Birthday Bash
Sugar, spice, everything nice, and a bit of Chemical X is what it took to bring us Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup--also known as those crime- fighting kindergartners, the Powerpuff Girls. This video collection of five episodes from their hit Cartoon Network show provides a delightfully humorous introduction to the minuscule marvels. The title episode, "Birthday Bash," features the girls defeating the destructive plans of three separate villains (Mojo Jojo, the Princess, and the Amoeba Boys) without ever leaving their own birthday celebration. "Beat Your Greens" introduces us to alien broccoli, and "Stuck Up, Up and Away" shows the origin of the girls' female nemesis, Princess. "School House Rocked" and "Los Dos Mojo" complete the villain cycle by featuring the Gangrene Gang and Mojo Jojo--the ever failing and overdressed monkey--in tales that show us the girls both at school and on the job. A bonus cartoon, "Sheep in the Big City," doesn't feature the Powerpuff Girls but will be enjoyed by their fans for its combination of blatant and intelligent humor, much like the style of the jokes found in all Powerpuff episodes. With a running time of over an hour, this tape is sure to provide its viewers with a good supply of girl power. (Ages 5 and older.) --Zachary Lively

Dream Scheme
The crime-fighting kindergarteners go after the Sandman, a jealous schoolmate, the usual monsters, and a superhero impostor in this five- episode compilation from the Cartoon Network favorite. The overworked, sleep-deprived Sandman is out of control in the title episode, putting the whole world to sleep so he can get some shut-eye of his own. But the gals thwart him by appearing in his dream and turning it into a nightmare. "Just Another Manic Mojo" finds the hermit monkey trying to destroy the trio with a giant laser when they come to his castle to retrieve their wayward ball. Buttercup refuses to bathe in "Down 'n' Dirty," stinking up Pokey Oaks Kindergarten and grossing out even the villains she battles. Classmate Princess hires Mojo to isolate Chemical X and turn her into a Powerpuff Girl in "Mo Job." And muscle-bound Major Man replaces the girls in the hearts and minds of Townsville when his exploits surpass theirs--but not for long, of course. The 70-minute video includes a bonus episode of "Courage the Cowardly Dog," which involves an eggplant uprising against the dog's vegetable-loving owner, Muriel, in a story called "Journey to the Center of Nowhere." (Ages 7 and older.) --Kimberly Heinrichs