The Powerpuff Girls meanwhile had three young female superheroes as leads—something that hasn't quite been replicated in popular animated TV shows for the younger demographic since. In the world of live-action superhero films, women have yet to achieve anything close to parity, and one need look no further than the new Wonder Woman film to see how "sexy" and "strong" remain at odds with one another when it comes to how audiences think girls with powers need to look. But the Powerpuff Girls, with their giant heads and tiny, under-drawn bodies, almost dare anyone to say they don't "look like" superheroes. And while adult female superheroes are without exception sexualized, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup aren't because, well, they're little girls. Which is perhaps what makes the trio's much-touted femininity so divergent: Their sexuality never has to define them. Even Buttercups' sometimes-aggressive brand of tomboyishness is normalized within the show; her personality never fully gets in the way of her taking down the bad guy with her more conventionally "girly" sisters.

In announcing the show's reboot, Cartoon Network said its current roster of (mostly boy-led) original shows helped cement its position "as the #1 network with boys 6-11, while also seeing double-digit increases among girls 6-11 through 2014." It's fitting and timely now that the network is reviving The Powerpuff Girls, with Nick Jennings of Adventure Time executive-producing. The smart and exceptionally funny Adventure Time features two male leads (well, one human boy and one boy-dog), but it also features an array of unique female characters: the angsty but tough Vampire Marceline, the Valley Girl-esque Lumpy Space Princess, and the ruler of the Candy Kingdom, Princess Bubblegum. These characters aren't without their traditional gendered qualities, but they're part of a world that's more nuanced and self-aware than that Townsville was.

While The Powerpuff Girls is preparing to be reborn in a new decade, for a certain generation of its original young fans, its legacy has already somewhat been sealed. Spinoffs, merchandising, and future feature films aside, the series proved that there was no single formula to make the ideal girl, and that sometimes the best move was to mix in something weird, undefinable, and mysterious along with the sweeter elements.

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