Blog: Fighting Crime Before Bedtime With a new Generation

Bust out the sugar, spice and everything nice because the Powerpuff Girls are back.

I will admit that I screamed a little last summer when Cartoon Network first announced that they’d be rebooting the show. The discolored Powerpuff Girls-themed sleeping bag, tattered Bubbles costume and other assorted paraphernalia scattered around my house are a testament to my complete adoration of the series.

When the Powerpuff Girls first premiered in 1998, I doubt that Cartoon Network knew what a hit of a series that they had on their hands. Initially titled The Whoop-Ass Girls by Craig McCracken, the show lasted 7 years, spawned a movie, two specials, several video games, tons of merchandise and even its own anime.

Considering that Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup have made over $2.5 billion for Cartoon Network in the nearly two decades since the show debuted, it’s amazing that it took this long for them to do a full reboot. The series is expected to air in 2016.

But there’s still that lingering apprehension that comes with knowing that a beloved childhood classic is being meddled with, most likely for the sake of profit. Though I’m normally the person who is overly suspicious of decisions like this, for once I think there are more pros to this reboot than cons, and here’s why.

PPG is not the first show from our childhood to get a reboot this decade. Last year the beloved magical girl anime Sailor Moon got a remake that has been airing worldwide and the Transformers movie series has seen massive success. Cartoon Network itself rebooted the beloved superhero cartoon Teen Titans into the now sillier Teen Titans Go! in 2013.

This trend of rebooting old properties is not stopping anytime soon, even if it could be read as a sign that Hollywood is out of ideas. As long as nostalgia for these old series exists, more reboots will be produced.

Having grown up with the original version, it’ll be easy for us old geezers to give in to our knee-jerk reactions and proclaim, “It’s different, therefore it must suck!,” like old fans did when Teen Titans Go! first aired. But as this Shortpacked comic rightfully points out, hating on something just because it is not exactly like you remember it is a sign that you’re growing old and need to learn to cope with that.

Cartoon Network has an opportunity to bring the charm and wit of the Powerpuff Girls to a whole new generation of kids. Children who weren’t even born when the show first premiered will be awed by the badassery of the Powerpuff Girls, even if that badassery is delivered to them in a different form.

We’re getting older and the channels we used to love no longer cater to us. That’s okay. Let today’s kids have their fun.

Now, where did I put my walker?

headshotRosie Brown is a sophomore prospective journalism major and can be reached at rosie.a.brown@gmail.com.

 


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