The CW’s ‘Powerpuff Girls’ Trailer Breaks Record For Looking Worse Than a Doomed Anime Live-action Remake

Created by animator Craig McCracken, The Powerpuff Girls is an animated superhero series which premiered on Cartoon Network for six seasons, three specials, and one feature film. The series centered around three girls who gained superpowers after Professor Utonium spilled Chemical X into the mixture from which he attempted to create a ‘perfect little girl.’

The Powerpuff Girls gained superhuman strength, speed, senses, limited invulnerability, and more. The cartoon series garnered a lot of attention and critical appreciation for being spot-on pop culture acumen. Critics at the time shared that the animated series was so much fun to watch, and it led to bringing in the Girl Power trend in the entertainment media. However, the same cannot be said about its live-action adaptation.

Footage from The Powerpuff Girls’ canceled live-action adaptation resurfaced online

According to Variety, CW’s now-canceled live-action adaptation of Powerpuff Girls starring Chloe Bennett, Dove Cameron, Yana Perrault, and Donald Faison has resurfaced on the Internet. The footage from the show was leaked on YouTube, and it has not impressed the audience. The publication shared that the studios have confirmed that the footage the audience saw is real, but the final trailer was never assembled.

The leaked footage introduced Bennett, who can be seen as Blossom, Cameron as Bubbles, and Perrault as Buttercup. It goes on to show their younger version of their rise to fame and their lives as young adults. The ‘trailer’ showed the young adult version of Blossom being constantly stressed, Bubbles constantly drinking and throwing up in a trashcan, and finally, Buttercup being rebellious.

CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz, at the time of the cancelation of the project, shared,

The reason you do pilots is because sometimes things miss, and this was just a miss. We believe in the cast completely. We believe in Diablo Cody and Heather Regnier, the writers. We believe in the auspices of Greg Berlanti and Warner Bros. TV Studios.

He continued that in the case of Powerpuff Girls, the pilot didn’t work, but because they’d seen there were enough elements in there, they wanted to give it another shot. He added that’s the reason they didn’t want to go forward with what they had, as it didn’t feel rooted in reality as it might have felt. The network canceled the reboot in May 2023.

The original series creator Craig McCracken shared with the L.A. Times that he only had one meeting with the reboot team, and he clarified to them that once they turn the characters into young adults, they are no longer Powerpuff Girls. He noted they are just three super girls who do not have to deal with being kids, and that is a completely new show.

Did the Powerpuff Girls’ canceled reboot replace Dragonball Evolution as the worst live-action remake?

The recently resurfaced footage from CW’s Powerpuff Girls reboot show has not impressed the audience, especially the ones who grew up watching the animated series on Cartoon Network. The canceled reboot has reportedly taken the top spot on the list of worst anime live-action remakes, pushing Dragonball Evolution to the second spot.

Where for many, Dragon Ball was the introduction to all the wonder that the anime world had to offer, the live-action adaptation titled Dragonball Evolution was dubbed as the worst anime adaptation of all time. At the time of release, both fans and non-fans of the franchise were very open about their criticism of the feature.

They pointed out that the feature lacked faithfulness to the mythology and lore of the manga and anime, and above all, it was just really poor in storytelling and visuals. Fans at the time claimed that despite the story having plenty of arcs to pick and explore, the movies did not recreate any of it and made the adventures of Goku and his friends into a caricature of the source material. It holds a 2.5 rating on IMDb and a 14% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Creator Akira Toriyama at the time shared that he did not care about the final product, claiming that the makers ignored his inputs about the feature. The only good thing about a failed Dragonball Evolution was the fact that Toriyama was convinced that Dragon Ball needed something fresh and new. He became more active and involved in the entries that followed: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F,’ and more.

But now it seems like the Powerpuff Girls’ canceled reboot has taken the spot of the worst anime live-action adaptation, even though it was canceled. Fans called the series ‘insultingly bad.’. The footage baffled the fans and made them question the creators about who in their right mind would make that. They are happy that the project never saw the light of day.

The Powerpuff Girls’ footage has now been deleted.