At the front of the Power Puff Girls movie was a new Dexter's Lab short. Jerry Beck suggested its Oscar worthy, I'm not so sure, but I know that a nomination wouldn't displease me. Its a simple story who's only flaw is that it goes on perhaps a little too long for something so simple.Basically Dexter wakes up with Chicken Pox and his sister tells him what happens if you scratch yourself. Dexter then spends the rest of the time trying not to scratch.You know where its going- and you don't care. I didn't. Personally this deserved to be on the big screen if for no other reason then it seemed to play more like a John K (Ren and Stimpy or Ripping Friends) cartoon then a normal Dexter. The close ups of the inflames pox screamed K's work. I actually found myself smiling at some of its dumbness.Its not high art but I laughed better laughs then at the Powerpuff Girls Movie which followed it.

I once described the series Dexter's Laboratory as "A cartoon for all ages". When it comes to the first two seasons and Ego Trip, I stand by that. But ever since Dexter's Laboratory returned for a third season a while back, I found that I couldn't bear to watch it anymore. Every possible thing went wrong. The new season "boasted" terrible animation, awful writing and Christine Cavanaugh was replaced by Candi Milo (who I think gives a terrible voice for Dexter). Worst of all, Genndy Tartakovsky was not as involved as he used to be and it showed.So when I heard Genndy was going to be involved with this short, I had high hopes. The verdict? Not really all that good. I didn't care for the animation, nor for the performances from Candi Milo and Allison Moore (Christine Cavanaugh and Kathryn Cressida were better). I do consider this better than much (if not all) of the recent episodes, but it's no where near the quality of the first two seasons or Ego Trip, so I guess that's faint praise at best.Bottom line: Thumbs down.

If I'd known just how lousy Chicken Scratch was going to be ahead of time, I would have hit the concession stand or the bathroom before the main film started. With Dexter creator Genndy Tartakovsky almost completely out of the creative loop (due to his work on Samurai Jack), the writing and animation have become weird and unfunny. This short almost looks like something that could have come from the Spumco, in the vein of Ren and Stimpy, and both Candi Milo and Allison Moore sound awful in their respective character voices.Chicken Scratch will be included on the upcoming Powerpuff Girls Movie DVD. If you've seen it, you know enough to skip over it; if you haven't seen it, spare yourself the discomfort.(A note on the above credits: Christine Cavanaugh did not do the voice of Dexter. She was replaced by Milo at the beginning of the show's third season.)

The Dexter's Lab toon `Chicken Scratch' was originally produced and intended for broadcast on the television series, but was bumped up to a silver screen showing, preempting the feature length debut of Powerpuff Girls, The (2002). The decision was made by studio powers based on the excellent animation quality and the fact that original series creator Genndy Tartakovsky returned to direct the short piece. This may strike Cartoon Network fans with high expectations but I found that `Chicken Scratch' is a decent Dexter 'toon at best. The film was done with the 2001 seasons' digital character redesigning, which is a mixed bag considering series fans have either appreciated or detested the seemingly over-streamlined, undetailed and restricting new designs. Not concerning this however the animation quality in and of itself is very superbly done. The lack of detail, which has become a bit painful on the televison series, plays well for atmosphere on the movie screen. The movements and forms do play well to the eye, which can often be other cartoons downfall. This cartoon's greatest flaw is the lack of story(whatever that may mean in the context of a cartoon) or at the very least the failed lack of exploring the concept which gives a restrained feeling to the film. It just seems like quickly written series filler. Certainly not deserving of a national showing on 2340 screens. The television series' earlier seasons(and I admit even the current season) have produced fantastic stories, with well written action and climaxes that would have greatly represented Dexter's Lab, its creators and Cartoon Network to moviegoers. But `Chicken Scratch' was what we were given.