Sometimes, staying true to your vision is the best way forward — and early on, “The Powerpuff Girls” creator, Craig McCracken, found that out firsthand when the show was saved by one smart decision from the show’s home base, Cartoon Network.
Originally, McCracken — who later went on to create “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” — brought his first “Powerpuff Girls” short to the network, where he was then invited to focus test the project. However, the audience was a group of pre-teen boys who hated what he had created “They really said, ‘This is the worst cartoon that’s ever been made, whoever made it should be fired,'” McCracken told Keyframe Magazine in 2018.
The cartoonist internalized the criticism and majorly overhauled the show, including redesigning the girls — but then-Cartoon Network producer Mike Lazzo pushed back. “He said, ‘Craig, don’t do that — we really love your vision,” McCracken recalled. “‘We don’t want you to compromise who you are just because you had a bad focus test.'” This wouldn’t be the first time the series underwent big changes, as “The Powerpuff Girls” was originally very different.
Craig McCracken’s tweaks made The Powerpuff Girls into a hit
Producer Mike Lazzo’s encouragement for Craig McCracken was invaluable. McCracken felt the strong reaction from the test audience meant that his concept wasn’t connecting with viewers, but Lazzo helped him see that his first “PPG” short featured aged-up humor that didn’t click with younger kids. The experience also helped McCracken realize he needed to offer some larger context to the Powerpuff Girls themselves, specifically how they acquired their powers and what their lives are like when they aren’t fighting crime in downtown Townsville.
But before he made those changes, he made other tweaks that didn’t work. “I gave them fingers,” McCracken shared with Keyframe Magazine. “I made them look like real kids.” He didn’t like the design changes he hoped would be more appealing to audiences, however, and Lazzo’s support helped him realize those changes were actually for naught — that the real work was in the writing.
Giving their blessing to McCracken’s specific vision of “The Powerpuff Girls” was something of an unusual move for Cartoon Network after a negative test run, but it proved to be the right one, as the series went on to become one of the best superhero shows of all time and a generational hit for Cartoon Network.