#fuzzy lumkins

[powerpuff-man9895]

30 years ago today, "Meat Fuzzy Lumkins", the very first What-A-Cartoon short, premiered on Cartoon Network! It was the first of 2 (technically 3, if you count "Whoopass Stew") pilots for the PPG series.

It might be a hot take here, but I always liked how Fuzzy was portrayed in this short: He was a villain here, but in this pilot, he was a little more smarter in planning his scheme, going as far as to create a literal meat gun. In the series proper, he was dumbed down a bit and flipped out at even the smallest of slights.

And of course, I can't forget my favorite moment of this episode:

Isn't she cute when she's angry, folks?

[bugeyedfreaks]

Just another post of me being petty about PPG merch, but once again, while looking for clothes for other fandoms I like, I stumbled upon some PPG stuff from Dumbgood (link is here although I wouldn’t recommend buying from them… you’ll see why…) and I saw these two shirts being sold:

I’m lazy, I didn’t wanna pull the screencaps from the site. 😆

Now, both are interesting shirts, and it’s kind of cool that they used actual sketches on the t-shirts (the left is from toy development and the right was a poster concept sketch for Meat Fuzzy Lumkins)… but 1) these aren’t really, like, “new” designs since I’ve seen them on Japanese merch in the past (the left design is on a shirt in the PPG Perfect Guide) and 2) Dumbgood uses the reboot Powerpuff Girls logo on their merch, so… yeah, I dunno. It’s cool to see some variety in designs, but I’m still annoyed at this lack of consistency they have using old and new assets from different versions of the show.

[fly-pow-bye]

Official Ways To Watch The Powerpuff Girls In The US

I made a chart of every way you can legally and officially watch the Powerpuff Girls in the US, inspired by the recent news that Netflix is going to remove all of what they have on April 2nd. Too many words about specifics after the break.

The standalone DVDs (and VHSes) each have a selection of episodes. Some have bonus features and extra episodes from other cartoons. The Christmas special, 'Twas The Fight Before Christmas, was released on its own DVD, which features two music videos and a bonus Dexter's Lab episode. I lumped in The Powerpuff Girls Movie in this, which, of course, was released on its own DVD with its bonus features and an SD version of the movie that is not just a pan-and-scan of the widescreen original. I also lumped in the two PPG 2016 DVDs. Tiara Trouble has a few Season 1 episodes and The Last Donnycorn has a few Season 1 and 2 episodes plus all of the Season 1 shorts.

A complete Season 1 set was released in 2007, with every episode of Season 1 plus a plethora of bonus features, including promos, the Space Ghost episode Meat Fuzzy Lumkins (sic) premiered on (RIP George Lowe), and even everything that exists for The Whoopass Girls, the original college short and animatics that became the Powerpuff Girls. It is completely useless now because the box set they released two years later has Season 1 discs that are identical except they have an additional commercial.

The 2009 Complete Series DVD box set includes all six seasons, including the unaired See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey on the Season 5 DVDs, 'Twas The Fight, the 2008 special The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!! in letterbox standard definition, and a bunch of bonus features including those aforementioned college animatics, promos, and features taken from the standalone DVDs. Also, it has a great documentary for the original series! The 2024 reprint, still available as of this writing, is identical except each season is on two separate single-sided DVDs, which is an improvement, and it's all in a big plastic cover.

TTG v PPG is on the Teen Titans Go Season 3 Part 2 DVD. This is interesting because streaming services skip this episode entirely, as if it is not a true episode of Teen Titans Go.

Netflix currently has all six seasons, including Gnomey. Available separately from the series is 'Twas The Fight and the only time the US ever got to see an HD version of Rule!!! that wasn't an obscure airing on Boomerang. As mentioned before, they are all scheduled to be removed on April 2nd.

Max skips over Gnomey, but includes both 'Twas The Fight and an SD version of Rule!!! as a part of Season 6. They did remove PPG 2016, which caused confusion as it had the exact same title as the original on Max, but the original is still available in the US.

Hulu is the same as Max if you have the Disney+/Hulu/Max bundle, but Hulu has all of PPG 2016 available even if you don't have that bundle. The Power of Four is included as separate episodes, but it doesn't include any of the shorts. All of the PPG 2016 shorts are on YouTube on various official Cartoon Network channels, so it is no big loss.

