| Beach Reading |
by Catherine Krantz
Curl up with your favorite kid and follow the adventures of Bubbles, Blossom & Buttercup a.k.a. The Powerpuff Girls. No, it’s not exactly intellectual, but really the brain does need a break and I admit I love the drawings. Something about those round nose-less faces with their color coordinated pop eyes, all streamlined and round, so totally simplistic, at once modern and nostalgic.
Now there’s lots of modern cartoons out there, that try to appeal to kids and adults alike—cartoons have always been created by adults right—and even though I don’t have cable TV I do try to keep up. And the ones you watched as a child stick with you. Some even seem a bit witty and smart. I wouldn’t really say the Powerpuffs fall into that category even though there is the occasional literary reference however slight, but No, they’re no Bugs Bunny and I wouldn’t say there were dark and brooding, like my favorite, “Pinky and the Brain.” The Powerpuffs are sweet and perky, but just almost in a clever amusing way. They are the mutant creation of Professor Utonium. Kid sized super heroes that get called out of kindergarten to protect Townsville, the town where they live, from all sorts of monsters, robbers and just plain mean guys. The Powerpuff Girls, “saving the world before bed time.”
And like all kid stuff nowadays, the Powerpuffs come complete with multi-tier marketing. They are primarily an animated series on the Cartoon Network, and I must admit I’ve never seen a single episode, but they were nominated for an Emmy and sometimes I believe the Cartoon Network alone is worth the price of cable. My exposure to the Powerpuffs has come through their other outlets, merchandising primarily (t-shirts, back packs, sippy cups, tooth brushes, posters and stickers) and now “Little Golden Books.” I even bought one at Comercial Mexicana, Las Chicas Superpoderosas “Mojo Jojo Contraataca!” just to practice my Spanish and at some point I became a real fan.
January 2002
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