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"THE POWERPUFF GIRLS MOVIE" (2002) (voices of Catherine Cavadini, Tara Strong) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons None Minor Heavy *Moderate Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor Heavy None None Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor None None Moderate *Extreme QUICK TAKE: Children's Animated Action: Three diminutive superheroes set out to stop a villainous primate who's fooled them into helping him take over their city. PLOT: Things have gone bad in the city of Townsville due to crime and general apathy on the part of most every citizen. That is, except for Professor Utonium (voice of TOM KANE), a forward-looking man who thinks back to a sweeter time. Accordingly, he sets out to invent some sweet little girls, but an outside component - Chemical X - accidentally spills into the mix. The yield results in Blossom (voice of CATHERINE CAVADINI), Bubbles (voice of TARA STRONG) and Buttercup (voice of E.G. DAILY), three diminutive girls with huge heads, enormous eyes - from which they can shoot lasers - and the ability to fly. The Professor is as giddy as any new father, but concerned a bit about the girl's superhuman powers. Thus, when elementary school teacher Ms. Keane (voice of JENNIFER HALE) tells him that they've been acting normal on their first day of school, he's relieved. Yet, when the girls are taught the game of tag, thinks quickly get out of control as they become overexcited and unintentionally cause a tremendous amount of damage to the city. Even so, the Professor still loves them, but does tell them that they can't use their superpowers anymore outside the house. The next day, the once popular girls are surprised to discover that they're now unwelcome outcasts, while Townsville's Mayor (voice of TOM KENNY) has the Professor arrested for their behavior. On their way home, the downcast girls meet fellow outsider Jojo (voice of ROGER L. JACKSON), an escaped primate from Utonium's lab, who commiserates with them about being hated for being special and unique. Soon he has them agreeing to help build a "Help the Town and Make It a Better Place" machine that he promises will win back the city's favor for them. Little do the girls know, however, the Jojo has included them in a dastardly plan of infusing the local zoo's primates with superpowers and then ruling over them, the city and its citizens as Mojo Jojo. Once they realize the havoc they have wrought, the girls must decide what to do to make things right as well as how they're going to take on the power-hungry primate and his out of control minions and save the city. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the cartoon show on TV's "Cartoon Network," they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG For non-stop frenetic animated action. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: It's debatable whether kids view animated characters (particularly ones that don't look human) as role models, but here's a quick look at the characteristics of the major characters. BLOSSOM is apparently the most stable of the Powerpuff Girls who occasionally argues with Buttercup when not battling various monsters and the like. BUBBLES is the most emotional of the trio, often crying when not joining the others in beating up various villains and monsters. BUTTERCUP is the surly one of the bunch who also fights the creatures. MOJO JOJO is a power-hungry monkey who uses the girls and their powers to help him - unknowingly - in his quest to gain control of the city. PROFESSOR UTONIUM is the somewhat nerdish but loving and fatherly scientist who invents the girls and then worries about them and the results of their behavior. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated film. Violence is listed as extreme due more to the quantity of such material rather than the degree (as there's nothing graphic as far as blood or gore). That said, all sorts of hitting or striking of others occurs throughout the film, with various villainous creatures apparently being killed in the process, while attempts on others' lives are also present, as is a tremendous amount of property damage. Some of that material and other moments might be unsettling, suspenseful or even frightening to younger viewers, but that depends on their age, level of maturity and tolerance for such moments. No profanity is present, but various colorful phrases are uttered, and various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes. Some brief crude humor is present as is some imitative behavior, while several adult female characters are drawn with shapely bodies and some occasional cleavage. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, several scenes have extended moments of full-strobe effects. An opening cartoon of Dexter's Laboratory and the episode "Chicken Scratch" features a boy genius who's suffering from the chickenpox. We see the various pimple-like outbreaks on his body (sometimes in close-up) and see him in his cartoon underwear (including a brief shot of what looks like the top of his butt while scratching and then as he drags his butt along the floor in another scratching manner). We also see some chickens pecking at a person (thus giving them the chickenpox), and the boy's robot repeatedly zapping him with a bolt of electricity (following his orders to do so whenever the boy starts scratching). All of that's played for laughs. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE None. BLOOD/GORE A gag has a mechanical like super primate discharging bombs from his rear end like feces, while other creatures fly through the air and spit onto people like rain. From a distance, we briefly see a dog urinate on an object (we see the stream). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Mojo Jojo has both types of attitudes for using the girls' powers to help him in his bid to take control of the city. The various primates that he infuses with superpowers also have both for wreaking havoc on the city. Various thugs seen in several scenes (robbing or accosting people, etc.) have bad attitudes. Buttercup occasionally has a bit of a surly attitude. Various characters don't like the girls for the damage they unintentionally inflicted upon the city. A mother isn't appreciative of Bubbles finding and returning a toy to her baby. Buttercup and Blossom get into an argument with each other (blaming what's transpired on the other), eventually resulting in a brief fight. FRIGHTENING SCENES Some scenes listed under "Violence," along with various menacing looking characters, could be unsettling, suspenseful or even scary to younger viewers, but that depends on their age, level of maturity and tolerance for/past exposure to such material. The majority of the material, though, is played for action and/or laughs. Various primates and apes appear to be shocked by Jojo's machine (as they're infused with superpowers), as dramatic music plays and Jojo laughs in an exaggerated evil fashion. The girls set out to rescue all of the people in the city from individual moments of doom (where the pending victims are whisked away just before they were going to be crushed, etc.). GUNS/WEAPONS Elephant Gun (or something similar): Used by a thug to rob a store. Mojo Jojo shoots many spike-like objects at the girls (that pierce the street) from some sort of machine gun like device. