Cartoon Network’s animated series “The Powerpuff Girls” has created some buzz with the addition of a fourth girl, whose name is Bliss, the older half sister of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. She made her official debut in the “The Power of Four” episode, which debuted on September 17, 2017.
Besides being black, her full name is Blisstina Francesca Francia Mariam Alicia Utonium and she is described as is the older (and thus taller) half sister of the three girls and the first living creation of Powerpuff Girl creator Professor Utonium.
She’s has longer legs than her sister because she’s a teenager and she’s also the first Powerpuff with an unnatural hair color.
People are very sensitive about changes to beloved childhood cartoon characters and while it seems harmless enough to want to add a Powerpuff Girl of color, there is currently a debate raging on the Cartoon Network’s Facebook page about the addition of Bliss.
While many commenters are thrilled about her introduction, there is the usual grumbling from racist types about adding her to be politically correct. At the same time there were also complaints that the story of her origin was poorly written and also that she was not well drawn.
As well, there are those who are saying her addition doesn’t matter because the rebooted version of the show is a shell of the original version, which originally aired in 1998 and ran through 2005.
Given all the complaints were registered by adults, one commenter astutely observed, “When people in their mid-twenties are complaining about the TV show they don’t watch lol. You’re not the target audience get over it.”
Not being cartoonistas, we’re just excited about the Bliss merch–so adorable! It’s sized for kids, women and men and is available for purchase on cartoonnetworkshop.com.