The Cartoon Network mobile apps have a rotating selection of episodes from Powerpuff Girls and PPG 2016, all in the same section. TTG v PPG might be included in this rotation as well, but you can't rely on it being there, so I marked it as No. The app, and the website when it still existed, used to have the only official HD copy of The Powerpuff Girls Movie, but it was taken out along with the entire movies section at an unknown date. They do have all the PPG 2016 shorts.

All of the digital video stores listed have Seasons 1 through 6 of the original, with Gnomey included as a part of Season 5. Also exclusive to most of the digital stores is Dance Pantsed, a 2014 special that was made to gauge interest in the Powerpuff Girls with a unique CGI style. I would imagine Ringo Starr's involvement combined with its irrelevance to the reboot it spawned is keeping it from appearing on streaming services, but it is only 2 dollars.

PPG 2016's episodes are split into six parts, with two parts per season, comprising of every episode from Seasons 1 through 3. The five The Power of Four episodes are available in their own separate set, sometimes together, sometimes as five different episodes, always $4.99 with no way to buy them separately. Much like the DVDs and unlike the streaming services, TTG v PPG is available as a part of Teen Titans Go Season 3.

The iTunes Store has a 10th anniversary Powerpuff Girls collection that has an SD copy of Rule!!! and the documentary made for the DVD for sale. This is separate from the other season sets, and neither are included in the "Complete Series" set.

Microsoft mistakenly replaced Season 1 with that aforementioned 10th anniversary collection. The "Complete Series" set also replaces the Season 1 episodes with the episodes and specials from that collection. While there are Season 1 episodes, it doesn't have everything from Season 1, so I have to mark it as "Selection". Oops!

Xfinity On Demand has the same selection of the original and PPG 2016 episodes that the Cartoon Network app has (including the PPG 2016 shorts), except with their associated shows instead of just putting them in one section. It also has the rest of the PPG 2016 episodes for purchase, including the entirety of the Power of Four as one episode in Season 2. TTG v PPG is available for purchase, being placed among the Season 3 episodes of Teen Titans Go. Unfortunately, the rest of the original is not available.

That's all I wanted to check. I could make another line with "Yes" all across the board, including an HD copy of the movie and Rule!!!, but I did not. All I'll say is that Gabe Newell knew what he was saying when he said it was almost always a service problem instead of a pricing problem and leave it at that. Bye.

[glapplebloom]

Now the Series remains...

Master Research Link

What I’ve learned...

You know, when you’re looking through it with a fine tooth comb for feats, you notice some animation shortcuts used. Like a lot of looping animation that isn’t fully looped and such. But it is nice to see the origin being brought to life. It also amazes me how they didn’t use their powers during all of class, yet when Tag came on they went all out. Also Mrs. Keane is a saint! While the girls are being basically alienated by everyone, Keane is still treating them like any other student.

And in contrast, Mrs. Bellum is all aboard the “Arrest the Man when his kids need to be picked up” crowd. They kept him for hours while they were waiting at school. In more positive notes: At 24:52 there’s a show that’s debating if the manufacturing of Superpowered Kids should be illegal. It’s funny because there’s an episode where someone literally is doing that. Man, Mojo got some amazing looking shots to make him look intimidating. 

You know what’s funny? This will probably be the only time where Blossom thinks straight up violence is the answer in the original series. She’ll be forced to get violent in the Reboot. Speaking of reboot, you know how people complain about them not fighting a lot? Some of the fights don’t even have them landing blows and are still considered hitting them. And how did the name the Powerpuff Girls come to be? The Narrator called them that and thought it was good. 

Meat Fuzzy Lumkins (minus the P) is the first official episode of the Powerpuff Girls. Fuzzy enters a contest with his meat jam, loses, and then makes a meat gun to transmute everything into edible meat. Man, you can tell how different this was to the later series. Shame All-Beef Patty never got into the show or comics. I wonder what her gimmick would be like. Why the Salami Swami of all villains?

This was the first What a Cartoon Shown (via the Space Ghost special about introducing us to these new shows) and I became a fan the moment Bubbles brutalizes Fuzzy. Crime 101 introduces us to the Amoeba Boys. Man, I’ve been grouping them together for so long I forgot they have individual names. Either way, this is the girls most impressive showing so far between the two shorts. Makes sense considering they rob a bank.

