An eternal love for cartoons, strong characters, and being able to work collaboratively with some of the brightest minds in animation. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls. And thus, The Powerpuff Girls were born.
Behind the scenes of this animated classic, there was no Professor Utonium overseeing carefully laid out ingredients only to accidentally add some Chemical X. In fact, as the show’s creator Craig McCracken revealed to Teen Vogue, it really all started with a dream of pursuing animation in college. And nearly 20 years later as the revolutionary series celebrates its 20th anniversary on November 18, 2018, those involved with the Cartoon Network series can hardly believe how impactful a tale of kindergarten girls saving the day really ended up being. The show, which started airing in 1998, included 78 episodes and a movie, went off the air in 2005. It later returned in 2016, featuring entirely new voices and updated animation.
Craig shared with Teen Vogue that he thought the show would resonate with a smaller audience and only exist for a short period of time. He knew that the cartoon would be fun and that people would enjoy it, but never expected for it to continue on for two decades. "The fact that it's grown into this thing and it's still resonating with people, that means a lot to me," he said. "The whole goal of making cartoons is to create that one character that resonates with audiences for generations. You hope that your cartoon speaks to people, and the fact that it does, that really means a lot to me."
Since its inception, The Powerpuff Girls has centered on three super-powered sisters named Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles. Each of the characters has a distinct personality: Bubbles represents a sense of wonderment and childlike curiosity, Blossom serves as the fearless and strong-willed leader, and Buttercup is often portrayed as brave albeit a little brash. Despite their differences, the three have a close bond and their perpetual love and care for one another has always been a hallmark of the series.
Amy Keating Rogers, one of the show's original writers, has similar feelings as Craig about the show's legacy. She can now acknowledge how successful the show became during its original run, but in its first stages, she never anticipated that it would have such a place in pop culture. Amy credits the Powerpuff Girls lasting influence to the show's main characters, saying, "The fact that it was kindergarten girls kicking butt was fun and unusual. The music was great, and all these elements came together to create something really special."