, but they discover a way to distract Mojo by sending in a monkey named Moko Jono. Mojo and Moko's odd activities lead to the group breaking up, and Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are successfully able to defeat HIM, Fuzzy, Princess, and eventually Mojo. Creator Craig McCraken storyboarded this episode, and he really went all out on the references. While I could catch onto many of the jokes, there were quite a few that slipped by me, showing that Craig really must be a diehard Beatles fan. But like I said before, this episode works plenty for people who might not even know who the Beatles are. It's fun to see the four villains in the episode work together, but it still make for one of the best homages in an animated series. I appreciated it when I was younger, but I appreciate it even more now.
Bubbles is considered the softest of her sisters. Loving all living things, including her stuffed animal Octi, it's rare to see Bubbles in a truly violent portrayal, but Bubblevicious takes it on, and succeeds. During a simulation fight sequence, Bubbles is disappointed that the Professor Utonium lowered her difficulty level during the simulation. The Professor explains that she isn't quite as macho as her sisters are. Annoyed and fueled by these criticisms, Bubbles decides to take on the simulation by herself - on level 11. Though beaten in sequence, Bubbles takes on every monster and successfully defeats them, with a large amount of rage and turmoil. Blossom and Buttercup begin to notice their sister's downfall, and address it, but Bubbles refuses to listen and takes on the city by herself. Of course, this leads to getting captured by Mojo Jojo. Mojo locks her into an electrical contraption and turns it up to level 11. Enduring the shock, Bubbles releases herself and defeats Mojo Jojo. Blossom and Buttercup are impressed, which pleases Bubbles and diminishes her ego, as all she wanted to be was "hardcore". For such an issue that seems to run throughout the series, Bubblevicious is really the only one to center around Bubbles being the quirkiest of her sisters. We sympathize with Bubbles, yet realize her quirks are what makes her so likable. I do enjoy enraged Bubbles, though. I still can't believe she beat the ever-living crap out of Talking Dog. There's also some other hilarious scenes which involves her violent reaction to minor crimes, such as littering and stepping on the grass. The action sequence is actually pretty risque for Cartoon Network, with a surprising amount of blood. Bubblevicious teaches us one of life's most important lessons: don't fuck with Bubbles.
Although past few episodes have been brought up by some great action sequences or pop culture references, Supper Villain relies on pure laughs, and it's certainly a riot. Harold Smith is a man who doesn't quite enjoy life. He has a son who dislikes him, an overly perky wife, and a daughter who doesn't directly acknowledge him throughout the entire episode. He has a typical life cycle of waking up, putting on a tie, eating pancake, and going to his job at the mustard factory. It doesn't help that Professor Utonium sings his "my life is so perfect" song in front of him either. Sick and tired of this repetition, Harold finds enjoyment in villainous activity, in hopes of becoming a villain himself. Unfortunately for him, his wife Maryanne invites the Professor Utonium and his crime-fighting daughters over for dinner. He tries to keep his cool, but eventually transforms into "super-villain" Harold Smith, and proceeds to hold a ray-gun (hairdryer) up to the Professor. This causes Maryanne to have an episode and commands everyone to sit down for dinner. Harold vows to melt the Professor's head off after dinner's over, so the Professor takes all the time he needs to eat. Sick of waiting, Harold prepares to destroy Professor Utonium, but not before a coconut cream pie fight. Hearing the commotion, the police come in and arrest Harold, so all's well that ends well... except that Maryanne has unfinished vengeance towards the girls for ruining her dinner. Yikes. Supper Villain is one consistently funny episode of the series. Almost every joke works because of such a great line up of characters. While the girls get a few laughs, the Professor, Harold, and Maryanne definitely make this episode hysterical. The Professor is his typical corny father self, Harold's made amusing by his nervous breakdowns, and Maryanne is simply a crazy bitch. While the follow-up episode wasn't nearly as good, this one definitely takes the prize. By the way, does anyone wanna play jacks after dinner?
