The Powerpuff Girls: Meet the Beat-Alls

Essentially pint-sized, Japanese anime-inspired, kid-friendly (i.e., they don't take impromptu showers merely to show off their cartoon breasts) winsome girls who just want to have fun (by kicking criminal tail), the heavily product-licensed Powerpuff Girls--darlings of the Cartoon Network--star in five episodes (plus a "Bonus Toon") in this sure to be popular compilation. In the opener, "Meet the Beat-Alls," Bubbles, Buttercup and Blossom ease on down the long and winding road of multiple Beatles references (as in the lads from Liverpool) as they tackle the Beat-Alls, four of Townsville's most evil villains--Mojo, Him, Princess and Fuzzy Lumpkins. Easily defeated singly, the bad guys are hell on wheels (wait, that's a McCartney solo reference--sorry) together, blithely trouncing the Misses Extraordinaire before accosting a bank teller with their signature greeting "I want to hold your cash." Cute? Why, yes, in a splashy, overdone kind of way (you will tire of the Fab Four verbal links long before this sub-15 minute episode does), but that doesn't mean that tiny tots won't be clamoring for this pun-filled adventure (even if they won't get a fraction of the jokes). And, to be honest, the writing is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny for older viewers: in the second episode "Bought and Scold," when the spoiled Princess demands "I want a glass of water…on the rocks," the pause is pitch perfect. The other episodes are: "Bubblevision," "Jewel of the Aisle" and "Collect Her." [Note: as we alerted viewers on Video Librarian Online in the November 6 update of the "VL Newsbriefs," Warner recalled the DVDs on this title due to a virus embedded in the DVD-ROM content--Warner also 100% refunded defective discs and all new orders will be filled with the electronically scrubbed version.] Aud: P. (R. Pitman)