Much in the vein of Riverdale and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the live-action Powerpuff Girls (now simply titled Powerpuff) is shaping up to be must-see television. While the actors playing the girls and Professor Utonium were already announced, two more beloved characters have been cast. One of the new additions will invoke feelings of nostalgia for fans of the original animated series.
SpongeBob SquarePants’ Tom Kenny has been tapped to reprise his role of narrator for The CW’s live-action adaptation, according to Deadline. Kenny served in the same capacity during the Powerpuff Girls’ original Cartoon Network run from 1998 to 2005. He served as the series’ narrator for its 2016 revival (once again on Cartoon Network). Along with voicing the narrator, Kenny voiced such memorable characters as the Mayor and Snake among others.
But Powerpuff Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants haven’t been Tom Kenny’s only memorable roles. Kenny has been a huge part of animation across multiple generations. The voice acting veteran has portrayed Heffer Wolfe on Rocko’s Modern Life, Adventure Time’s Ice King, and Dog from Nickelodeon’s CatDog, just to name a few. His voice has been heard in video games through the title character in the much-beloved Spyro the Dragon franchise. Kenny has shaped many childhoods from the 1990s to now.
But Tom Kenny wasn’t the only addition to the Powerpuff Girls reboot as Light as a Feather’s Robyn Lively was announced to play the Mayor’s faceless secretary Ms. Sara Bellum. In the live-action adaptation, Bellum will have remained close with the girls while navigating a career and complicated romantic relationship. It appears Ms. Bellum will fulfill the same motherly role she did in the original series.
The addition of Tom Kenny and Robyn Lively made the live-action Powerpuff more of a reality. Recently, it was announced that Scrubs’ Donald Faison and Nicholas Podanny will play Professor Utonium and Mojo Jojo Jr., respectively. The girls (now women) were announced in Mar. 2021 with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Chloe Bennet, Disney star Dove Cameron, and Yana Perrault playing Blossom, Bubble and Buttercup, respectively. Fans of the original series have been kept up to date on the reboot as Cameron spoke on it while Bennett showed off her recent hair color change.
So far, the Powerpuff Girls reboot is shaping up to keep to its roots while taking the city of Townsville in a different direction. As a fan of the original series, I have been a little apprehensive to embrace it. Live-action reboots have become a trend in recent years, but the results can be mixed at best. The Riverdale-esque revision could be good or bad, and only time will tell. But the inclusion of Tom Kenny did calm some of my feelings. Hopefully, the live-action Powerpuff will be worth the wait as everyone involved has solid track records.
