"I See a Funny Cartoon in Your Future" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of The Powerpuff Girls and the 93rd episode overall.
Although produced for the fifth season and airing overseas in 2003, it never aired in the United States until March 25, 2005, well after production of the original series had ended.
It made its international premiere in Australia on October 24, 2003.
Plot[]
In a parody of Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Mayor gets conned by a false fortune teller and pick pocketed by her sidekick goose, getting himself locked out of his own town.
Synopsis[]
A fortune-teller named Madame Argentina and her goose side-kick Fred start causing trouble around Townsville. First, they set their tent on the outskirts of town and invite the Mayor to an appointment. They then manage to steal the key to the city from him. The girls find out about this and try to stop them. Argentina and Fred flee to a remote island on a plane, pursued by the girls. On the island, Argentina purchases voodoo dolls of the girls. The voodoo dolls are hung from a tree, which leaves the girls suspended in midair (above a cliff) ending the first act in an obvious cliffhanger.
The Girls are free to stop Madame Argentina's further prediction crimes.
After a fictional commercial for the Pickle Patch, featuring the Mayor and Ms. Bellum, we return to the second act, where the voodoo dolls are stolen by a fan to be put up for auction on eBay. This frees the girls from being left dangling over the cliff by the invisible force once holding them, who then bought a voodoo doll of Fred. The girls, now in their backyard, put the voodoo doll version of Fred on a platter and announce their intention to cook him. This draws the attention of Argentina and Fred, who are coincidentally flying directly overhead in a plane. This causes Argentina to crash-land her plane in an effort to retrieve the Fred doll before it is cooked (which would cause the real Fred to be cooked as well). Unfortunately for Argentina and Fred, they both go flying out of the plane in the wake of the crash and are sent flying directly into the grill. The girls close the lid of the grill, return the recovered goods and let the Mayor back into Townsville while the two villains are charred and sent to prison.
And the day is saved, thanks to "The Powerpuff Grill”.
Characters[]
Major Roles[]
Minor Roles[]
- Phil Anthropist
- Sosumi Blind
- Poehler Fields
- Jay Warden
- Miss Bellum (Commercial Segment)
- Professor Utonium (Mentioned)
Trivia[]
- This episode aired in some countries before the United States.[1]
- This episode premiered in Australia on October 24, 2003.
- This episode premiered in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2003.
- This episode premiered in Canada on February 6, 2004.
- This episode premiered in Mexico on June 16, 2004.
- This and Octi Gone were the last aired episodes of the original series (in the United States). Afterwards, almost all reruns of the show moved to The Cartoon Cartoon Show along with several other older programming from Cartoon Network.
- The whole episode was told in the form of a Jay Ward cartoon. The puns, the narrator, the lack of background music and the mid-way cliffhanger are obvious references to The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, Ward's most famous creation. The jail warden is named "Jay Warden." Madame Argentina and Fred are also drawn in a style similar to the characters in Ward's cartoons.
- Madame Argentina & Fred were Inspired by Boris & Natasha from Rocky & Bullwinkle.
- Madame Argentina was voiced by legendary voice artist June Foray and Fred was voiced by Tom Kenny, though some websites credit Michael Bell as the voice. Foray was, of course, the original voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel for over 50 years. She died in 2017.
- Madame Argentina's bag resembles Felix the Cat's magic bag.
- The commercial for the Pickle Patch during the show is an obvious reference to the Nicotine Patch.
- The sound of the Mayor's car horn is the same sound effect used at the end of the 1952 Disney cartoon, Susie the Little Blue Coupe.
- For reasons unknown, Madame Argentina was dubbed at the Brazilian Portuguese version of the episode as "Madame Serena"
- This is the only episode where the narrator has more lines than the characters.
- This is the only time "The Powerpuff Grill" saved the day.
- The Narrator mentions a real life website, eBay, when the collector takes the voodoo dolls, making it the only time a real-life brand has been mentioned in the show.
- After the narrator states Madame Argentina's motives once Fred is introduced, Argentina then says Bugs Bunny's catchphrase, "Ain't I a stinker?".
- This is the second time the girls disguise themselves with a trench coat. The first was in "Candy is Dandy."
- "Don't Scrye For Me, Argentina" is a reference to the song "Don't Cry For Me Argentina".
- This, along with Octi Gone, aired on YTV before it did on Cartoon Network.
- The voice Bubbles uses while the girls were in their trench coat disguise sounds very similar to Timmy Turner from the Nickelodeon cartoon The Fairly OddParents. Tara Strong who voices Bubbles also provides the voice of Timmy in that show.
Production Notes[]
- Although this episode premiered in the United States on March 25, 2005, it was actually produced for the fifth season in 2003.
- This episode was finished in July of 2003.[2]