What do you get when you mix sugar, spice, everything nice, Chemical X, a band of fiercely dedicated, talented cartoon makers and $11 million? You get The Powerpuff Girls Movie and a big screen leap that promises to avoid the usual trappings of television-to-celluloid offerings.
     In one sense, the first theatrical feature to come from Cartoon Network Studios (and distributed by sister company Warner Bros.) is a declaration that CN is ready to play with the "big boys, " in this case Nickelodeon and Paramount, which have done well with two Rugrats features, and Disney.
     While the film’s comparatively small budget (about one-tenth of the going rate for a Disney Feature Animation release) all but guarantees some success at the box office, Powerpuff creator Craig McCracken, whose series has been a signature property for CN since 1998, is quick to state that this isn’t about the money. "Nine times out of ten when something becomes this big [of a property], the movie is a desperate last ditch attempt to get more cash out of people, and the property dies after the movie, " he opines, pointing to the terminal effect the film Spice World had on the Spice Girls phenomenon. "I didn’t want to kill off Powerpuff. I basically said, ‘Let’s make a real movie and let’s tell a story that needs to be told and not make it solely about making money."
     When The Powerpuff Girls Movie opens on July 3, audiences will get to witness the genesis of their favorite supercharged grade schoolers. A prequel to the television series, the movie follows Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup as they learn to control their great powers and accept the proverbial great responsibility that comes with them. Audiences will also see animation and special effects that are several cuts above what can be produced on television budgets and schedules, as well as a far more evil version of the villainous Mojo Jojo than might be expected. Even Cartoon Network representatives were initially surprised by the overall tone of the film.

     "The first delivery of the movie was a little intense for the network, " says McCracken, who directed, executive produced, co-wrote and co-storyboarded. "They were like: ‘You made Akira’ And was like:’Yeah!’"
     Even so, the filmmakers feel the appellation "dark" is a misleading description. "I didn’t think it was that dark," says Story Artist/Writer Lauren Faust, a veteran of two seasons