Bubblevicious

Bubblevicious
General Information
Original broadcast	January 20, 1999
Details
Season	1
Episode	17
Pun	Bubblicious, a brand of bubblegum
Credits
Storyboarded by	Mike Stern
Directed by	Genndy Tartakovsky Craig McCracken
Episode Guide
Previous episode	Ice Sore
Next episode	The Bare Facts
Links
Gallery
Transcript

"Bubblevicious" is the 17th episode of The Powerpuff Girls, Season 1.

It was produced in 1998 and first aired on Cartoon Network on January 20, 1999.

Synopsis

Sick and tired of her family treating her like a baby, Bubbles tries to become tougher and discovers a more "hardcore" side of herself in the process. However, she goes too far and turns against her sisters.

Plot

The city of Townsville is under siege by a large slug when Buttercup flies in solo to neutralize it. As she tears through it, the Professor is coaching her to stop, and it is then seen that what she handled was all part of a training exercise in a simulation chamber made by the Professor. After Buttercup exits the chamber, Bubbles compliments her on how "hardcore" she was in handling the scenario, all the way down to when Buttercup emerged from being stuck. Professor Utonium interrupts Bubbles and tells her to go next, which she eagerly does.

However, as Blossom attempts to remind him, the Professor lowers the danger level from level 9 to level 2 because he thinks "danger level 9 is way too much" for her. In this test, Bubbles finds herself in an empty house scenario where a small, seemingly harmless toy-like robot slowly walks in through the front door toward her, repeatedly saying "Boo! I'm gonna get you!". Frustrated with being given a small opponent again, Bubbles only gives the robot a cold stare and asks the Professor to turn it up, as she is as tough as Buttercup and Blossom and can handle harder opponents too. While she is saying this, the robot zaps her and she fails the test.

The Professor then tells her that she's "not ready" for the higher levels yet, which upsets her, and she leaves. Later, at bedtime, Blossom tells the Professor to leave the hall light on for Bubbles. Bubbles, however, tells him she is not afraid of the dark anymore, but the Professor only laughs and dismisses this as her "acting all brave" and Buttercup teases her for "being the scarediest". The Professor then says goodnight and leaves, leaving the door open with the hall light on over Bubbles once again. Enraged by the unfair treatment and excessive babying she has received that day, Bubbles decides that she will prove her toughness; she sneaks into the lab to take another test this time at Level 11, the maximum danger level.

"Yeah, everyone knows you're the scardiest!"

In this test, Bubbles has to fight an army of five gigantic monsters amidst an apocalyptic scenario. She nearly fails this test, too, but after she remembers being excessively dismissed as "cute little Bubbles" and even takes a few bumps with some blood drawn, Bubbles soon defeats all of the monsters in a fueled raging manner, becoming more aggressive than she ever was before and even declaring herself "hardcore".

The next day during recess, the girls play duck-duck-goose and Blossom tags Bubbles. Blossom runs away from Bubbles and teases her for being slow. Bubbles catches her and slams her into the ground with rage in her eyes. Through her monologue, as she declares victory, Blossom tries to calm Bubbles down by telling her that it was only a game. The Powerpuff Hotline rings, and Bubbles flies over to pick it up and demands to hear the situation from the Mayor of Townsville. Nervous at Bubbles' tone, the Mayor tells her he is stuck in a huge traffic jam and is going to be late for something. Bubbles tells him she is on her way and angrily smashes the hotline phone, much to the shock of her sisters.

It is revealed the traffic jam is caused by the Talking Dog being the driver of the frontmost car (while also being unable to drive). Bubbles addresses the situation alone by brutally beating the Talking Dog. Her sisters later appear, both surprised and appalled by her new behavior as they try to calm her down. Bubbles, on the other hand, does not listen, renouncing the so-called "Powerpuff Way" and claiming that she can handle Townsville herself. With her declarations made clear, she leaves them, flying solo.

Bubbles on a rampage

As the day goes on, Bubbles goes into an angry, destructive rage in Townsville, unfairly beating up people for crimes as minor as littering, stepping on protected grass, and being parked in a no-parking zone. Despite her hardcore, rage-fueled, vigilante behavior, Mojo Jojo kidnaps her. In the meantime, Blossom and Buttercup go looking for her, worrying about her safety.

"Team!"

Mojo takes Bubbles to his lab where he straps her down in front of a laser cannon. Mojo explains his plan: he will make Bubbles cry for her sisters, causing them to fall into a trap to destroy them all. Bubbles calls the plan dumb and says she will not cry. Mojo turns on the laser and fires at her, but her will is so strong that it initially has no effect. After Bubbles insults Mojo, he turns it up to Level 11. Bubbles riles in pain and it seems the laser will finally work to break her spirit. However, Bubbles breaks free and gives Mojo the beating of his life until he is knocked out.

