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So that new PPG show is really, REALLY bad.

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Astral Dog

Member
Not sure why you included my post but...
It's possible to like things while critiquing them.

HIM is cool (probably my favorite villain from the series), but he's also a very stereotypical played-out sissy villain creepy crossdresser relic character with tons of homophobic and effemiphobic qualities; he can come off as really offensive to a lot of people, and it's clear that a lot of what makes him unnerving has to do with his gender expression and even sexuality- like when he licks the professor-. Which makes sense given that he was created by straight men in the 90s.

The point of my post was questioning why they saw fit to remove Miss Bellum for being problematic while keeping the effeminate crossdressing queer devil man who's the embodiment of all evil in a society where a lot of the representation effeminate queer men get in the media involves psychotic villainy or gross out gags.
It's just a little odd to me that this flew over their heads.

If Him was a weak, joke villain i would agree with you, but what makes him work is that he is one of the most threatening and powerful enemies the girls ever face, with no sure way how to stop him, he has magical powers, knows how to trick the girls psychologically, is powerful, and even would be the villain that rules the world when the girls are not there to protect it.
All this despite his effeminate manerisms or way of dressing, wich is a bit stereotypical, but dont take away how powerful and evil he is.

It does not always work, like Mojo who goes from pathetic butt monkey to dangerous (even worst) enemy frequently, but Him is one of the best parts of the whole show.

edit: the new version try to downplay it like anime where he is more of a jester joke or the new show where he is more or less the same but far worse lacking what made him a fun baddie
 
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Reported
 

vypek

Member
Saw a few episodes with someone over the weekend. I actually really like the opening and think it might top the original. Everything else is really awful. Watched a scene where a dog's leash very obviously disappeared into thin air in a scene and then re-appear in another scene.

There was a callback to the original's use of the sugar, spice ... chemical x line but that is the only noteworthy thing I saw besides the opening.

Why didn't they try to get the original guy to work on this?
 

Finaj

Member
Saw a few episodes with someone over the weekend. I actually really like the opening and think it might top the original. Everything else is really awful. Watched a scene where a dog's leash very obviously disappeared into thin air in a scene and then re-appear in another scene.

There was a callback to the original's use of the sugar, spice ... chemical x line but that is the only noteworthy thing I saw besides the opening.

Why didn't they try to get the original guy to work on this?

He's been working on Wander over Yonder, which just got canceled.
 

Ran rp

Member
Saw a few episodes with someone over the weekend. I actually really like the opening and think it might top the original. Everything else is really awful. Watched a scene where a dog's leash very obviously disappeared into thin air in a scene and then re-appear in another scene.

There was a callback to the original's use of the sugar, spice ... chemical x line but that is the only noteworthy thing I saw besides the opening.

Why didn't they try to get the original guy to work on this?

McCraken? I believe he's working on Wander Over Yonder for Disney, which I should probably check out sometime.

edit: oh, it's already over? ^
 

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
Saw a few episodes with someone over the weekend. I actually really like the opening and think it might top the original. Everything else is really awful. Watched a scene where a dog's leash very obviously disappeared into thin air in a scene and then re-appear in another scene.

There was a callback to the original's use of the sugar, spice ... chemical x line but that is the only noteworthy thing I saw besides the opening.

Why didn't they try to get the original guy to work on this?

Craig McCracken left Cartoon Network during their dumb "Let's do live-action" phase, feeling it disrespects the name and CN brand.
He went over to Disney to work on Wander Over Yonder. Sadly that was recently cancelled so who knows what he'll do now.
 

Ran rp

Member
Oh yeah, not sure if any of this is new but McCracken talked a little bit about the PPG movie on his tumblr.

PPG Movie, Serious VS Funny

crackmccraigen:

Another PPG movie factoid. When we started the film I was encouraged by CN to make the movie for “25 year old guys.” So we upped the seriousness and action and down played the funny. By the time we finished there was a regime change at CN and the new heads of the Network were upset we didn’t make a poppy, colourful kids movie.