Speed Demon is perhaps the darkest episode of the series, with a heavy meaning behind it. The girls are preparing for a weekend at the Bahamas, with a week away from crime and evil ahead of them. After school, Buttercup offers a race home, to which Blossom and Bubbles happily agree to. As they begin to fly in the streets, they speed up to a supernatural rate which makes tie slow down, sending them fifty years into the future. Here, in an apocalyptic version of Townsville, Professor Utonium has become completely senile and can't remember how to properly create the girls, while also showing signs of paranoia. Ms. Bellum sits in the abandoned city hall, where she stays in a solemn depression over how the Mayor was killed by unknown causes. Ms. Keane stands firm in Pokey Oaks where she constantly repeats that she waved goodbye to the Powerpuff Girls fifty years ago. Jesus. After viewing the disturbing evidence of decay, the girls come across HIM, only to realize that he took over Townsville, and made the whole world go to "heck". The girls are tortured by the fact that they caused the decline of society, leaving the world under HIM's reign. So the trio fly up beyond earth and speed back fifty years into the past. Everything is back to normal and the girls explain to the Professor how they can't leave Townsvile, even for one weekend. There really aren't any jokes in this episode, but it's made up for with great meaning. It shows that while it may be tough at times, responsibility surely succeeds luxury. Not that a little relaxation is bad, but it should have a medium. The girls can still have fun, yet protect Townsville at the same time. This is also one of HIM's best and most intimidating appearance, including an awesome design update. With great elements and some startling scenes, Speed Demon is a dark trip.
Right up there with Speed Demon, Knock It Off is a highly dark episode. It takes away from the typical superhero vs. villain formula (well, there still is a villain) and focuses on the vile act of capitalism. Professor Utonium invites his old friend, Dick Hardly (how in God's name did that get past the censors?) over for some catching up. However, when Dick discovers that the Professor's daughters have superpowers, he immediately wants to market them. This infuriates Utonium, which causes Dick to get kicked out. Dick does not give up, however, and approaches the girls after school. As pedophilia-inducing as that sounds, it's only to get some chemical X. The girls agree, as they believe he wants to introduce more super-powered girls in the world in order to stop danger from all around. However, Dick is only interested in marketing the bootleg girls, under the brand name "Powerpuff Girlz X-Treme". The Professor becomes suspicious when he sees the girls in all different location on TV, but the girls try to cover as best as they can. The trio decides it's been taken too far when they see a commercial for the products, including the hilarious line "I lost 200 pounds with my Powerpuff!". The girls confront Dick, but he swallows the Chemical X and mutates in a semi-human monster. Dick traps the girls in a machine that sucks the Chemical X out of them. Professor Utonium shows up to factory, and offers to sacrifice himself for his daughters. Dick denies, and the mutated Powerpuff Girls knock-offs begin to surround the Professor. The Professor and the girls declare their love for each other one last time, making the knock-offs realize the true compassion between a father and his daughters. The mutations turn on Dick, effectively destroying him. And in the end, the Powerpuff Girls are saved by the power of love. Eh, I'll buy it. This episode not only addresses the problem of capitalism, but it also has probably the most nonredeemable villain in the series. Even a villain like Him has his comedic moments, but Dick Hardly is simply absorbed by greed and power. He's also one of the few characters to die in the series, along with the Rowdyruff Boys and Bunny. Also, unlike Speed Demon, Knock It Off does have its funny scenes. The bootlegs are funny in a very surreal way, including how one of the Buttercup clones' head just completely falls off. There's also an Indian Mojo Jojo named "Raja Jaja", which is both funny and probably a little racist. Both dark and humorous, Knock It Off is a blend of comedy and disturbing visuals.