Something that did creep me out was when Skinny Slim (the skinny Amoeba Boys) called Bubbles “Baby”. Like yeah Baby. Still does! And now the Pilots before the Pilots: Whoopass Stew! Man, the Amoeba Boys were actually threatening. Shame their brains melted when the girls sent them to the sun. Other things to note: HIM was going to be the devil, Dr. Mojo Jojo used an Electrified Dead Dog’s Head to turn others into dogs, and Dynamo was originally a fusion form.

You know what’s funny, Not only does Dynamo appear in the original series as a Robot (she does look like that in the Animatics), the idea of the Girls Fusing to one bigger being is used in the Reboot. Combined with Bliss they become the Mighty Power of Sisterhood. 

Also the Dub for the Powerpuff Girls Z was TERRIBLE! Its like everything is on fast forward.

Best Feat I found... 

The Meteor to Earth feat likely got them at light speed. That is the most impressive feat from this time of research.

Next Time...

The Original Series Proper. 

[gangreen]

Poster by Fred Seibert for ‘The Powerpuff Girls: Meat Fuzzy Lumkins’ created by Craig McCracken

Meat Fuzzy Lumkins was a Powerpuff Girls pilot that aired on cartoon showcase, ‘What a Cartoon!’ in 1995. It was one of two ppg pilots that would air on this showcase, the other being entitled ‘Whoopass Stew: A Sticky Situation,’ which aired in 1992 and introduced the Amoeba Boys. 

[nightmarecosmic]

[robininthewindow]

God fucking damnit I love Thai g shows from my childhood and ruing them by dumping utter truck loads of fucking trauma on their heads! Like dude you think dipper and Mabel are okay!? You think phineas and ferb are fine!? You think the power puff girls aren’t severely traumatized!? Well think again bitches cause they are now!

[powerlovepuff]

Oh, this is terrible! People, if only you knew how much pride Bubbles takes in her hair! All the washing and conditioning and brushing and brushing and brushing! 

[fredfilmsblog]

BTS w/B&PC Part 2

 Click here for Behind the Scenes with Bee and PuppyCat Part 1

Now that Bee and PuppyCat: Lazy in Space is scheduled to drop on Netflix,  September 6, 2022, I thought I would share some of my recollections as to how this special series of Natasha Allegri’s came to be. –Fred Seibert

Natasha Allegri is an amazing artist, as we saw in her work for “Adventure Time,” but when we got a look at the “Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake” comics that she had written and drawn we realized that her years of doing web comics had matured her into a fantastic storyteller as well. So, we were almost as disappointed in turning down her “Bee and PuppyCat” short as she. 

Natasha is a  walker, and after she pitched her cartoon to Frederator’s Eric Homan she started the four mile trek back to her Burbank apartment. Little did she know that Eric, always open to more feedback from co-workers, had emailed Carrie Miller in our New York office to get her take on the board. Both of my colleagues had heard me say tongue-in-cheek “the internet loves cats. If there’s a cat in the pitch, say ‘yes!’ without even looking at it.”

Carrie took one look, called Eric immediately. “We have to do this cartoon!” Eric heard her loud and clear, and before Natasha got home he’d already left a message on her machine. “We’ve made a terrible mistake. Of course, we’ll make ‘Bee and PuppyCat!’”

Production can always be a slog, and especially when our creators haven’t worked in animation or film before. Almost always over the 250 shorts that I’ve produced, the creators have often only made a few films at school, worked on particular sections of commercial films (character designing, storyboards, etcetera) but not running productions, or increasingly in the past few years, never worked directly on any films. Natasha had done thousands of drawings, hundreds of comics, been a revisionist on Adventure Time, but had rarely worked in film. 

Luckily, her time on Pen’s show and Kevin Kolde and Eric Homan to put together a fantastic team, including superstar director Larry Leichliter, who we’d worked with for years and was the supervising director on AT.

The only hiccup I can remember resulted in us doing something brand new. Usually, our first time creators pitches were way longer than the 5-7 minute shorts we were making (Craig McCracken’s The Powerpuff Girls’ “Meat Fuzzy Lumkins” was initially a 20 minute board), and our SOP was to not greenlight a production until the board was producible at the right length. In the case of PuppyCat, we liked Natasha’s stories so much we agreed to make it a two-parter, a first for my shorts.