This is why I stay in TV and avoid features, too many politics in movies.
quoth143: Wait so CN before the new regime wanted you to make a movie for kids that actually treated them like people and not pea-brains who only liked flashing colors?!
No they actually wanted us to gear it more towards adults and not kids. This was when they first had the idea that they wanted to try producing animation for older audiences, Samurai Jack was a part of this thinking as well. We were sort of the guinea pigs for what would later evolve into Adult Swim.

Not ehhhh about it at all, it’s just too painful of an experience to think about. We worked super hard on that movie, we poured our hearts into it but having it totally fail at the box office and having CN be disappointed with what we did was just too much for Lauren and I to bare. So for my creative sanity I try to move past it and just make new stuff. But it’s really nice to hear people like it, so thanks.
 

Astral Dog

Member
I loved the PPG movie :)

It's been more than a few years since I saw The Powerpuff Girls movie but I remember really enjoying it.
not only the plot made for a good prequel about the girls being accepted for who they are but its also the best Mojo Jojo has ever been.
 

vypek

Member
He's been working on Wander over Yonder, which just got canceled.

I heard it got cancelled but I forgot to consider the obvious fact that work must have started on this current PPG before the cancellation. I'm kind of surprised I didn't see his name anywhere on it but maybe that is a good thing. It may be hard to do two shows at once but maybe they should have had him consult. I can't tell if this show wants to be an action or a comedy. It doesn't seem to really do either too well.
 

kyser73

Member
My 5 year old daughter loves the show, so at least one member of its most likely target audience enjoys it. She's also a huge fan of the OG series too.
 

Illucio

Banned
I get the negative reception of the show, I think it would benefit more if they made episodes via storyboarding.

I'm enjoying the show for what it is right now, but overall it's very weak.
 
If Him was a weak villain i would agree with you, but what makes him work is that he is one of the most threatening and powerful enemies the girls ever face, with no sure way how to stop him, he has magical powers, knows how to trick the girls psychologically, is powerful, and even would be the villain that rules the world when the girls are not there to protect it.
All this despite his effeminate manerisms or way of dressing, wich is a bit stereotypical, but dont take away how powerful and evil he is.

I mean...
PPG doesn't exist in a vacuum, none of what you're saying is all that pertinent to my post.
It doesn't particularity matter how cool or well-written he is as a villain (Again, I think he's one of the best villains in the original program), he still exists in a world that tells gender-nonconforming feminine men- young and old, GB or straight- that they're living jokes or ugly creepy bad guys simply because they're different.
I'd think any creative team with progressive intentions would have cut the character ASAP and maybe bargain with CN to add a more positive feminine crossdressing male character.
 

Crocodile

Member
I believe what happened was that they are making choices based on what they think "progressive" people want rather than actually make an honest effort to write better, more progressive themes, this is why they removed Bellum, "She is sexy! feminists will hate her!" they think rather than actually realize the character was more complex than that, "We made a trans allegory! millenials will eat it up, quick make a press release!" they think rather than analyze the fucking trainwreck they wrote.

I know people have an adverse reaction to the usage of this word, but im sorry, this is a textbook example of writers pandering to a certain audience, only this people are clueless and out of touch with the people they're trying to pander to, it keeps backfiring.

I'm not going to use the word pandering but yeah, I really get the sense that they are trying to be progressive (which is good) but aren't actually thinking about of this through at all and thus making big misteps (which is bad). There is a term for this but I'm going to leave that for another discussion. I do hope they take the feedback and improve as the show goes on. I'm sure they can if they are more careful.

So they took Ms. Bellum out of the series because she was apparently too sexy......only to have an episode where Blossom & Bubbles (two kindergartners) start twerking.