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Freak(ish)," "Suckers," "We're in a serious pickle," "What's up, daddy-O?" "Freaky, bug-eyed weirdo girls" (seen in a newspaper title), "God dang it," "Little freaks," "Lame," "Stupid," "I rock," "I'm so hot," "Big, fat, dumb, jerk," "You know I'll kick your butt," "Doggone it," "You darn dirty ape," "Shut up," "We can take this chump chimp down" and "This town stinks." Some impressionable kids might be enticed to imitate some of the action and fighting that occurs in the film. Blossom blows a raspberry at Buttercup. A monkey has left banana peels all over the street, thus causing people to slip and fall. JUMP SCENES The sudden appearance of some thugs might startle some younger viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of suspenseful and dramatic music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY None. SEX/NUDITY A few female characters are drawn as being buxom/shapely and some include a bit of cleavage in their outfits (that are occasionally small and/or tight-fitting). We see some bare monkey butts (which wouldn't be mentioned if not for the camera focusing on them -- and the artists drawing them -- apparently to elicit laughs from kids). SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The Professor tells the girls that sometimes people get scared when they don't understand something that's special or unique. How the girls fall prey to meeting a stranger on the street who quickly bonds with them and then asks for their help. For those with issues about evolution, a display in a zoo shows monkeys evolving into man (played for laughs). The girls realizing they have to fix the problem that they helped start. VIOLENCE The category receives the extreme rating more due to quantity rather than degree of the violence (although many characters are apparently killed). In addition, most of the following is played for action and/or laughs in an exaggerated, cartoon fashion. We see smoke coming from a building following an explosion. We see a thug's fist coming at the professor's face (and thus the camera) and we then see him walking into his lab holding his head. We see various clips of Jojo going crazy and smashing things in the professor's lab, such as a monitor and a clock. An unseen explosion has knocked the professor unconscious. After learning the rules of the game of tag, the three girls start out slow in playing it, but soon start to speed up and then use their superpowers in playing it and tagging each other as opponents. During this, they unintentionally cause all sorts of property damage at the school and then around the city, including (but not limited to) the following: One is smashed through the school wall, who in turn then blasts down and then back up through the playground (creating huge holes). A house is damaged and we see trees falling and cars flying up through the air in the background of a shot. A large fire then erupts in the background. They blast through a big billboard sign and tear up the roads or set them on fire as they race down them. Some cars smash into a building and another crashes through a storefront window. They tear up the sides of buildings as they continue playing and cause a huge ball/globe to fall from its perch and cause some damage on the streets below. A car flies through the air and crashes into a guy's apartment. Various explosions also erupt and the girls then smash into a pickle cart, destroying it and knocking various people, including the Mayor, down and/or unconscious. Some construction materials accidentally fall and hit the girls on their heads. The police throw the Professor into the backseat of a squad car after arresting and cuffing him. Jojo saves the girls from some menacing thugs by throwing a trashcan lid that hits and ricochets off the various bad guys, rendering them all unconscious. Jojo takes "photos" of various primates in the local zoo, but whatever he's doing cause the various monkeys and apes to fall over/down (or act in shock to what he's doing). Some men throw the Professor (with his hands cuffed behind him) into a room and onto the floor where he lands quite hard. Various primates and apes appear to be shocked by Jojo's machine (as they're infused with superpowers). Jojo then unleashes the various primates and apes, and everyone in the city panics. We then see Jojo throw the Mayor to the sidewalk as well as various shots of the animals punching, holding or tugging at various people. Jojo then throws the Mayor down the sidewalk. The various monkeys and primates turn into super-powered versions of themselves. One punches a giant fist into a building, another tosses several bombs that explode, and one has left banana peels all over the street, thus causing people to slip and fall. Another creates a tornado of sorts that strips buildings. Mojo pushes the Professor out the way, while various monkeys hit various people. Buttercup and Blossom get into a fight (we see them rolling around like a ball back and forth across the screen), with one eventually having the other's arm or leg back up behind her. We see some explosions in the city due to the monkey and ape attack, while a large flood washes away several people (and the above tornado does more damage) and a large chimp creates a sonic wave that shatters glass and sends it falling toward the street. One of the girls slams one of the gargantuan primates across the city where he slams into a building and is apparently killed (the girl says she didn't mean for that to happen). Once they realize that's the way to take care of the super-monkey infestation problem, the girls then set out to kill or at least knock out all of them. Accordingly, they knock down a monkey machine and it explodes. They shoot lasers from their eyes and cause explosions and we then see hordes of apparently dead monkeys falling to the streets (they were previously flying above them). They then punch more super-monkeys, cause another to explode, and knock, punch and otherwise hit many more of them (we see more piles of dead or knocked out monkeys). Mojo Jojo has his arm around the Professor's neck in a threatening fashion after the girls blast through several security doors. Mojo Jojo then becomes enormous after injecting himself with Chemical X and the girls attack him after he tears the dome off the top of city hall. They smack him back into a building and repeatedly hit him as he tries to hit them back (and some buildings are destroyed in the process). He then smashes Buttercup into the street and knocks the other two aside, but the girls recover and cause a huge building to smash down on top of him. He then grabs two of the girls and is apparently squeezing them, but the third saves them. He then shoots many spike-like objects at them (that pierce the street) from some sort of machine gun like device and then shoots or blows fire down onto them. After Mojo Jojo climbs up a building holding all three girls, they fly through the air and repeatedly hit him, causing him to fall a long distance to the street below where he lands on an antidote and shrinks back down to normal size. Some thugs struggle with a woman over her belongings until the girls show up and hit each of them, leaving them unconscious in jail. Reviewed June 29, 2002 / Posted July 3, 2002

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