A second season of The Powerpuff Girls is in the works over at Cartoon Network. Buttercup herself told us so.
“We’re onto recording season two right now,” Natalie Palamides mentioned in a recent conversation with The Dot and Line.
A Hollywood comedienne and voice actor, Palamides was cast as the new Buttercup for the 2016 reboot of the classic series. She spoke with us about role in an interview that covered how she deals with critics, keeps her voice-acting and comedy-filled schedule in check, and feels about playing the “toughest fighter” in the Powerpuff bunch.
Here are some highlights:
Her “weird voice” helped her land the Buttercup role.
I’ve always done comedy since I was a kid, like theater and stuff. And I kind of have like a weird voice, I guess. When I moved out to L.A., a bunch of people were like, “You need to do voiceover!” I took a couple classes, went to an agency for a commercial meeting. The voiceover assistant heard us talk and was like, “Do you do voiceover?” And I was like, “Yeah!” It’s all downhill from there. Powerpuff Girls was just another audition. Three callbacks and then you get it.
She stays zen about some of the negative comments the series has gotten.
I see everything. I’d rather just focus on the positive feedback coming from the show. People have every right to have their opinions. I don’t think it’s very helpful to write such negative stuff online. I think in general, people should think about what they write before they do, because we do see everything. There are some actors that choose not to read stuff. But personally speaking, and just talking to my friends who are actors, we see everything—especially when people Tweet at you or message you on Facebook. I get positive reviews on Facebook as well. Unfortunately, [some are] not happy, and I wish them the best. I just don’t really pay attention to it. It’ll upset me if I read it too much. People say mean things and it makes the people they say them to sad. [Laughs.] Nobody likes when someone is mean to them.
Every Blossom can also be a Buttercup.
[The original Powerpuff Girls] was one of my favorite shows growing up. It’s just an awesome show. You couldn’t really grow up in the ’90s without seeing The Powerpuff Girls. My friends and I used to pretend to be the Powerpuff Girls when we were playing. I got stuck being Blossom. My one cousin had blond hair and blue eyes, and my other had black hair and green eyes. But Buttercup was my favorite for sure.
But not every Buttercup can be as organized as Blossom.
Oh my gosh, I should keep a calendar. I’m so disorganized. I just set reminders for myself on my phone. I have so much shit. I have so many shows. I pretty much have a show every night. It’s weird if I don’t have at least one or two shows every night. As soon as I set or book something I just set a reminder. I’m kind of like Buttercup where I’m not very organized. I wish I was more like Blossom. One of my friends who’s very organized got me two planners. I have them, but I just don’t use them, I don’t know!
Her dear old Grumpy Dad is her inspiration.
Oh gosh, I don’t really think I prepared at all! I don’t know. Buttercup definitely has a temper, but I guess I kind of just channel my dad. Not that my dad’s a bad guy, but he has a short wick as well. My dad’s really like Buttercup in a way—the life of the party, making jokes and stuff. He also has a little bit of an anger issue. He’s not, like, abusive or anything! [Laughs.] I feel like I’m making him sound awful. I love my dad.
Powerpuff Girls that sync together stick together.
We just get along really great. I’m not being sarcastic [this time]. We’re really great friends. We grab bites to eat with each other. We baked a cake together. Kristin [Li, the voice of Bubbles] always has us making these Musical.ly videos together. She got me addicted to it. It’s a lip-syncing app where you can lip-sync to your favorite song.
The first Buttercup, E.G. Daily, was one of her first inspirations.
I would love to work with any of the original Powerpuff Girls. I looked up to E.G. Daily when I was growing up. I remember seeing her on Nickelodeon talking about doing the voice for Tommy Pickles. I was like “Wow, a girl can do a boy’s voice? That’s so cool.”
The Buttercup character doesn’t have issues. She just doesn’t take shit.
She’s just easily annoyed. She doesn’t want to put up with anybody’s BS. I don’t think she has any deep-down issues, although there’s that one episode where she goes to see a zen yoga master. She’s the spice of the group. She doesn’t want to put up with annoying people. Basic bitches, as they say.
This is Buttercup’s advice to kids.
I don’t think Buttercup has a problem being herself, but my advice to kids is to be yourself and don’t worry about impressing anyone. Just be yourself, don’t worry about what’s cool. Don’t worry about what’s cool, because you are cool. Whatever you are.
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