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"Powerprof." is the 20th episode of season 3 and the 70th episode overall.

It first aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on February 9, 2001.

Plot[]

PPGs from Powerprof

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup as they appear in this episode.

Since the girls are spending too much time saving the day, the Professor builds himself a supersuit to spend more time with them, calling himself Powerprof.

Synopsis[]

The girls and the Professor are at peace, as is the city of Townsville one morning. They are awaiting the big day off they hope to enjoy together. As is typical in the city, their day off is interrupted by an emergency situation and takes the girls away for the whole day, much to their dad's sadness.

The girls try again, but this time they enjoy playing with the professor, even as they go to a screening of Movie Puppet Pals: The Movie in 3-D, the TV Puppet Pals movie. Even this is unfortunately interrupted by a large monster attacking the theatre. Unable to stand by and lose more time with the girls to their duties and mission, the Professor decides to act on his paternal instincts once again. This time, in the way of the Dynamo mech built in response to witnessing the girls in danger, he constructs something in his laboratory.

Meanwhile, the girls have a significant amount of difficulty dispatching the assailing monster. Not only is this monster strong enough to absorb Buttercup's damage and resist Blossom's ice breath, but he also gets close enough to nearly eat the Mayor. Right as it looks like he would be devoured, a white dart, as if from nowhere, intercepts him on his downflight. This is the professor sporting his new innovation, a super-suit granting him the power of flight and strength.

The girls take to him at first with his new armaments, going so far as to humorously label him a Powerpuff Girl; he prefers to be called "Powerprof." His contribution to the girls proves especially invaluable, for where the girls could not readily defeat the monster, he is able to provide much-needed help. Together, they clean up the undesirables of Townsville's streets, but while they are controlling a prison break, they start to see the Professor's paternal instincts surface in a very embarrassing way.

In addition to anachronistic sayings and phrases, as if from mid-20th-century America, the Professor's kinks as a father figure start to annoy the Girls as he provides otherwise unnecessary advice and embarrasses them in public. He goes public with Bubbles' past bed-wetting issues and uses pet names for Buttercup, which embarrass them to no end respectively. Eventually, the Professor assumes control of the jailbreak while the girls realize how much he has been babying them. So as he continues doting on them, they formulate a plan to get him to shed his Powerprof persona.

The next day, the girls and the professor respond to an emergency involving Mojo Jojo attacking the city, albeit with the girls wearing more protective gear per a family talk the day before. Even as they arrive at Mojo's lair, the professor continues to annoy the girls and Mojo with his misguided jargon. That aside, Mojo quickly blasts the girls into imprisonment cells using knockback lasers. With only the professor remaining to battle, the challenge is even.

Getting the upper hand in the battle, the professor does some damage until he inopportunely knocks Mojo into his arsenal, giving him more than ample resources to break him. As Mojo claims victory over the professor, he makes one last threat against the girls themselves when he recovers and delivers another trademarked set of wallops. Though worn and battered, the professor stands victorious and moves to free the girls from their imprisonment. Ultimately, having seen what the girls have to endure, physically and mentally, the professor declares his decision to drop his Powerprof act and leave superheroics to actual heroes such as the girls themselves, even though the girls were surprised at how he was able to handle Mojo Jojo himself.

However, some time after the professor's declarations are made clear, the girls thank Mojo for giving him such a battle as they celebrate the success of their plan and return to their heroes' duties.

Trivia[]

  • This episode is loosely based on the book Powerpuff Professor, which follows a similar storyline.
  • Aside from the narrator's opening monologue, the first act of this episode has no dialogue.
  • This episode premiered in some countries before the United States.[1]
    • This episode premiered in Australia on July 14, 2000.
    • This episode premiered in Canada on August 26, 2000.
    • This episode premiered in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2000.
  • When the Professor says "That’s better. Now let’s hasta la vista, babies!", it is a direct reference to ("Hasta la vista, baby!") the catchphrase of The Terminator (portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
  • The 1998-2001 animated episode outro is nearly the same as in "Jewel of the Aisle", but the outro is slightly longer than the outro's length from that episode, meaning that the outro is physically longer than usual. Also, the girls appear altogether instead of appearing one-by-one and are in their usual large sized-distance.
    • Also, in the outro, the narrator raps the line "Yo, they be chillin' on the girl power trip, y'all. Yo, yo. Peace. I'm out." This is said to be a direct response to the fan letters McCracken got demanding that one part of this episode should be dedicated to rap artists.
    • Usually, in the episode outro, the girls appear as the narrator is halfway through the "Day is Saved" speech. However, for this one, the girls don't appear in the outro until the narrator is finished with the speech. Also, the girls usually fade into the THE END sign as the Narrator says random stuff. However, for this episode, the THE END sign does not appear until the Narrator finishes speaking, meaning the girls remain on screen until after the Narrator says "Peace, I'm out!", a departure from most episode outros and their time limits.
  • This episode was produced after the episodes "Helter Shelter" and "Power Lunch" finished production.
  • According to the Narrator's opening monologue, this episode entirely takes place on a Saturday.
  • This is the first time the girls left someone to save the world. The second time was in Superfriends.
  • Even though the Professor (as Powerprof) technically saved the day, the girls still appeared smiling and their regular end shot poses and the Narrator still only gave them credit in the animated episode outro for this episode.
  • One of the posters for the movie "Don E-vil" shows a robot-like figure that bears a resemblance to animator Paul Rudish.
  • The cheering crowd right after the Professor rescues the Mayor is the same screaming crowd from Uh Oh Dynamo, but the looks on their faces are happy, while the crowd in Uh Oh Dynamo had terrified faces.
  • Unlike the episodes "Uh Oh, Dynamo", "Superfriends", and "Sun Scream" where the Girls wore matching bikinis with their respective signature colors, here in this episode the Girls wear drastically different one-piece swimsuits when preparing to go to the beach;
    • Blossom wears a red swimsuit with a white cross similar to those worn by female lifeguards.
    • Bubbles wears a light blue suit with a black stripe similar to her signature outfit.
    • Buttercup wears a black wetsuit with a grey stripe at the side.
  • Episode 37 in Powerpuff Girls Z may be based on this episode.
  • When The Narrator says The family that slays together, stays together he makes a reference to the motto of the Roman Catholic organization Family Rosary Crusade founded by Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC. The verbatim of the motto is The family that prays together, stays together
Powerprof1

Episode Comparison of Powerprof.

  • This episode is said to be an obvious response to the fan letters McCracken got demanding the Professor should be a superhero.
  • Some Japanese prints of this episode, as well as a Korean print and a Chinese print, remove the "The End" sign, meaning that the girls stay on-screen all the way until the screen cuts to black as the music ends instead of fading to the sign.
  • This is the second time the Professor has feared for the girls' safety. The first was in "Uh-Oh, Dynamo."
  • This is the fifth episode to have a character gain superpowers. First was Mojo Jojo in "Mr. Mojo's Rising," second was Princess Morbucks in "Mo Job," third was the children in "Mojo Jonesin'," and fourth was the Gangreen Gang in "Power Lunch."
  • The episode actually featured a scene where the girls and professor go to the movie theater to see Movie Puppet Pals: the Movie in 3-D, as they wear 3-D glasses while watching. This is a play on the 3-D gimmick that has been shown for years.
  • Error: A criminal said “Pudding Pie” and “Cupcake” when the Professor never said those.

Production Notes[]

  • Although this episode premiered in the United States on February 9, 2001, it was actually produced in 2000 according to the credits.
    • This episode was finished in April of 2000.[2]

References[]


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