The Powerpuff Girls Movie

Professor Utonium is trying to make perfect little girls when Chemical X falls into the mixture by accident, and out come three children who fly and knock down walls. Townsville is afraid of their powers; wanting to be accepted, the girls help a monkey and nearly destroy the city. The film is not interested in superheroics. It is interested in exclusion: its whole middle is three children being misunderstood and trying to earn forgiveness. It is a surprisingly dark stretch against the cheerful tone of the series. The form enlarges the show's own line: flat colours, hard edges, city scenes rescaled for the wide screen and a long fight sequence. Craig McCracken, the series creator, directed. The film tells the origin story, placing itself first in the order. It did not find the audience expected and counted as a disappointment for the studio; years on it is remembered as one of the strongest pieces of the franchise. Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong and E.G. Daily voice the girls. Who it is for: people who know the series and like the Cartoon Network line of the nineties. Who it is not for: adults who have never seen the show. The film assumes the audience already knows the girls and hurries the introduction.