The Powerpuff Girls (2008 film)

The Powerpuff Girls is a 2008 American animated action superhero film based on the animated television series of the same name by Craig McCracken. Directed by Craig McCracken and produced by Chris Savino, Donna Castricone, Steven Spielberg, Andy Heyward and Robby London based on a screenplay by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger and a story by Charlie Bean, Lauren Faust, Craig McCracken and Don Shank, it features an ensemble voice cast, including Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, E. G. Daily, Roger L. Jackson, Tom Kane, Tom Kenny, Jennifer Hale, Jennifer Martin, Anton Yelchin, Fred Tatasciore, Bruce Willis, Christina Ricci, Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Frank Welker, Grey DeLisle, Jeff Bennett, Kevin Michael Richardson and Rob Paulsen.
Set in the vibrant city of Townsville, the film follows Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three extraordinary kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers, as they face their enemies: Mojo Jojo and Fuzzy Lumpkins. However, they encounter a much larger threat that puts Townsville at risk: Him. With only hours left to save Townsville from Him's destructive wrath, the Powerpuff Girls set out on a tough journey to put an end to Him's evildoings. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Cartoon Network Movies, Amblin Entertainment and Lacey Productions, with animation provided by Mercury Filmworks, Rough Draft Studios, Munich Animation, Duncan Studio, Wang Film Productions and Sunwoo Entertainment.
Premiering at the El Capitan Theatre on June 27, 2008, The Powerpuff Girls was theatrically released on July 4, 2008 in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures, and on July 21, 2008 in Australia and New Zealand by Roadshow Entertainment. It received widespread positive reception from critics and fans of the television series, with praise for its plot, animation, voice cast (particularly Cavadini, Strong, Daily, Kenny and Willis), faithfulness to the source material, character development, conflict, its thematic elements and the musical score by Harry Gregson-Williams and Christopher Lennertz. It was a financial success, grossing $419 million worldwide against its production budget of $45 million, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 2008 and the fourth highest-grossing animated film of 2008. A sequel was conceived, and was released on July 29, 2011, titled The Battle for Townsville, to critical acclaim though did not meet its financial expectations, leading to a third film being cancelled. A computer-animated reboot film was released in 2019.
==Plot==
The film opens with a glimpse into the life of Professor Utonium, a brilliant scientist working in his laboratory. Determined to create the perfect little girls, he combines sugar, spice, and everything nice with an accidental dose of Chemical X. This experiment results in the birth of three extraordinary girls: Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. The Professor adopts the girls and raises them as his own, teaching them to use their powers for good and become the defenders of Townsville.
Townsville is enjoying a period of relative peace, with the Powerpuff Girls constantly thwarting the mischievous schemes of villains such as Mojo Jojo and Fuzzy Lumpkins. However, a new and more dangerous adversary emerges: Him, an otherworldly being with the power to manipulate emotions and sow chaos. Him starts manipulating the minds of Townsville's residents, turning them against the Powerpuff Girls and causing widespread panic. As the city falls into disarray, the girls face their most challenging task yet: to uncover Him's true intentions and save their beloved town from total destruction.
Realizing the magnitude of the threat, the Powerpuff Girls seek guidance from Professor Utonium and enlist the help of their faithful allies, including the loyal Mayor and the intelligent and resourceful Ms. Bellum, along with help from Felix Arltonvich, a professor with a Masters Degree in Science and an ScD; Davis Jenson, a computer hardware programmer and tech designer; Kennedy Stephenson, a robotics supervisor; and Senior Professor Michael, a computer engineering supervisor with a degree in Computer Mechanics, and a PhD. Together, they embark on a journey to find a way to neutralize Him's powers and restore peace to Townsville. Their quest takes them to the mysterious Dimension X, where they encounter an eccentric yet brilliant Irish scientist, Dr. William Strong. Dr. Strong, fascinated by the girls' powers, assists them in developing a countermeasure against Him's mind-manipulating abilities.
In a climactic final battle, the Powerpuff Girls, armed with their new knowledge and technology, confront Him. With the fate of Townsville hanging in the balance, they must use their combined strength, intelligence, and unwavering bond of sisterhood to overcome Him's sinister plan and restore harmony to their beloved city. Having triumphed over Him, the Powerpuff Girls emerge as true heroes, celebrated by the grateful citizens of Townsville. Their unwavering dedication and bravery inspire a new generation of superheroes, as more children around the world awaken to their extraordinary powers. The Powerpuff Girls, in turn, take on the role of mentors, guiding and training these young superheroes to protect their cities and uphold justice.
