Craig McCracken

"The main inspirations for Powerpuff for me were the 66 Adam West Batman show, and Underdog."

"When [Powerpuff Girls] was tested, everyone hated it. There were 11-year-old boys telling me I should be fired and it was the worst cartoon theyve ever seen in their life."

"What a lot of people have found out about Powerpuff Girls is initially they just think its this little girl thing thats lame like My Little Pony or whatever. Then they watch it and they’re like "Wait a minute, this is really funny, and this is really good, and its actually, you know, entertaining."

"[Question from the audience]: "If you could pick only one thing, what is the most important thing when it comes to creating and running your own series?"Craig McCracken: Characters. Great, likable characters that resonate with audiences. Thats the most important thing. Concepts will get you to try out a show, to tune in to a show maybe, but concepts dont keep you watching over and over again. If youre not engaged with the characters and the personalities of the characters, youre not going to continue to watch that show."

"A lot of people come up with these really elaborate concepts, and they get into the weeds of the concepts and how the storys gonna be. Thats not what executives wanna see. They wanna see characters that they can engage with, and, also it sounds a little cliche, but the so-called "elevator pitch" or seven words, "try to describe your show in seven words", is a really good exercise. I found it just... work through, yknow, what your idea is about. That elevator pitch is basically "Ive got a few seconds to tell somebody my idea, how would I say it?"

"When I first did my first short for Powerpuff Girls, and we focus-tested it, Im sure people have heard this story, we showed it to a group of 11-year-old boys, and they said "this is the worst cartoon that has been ever made and whoever made it should be fired." Im sitting in the room with all the executives watching these 11-year-old boys destroy the show, and... I was like, I went back to the studio and I started redesigning the characters and I gave em fingers and I made them more accessible, and I was like "they didnt get it, they didnt get it..." [...] I took that criticism and went, "what did I do wrong? What wasnt I communicating? How I was I not telling this idea clearly?" And what I realized I was doing, is I had been making it in my head for so long, I made an episode that was like a third season, middle-of-the-season episode. And Im like, "No, you gotta go back to the very beginning of the idea" [...] and just kind of step the audience through the idea and introduce them. Even though it seems like old hat to you, and youre like "well thats boring", but thats what the audience wants. Tell them a story. Who are they, these characters? Why should I like them? Dont be so ironic or high-concept-y."