4. See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey
This musical-type episode also has a heavy message as well, blended in with epic singing and some great animation. As all the main villains (excluding the Rowdyruff Boys; sorry guys) prepare to destroy Townsville, the Powerpuff Girls arrive to save the day. However, they are clearly outnumbered. Being zapped by Mojo, punched by Ace, strangled by Sedusa, and much more, the girls find themselves defenseless. As they are defeated, they sing a melody of how the world would be better off without constant fighting and villainous activity. They are then visited by a Jack Black-like gnome, who promises a world without villains and world of peace and tranquility, as long as the girls give up their powers in return. Buttercup is hesitant at first, but Bubbles convinces her sisters that this will help them finally become normal little girls. The three agree, and the world is now free of villainous activity. However, the Professor helps explain to his daughters that there is still evil in the world, as the gnome has taken free will away from the people. This make the girls realize that evil needs to exist, as "the yin and yang's the master plan". As the three girls confront the gnome, he falls off of his magic rose, effectively destroying him. This makes the gnome realize that he became the evil that he took away from the world, and that he can't exist if he is the reason for this contradiction. The world goes back to the way it was before, and the people of Townsville begin worshiping the PPGs. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup explain that the townspeople need to live their own life instead of living other people's orders. This leads to the final song "Why Can't We All Get Along" which explains that instead of having peace, we should do our best to create it. It's a pretty heavy episode dealing with communism, and the rock opera songs really help carry out emotion and power. It explains to us maturely that we should stop asking for a world without pain and suffering and just try to do it. There's always going to be bad everywhere we go, so instead of avoiding it, try improving it. The songs all effectively display the mood they are going for, but still tell the story properly. I especially like the songs "Townsville's Going Down", "Rain", and "You Wanna Make Us Feel Real Good". It's one of the best post-Craig era, and one of the best overall.
Who would've guessed we would have an episode where the villains are the actual heroes? The Gangreen Gang are up to their typical juvenile pranks, as they crank call people using Grubber's ability to mimic voice. Ace hatches the idea for Grubber to mimic the Mayor's voice in order to deceive the Powerpuff Girls. Grubber makes the first call to Blossom and warns her that Mojo Jojo is planning something maniacal, and the girls fly to his observatory to beat him up. Mojo scolds them, and informs them that all he's been doing is sleeping. The girls awkwardly fly off, confused. Grubber calls the hotline again, saying that Fuzzy Lumpkins has gone insane. The trio fly over to Fuzzy's cabin, where he is taking a bath, and beat him up. Realizing that he hasn't done anything wrong, the girls fly off from an enraged Fuzzy. Grubber then calls a third time and explains that HIM is up to no good. Buttercup suggests that the Mayor is off his pills, but Blossom informs her that he wouldn't joke about something so severe. The girls arrive at HIM's lair, where he is doing gymnastics... yeah, what? HIM explains that he hasn't done anything wrong recently, and the girls leave. HIM becomes infuriated and calls Mojo and Fuzzy. I always find this scene hilarious because, well, they all have a normal conversation. Instead of just beating the shit out of whoever duped them (that comes along later), they just have a constructive conversation. HIM calls city hall to complain to the Mayor, but Big Billy answers to reveals that the Gangreen Gang was behind the crank calls. Mojo, HIM, and Fuzzy show up to city hall and beat the everliving crap out of the gang. The real Mayor shows up and calls the girls, but Buttercup destroys the hotline, believing he is trying to fool them. And so once again the day is saved, thanks to... Mojo, Fuzzy, and HIM? This hilarious episode displays a different side of Mojo, Fuzzy, and HIM, showing that they're willing to team up with each other, but won't deal with other villains' acitivities. It's also one of the first episodes to include several of the main villains, and they all work well with each other. The scene where the Gangreen Gang gets their asses handed to them is one of my favorite fight scenes in the series. Also I gotta ask, why did Mojo bring a laser if he was going to use his hands? Oh well. There's also a clever side joke where Professor Utonium receives a crank call where Lil' Arturo informs him that he's won ten million dollars. Lil' Arturo tells him to hold, and then hangs up. And the Professor stays on the phone for the entire episode. Like I said, a really funny episode the spotlights the main villains.
