Plot: What’s it about?
Sugar. Spice. And everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girl. But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction…Chemical X! Thus, The Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra super powers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil! This how each episode of The Powerpuff Girls begins and it tells the origins of these pint sized crime fighters. These girls might be small and colorful, but they pack a powerful punch and if they work together, few monsters can stand up to them. No matter how massive and powerful the various bad characters are, these mini marvels always emerge on top. In Townsville, the girls live with Professor Utonium and attend kindergarten, where they protect the class hamster and maintain classroom order. But they don’t get to color pretty pictures and giggle all the time, as they have to fight crime and in this town, it seems a new monster tries to overtake the place each & every day. No one has beaten them yet, but can The Powerpuff Girls manage to keep their record flawless?
The whole premise might sound goopy or lame, but trust me on this one, The Powerpuff Girls is one hilarious television show. The show uses some of the most pastel and colorful visuals I’ve ever seen, which fit the three girls to sheer perfection. I admit the colors can be so rich and bright at times, it almost hurts your eyes, but it is all in good fun, right? Lots of pinks and blues are in play with this series, especially those adorable pink hues. The characters range from the bumbling Professor to the charming and fun Powerpuffs to the villains, who aren’t too bad themselves. The girls are awesome designs and in the end, their sugar coated exteriors match up well with their strange personalities. The villains are varied to be sure, from a super smart monkey to a whiny classmate to “Him” and each offers a unique challenge for the girls. Some of the storylines are out there to be sure, but in a series like this one, I think the more varied the storylines, the better. I’m very pleased to have another volume of episodes on DVD, so let’s hope Warner continues to release this series. Below is a list of all even seven episodes included on this disc…
1. Meet the Beat-Alls
2. Jewel of the Aisle
3. Equal Fights
4. Bubblevision
5. Collect Her
6. Buttercrush
7. Bought and Scold
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame transfers, as intended. This series has an overload of colors, but this disc never slips, not even for a second. The hues look as vibrant as humanly possible, but never smear or oversaturate, which is highly impressive work. The black levels are rich and never obscure detail in the least. I also saw no evidence of edge enhancement or compression flaws, these all look terrific. I have loved the visual look of previous episodes and these are just as good, no real problems to report.
Audio: How does it sound?
The exciting sounds of the Powerpuff realm are in full force here, from the quirky musical score to the squeaky vocals. Of course, this sounds much like the series does on television, so don’t expect much in terms of dynamic presence. I found the audio to be a little sharper here however, so this disc is an improvement, to an extent. The elements all sound terrific here, with booming music, clean sound effects, and well presented dialogue. This disc also includes language tracks in Spanish and French, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In a most welcome turn, this disc includes audio commentary tracks on two episodes, by the characters themselves. You can listen to comments from the Mayor on “Bought and Scold,” as well as tap into Mojo Jojo’s thoughts on “Meet the Beat-Alls.” I loved these tracks and found them to be hilarious, so I hope to see more of these sessions on future Powerpuff releases. You’ll also find a bonus Cartoon Network C-Toon, some DVD ROM content, and a music video for Apples in Stereo, not a bad selection of extras, as this is a cartoon television show.