We released the two shorts in the summer of 2013 and the results were almost instantaneous! Immediately the audience at Cartoon Hangover shot up, and what had been a channel with 70% men went to 50/50 men and women. (My wife, who rarely commented on my productions, within a minute into the first short said, “This cartoon is the best one you’ve done since 'he Powerpuff Girls!’”)

But, now what?! We had a success, but... would any network or streamer want the show?

More BTS w/B&PC in Part 3. Part 1 here.

Here are the limited edition promotional postcards for the first two “Bee and PuppyCat” shorts.

[mi4011minadigajaweera]

Craig McCracken - further research

His Career and Work

In 1993, Craig was recruited by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons (now Cartoon Network Studios) to work as an art director on the series 2 Stupid Dogs, but as his first job in the animation industry, he was never really happy with how that show worked.

While McCracken was working at Hanna-Barbera, studio president Fred Seibert started a brand new project: an animation incubator with 48 brand new cartoons that are each about seven minutes long. What a Cartoon!, as it was known, inspired McCracken to continue working on his Whoopass Girls! idea from his work at CalArts. He recalled that the network could not market a show with the word "ass" in it, so two of his friends came up with name ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ as a substitute for the original title.

As a backstory note how it all started, in June 1991, McCracken was in his first year in the character animation program of CalArts and drew three girls with large eyes, visually inspired by the paintings of Margaret Keane on a small sheet of orange construction paper as a birthday card design for his brother.

His new work with a refined plot, "The Powerpuff Girls in: Meat Fuzzy Lumkins", premiered on February 20, 1995, on Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons, along with its follow-up, "Crime 101", which aired on January 28, 1996. The first short to be picked up by the network was Tartakovsky's Dexter's Laboratory, which McCracken contributed to in the early seasons.

The fourth cartoon to greenlit a full series was McCracken's Powerpuff Girls. It premiered as a short in 1995 and debuted on November 18, 1998 as full half-hour episodes that was aired until its final episode on March 25, 2005. The Powerpuff Girls aired on Cartoon Network for six seasons, three specials, and a feature film, with the final episode airing on March 25, 2005. A total of 78 episodes were aired in addition to two shorts, a Christmas special, the film, a tenth anniversary special, and a special episode using CGI technology. Various spin-off media include an anime, three CD soundtracks, a home video collection, comic books, a series of video games, a 2016 reboot series, and an upcoming second reboot, as well as various licensed merchandise.

The series has been nominated for six Emmy Awards, nine Annie Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award during its run.

In 2002, McCracken also directed The Powerpuff Girls Movie, a prequel to his series. Although the film received generally positive reviews, unfortunately it was a box office failure.

Leaving The Powerpuff Girls after four seasons, McCracken focused on his next project; Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. He created this series with his wife Lauren Faust and Mike Moon and it premiered on Cartoon Network with the 90-minute television special "House of Bloo's" on August 13, 2004. The show also won Emmy and Annie awards and ran for six seasons, all directed by McCracken, ending on May 3, 2009.

He became the executive producer of The Cartoonstitute; a brand-new Cartoon Network showcase project, in April 2008. He left Cartoon Network in 2009 after 17 years of employment when the network began to emphasize on live-action and reality shows. In August 2013, he created Wander Over Yonder for Disney Television Animation and Disney Channel. Following the cancellation of Wander Over Yonder, McCracken pitched Disney a new show based on his 2009 comic strip The Kid from Planet Earth. The concept was later dismissed by Disney, and in 2017 he finally departed the company. After presenting his idea to Netflix, Kid Cosmic was selected as the working title. On February 2, 2021, the show made its debut, and it aired till February 3, 2022.

It marks McCracken's return to the superhero genre after The Powerpuff Girls and the first of his original works to include a serialized style. He pitched Netflix with 10 proposals in August 2021, however due to Netflix Animation's huge layoffs, he eventually left in April 2022.

On July 18, 2022, it was revealed that McCracken will make two reboots at Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe of the Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

McCracken was also awarded the Winsor McCay Award in 2023 for his "unparalleled achievement and exceptional contributions to animation" at the Annie Awards ceremony.

