News Powerpuff Girls live-action TV series in development

[valkyrie013]

Chloe Bennett plays Blossom Utonium, a spunky, conscientious Little-Miss-Perfect whose repressed kiddie-superhero trauma has left her feeling anxious and reclusive. That said, she aims to become a leader again — though this time on her own terms.

Descendants‘ Dove Cameron plays Bubbles Utonium, whose sweet-girl disposition “won America’s hearts” when she was a child. And while she still sparkles as an adult, Bubbles’ charming exterior belies an unexpected toughness and wit. She now is initially more interested in recapturing her fame than saving the world, but she just might surprise us and herself.

Lastly, Broadway actress Yana Perrault plays Buttercup Utonium, the “rebellious badass” of The Powerpuff Girls back in their heyday — though she is more sensitive than her tough exterior suggests. Buttercup has spent her adulthood trying to shed her Powerpuff Girl identity, and live an anonymous life.

Huh? Oh epicly bad...

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I wonder if CW has the scope to make this really sing.

 

[Christopher]

If not for villains being coded as queer there would be no representation of LGBTQ people at all in media before a certain period, especially in media created for children.

With the possible exception of Snagglepuss, I guess.

So many LGBTQ people identify with certain aspects of those characters because they don't have any other option. It's why I adore Angela from Sleepaway Camp who did nothing wrong. Slay Queen slay!

I can understand that, but still, we do have better options now. Still, I guess stereotyped characters have been reinvented before. They might be able to reinvent Him in a more nuanced and sympathetic way.

And while she still sparkles as an adult, Bubbles’ charming exterior belies an unexpected toughness and wit.

I wouldn't call it unexpected. Part of Bubbles's character in the original was that she was usually sweet and giggly, but when you made her mad, she became the Hulk, an unstoppable rage monster.

 

[Awesome Possum]

With the possible exception of Snagglepuss, I guess.

No one under 40 or 50 knows who that is outside of references on The Simpsons or Family Guy.

I can understand that, but still, we do have better options now. Still, I guess stereotyped characters have been reinvented before. They might be able to reinvent Him in a more nuanced and sympathetic way.

I like HIM being pure evil while still campy, that's the charm of the character. HIM is the literal Devil and was the only actual threat shown throughout the series, you don't need sympathy for HIM.

 

[Christopher]

I like HIM being pure evil while still campy, that's the charm of the character. HIM is the literal Devil and was the only actual threat shown throughout the series, you don't need sympathy for HIM.

But that's just what I found so homophobic -- the idea that THE most absolutely evil, horrifying, disgusting creature in the entire universe was the man in drag. It felt like an echo of the prejudices and stereotypes of countless generations of fiction, the absolute disgust that manly heroes felt toward any hint of gender flexibility, as if it were even worse to be gay or effeminate than to be a murderer or blackmailer.

 

[JD]

The callback is in the composition -- the placement of the sisters (Bubbles/Blossom/Buttercup), their trademark colors, the vertical streaks emulating the anime-style speed lines the show used heavily. Compare it to these shots:

https://media.comicbook.com/2020/08/powerpuff-girls-live-action-reactions-the-cw-1234627-1280x0.jpeg
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4718304/mediaviewer/rm729743872/

Oh, OK, now I get it.

 

[Awesome Possum]

But that's just what I found so homophobic -- the idea that THE most absolutely evil, horrifying, disgusting creature in the entire universe was the man in drag. It felt like an echo of the prejudices and stereotypes of countless generations of fiction, the absolute disgust that manly heroes felt toward any hint of gender flexibility, as if it were even worse to be gay or effeminate than to be a murderer or blackmailer.

He wasn’t evil because of how he presented himself. The form he took wasn’t even his true form, it was something he took on to interact with the girls.

 

[Christopher]

He wasn’t evil because of how he presented himself. The form he took wasn’t even his true form, it was something he took on to interact with the girls.

It's not about the character's in-story reasons or motivations, because the characters are only products of the writers. As I said, the writers' choice to depict the character that way felt like a perpetuation of a generations-old homophobic practice in fiction, from The Maltese Falcon to The Silence of the Lambs and countless others.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

As I said, the writers' choice to depict the character that way felt like a perpetuation of a generations-old homophobic practice in fiction, from The Maltese Falcon to The Silence of the Lambs and countless others.

I didn't feel that. Perhaps you mean that it felt that way to you?

I like HIM being pure evil while still campy, that's the charm of the character. HIM is the literal Devil and was the only actual threat shown throughout the series, you don't need sympathy for HIM.

That's exactly how I felt. I felt that HIM was campy and over-the-top.

 

[Awesome Possum]

It's not about the character's in-story reasons or motivations, because the characters are only products of the writers. As I said, the writers' choice to depict the character that way felt like a perpetuation of a generations-old homophobic practice in fiction, from The Maltese Falcon to The Silence of the Lambs and countless others.

I think you're reading way too into it.

 

[Christopher]

I think you're reading way too into it.

Remember, at the time (and until very recently), it was forbidden to depict any openly gay or lesbian characters in American animation. So if the one and only depiction of queerness in the entirety of animated media was a character presented as the ultimate evil in the universe, that's not neutral. Regardless of whether it was deliberate or unintentional, it sent an unfortunate message.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Regardless of whether it was deliberate or unintentional, it sent an unfortunate message.

If you say so.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Remember, at the time (and until very recently), it was forbidden to depict any openly gay or lesbian characters in American animation. So if the one and only depiction of queerness in the entirety of animated media was a character presented as the ultimate evil in the universe, that's not neutral. Regardless of whether it was deliberate or unintentional, it sent an unfortunate message.

LGBTQ people don’t agree. That’s why we gladly adopted every single Disney villain as representation.

 

[Christopher]

LGBTQ people don’t agree. That’s why we gladly adopted every single Disney villain as representation.

As you acknowledged before, that was a case of embracing the negative images because there weren't any positive alternatives available. That doesn't mean they weren't intended as slurs. It just means you rose above them.

Still, I'm just trying to explain why I found Him to be a negative portrayal at the time. If the LGBTQ community has chosen to interpret it as something positive, to make it their own, that's good. Given that the new show is from Berlanti Productions, I'm sure they'll do something positive with the character too, if they use him.

 

[JD]

It's always nice to see a straight guy explaining to a trans woman what is or is not offensive to LGBTQ people.

 

[Christopher]

It's always nice to see a straight guy explaining to a trans woman what is or is not offensive to LGBTQ people.

Sorry, not my intent. As I said, I just meant to explain how it appeared to me at the time, and I'm glad that the LGBTQ community chose to take it positively rather than being as hurt and offended by it as I always feared they would be.

Still, you're right. I shouldn't be so preoccupied with whether I'm being understood, when I'm not the one whose point of view matters. I should've dropped it two or three replies earlier.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Powerpuff to be repiloted

https://deadline.com/2021/05/powerp...rooklyn-painkiller-picked-up-dead-1234762992/

 

[Christopher]

Powerpuff to be repiloted

That worried me when I first heard it, but I'm relieved that they're going to do a new pilot with the same (really great-looking) cast.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Powerpuff to be repiloted

https://deadline.com/2021/05/powerp...rooklyn-painkiller-picked-up-dead-1234762992/

will that mean they will more kid friendly, or more "adult"? My girls might have been interested in it (as they met one of the stars and saw another regularly on Disney), if it was something appropriate for their ages (16 and 10)

 

[valkyrie013]

Hopefully change the plot of disaffected 20 something's.. Bit more hope and fun like the original.