The success of "The Rugrats Movie" inspired a whole host of animated TV shows to hit the big screen, but none of their movies - apart from the first "Rugrats" sequel - have had anything like the same popularity (don't bet on a sequel to "Hey Arnold! The Movie" turning up any time ever). The Cartoon Network's first movie "The Powerpuff Girls" does deserve credit for ambition; this is an origins movie (and unlike some movies based on TV shows, this does feel like a proper movie) and it's not afraid to be serious. In fact, that's the biggest problem with the tale - for a lot of the time it's almost too serious to be as much fun as its source.
As explained on one TV episode (and here - score points for continuity), Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were invented when Professor Utonium's chimp assistant pushed him while he was blending sugar, spice and everything nice, and caused him to accidentally add an extra ingredient to the concoction... Chemical X. Here we learn that their superpowers did more harm than good at first, which said chimp turned to his advantage. The movie assumes enough familiarity with the series so you'll know that the Professor threw the chimp out after the Girls were born, and that chimp (also affected in the explosion) was Mojo Jojo, who hogs the screen here as well - the show's other recurring villains either have walk-ons (notably the Gangrene Gang) or don't appear (Him is particularly missed).
The low point is, sad to say, from the Powerpuffs themselves; not their characters, but the scene where they play the most destructive game of tag in history (it does set up a reason for the crime-ravaged city of Townsville to hate them, but it also goes on far, far longer than necessary). And as said before, a lot of the fun and energy of the source is lost here (as is, apart from the opening and closing scenes, the narrator) - but the design is still great, the action speedy, we're spared songs (except for the end credits) and when the movie gets its act together it's as inventive as the source at its best (it can't resist making pop culture references to the likes of "Planet of the Apes" and other simian jokes, but at least they're good ones). So it's hardly a pain to watch, but being a fan is a prerequisite. And happily, I remain one. Plus it's infinitely better than the "Dexter's Laboratory" short that precedes it.
Oh yeah, they rock hard.
