Dove Cameron Reiterates That the Leaked Powerpuff Script We All Roasted Isn’t Why the CW Show Is Being Reworked
Not as "rooted in reality" as network execs would have liked
At this point, I feel like the development of Powerpuff—the CW’s version of Powerpuff Girls—deserves its own documentary that delves into what the H E double hockey sticks is going on.
A couple of weeks ago news spread about the series being delayed in order to rework it. Shortly after that, a script was leaked that was, allegedly, from the pilot. That script contained some … um… interesting plot points, like Harambe commentary, threatening to leak your sister’s nudes, and nods to issues like “talking to Grandpa despite political differences” and “not wearing a dress because of compulsory heterosexuality.”
It was a mess, but hey, it’s the CW, so you’re either of the mindset of “wtf is happening” or “I’m gonna make sure I’m good and drunk so I can watch the trash fire.”
Was the leaked script real? It certainly looked like something we’d see from the CW if Riverdale is any indication, a series that I haven’t watched but its fans reassure me that it’s a whole ass mess. And pages from the script kept getting removed for copyright violations on Twitter, which would seem to confirm its validity.
What we do know about that leaked Powerpuff script is that it’s NOT the cause of the delay, at least according to one of the show’s stars. “They didn’t decide to rework the pilot because the script leaked. I just need to say that that wasn’t what happened. We had to reshoot it anyway for a couple of reasons,” said Dove Cameron (Bubbles—the joy and laughter) in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. She went on to say the following:
“It’s a really big piece of IP, and it’s tonally very specific. Like getting it right, making everybody happy, and also making sure that it translates. It’s so specific. To modernize it and to make it fit like, a bunch of different things that don’t normally go together, it’s just kind of like a puzzle piece. So we’re removing some elements and we’re replacing others. I think the script is going to get another whack, and it’s just going to be a slightly different approach but everything else is going to stay the same.” – Dove Cameron via Entertainment Tonight.
Of course, she couldn’t give specifics on what is, and isn’t, being taken out of the script, but she was at least able to confirm that the leaked script isn’t why the pilot is getting another whack.
So … why is it getting reworked?
If you’re like me, you missed the answer when it was revealed back in May because you were too busy coming to terms with Butch (from the Rowdyruff Boys) revealing that Bubbles broke off their engagement and pawned the ring for drugs—just one of many gems from that script. That’s probably why Cameron felt the need to address it in that Entertainment Tonight interview. But yeah, back in May, Variety reported that the CW chairman and CEO, Mark Pedowitz, felt that the script was … too campy.
“In this case, the pilot didn’t work. But because we see there’s enough elements in there, we wanted to give it another shot. So that’s why we didn’t want to go forward with what we had. Tonally, it might’ve felt a little too campy. It didn’t feel as rooted in reality as it might’ve felt. But again, you learn things when you test things out. And so in this case, we felt, let’s take a step back and go back to the drawing board.” – Mark Pedowitz via Variety.
I’m not sure what to make of this, to be honest. I for one would love some camp in a series based on a cartoon where stuff like this happens:
Then again, I suppose the premise is about how these girls have become, sigh, “disillusioned twenty-somethings” or whatever, so it has to be “rooted in reality”—even if the girls are literally made of sugar, spice, everything nice, and Chemical X.
Unless if that’s not their origin story anymore?
While campy isn’t the word I’d choose for that leaked script, it was definitely cartoonish. It felt like it was trying WAY too hard to be “real” by packing in as much social commentary and buzzwords as possible. Buttercup says that Blossom is probably triggered about being back home. Blossom has LinkedIn and Facebook while Bubbles makes Dirty Dancy commentary to illustrate how she wants to do more than be a Powerpuff Girl.
Who exactly is this for, again? The Harambe comment, especially, had many wondering what year the script was written in.
I’m not quite sure what will come of this attempt to make the script more … real. Whatever the case, this production continues to be something that grows more and more mindboggling the longer it goes on.
Do I love it?
Do I hate it?
Am I fascinated by the whole thing?
Who am I in this scenario:
(image: Warner Bros. Television Distribution)
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