Fun for fans and newcomers alike

The Powerpuff Girls movie takes the story, familiar to viewers of the TV show, of how Professor Utonium created Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. It then takes it a step further, detailing how the heroines made the choice to use their powers to serve their fellow citizens.

The movie is full of high-octane action, almost from the opening credits. The Girls are shown how to play "Tag" by their fellow Kindergartners, and then launch into a game that causes destruction to much of Townsville. The movie does not lose sight of the fact (one of the MAJOR draws of the TV series) that the girls, in spite of their powers, are still just little children: they aren't being cruel, they just aren't aware of what they can do. "What they can do" becomes terribly clear the following day when they return to their Kindergarten and discover that recess and snack time are cancelled so workers can repair the damage they did. (This, of course, does not exactly make them The Popularity Triplets with the other kids.)

The Girls are then conned by the monkey Jojo (later revealed as Mojo Jojo) into helping with a fiendish plot to take over Townsville. The Girls are vilified by the people of Townsville; even Professor Utonium doesn't know if he can believe in their goodness any more. The sisters fly off, but then return to save the people when it looks as if all is lost.

The movie will appeal to children because of its straightforward story line that teaches a lesson without being preachy or hitting the viewer over the head with it. Adults will love the in-jokes and references to other classic movies (most notably "Planet of the Apes" and "King Kong"). Like the old "Batman" TV show, this movie works on more than one level to entertain its audience.

If there is a drawback to the movie, it is that sometimes it tries to use animation techniques that don't always work. A scene in which the Girls watch another girl play Tag, their eyes following the child as she runs across the playground, seems oddly forced and unreal. Another scene in the middle of the movie, in which a street punk approaches the Girls menacingly, looks too much like a moving cardboard cutout to be convincing. These are minor points, though, and do not ruin the film.

This is a film for everyone to enjoy, a family film with something for the younger set and the adults alike.