With Mojo down, Blossom and Buttercup come to her rescue upon picking up her screams. To their amazement, they see Bubbles defeated Mojo all by herself and resisted a laser at a the highest level. They realize that they have underestimated her and finally call her "hardcore". After having received her long-overdue share of respect, Bubbles apologizes and returns to her cheery self again. However, Mojo regains consciousness, then zaps all three of the girls. Bubbles returns to her rage and fights back by beating up Mojo for his cheap shot, ending the episode.

Appearances

Characters

• The Powerpuff Girls
  • Blossom
  • Bubbles
  • Buttercup
• Professor Utonium
• Mojo Jojo
• Narrator
• Mayor
• Ms. Bellum (Non-Speaking Cameo)
• Talking Dog
• Giant Slug Monster
• Pink Tentacles Monster
• Citizens of Townsville

Locations

• Townsville
  • Utonium Residence
  • Pokey Oaks Kindergarten
  • Mojo's Lair

Objects

• Powerpuff Hotline
• Simulation chamber (debut)

Trivia

• Morals:
  • It is important to be tough, but do not get too tough or you will hurt others.
  • Never change who you are even if you are poked fun at. Just be yourself.
  • Even the nicest people have their limits, so do not try to push them too far.
• This episode is similar to the movie I Was a Teenage Werewolf.
• The episode is similar to the episodes A Very Special Blossom, Candy is Dandy, and Moral Decay in the sense that the girls' moral compasses are tested.
• This is the first episode to star Bubbles as the main character.
  • This is also the first episode where Bubbles has more screen time than Blossom and Buttercup.
  • This is also the first time where Bubbles stands up to Blossom and Buttercup.
• The title of the episode "Bubblevision" might be derived from this episode.
• This is Craig McCracken's favorite episode.
• This is Tara Strong's favorite episode on record. She says that it is because she likes it when Bubbles goes "hardcore".
• One of the monsters from the training room is seen in the show’s opening, first seen 16 episodes earlier before its proper appearance.
• Blossom is the only Powerpuff Girl in this episode to not fight any monsters or even be shown fighting in the training room. She could have already finished her training before the events of the episode.
• This is one of the few Powerpuff Girls episodes to show blood.
• This is the only episode in which the Professor's fight simulation chamber appears.
• This is the only time that Bubbles goes "hardcore." A similar instance happened in the reboot episode "Strong-Armed", where Bubbles got too used to her new arm cast and even went as far as to cause destruction with it.
• In the United Kingdom, the strikes of lightning as Mojo kidnaps Bubbles and the white light flashing in Mojo's face as Bubbles is zapped by the laser were slowed down to avoid causing seizures.
• It is never revealed why Talking Dog was situated in the driver’s seat of the car in the first place.

Allusions

• This episode, along with "The Bare Facts", was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Animation" in Primetime Emmys.
• Some of the music is from Meat Fuzzy Lumkins, the pilot episode of the Powerpuff Girls.
• This episode uses the idiom "Taking it up to 11", a reference to This is Spinal Tap.
• The 1984 Movie The Karate Kid is referenced in this episode when Bubbles says: "Mercy is for the weak!".
• The line "who else wants some?!" that was chanted by Bubbles after having bested the simulated monsters, has been utilized in an episode of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack, respectively. In all three instances the line is meant to evoke a sense of enraged triumph over an aggressor. At the climax of the Dexter's Laboratory episode "Dexter Dodgeball", Dexter menacingly utters this line after having savagely beaten three bullies at a game of dodge ball, as payback for them having picked on him throughout the episode. In the Samurai Jack episode "Jack vs Mad Jack", Jack uses the same line after having defeated several bounty hunters as a warning against any other potential adversaries. In both "Bubblevicious" and "Jack vs. Mad Jack" the eponymous characters learn to set their aggression aside by the end of their respective episodes.
• In the game Cartoon Network Fusionfall, the beatings by Bubbles in this episode is said to be the reason why Mojo Jojo fears Bubbles the most out of each of the Powerpuff Girls.
• In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Fluttershy being assertive is similar to Bubbles being hardcore.

Quotes

Bubbles: I'll prove that I can be... (Extreme close-up of her eyes, narrowed in determination.) ...hardcore!

[Bubbles has taken down Blossom in a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose"]

Bubbles: Ha! I got you! You're out! Done! Finished! You were beaten down, sister, by CUTE! LITTLE! BUBBLES!

Blossom: Sheesh, relax. It's just a game.

Talking Dog: Bubbles, please, have mercy!

Bubbles: Mercy is for the weak!

[Mojo is zapping Bubbles with his laser in his latest plan to destroy the girls and take over the world]

Bubbles: I'm not... gonna cry, you... dumb... doo-doo brain!

Mojo: "Doo-doo brain!?" That's it! I've had it with your sassy mouth! I didn't want to do this! Well, actually I did.

[Mojo raises the laser level to 11]

Production Notes

• Although this episode premiered in the United States on January 20, 1999, it was actually produced in 1998 according to the credits.
  • This episode was finished in October of 1998.