“Ah, the city of Townsville.”

No doubt those words spark a series of flashbacks to the days of lazy Sunday’s watching The Powerpuff Girls on Cartoon Network. Although you may know every line to the opening theme, how well do you really know the story behind The Powerpuff Girls?

Series creator, Craig McCraken, originally created a drawing of the three girls as a birthday card for his brother. In 1992, he took those same characters and created the short film Whoopass Stew! The Whoopass Girls in: A Sticky Situation. Yes, you read that correctly. The beloved Powerpuff Girls were once Whoopass Stew.

Naturally, when Cartoon Network picked up the show in 1993, some definite changes were needed. First, the name was changed to the kid-friendly title, The Powerpuff Girls. The secret ingredient responsible for the girls’ power was then changed from “a can of whoop ass” to chemical X. The Powerpuff Girls first aired in 1995 during the network’s World Premiere: Toon-In, but wasn’t a regular series until 1998.

The first episode was the highest rated premiere in Cartoon Network’s history, at the time. The Powerpuff Girls series ran on Cartoon Network from 1998 to 2005, and in that time was nominated for six Emmy Awards, nine Annie Awards, and a Kid’s Choice Award. Blossom was voiced by Cathy Cavadini (Babes in Toyland), Bubbles was voiced by Tara Strong (Teen Titans), and Buttercup was voiced by E.G. Daily (Rugrats).

Much to the delight of fans, in 2014 Cartoon Network announced the series would be rebooted. The Powerpuff Girls made their triumphant return to primetime cartoons on April 4, 2016. The rebooted series features Amanda Leighton (The Fosters) as Blossom, Kristen Li (Broken Age) as Bubbles, and Natalie Palamides (Freaks of Nature) as Buttercup.