The Powerpuff Girls have found themselves in the spotlight once more thanks to a leak revealing to the world what its live-action adaptation almost looked like before it was cancelled. The Powerpuff Girls is now in the works on a brand new animated reboot series with the original creator behind it all attached, but it wouldn’t have gotten to this point without many of the detours in the last decade. Previous attempts to bring back The Powerpuff Girls have failed for one reason or another, and it almost ended up with a full live-action TV series with the CW Network too had it gotten picked up for a full series.
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The Powerpuff Girls’ live-action TV series didn’t make it beyond the development stage, but a leaked version of a potential trailer for the series revealed to the world that this was probably for the best. It really led to a divisive response, but is ultimately the best excuse to go back and check out some of the best examples of why The Powerpuff Girls only works in animation.
Read on below for a list of ten episodes of The Powerpuff Girls that really show off why it works in animation. These might not be the best of the best, but they’re the best if you want some fun and classic episodes to watch right now after watching that trailer.
Monkey See, Doggie Do (Season 1, Episode 1A)
The best place to start with The Powerpuff Girls is from the very beginning. While the show originally began as a special short within the What a Cartoon! show in the earliest days of Cartoon Network, the first episode of the full series itself is one of the most iconic for a reason. Not only does the entire world get turned into dogs by the girls’ biggest villain, Mojo Jojo (which shows just how wacky this is all going to get), but it’s such an iconic episode that the show even revisits it years later with a fun twist on clip shows. Watch it and fall in love with it all over again.
Powerpuff Bluff (Season 1, Episode 2B)
Usually starting at the beginning is rough for some animated shows, but that’s not the case here. The Powerpuff Girls immediately let everyone know that it’s fit for all ages, and there’s no better example than the episode that sees a trio of criminals dress as the girls to get away with crime. But their biggest crime? The fact they called Ms. Bellum (the Mayor’s aide) the derogatory nickname of “Sweet Cheeks” before getting beat down. The girls also break out of prison and have to go back at the end of the episode. And this is only two episodes in!
Bubblevicious (Season 1, Episode 9A)
Some of the best examples of what make The Powerpuff Girls such a great show are the ones that allow each of the girls to showcase their individuality. This often comes with revealing a new flaw to each of their personalities such as “Bubblevicious,” which sees the usually sweet Bubbles becoming more “hardcore” to get everyone to respect her. This flip of a switch is such a fun gag that it becomes a recurring part of her character from here on, but this is an easy way to see what makes Bubbles so special after all these years. Also, she beats a dog for taking too long in traffic. Can’t do that in live-action.
The Rowdyruff Boys (Season 1, Episode 12)
“The Rowdyruff Boys” was the first double length episode in the series’ history, and it’s for a good reason. Although they were initially only around for just this episode, The Rowdyruff Boys are one of the most iconic villains for The Powerpuff Girls. They are complete opposites of the girls in every way (down to being created by Mojo Jojo gathering gross stuff together in a prison toilet), and are only defeated when the girls use their own femininity to overwhelm the boys (and make them explode). A lot going on here, but a lot of fun on a rewatch in a situation like this.
Stuck Up, Up, and Away (Season 2, Episode 1A)
If you want more iconic villains, then you have to see Princess Morbucks making her debut in “Stuck Up, Up, and Away.” Princess likely would have been a recurring character for the live-action series as she initially moves in as a transfer student from a very wealthy background. Despite all of her money, she ends up being jealous of the girls’ powers and begs her dad for enough money to eventually fight on their level with power suit. The live-action show would have loved to use her for this reason, but only the animated version gets to have a little Dragon Ball Z in the resulting fight.
RELATED: The Powerpuff Girls Take on Their Reboot Doppelgangers in Official Crossover
Supper Villain (Season 2, Episode 2B)
This one would have also worked in live-action as well, but only gets as funny as it does because it’s animated. “Supper Villain” takes a fun spin on The Powerpuff Girls that showcases what it’s like to live next to them. Being next to these superpowered heroines every day makes Harold feel mediocre and he gets so fed up with his life that he becomes a low-rent villain and threatens the girls when they come over for a dinner party. There’s a scene where Professor Utonium chews on a single pea for what feels like 20 minute and it’s fantastic. You just can’t get that balance of tone with anyone else.
Beat Your Greens (Season 2, Episode 4A)
But one thing that the live-action The Powerpuff Girls gets incorrect right off the bat is the fact that they’re children, first and foremost. The central appeal is seeing how these ultra powerful children deal with all kinds of wild challenges, and take these childhood elements to whole new levels. “Beat Your Greens” is about not eating your broccoli, and maybe kids actually should if they want to prevent an invasion from a race of broccoli looking to spread their influence across the universe. The show was best when it really made you feel like a kid, and this is one of the best at that.
Super Zeroes (Season 3, Episode 7B)
The Powerpuff Girls was also special because it was clearly made by those who loved superhero comics and other media. The girls themselves were always special for being different than other traditional heroes, and “Super Zeroes” sees them trying out the other way for a change. Showing off new looks inspired by Wonder Woman, Spawn and cute manga characters, the episode then gets into why they’re such unique heroes when the drawbacks of these different characters come into play. In a way, it’s a great showcase of why you just can’t treat The Powerpuff Girls the same as any superhero property (“Better heroes, huh?”). You can’t just get rid of what makes them who they are and expect the series to be the same.
Equal Fights (Season 3, Episode 12B)
The final two episodes on this list is something The Powerpuff Girls did very, very well. Much like the earlier mentioned “Powerpuff Bluff” that was not shy to highlight anti-women sentiments, “Equal Fights” uses that idea to craft a new kind of villain. It’s something that the live-action The Powerpuff Girls was trying to play with as an idea, but didn’t quite get so well. Instead of being anti-women, the villain in “Equal Fights” is so pro-women that the girls start to think otherwise about their own place in the world as they don’t seem to get the same recognition or popularity as their male contemporaries.
Instead, it’s a showcase that there’s something wrong about both extremes. It’s not that the villain is entirely wrong, but she’s so skewed in her viewpoint that the initial core of what made her right gets lost. And ultimately, she was just using it as a con for financial gain, and that’s just a complicated lesson taught within this 11 minute segment. Something that you can’t really replicate without losing the power of that first message.
Members Only (Season 4, Episode 9)
The Powerpuff Girls really honed in on this idea with “Members Only.” This is a special episode of the series not only for fans, but for fans of Dexter’s Laboratory as the Justice Friends make an appearance (teasing a shared universe that never fully got explored). But this is also the best example of what this list has been highlighting as The Powerpuff Girls are special because they are who they are. They are little girls with super powers, and don’t back down in the face of any adversity regardless of the opponent or challenge.
The sexist superheroes don’t want them to join their league, and thus test the girls in different feats before realizing they are totally outclassed. But at the end of the day, the girls realize they’ve been good enough superheroes all along and are great as they are. Changing them in any way removes that special element that makes them unique. Something we’re lucky to have missed out on.
You can now find The Powerpuff Girls streaming with Max (and on Netflix for a very limited time).
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