Sugar... Spice... Everything nice...

These were the ingredients chosen to make perfect little girls. However, Professor Utonium accidentally added chemical X to the concoction, and thus were born the Powerpuff Girls - the world's youngest superheroes.

So goes the introduction to one of Cartoon Network's most successful cartoons. From the creators of Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls was recently voted the second best cartoon on the network after running for just two years, coming just behind long-time favourite Scooby Doo. The three super sweet heroines issue perky statements and hard punches to ridiculous villains in what can only be described as a spoof on anime.

The Girls

The Powerpuff Girls are Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup.

• Bubbles wears a blue outfit and is the blonde member of the team, and not the brightest. She is absolutely adorable, if a bit naive. She loves all animals (but not insects), and she speaks fluent squirrel. She is insulted by her sisters' impression that she is a wimp, and does all she can to prove to them otherwise.

• Blossom is the leader, signified by the red bow in her hair and her red cape. She is the most serious of the three. She is also the one who had been known, from time to time, to lecture the other girls.

• Buttercup, wearing green and sporting black hair, is the toughest of the girls. She is the one with an attitude and is the more argumentative of the three. She loves getting into trouble, but hates baths.

Their main role is to use special powers and superhuman strength to overcome the forces of evil.

Other Characters

• Professor Utonium is the girls' creator and caretaker. A bachelor, he sometimes gets lonely for female companionship, but has had bad luck with women. Always wearing his lab coat and smoking his pipe, he is devoted to his work, but even more devoted to his girls.

• The Mayor is a short man, and not a very bright one. His secretary, Miss Sara Bellum, more often than not does his job for him. Miss Bellum is a very voluptuous woman with long red hair, but we never see her face.

The Storyline

In a small house on the outskirts of Townsville live the Powerpuff Girls, along with their creator, Professor Utonium. In the girls' bedroom, beside their bed with the colour-coordinated bedspread, is a phone: the Powerpuff Hotline! This is a direct link to the Mayor's office and is the primary phone used to contact the girls in times of trouble. Another phone is located in the classroom of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, where the girls attend school.

They have various special powers and all of the girls can fly and are very good fighters. Sometimes they develop new powers, such as Ice Breath, which freezes everything to an ice block simply by breathing on it, but these powers are usually short-lived.

In an average day, the girls have to save the city of Townsville at least once, from a variety of serial criminals.

The Bad Guys

The girls' enemies include evil mastermind and monkey Mojo Jojo, the Gangrene Gang, and Him - basically a gay Satan.

• Mojo Jojo is a bad monkey with a big brain, and an even bigger hate for the Powerpuff Girls. In his lair, he has numerous lasers and guns and other means of destruction. In one episode, it is revealed that he was once the Professor's pet lab monkey, Jojo, a troublemaker who actually caused the addition of Chemical X, thus creating his greatest enemies!

• Him is a very feminine, lobster-like devil being. His exact identity is a mystery, but the viewer is led to believe that he could be the devil himself!

• Sedusa is a beautiful villain with an interest in the Professor. She was once almost the undoing of the Powerpuff Girls. Posing as a sweet, innocent, friendly woman, she worked her way into the Professor's heart, only to ground the girls and attempt to cause mass destruction.

• The Amoeba Boys are by far the dumbest criminals in Townsville. They spend their days trying desperately to commit crimes to bring the girls running so that they can fight, but they never seem to be able to do anything really bad.