Nick-Young-confused.gif

I love that there is a gif version of that picture

I mean...
PPG doesn't exist in a vacuum, none of what you're saying is all that pertinent to my post.
It doesn't particularity matter how cool or well-written he is as a villain (Again, I think he's one of the best villains in the original program), he still exists in a world that tells gender-nonconforming feminine men- young and old, GB or straight- that they're living jokes or ugly creepy bad guys simply because they're different.
I'd think any creative team with progressive intentions would have cut the character ASAP and maybe bargain with CN to add a more positive feminine crossdressing male character.

I honestly don't think an appropriate response is to NEVER employ those sorts of stertypes but rather to reduce their use and be careful and mindful when you do use them. Via this logic, you can never write a black person who is a street thug, an Italian who is a mobster, etc. I dunno, I have to agree with others in that HIM never came across as a joke in the previous series. He was a serious, powerful and intelligent adversary. I don't know what his incarnation in the new show is like but the idea shouldn't be "OMG this might offend someone" but rather "how do we make sure he stays a well written character". I admit, I'm not gay but I never felt he was an offensive stereotype in the past and I still don't think he is even if the character does play into some sterotypes.
 

JSevere

Member
The Powerpuff Girls Movie was fantastic and it's still such a shame that it bombed. Waiting for WB to drop that Blu-ray....
 

PSqueak

Banned
With all this Him talk, back then i never understood why at the time (the 90's) it was apparently popular to make the devil effeminate, Cow & Chicken did it, PPG did it, South Park did it (even tho physically he was a big burly guy, he was effeminate).

But thinking about it now and i can only think bad things as to why it was like that.

Despite this, i think the way Him was handled, regardless of how potentially damaging the whole concept is/was, didn't rely on joking about him being effeminate and crossdressing, if anything the only joke i can think of was that his official name was "him" but dressed girlishly.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
With all this Him talk, back then i never understood why at the time (the 90's) it was apparently popular to make the devil effeminate, Cow & Chicken did it, PPG did it, South Park did it (even tho physically he was a big burly guy, he was effeminate).

But thinking about it now and i can only think bad things as to why it was like that.

One factor would be because a good deal of humor is irony, and subverting expectations. Giving the "devil" character characteristics that are not traditionally held by the "devil" characters in past media adds dimensionality. Granted, it can potentially be used in insensitive ways, but I'm not in the creators' heads, so I'm not going to judge them on that point.

That aside, there are legitimate reasons, from a comedy and character building perspective, why you would make a character who has seemingly opposing character traits.
 
Craig McCracken left Cartoon Network during their dumb "Let's do live-action" phase, feeling it disrespects the name and CN brand.
He went over to Disney to work on Wander Over Yonder. Sadly that was recently cancelled so who knows what he'll do now.

He said he's already working on a new show for Disney.
 

Raxus

Member
There was a lot more stuff with the dog, they cut it and I guess ran out of time to check for continuity.

And thanks for liking Ep 12 dity, I can tell you that there was a ton of more stuff with Mojo etc.
I'm going to see where that file is and put it on my website.
EPISODE 12, UNCUT!
I figured there was production issues. Especially considering it takes 9 months to produce 15 - 30 minutes of animation and even then you still get errors.

Yeah, during that period Cartoon Network was barely Cartoon Network, with all those cheesey teen live-action shows that they were airing.

It is major hyperbole but Pendelton Ward may have singlehandedly saved CN along with Adult Swim.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
I saw one look at the "twerking" episode and noped the fuck out.

I was about to rage like Bubbles in the episode where she went all the way up to 11

It was great! It showed the origin story of the girls and of how everything wasn't exactly all hunky-dory in the beginning. The town didn't even accept the girls at all initially.

Great movie and excellent production values too. I went to see it actually. If only the Dexter movie had been a full movie production instead of for TV...still great though
 
I haven't seen the new show, but a friend of mine asked me to post this here. He said "this is part 1 of a very accurate and in depth analysis comparing why Classic PPG works and PPG 2016 does not. It can be a bit silly at times, but Pan Pizza is a very intelligent reviewer. This is a must watch for any PPG fan. Please share your thoughts."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QExDCEiYP7I
 
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