Mime for a Change isn't one of the funniest episodes (though, it does have its moments) but it shows that a smile goes a long way, even in a cheesy and bright matter. Rainbow the clown is a birthday performer that loves his job, but that changes when a truck full of bleach tips over on top of him. This transforms him into Mr. Mime (no, not the Pokemon), who seeks revenge on the world by turning everything black and white, taking the joy away from everyone. As the girls head to school, they notice the changes in their town. Bubbles begins freaking out, and tries coloring in the town, while Blossom and Buttercup search for clues. The three notice Mr. Mime, but he runs off. When they attempt to corner him, Mr. Mime sneaks up behind Blossom and Buttercup and steals their color. Bubbles is heartbroken by this, but tries coloring in her sisters to bring them back to life. This, of course, fails, upsetting Bubbles. But then she hatches an idea: sing a song about how love makes the world go 'round to bring everyone back to life. Yeah, this makes NO sense, but just the hilarity and upbeat nature of the song makes me adore and enjoy it. Because nothing says love like puppy dogs, kitty cats, and swimming, right? In fun and inventive ways, this episode shows us that you don't have to impress them with big climaxes or visuals, but just by making them happy. And this episode, including the song, is the source to cheer me up during any bad mood. I guess the only flaw is that even though Rainbow couldn't help the fact that the bleach turned him evil. I guess it was technically a misunderstanding, though. Oh well, overall this is an enjoyable episode that breaks story structure for pure fun.
And my number one favorite The Powerpuff Girls episode is...
While I will admit that episodes like The Boys Are Back In Town and Bubble Boy gave better individual development for the Rowdyruff Boys, this episode is a pure romp of fun that no other episodes can quite match. It's funny, action-packed, dramatic, and thoroughly entertaining. We get to see a sequence of failures from Mojo Jojo, showing his constant defeats at the hands (or hand stubs) of the Powerpuff Girls. Locked up, Mojo Jojo has an episode in his jail cell, and furiously shakes the cell bars. Although Mojo is obviously evil, we can sympathize with him because no matter how many times he tries to defeat the girls, he always fails. Mojo decides to make a phone call to the Utonium residence, where he asks the Professor what exactly the girls are made of. Sugar, spice, and everything nice don't quite please Mojo, so he uses snips, snails, a puppy dog tail. Why there was escargo at a penitentiary, I still don't know. Mojo then puts the ingredients in a radioactive toilet, where the Rowdyruff Boys are created, introducing us to Brick, Boomer, and Butch. Mojo tells his children about how the Powerpuff Girls are a huge threat to them, so the boys proceed to attack them. Not realizing that they've met their match, the boys are shocked by how well the girls take their attacks. And so that battle of the sexes begins, and so does the fun. The battle sequence takes up most of the episode, and it's enough to keep entertaining me. The girls have always been pitted against enemies who are usually too easy or too hard to defeat, but the Rowdyruff Boys are an equal match. This leads to some boy biased attacks and girl biased attacks, such ever the ever slow paced "acrobat-tack". Then there's also the Rowdyruff Boys' fart power, which proves to harm the girls. My favorite part of the sequence has to be when a bus, plane, and boat are launched at the girls. But, after sometime, the boys successfully defeat the girls. In a Disney death scene, the townspeople's tears bring the Powerpuff Girls back to life. However, the girls willingly give up when feeling as though they failed. Ms. Bellum gives some advice to them (with the help of her cleavage) about what little boys are afraid of. The obvious answer is, well, love. So the girls give each of their counterparts a kiss, causing the boys the explode and sending Mojo to jail. No episode quite matches this one, because while there are other quite entertaining battle sequences, none are quite equal. The Boys Are Back In Town spends most of its time literally destroying the girls, but this episode gives no one a fair advantage. And while the boys get their chance of victory, the girls get them right back. But beside the action sequences, the episode's full of laughs as well. The boys are hilarious, although I wish there could've been a little more development individually, but they're enjoyable enough. And the ending is icing on the cake. Especially with the romanticized version of the theme. I love little tidbits like that. For these reasons, and many more, The Rowdyruff Boys is my favorite episode of the series. I've seen it a million times and I'll watch it a million times more.
