Substitute Creature

Substitute Creature
General Information
Original broadcast	September 26, 2003
Details
Season	5
Episode	16
Pun	The phrase “Substitute Teacher”
Credits
Written by	Mark O'Hare
Storyboarded by	Lauren Faust Craig Lewis Craig McCracken Amy Keating Rogers
Directed by	John McIntyre
Episode Guide
Previous episode	Save Mojo
Next episode	The Boys Are Back in Town
Links
Gallery
Transcript
Errors

"Substitute Creature" is the 16th episode of the fifth season of The Powerpuff Girls, and the 100th episode overall.

It premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on September 26, 2003.

Plot

Ms. Keane is out sick and her substitute, Mr. Green is a suspicious-looking character, that gives the girls some bad vibes.

Synopsis

All the children at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten love Ms. Keane, their teacher that they sung a musical number about her. But one day, Ms. Keane falls ill. A substitute teacher, a green-skinned humanoid monster named Mr. Green, is called to replace her for the day. Though he may look rather sinister and monstrous, he is proven to be a nice monster who loves children and enjoys teaching them.

When he first arrives, the Powerpuff Girls are cautious about him and come to the conclusion that Mr. Green ate Ms. Keane. Many attempts to "foil" his "evil ways" fail, and their behavior only gets them time-outs.

While sitting inside as the other children are playing, the girls believe that they hear the other children screaming in fear. Taking action, the girls fly into space, performing a spinning attack, fusing into a blazing orb of energy. Luckily, the other kids catch them and successfully stop the girls from striking Mr. Green with their attack by crying out that he is nice.

After sheepishly landing, Mr. Green explains to the girls that just because he has big horns and wear long capes, it doesn't mean he's a bad guy. He admits that yes, he is a monster, but he loves children and wants to help them learn. Realizing that he's right, the girls apologizes to him as they learn not to judge people by their looks. Mr. Green hugs the girls, and they smile, finally trusting him.

Mr. Green and the Girls hugging after they have come to trust him.

Characters

Major Roles

• The Powerpuff Girls (characters)
  • Blossom
  • Bubbles
  • Buttercup
• Mr. Green
• Ms. Keane (Pictured)

Minor Roles

• Susie Jenkins
• Julie Bean
• Elmer Sglue
• Harry Pitt
• Mitch Mitchelson (Non-Speaking Cameo)
• Clara

Songs

• Keen Ms. Keane

Trivia

• Moral: Don't judge people based on their appearance. Who they are on the inside is much more important than what they look like on the outside.
• The K.E.A.N.E. song is strikingly similar to SpongeBob SquarePants' F.U.N. song. Both have similar tunes and lyrics that spell out the letter.
• There is an abnormal amount of kids marching into Ms. Keane's class.
• During the K.E.A.N.E. song, in the pet shop window, there's three dogs that have a design similar to the Hanna Barbera characters Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy.
• Interestingly enough, Mr. Green's horns bent down as he looked up at the girls in their near-successful attack; almost like a scared animal.
• Mr. Green’s silhouette with smoke under him is somewhat similar to what other dark characters do in Invader Zim.
• At the beginning of the episode, Mr. Green's eye is bright red instead of black.
• This episode is one of a few times in season 5 that the girls are in their secondary end shot pose: Blossom standing upright, Bubbles and Buttercup bowing at the waist, turning their attention to the viewers.
• After believing that Mr. Green ate Ms. Keane, Buttercup shouts and calls him "Doctor Lecter", most likely referencing the infamous cannibalistic psychopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs.
• When the girls have their anime illusions, they loosely resemble their PPGZ counterparts.
  • However, this is most likely a coincidence considering that this episode was made in 2003, and the anime didn't enter development until 2005, and wasn't officially released until 2006.
• In this episode, all three of the girls wrongly accused of someone unlike in "Schoolhouse Rocked" where rightfully accused the Gangreen Gang going be in trouble at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten on their first and last day of school and in "Gettin' Twiggy With It" where rightfully accused of Mitch Mitchelson going tortured and abused Twiggy, when Mitch was assigned to watch over Twiggy during the weekends that Twiggy wouldn't even survived Friday afternoon after school with Mitch's abusive care.

Goofs

• While The Narrator says the Powerpuff Girls saved the day, it was actually the other students of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, who were in fact saving it from the girls.