The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002), PG

Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles are The Powerpuff Girls. (Photo: Cartoon Network)

Starring: Catherine Cavadini, Tara Strong, E G Daily

The most adorable little superheroines in all of Townsville make the jump to the big screen in this feature-length animated adventure based on the popular Cartoon Network series The Powerpuff Girls. Brilliant scientist Professor Utonium (voice of Tom Kane) is performing an experiment in his lab when Jojo, a monkey trained to assist the professor, accidentally drops a bottle of hyper-powerful Chemical X into a mixture of sugar, spice, and everything nice. To the professor's surprise, what should emerge from the subsequent chemical reaction but three little girls: bright and practical Blossom (voice of Cathy Cavadini), sweet and sunny Bubbles (voice of Tara Strong), and tomboyish Buttercup (voice of Elizabeth Daily). Professor Utonium discovers that the girls have remarkable powers and super-human strength, and he hopes they'll be able to improve life in the crime-infected City of Townsville. However, after their first day at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten with Ms. Keane (voice of Jennifer Hale), the girls learn that having super powers can be both a blessing and a curse. Rejected by their classmates and quite unhappy, the girls are easily swayed when Mojo Jojo (voice of Roger L. Jackson), a superintelligent monkey in a turban, asks them to help him with a campaign to save the city. What the girls don't know is that Mojo Jojo is actually the monkey who once assisted the Professor; now he's embraced evil and hopes to use the Powerpuff Girls as part of his criminal scheme to wrestle control of Townsville away from the dense but well-meaning Mayor (voice of Tom Kenny). The Powerpuff Girls Movie was directed and co-written by Craig McCracken, who created the original television show as well as writing most of the episodes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide