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Mojo Jojo is a supervillain in the Cartoon Network animated series The Powerpuff Girls. He is the series' main antagonist and the main archenemy of the Powerpuff Girls. He also serves as the main villain in The Powerpuff Girls Movie.
He is constantly plotting to take over the world and/or destroy The Powerpuff Girls. Mojo is one of the more successful villains in the series, as he defeated the Powerpuff Girls in several episodes including Mr. Mojo's Rising, Los Dos Mojos and Mo Job, and managed to rule the world in Monkey See, Doggie Do and The Powerpuff Girls Rule. Diabolical, cunning and menacing, Mojo is a genius evil mastermind who is determined to rule the world and destroy everything that stands in his way, including the Powerpuff Girls.
Biography
As seen in The Powerpuff Girls Movie and the episode "Mr. Mojo's Rising", Mojo was originally Jojo, the Professor's hyperactive lab assistant who always broke everything. During the event of the creation of the Powerpuff Girls, he pushed the Professor towards a container of Chemical X, causing it to break and spill into the concoction. This resulted in an explosion, which caused his simian DNA to mutate, turning his skin green and causing his intelligence and brain to enlarge, growing out of his skull. It also gave him new emotions like envy and inferiority. After that he became their creator, their real father, and the girls became his daugters. The Powerpuff Girls Movie heavily borrowed the storyline of the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, which was about apes becoming superior to humans and overthrowing their civilization to be Earth's rulers. Mojo Jojo took on a role similar to the character of Caesar, the ape who started the revolution.
Mojo is closely associated with the Powerpuff Girls, being partially responsible for their creation and having the same creator. After Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were created, the Professor lost interest and/or attention to Mojo's existence and forgot about him. With newfound intelligence, he donned a tattered overcoat with a partially shredded scarf and a paper bag to cover his brain and ran away, setting his home up in an alley.
Spending time on the street by himself with no one to care about him almost immediately turned him cold and emotionless providing a motive as to why he would care to destroy Townsville and conquer the world. He doesn't always do this or makes plans related to this as in one episode he fell asleep while doing nothing but reading a newspaper (but was still beaten up due to circumstances beyond his control). Mojo is shown to have a civilian life despite his criminal activities; he is often shown walking around Townsville without any citizens running in fear, and even buys groceries legally. The girls also tend to treat him as a friendly neighbor, often coming to his house to ask for favors without attacking him (they do sometimes).
He is both responsible for the accident that resulted in the girls’ creation as well as his own mutation, as well as the Professor's desire to create the perfect little girl. He is frequently referred to as a monkey by himself and others (in reality, chimps are apes, not monkeys). Mojo is disliked by other monkeys and apes, who think he gives them a bad name.
Mojo Jojo has been featured five times in the closing "So once again, the day is saved" sequence (including the episodes "Telephonies" and "Get Back Jojo"), making him the second largest day-saver in the series after the girls. In "Child Fearing," Mojo is shown to be a great (and rather artistic) Japanese chef. Another of Mojo's hobbies is building ships in bottles and other scale models, such as in the episodes "A Very Special Blossom" and "What's the Big Idea?". He is also known for his unique mode of speech. He has pale pink eyes, green skin, and black fur and wears white gloves and boots, long dark blue tunic, and a long purple cape. He also wears a white belt with a purple triangle at the buckle and a large white helmet with purple pinstripes and spots of the same color at its rim. His exposure to Chemical X led to his brain growing to a ludicrous size, outgrowing his skull and necessitating the helmet to cover and protect it.
Later in the episode "Get Back Jojo," Jojo tried to prevent the creation of the Powerpuff Girls by going back in time and destroying Professor Utonium as a child (unaware that he himself would partially cease to exist.) Not only did the Powerpuff Girls foil this plot, but the incident inspired the Professor to take up science in the first place, making Mojo Jojo responsible for the creation of his archrivals once again.
Despite being a villain, he has saved the Earth before, when a giant alien overlord had come to destroy the entire planet and force the human race to surrender their pride and bow down to it, Mojo became so stressed over the alien copying all of his plans and crushing his dreams that he brutally attacked the overlord with his fighting skills and finally slammed him with a really thick bread loaf before grabbing hold of one of its legs to force him to admit that Mojo is the most evil, in which the alien eventually fled in terror, thus saving the Earth. Townsville, including the Powerpuff Girls, then praised him and called him their hero, but tries in vain to convince them that he is still an evil villain, even replacing the Powerpuff Girls in the heart-shaped ending sequence, where he does the same thing with the Narrator.
Near the end of "The Powerpuff Girls Rule!", he finally took over the world but rather than ruling it with an iron fist like he always said he would, he actually solved all of the world's problems showing that he actually isn't completely evil. But he later got bored with peace and went back to his evil ways.
Personality
Mojo Jojo is a notorious chimpanzee mad scientist, whose main goal is to destroy the Powerpuff Girls, crush Townsville, and conquer the world, in that order. In order to do this, he spends much of his time plotting and inventing new weapons or technology. This normally comes in the shape of giant robots or large energy/laser weapons. He is the archenemy of the girls and the creator of the Rowdyruff Boys. He is verbose and has high-vocabulary use and long-lasting sentences. He was the Powerpuff girls' first major villain that they ever fought, as explained in "The Powerpuff Girls Movie."
Mojo Jojo is one of The Powerpuff Girls' toughest rivals. Despite usually failing, he has managed to defeat them several times, or at least injure them badly. Mojo Jojo is also the most persistent one and is determined in destroying them and ruling the world. Due to his high intelligence, Mojo sometimes discovers some of The Powerpuff Girls' weaknesses (As seen in Not So Awesome Blossom). Mojo is also magnificent and cunning and often plays with the Powerpuff Girls' naivete.
Mojo, for the most part, does whatever he wants. He doesn't follow the rules and doesn't care what people think of him. He's also something of a loner and dislikes being surrounded by humans, and to be bothered in the middle of his experiments and plans. However, he has no problem with being assisted if the situation calls for it. Unlike most villains, Mojo is smart enough not to underestimate the Powerpuff Girls, and therefore uses his gadgets and plans to keep up with them.
Despite being rather dark-natured, Mojo lives another life outside of scheming. He is sometimes seen buying food instead of stealing it, and building model ships. Mojo is also quite sophisticated, despite his persistent desire to rule the world. He tends to act cordial and friendly to other citizens and strangers when not committing crimes, as well as showing good manners, and is not openly hostile towards the Powerpuff Girls when they're not getting in his way. He's also surprisingly fine with them borrowing things from him, and sometimes even manages to make friendly conversations with them, when they're not fighting.
Mojo also has a sense of honor (albeit a twisted one). In the movie, he sought revenge on humans due to his race being discriminated against them and stayed loyal to his ape army until they ganged up on him. Mojo also sometimes works with other villains without betraying them and appears to have a friendship with most of them. He's able to help people, but usually only if he gets something out of it, or if it's in his self-interests. However, he once helped the Powerpuff Girls get rid of Professor Utonium as a teammate, despite the fact he had nothing to gain from the arrangement.
Despite Mojo's intelligence and seemingly refined behavior, he has moments where he slips into an almost extreme rage, sometimes regressing to his more animal-like traits as seen in The Rowdyruff Boys. However, as seen in Forced Kin, if he is able to channel or at least direct his anger, he can become even more powerful than the Powerpuff Girls himself. Though these outbursts are seldom seen and only occur when Mojo is pushed to his breaking point.
Voice
Mojo speaks English somewhat quickly with a low, deep, sinister voice and a "bad" Japanese accent. Instead of using simple one-word answers, Mojo always gives reasons and explanations in his sentences. He has a habit of repeating phrases over and over in the style of badly dubbed Japanese movies and anime series. Mojo seems to either be unaware of this habit (as stated in "Los Dos Mojos") or to think it the proper way to speak English (as stated in "Mo' Linguish") In the episode "Los Dos Mojos", Bubbles was hit on the head with an I-beam and thought that she was Mojo, and thus spoke redundantly just as Mojo does. However, Mojo accused her of repeating phrases nonsensically, ironically repeating himself in the process: "I do not talk like that! The way I communicate is much different! I do not reiterate, repeat, reinstate the same thing over and over again. I am clear, concise, to the point...". The Powerpuff Girls Movie revealed Mojo had gained his repetitive speech when he tried to regain control of his monkey army, wishing to become ruler of the world shown in one speech by Mojo Jojo from "Los Dos Mojos":
- "That's all just well enough because in reality there is only room enough in this world for one Mojo Jojo. One shall be the number of Mojo Jojos in the world, and the number of Mojo Jojos in the world shall be one. Two Mojo Jojos is too many and three is right out. So the only Mojo Jojo there is room for in the world shall be me, and being the only Mojo Jojo in the world, I will rule the world in which there is only one Mojo Jojo."
Design
Mojo's design stemmed from the character Dr. Gori of the Japanese Tokusatsu series Spectreman. His iconic hat is inspired by a similar series Kagestar and the hat worn by its titular protagonist. Possibly more so than any other character, Mojo's proportions had the most notable changes throughout the years. In the first four seasons, Mojo looks like a more realistic chimp. However, from the Powerpuff Girls Movie onward, he is noticeably more angular. His ears, eyes, hair, and chin are sharper and longer, and his brain is bigger. Although in The Powerpuff Girls Rule special, Mojo (along with all the other characters) returned to their earlier designs due to McCracken's preference of them.[1]
Mojo as he appears in Seasons 1-4.
Mojo as he appears in The Powerpuff Girls Movie and Seasons 5 and 6.
Skills and Abilities
Due to his gigantic brain, Mojo is extremely intelligent, especially at building hi-tech objects and weapons. He is also quite cunning, able to manipulate the Girls through their naivety and discovering their weaknesses time and again.
Mo Mojo
In the movie, when he injected himself with Chemical X, Mojo was seen to have a myriad of powers, including fire breath, shooting spikes from his hair, and causing sound waves by clapping, all until his powers got removed by the Antidote X. That is not to say that he still isn't strong, however, such as in the episode Forced Kin where Mojo Jojo got so enraged that he could unleash a primal fury, allowing him to defeat a villain that the Powerpuff Girls could not, using only brute force delivered by his fists and a stale baguette. During this time he appeared to be capable of flying as well. Two episodes have shown Mojo Jojo in this state, The Rowdyruff Boys being the other episode.
Despite not having the same powers as the Girls, Mojo is otherwise seen being a strong, skilled, tactical, and experienced fighter. He even once defeated all the members of The Gangreen Gang by himself without moving a finger, and another time fought against them along with HIM and Fuzzy Lumpkins. He also teamed up with the other villains and eventually defeated the Powerpuff Girls in several episodes, but Mojo also fought all 3 of them by himself in "Mr. Mojo's Rising" and The Powerpuff Girls Movie.
He was temporarily given the Powerpuff Girl's powers, as well as gaining a Super Brain Blast (one episode only).
Other than his villainous abilities, Mojo has also declared himself the "#1 Chef in Townsville", and artfully prepared a Sushi dinner when babysitting the Powerpuff girls. The girls ultimately did not enjoy the food, though it is unknown if this meant Mojo was exaggerating his skills or they simply did not care for Sushi.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes
- To take over Townsville, and eventually the world
- The Rowdyruff Boys
- Building model Ships
- Bananas
- Classical Music
- Fuzzy Lumpkins (as an ally in Telephonies)
- HIM (frankly as a friend and ally)
- Sushi
- Torturing the Powerpuff Girls
- Banana milk
Dislikes
- Being annoyed
- The Powerpuff Girls (especially during battle)
- Failure
- The Gangreen Gang
- HIM (at times)
- Bratty children
- Defeat
- Princess Morbucks (Birthday Bash)
- The Amoeba Boys (Birthday Bash)
Episode Appearances
- Monkey See, Doggie Do
- Telephonies
- Mr. Mojo's Rising
- Bubblevicious
- The Bare Facts
- Just Another Manic Mojo
- The Rowdyruff Boys
- Uh Oh Dynamo (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- Supper Villain (Non-Speaking)
- Birthday Bash
- You Snooze, You Lose
- Los Dos Mojos
- A Very Special Blossom
- Daylight Savings (Non-Speaking)
- Mo Job
- Cootie Gras
- The Powerpuff Girls' Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- Mojo Jonesin'
- Something's a Ms. (Mentioned)
- Slumbering with the Enemy
- Child Fearing
- Criss Cross Crisis
- Bought and Scold (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- Cop Out (Mentioned)
- Monkey See, Doggy Two
- Candy is Dandy
- Powerprof.
- Moral Decay
- Meet the Beat-Alls
- Film Flam (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- Get Back Jojo
- Knock It Off (Indian Version)
- Stray Bullet
- Forced Kin
- Not So Awesome Blossom
- Shotgun Wedding (Pictured)
- Octi-Gone
- Divide and Conquer (Pictured)
- Save Mojo
- 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- The Boys are Back in Town (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey
- Pee Pee G's
- The City of Clipsville
- Documentary
- Bang For Your Buck
- Sweet 'N Sour (Cameo)
- The Powerpuff Girls Movie
- Prime Mates
- Makes Zen to Me
- Live and Let Dynamo (Cameo)
- Mo' Linguish
- A Made Up Story (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- Custody Battle
- Simian Says
- West in Pieces (As Mojo the Kid)
- Crazy Mixed-Up Puffs
- Roughing It Up (Non-Speaking Cameo)
- What's the Big Idea?
- The Powerpuff Girls Rule!
- The Powerpuff Girls: Dance Pantsed
Appearances in other media
Mojo in an episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends next to Mac, Bloo, Wilt, Coco, and an angry Eduardo.
- Mojo had a cameo appearance in the pilot movie of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: "House of Bloo's", which Wilt said he was an unimaginative friend (copied from TV).
- Mojo was Daffy Duck's coach in The Big Game XXIX: Bugs vs. Daffy. He was also listed among Bugs Bunny's enemies.
- Mojo also appeared in one of TNT's "What is Drama?" segments.
- Mojo appears on the back cover of the band Gorillaz' B-Sides album "G-Sides." He is on the shirt of band member 2D.
- The 2000 CD The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains, released by Rhino Records, features a cut called "Go Monkey Go" by Devo. The corresponding music video was occasionally shown on Cartoon Network.
Influences on design
- Mojo is also slightly inspired by Caesar from the 1960's Planet of the Apes TV series. They're both motivated by seeking vengeance on humans and planned on starting a war for feeling that the humans have stolen their world.
Gallery
Click here to visit Mojo Jojo (1998 TV series)'s gallery.
Trivia
- Mojo's voice actor is Roger L. Jackson in the series, but in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion, it is Nolan North. Jackson returned to voice Mojo in the 2016 series as well.
- Mojo is the most recurring villain in the entire series, appearing in 53 episodes.
- Mojo's biological father was revealed in a painting in A Very Special Blossom. Strangely, Mojo has his intelligence and human-like behavior as a result of Chemical X, but his father is depicted as a human-like Sea Captain. He lacks the distinctive green coloring that results from Chemical X enhancement on primates, leaving this human-like depiction a mystery.
- Despite Mojo's brain being openly exposed from his skull, he never receives brain damage as a result of his pummeling by the Girls, even when his brain is directly struck.
- In the Cartoon Network Fusionfall game, we learn that Mojo is afraid of Bubbles the most out of the Powerpuff Girls because of the one time in "Bubblevicious" where she beat him by herself out of immense rage. Ever since that episode, Mojo had been traumatized by Bubbles, to the point of fearing her.
- In Meet the Beat-Alls, Mojo played the part of John Lennon, the Beatles band member who befriended and became romantically involved with Yoko Ono, who is parodied through Moko Jono. Lennon and Ono's relationship is often regarded as the primary cause of what caused the Beatles' dissolution as a band through their unusual antics, similar to Jono's irritating "performance crimes" rendering the rest of the Beat-Alls unwilling to work with Mojo any further.
- Mojo was the third character from the Powerpuff girls to host Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoon Fridays block, after Bubbles and the Mayor, however, due to a scheduling conflict, he was forced to share hosting duties alongside Blossom and Courage (from Courage the Cowardly Dog).
- Ironically Mojo did two things leading to the creation of the Powerpuff Girls: first he gave the Professor motive to create them ("Get Back Jojo"), and second he pushed Professor Utonium which caused him to smash into the Chemical X that poured into the perfect girl formula, causing a giant explosion that resulted in the girls being born ("Mr. Mojo's Rising", The Powerpuff Girls Movie). This has some fans believing that Mojo was the true creator of the girls.
- According to Craig McCracken's scale of the villains on The Powerpuff Girls, Mojo is right in the middle, so he's the main villain and the most intelligent, but not the most nefarious. (McCracken also said that he can be pushed either way, though.)
- Mojo has his own leitmotif, a snippet of which can be heard during the opening when the villains are shown.
- Although he is the overall main antagonist and has bigger plans, he is occasionally usurped by the more dangerous HIM.
- In the in the season 5 episode 15 episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Irwin appears in Mojo's lair dressed in his outfit, complaining it is too tight for him to breathe in.
References
http://crackmccraigen.tumblr.com/post/157718237254/why-does-mojo-jojo-have-pointy-ears-in-the-later[1]
| Episodes and VHS/DVD releases | |||
| Characters: The Powerpuff Girls (Main: Blossom - Bubbles - Buttercup Other: Bunny - Bullet) - Professor Utonium - Mayor - Ms. Bellum - Ms. Keane Mojo Jojo - Fuzzy Lumpkins - HIM - Princess Morbucks - The Rowdyruff Boys (Brick - Boomer - Butch) - The Amoeba Boys - Sedusa - Gangreen Gang - Minor characters | |||
| Video Games: Fifth Generation Games: Chemical X-Traction (PS, N64) - Bad Mojo Jojo (GBC) - Paint the Townsville Green (GBC) - Battle HIM (GBC) Sixth Generation Games: Relish Rampage (PS2, GCN) - Mojo Jojo-A-Go-Go (GBA) - HIM and Seek (GBA) Seventh Generation Games: Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z (DS) PC Games: Mojo Jojo Clone Zone - Princess Snorebucks - Mojo Jojo's Pet Project | |||
| Misc. Superpowers - Townsville | |||
| Creator: Craig McCracken | |||