When it comes to the world of cartoons, Genndy Tartakovsky is a legend, having created a handful of shows including Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory. He's also had a hand in working on other successful cartoons such as the original Powerpuff Girls. In the wake of the news of a live-action Powerpuff Girls show breaking, Tartakovsky gave his thoughts surrounding the project.
Tartakovsky told ComicBook.com, "The lines between live-action and animation are so blurred. I think anything could work. I mean, Dexter can work, and Samurai can work, and Primal could even work if you have a cool CG. I mean, if you take something of quality, Jurassic Park, animated T-Rex, and you have a big burly caveman with her, it can be super cool. It's super expensive, the jungle has everything, to make it look and feel right. You give The Revenant feel and tone to Jurassic Park, and all of a sudden now you got something crazy. So, I think everything can cross over, But does it need to? Does it want to? Is it deserving?"
"The thing is, there's gotta be a reason for it to be an animation or live-action," he explained. "And so, I imagine everything as drawings, because I'm such an animation enthusiastic. And so, that's kinda how it exists. And I have to work my way into live-action and kind of picture it live and see where it goes." Tartakovsky continued, "I guess we'll see. It's certainly interesting."
Tartakovsky further explained his views, noting that while the show is inherently different, it might not necessarily be bad. "When you try to do a certain thing and then you're successful at it, and then somebody else takes it, and now is gonna make it a different thing, is that good? Is it bad? I mean, they made an anime from Powerpuff Girls. And then it was like straight anime, it's like, 'Oh yeah, it lost a lot of some of the charm that I thought we had in the American version.' But it was good in a different way too. So, that's the thing. It's always, 'Who's gonna do it? Is it gonna be sincere? Is there a purpose for it besides just, 'Oh, people know Powerpuff Girls, so let's do it.'"
Created by Craig McCracken -- a frequent collaborator of Tartakovsky's -- the original Powerpuff Girls cartoon ran from 1998 to 2005, with a feature film released in 2002 and a CGI special in 2014. In 2016, the show came back in the form of a reboot that was controversial amongst fans of the original show. The reboot ran for three seasons, ending in 2019.
The new live-action show will air on The CW, chronicling the lives of the girls who are now disgruntled young women in their twenties. Jaded from having lost their childhood due to crime fighting, the girls must decide whether to reunite the team for the good of the world. The project involves Diablo Cody, Greg Berlanti, Sara Schechter and David Madden.