I usually tend to reserve my judgment on unreleased television shows, because who knows what might happen before they get released, or canceled, or rewritten entirely. But judging from the first images released of the Powerpuff Girls set, I must break my rule. I simply cannot stand for this.
In February, it was announced that iconic screenwriter Diablo Cody would reboot the beloved Cartoon Network animated series for the CW. It promised a “grittier” look at the characters, which should have been a red flag, but in no way could anyone have predicted… this.
The cast was seen filming in Atlanta this week, where stars Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, and Yana Perrault could be seen in true-to-life versions of the character’s original costumes. Perhaps… and hear me out… perhaps they were a bit too true-to-life.
Costume designers and set artists and actors and filmmakers are all operating in a pandemic, so I understand that hopefully, those involved are just doing the best they can. But looking at the costumes, I simply cannot fathom how seams and hemlines this ill-fitting managed to pass any of the numerous firewalls before they were put in front of a camera.
Take, for instance, the bunched-up seam on this green dress, which makes the backside wonky and lopsided. The belt isn’t cinched properly enough to give it shape, and there’s an obvious bulge where the mic pack is supposed to be. Meanwhile, the hemline is fraying, and seems entirely uneven.
Not to mention there’s no consistency in the socks!
In motion, the problems become tenfold, especially when seen properly from the front. Unless there is a thematic reason their costumes look this bad, I’m filled with dread at what a finished product might look like.
Here are some rationalizations I’ve made: Maybe, the first episode deals with the characters growing out of the good-girl image their mad scientist father has molded them around. Their costumes are the same they’ve had since childhood and predictably look outdated. Or maybe this is their first venture out as a superhero team, and they’ve made these costumes themselves, hence their fashion atrocity being totally explainable.
Alternatively, this is another rush job reboot from a network now famous for mining dead IPs and turning them into gold, where mass production is more favorable than quality, because hey, in a 24-episode order, sandwiched between Riverdale and Supergirl and The Flash, nobody is going to be paying much attention to these hemlines anyway.