==Voice cast== 
:Main article: List of The Powerpuff Girls characters
*Cathy Cavadini as Blossom
*Tara Strong as Bubbles
*E. G. Daily as Buttercup
*Roger L. Jackson as Mojo Jojo
*Tom Kane as Professor Utonium
*Tom Kenny as the Mayor of Townsville, Narrator, Mitch Mitchelson, Snake and Lil' Arturo
*Jennifer Hale as Ms. Bellum
*Jennifer Martin as Him
*Anton Yelchin as Felix Arltonvich
*Fred Tatasciore as Fuzzy Lumpkins
*Bruce Willis as Davis Jenson
*Christina Ricci as Kennedy Stephenson
*Ewan McGregor as Senior Professor Michael
*Pierce Brosnan as Dr. William Strong
*Frank Welker as additional voice work
*Grey DeLisle as Jennifer and additional voice work
*Jeff Bennett as Ace, Big Billy and Grubber
*Kevin Michael Richardson as Rocko Socko, Ojo Tango and Jack
*Rob Paulsen as Hotta Watta and Killa Drilla
==Production==
Coming soon!
==Music==
The music for The Powerpuff Girls includes the film's score by Harry Gregson-Williams and Christopher Lennertz, and songs featured in the film, including It's The Powerpuff Girls, a song by Snoop Dogg, featuring Pharrell Williams, Ludacris and Katy Perry. The album was released on July 1, 2008 through Geffen Records and Lacey Records, a record label owned by Lacey Productions with Universal Music Group handling worldwide music distribution.
==Release==
The Powerpuff Girls debuted out of competition at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2008. It then premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on June 27, 2008 and was theatrically released on July 4, 2008 by Warner Bros. Pictures, and on July 21, 2008 in Australia and New Zealand by Roadshow Entertainment. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for "non-stop frenetic animated action, mild humor and brief mild language".
===Home media===
The Powerpuff Girls was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Universal Media Disc on September 27, 2008 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It includes an animated blooper reel, audio commentary by Craig McCracken and Anton Yelchin, an animated music visualizer of "It's The Powerpuff Girls", the Looney Tunes CGI-animated short "Hunting Wabbits", which debuted with the film's theatrical release, an exclusive Powerpuff Girls short titled "Powerpuff Girls Turned Spicy!", a behind-the-scenes featurette, a tutorial on how to draw the Powerpuff Girls with animator Genndy Tartakovsky, the DVD trailer for The Dark Knight, the theatrical trailers for Yes Man, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Blind Side, and the official pilot to a reboot of the 1981 Hanna-Barbera television series The Smurfs, which later adapted into a 14-season television series, and has been airing since June 14, 2009.
A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version was released on July 10, 2019, and was made available on HBO Max from May 27, 2020 until May 23, 2023, where it was switched to the Max streaming service.
==Reception==
===Critical response===
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 83% based on 194 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. Its critical consensus reads, "Townsville is in trouble! But fear not, The Powerpuff Girls brings excitement, wit and comedic humor to have kids and adults laugh." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on its A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak surveyed filmgoers and reported an 89% approval rating, with 81% of them giving it a "definite recommend".
More coming soon!
===Box office===
The Powerpuff Girls opened theatrically on July 4, 2008 worldwide, and in Australia and New Zealand on July 21, 2008. The film grossed $172 million domestically and $247 million overseas for a worldwide total of $419 million against a production budget of $45 million.
In the United States and Canada, the estimated projections for the film was around $20-35 million. In its opening weekend, The Powerpuff Girls opened on Independence Day of 2008 with $48.9 million ($42.4 million + $6.5 million in Friday night previews) at the domestic box office, topping the US box office charts and broke the box office projections. In its opening week, it had a very well performance at the domestic box office, grossing $58.2 million that week. Projection estimates soon were upped to $50-55 million for its second weekend, and it once again broke the projections, grossing $62.5 million ($56.3 million + $6.2 million in Friday night previews).
In other territories, The Powerpuff Girls broke multiple overseas box office records, hitting #1 at the international box office. Its countries that garnered the most revenue were the United Kingdom ($89.2 million), Italy ($67.3 million), Germany ($56.6 million) and Japan ($34.4 million). It continued its streak until its fourth opening weekend, when it fell behind with $68 million lost in box office revenue, causing a downgrade in its overseas performance. Its domestic streak kept a steady lead, until it went to #3 on the domestic box office charts.
Box office projections finished in April 2009. The film made $172 million domestically and $247 million overseas for a worldwide total of $419 million, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film of 2008 and the fourth highest-grossing animated film of 2008 behind Pixar's Wall-E.
===Accolades===
The Powerpuff Girls won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 81st Academy Awards, becoming the fifth non Disney-Pixar film to win said award and the first Cartoon Network film to receive the award. Additionally, it won Best Actress award for Cathy Cavadini, Best Original Score by Harry Gregson-Williams and Christopher Lennertz, and Best Original Song for "It's The Powerpuff Girls" by Snoop Dogg. It received several nominations at the 66th Golden Globe Awards, the 62nd British Academy Film Awards, the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the 50th Australian Film Institute Awards.