Mime for a Change (The Powerpuff Girls, 1998)

'Note: The Mr Mime in this episode is not to be confused with the Generation 1 Pokémon with the same name. But, in August 2021, Craig McCracken confirmed that this was a coincidence. '

"Mime for a Change" is the second half of the eleventh episode in the first season of the Original Powerpuff Girls.

Plot
An accidental bleach spill turns Rainbow the Clown into the malevolent Mr Mime, and he proceeds to eliminate Townsville of its color, sound, and movement. But before he knows it, the Girls sabotage his plan for a colorless world with the song "Love Makes the World Go 'Round", with Bubbles on drums and vocals, Buttercup on electric bass guitar and vocals, and Blossom on electric lead guitar and vocals.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The birthday song Rainbow the Clown sings at the start is extremely catchy, along with the song the girls sing to sabotage Mr Mime's plan, "Love Makes the World Go Round" and even the coloring Bubbles sings while coloring in her pictures.
 * 2) The drawing Bubbles does of the Powerpuff Girls looks well done and completely accurate, which is impressive for five-year-old standards.
 * 3) Mr Mime making the world colorless is a great reference to classic cartoons from the 1930's before technicolor was invented.
 * 4) The animation is very clean, even when the town went black and white.
 * 5) The girls are great characters here for saving the school bus and old lady's car from crashing into each other, looking everywhere to find clues, Bubbles coloring in some of the town's objects to help everyone with directions and her singing the famous song, "Love Makes the World Go Round", which caused the world to be colorful again.
 * 6) The band the girls start looks pretty good with Bubbles having a drum with "The Powerpuff Girls" logo on it, and Blossom and Buttercup's guitars matching their hair color and dress, respectively.
 * 7) Good Ending: After the girls sing their famous song, everyone congratulates them with Rainbow the Clown thanking the girls for returning the colour to Townsville with him singing his famous song heard earlier, but they still fight him and send him to jail for making Townsville colorless. It then ends with the narrator saying that the day was saved thanks to the Powerpuff Girls.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Despite not meaning anything bad he had done earlier, the Powerpuff Girls still beat Rainbow the Clown rather harshly and send him to jail after he returns to normal.
 * 2) *This also contradicts the fact it wasn't really Rainbow's fault he turned evil, since the cause to his evil alter-ego's birth was one single accidental bleach spill.

Reception

 * It holds a rating of 7.9/10 on IMDB.

Trivia

 * This episode inspired the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode, "Mickey's Color Adventure", which has an identical premise, but with a more educational structure.
 * Rainbow the Clown & the bleach truck driver would later return in the season 2 episode, "Birthday Bash".
 * George Jetson from The Jetsons makes a cameo appearance here.
 * This is one of Craig McCrackenʼs 10 favourite episodes.