[bugeyedfreaks]

well well haters look who’s still #1

[fly-pow-bye]

Crime 101

Art Director: Paul Rudish Layout Designer: Mike Moon Animation Director: Genndy Tartakovsky Created, Written & Directed by: Craig McCracken

What-A-Cartoon Pilot #2: The Amoeba Boys, making their first appearance outside of a college short, don’t know how to do a good crime, so the Powerpuff Girls have to teach them how. Unfortunately, their teaching is considered by the police to be an actual crime, because, well, it was. While Meat Fuzzy Lumkins stuck to what would become the formula, Crime 101 tried to do something different with the concept. I did not really care for this episode, as it’s not particularly funny and the ending just kind of happens with no real rhyme or reason, but I can’t exactly hate it either. Once again, this is an interesting footnote in the Powerpuff Girls’ history, as we see the girls’ designs evolve more into what they would eventually become in the full series. (2/5)

[papatrust]

Lime green gorilla costume

#Lime green gorilla costume full

#Lime green gorilla costume series

This was intended to be part one of four Whoopass Girls shorts, but only one was produced. The following year he included the two girls as the main characters of his short film Whoopass Stew! The Whoopass Girls in: A Sticky Situation. In June 1991, Craig McCracken, a student of the animation program of CalArts, initially created a drawing of three girls on a small sheet of orange construction paper as a birthday card design for his brother.

2.4 Powerpuff Girls Z-exclusive characters.

#Lime green gorilla costume series

After the original series ended in 2005, a reboot began airing in 2016.

#Lime green gorilla costume full

High viewer approval ratings convinced the network to approve a full series, which premiered in 1998. After a name change and character redesigns, a new pilot, called "The Powerpuff Girls: Meat Fuzzy Lumkins", aired on Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons animation showcase in 1995. McCracken fleshed-out the premise as a short pilot called The Whoopass Girls in Whoopass Stew. Series creator Craig McCracken originally conceived the characters while attending the California Institute of the Arts in 1991. The series' villains include Mojo Jojo, a hyper-intelligent, megalomaniacal ape HIM, a mysterious demonic being Fuzzy Lumpkins, a Bigfoot-like hillbilly Princess Morbucks, a wealthy, spoiled girl and the Gangreen Gang, five green-skinned hoodlums. Keane, the girls' kindergarten teacher at Pokey Oaks school. Bellum, Mayor's secretary who acts as the voice of reason when he makes decisions and Ms. Secondary characters include Professor Utonium, the girls' father who created them in his lab Mayor, the goodhearted but dimwitted mayor of Townsville who frequently calls the girls via hotline to ask for help to protect the city Ms. The Powerpuff Girls is an American animated television series franchise that takes place in the fictional city of Townsville and stars the titular Powerpuff Girls, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, who appear in the 1998 Powerpuff Girls series and the 2006 Powerpuff Girls Z series, as well as Bliss, who joins the trio beginning with the 2016 Powerpuff Girls series. See also: List of Powerpuff Girls Z characters

[toughbcy-blog]

overdue starter for... @spiitfirebuds ( @ // zoria  )

   The last thing Buttercup expected in his afternoon was another call about only HELL KNOWS WHAT after already defeating a monster and a few crooks. But it was some kind of disturbance in the woods, with concerns from citizens, so Buttercup opted out of all the Powerpuffs to go forward and deal with it -- especially since he was considering it was likely Fuzzy Lumkins or someone of his family.

   So, he only did what was natural and fly out into the woods to where he assumed the source was - and then start walking around at ground level. It was better than nothing and it was easier to see. Plus, he could enjoy a few minutes away from Townsville itself. The sound of birds chirping and wind through the trees was lacking, making his ears ring from the lack of noise surrounding his entire being. But no need to focus on it, Buttercup pushes forward and over a few fallen trees with a stretch of the arms. The setting was peaceful, almost too much so for him. So he hoped to get this over with as soon as possible, despite the beautiful scenery. He could get almost the same pleasure out of being in the garden.

   "Is anyone even OUT HERE??"  Despite the FRUSTRATION in his voice, there was a purpose: he knew very well how protective of property Lumkins were, so even the idea that he'd be near it would lead into some angry yelling.

   But that's just what he was betting on - it was what he was USED to seeing out in the woods, aside from squirrels. He raised his voice again. "FUCKIN----' HELLO??"

[ashadowstreak]

Places not to take the villains on dates: Mojo to a science museum, Fuzzy Lumkins to FurCon, Ameoba Boys to a disinfectant factory, and Him to Red Lobster

You raise good points. Maybe I’ll just take Sedusa to a jewelry store, what could possibly go wrong?

[bugeyedfreaks]

oh my god why couldn’t this have been the result of meat fuzzy lumkins