Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie
Teaser poster for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie
Directed by	Bryan Spicer
Written by	John Kamps Arne Olsen
Produced by	Haim Saban Shuki Levy Suzanne Todd
Starring	Amy Jo Johnson David Yost Steve Cardenas Johnny Yong Bosch Karan Ashley Jason David Frank Paul Freeman Paul Schrier Jason Narvy Gabrielle Fitzpatrick Nicholas Bell
Music by	Graeme Revell
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	June 30, 1995
Running time	95 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$15,000,000

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a movie based on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the first series in the Power Rangers franchise. It featured the characters and actors from the series itself and was loosely based on Ninja Sentai Kakuranger (only the Rangers' Zords were based on the Chō Ninjū of Kakuranger, no other storyline elements were used in the movie). It was released by 20th Century Fox in summer of 1995.

The story

Template:Spoilers After the Rangers participate in a charity skydive, a giant egg in Angel Grove is unearthed. Lord Zedd (Mark Ginther) and Rita Repulsa (Julia Cortez) investigated the egg, and released the creature inside, Ivan Ooze (Paul Freeman). Zordon (Nicholas Bell) had trapped him inside the egg six thousand years ago, and then he left to seek revenge on Zordon. He disguises himself as a carnival wizard and gives free jars of purple ooze to children. Fred, the Rangers' young friend, buys a jar, and brings it home. Later on, his father finds the jar and inspects the ooze. When he pulls some out, mysterious charges of purple electricity go through him, putting him under the control of Ivan Ooze along with all of the other parents of Angel Grove. Apparently this ooze only affects the parents, as it is later seen that the children and teens are not affected and are playing with the ooze.

When the Power Rangers are sent to fight Ivan's Ooze Men, the Command Center is left defenseless, allowing Ivan Ooze to destroy it, almost killing Zordon and weakening and slightly diswiring Alpha 5 in the process. Due to the destruction, the Power Rangers lose their powers, and they must go on a quest to find new Ninjetti powers on the distant planet of Phaedos. When Ivan sends his Tengu Warriors after the Rangers, they are assisted by Dulcea (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick), who bestows upon the Rangers new Ninja powers based on the six Ninja animals: the Falcon, the Ape, the Bear, the Wolf, the Crane, and the Frog (much to Adam's dismay, though Dulcea cheers him up by alluding to the story, The Frog Prince, and kissing him on the forehead in the process). Dulcea directs the Rangers to find the Ninjetti Temple to find the Great Power on the own, as she will age rapidly if she takes one step off the plateau. On their way, they must battle a living dinosaur skeleton and at the temple four living statues. When the statues are finally destroyed, the Great Power is bestowed upon them and they become the Power Rangers once more.

When the Rangers return to Earth, they find it under attack by Ivan's Ectomorphicon Titans, and they call upon their new Ninjazords to battle the Titans. They destroy Scorpitron, and then form the Ninja Megazord to battle Hornitor. During this time, the children of Angel Grove realize that Ivan plans on killing all of their parents. A young boy who befriended the Rangers named Fred Kelman leads them to the construction site where Ivan directed the adults to fall into a massive hole. When Ivan fuses with Hornitor, the Rangers form the Ninja Mega Falconzord to try and destroy him, eventually using a comet that was to pass the Earth to destroy him. Upon his destruction, the parents of Angel Grove snap out of his spell and embrace their children.

Characters

Power Rangers

Tommy Oliver

The White Power Ranger who is given the Ninjetti power of the falcon to become the White Ninja Ranger. He is portrayed by Jason David Frank.

Adam Park

The Black Power Ranger who is given the Ninjetti power of the frog to become the Black Ninja Ranger. He is portrayed by Johnny Yong Bosch.

Kimberly Hart

The Pink Power Ranger who is given the Ninjetti power of the crane to become the Pink Ninja Ranger. She is portrayed by Amy Jo Johnson.

Billy Cranston

The Blue Power Ranger who is given the Ninjetti power of the wolf to become the Blue Ninja Ranger. He is portrayed by David Yost.

Aisha Campbell

The Yellow Power Ranger who is given the Ninjetti power of the bear to become the Yellow Ninja Ranger. She is portrayed by Karan Ashley.

Rocky DeSantos

The Red Power Ranger who is given the Ninjetti power of the ape to become the Red Ninja Ranger. He is portrayed by Steve Cardenas.

Allies

• Zordon
• Alpha 5
• Dulcea
• Bulk and Skull
• Fred Kelman: Fred was a preteen who was a friend of the Power Rangers. He learned of Ivan Ooze's true intentions and helped save the parents of Angel Grove under Ivan Ooze's control from death.

Villains

• Rita Repulsa
• Lord Zedd
• Goldar
• Mordant
• Ivan Ooze
• Tengu Warriors

Box office

This film earned a respectable $66,433,194 worldwide and $37,804,616 in the U.S. At one point, Power Rangers: The Movie was listed as one of IMDb's worst 100 films of all time, but, now it has climbed to a still low 3 rating on the website.

DVD releases

The movie had come to DVD in 2003, but is not technically a Special Edition. It has also recently aired a few times, fully restored with sharper picture and clearer sound, on the ABC Family channel, which therefore has sparked rumors of the creation of a Special Edition DVD.

Differences between the movie and the show

This movie takes place in an alternate timeline from the Power Rangers television show (similar to a fanfiction AU), as numerous differences appear between the two. These differences are largely due to the fact that Power Rangers:The Movie was an entirely American-made production (unlike the television show it is based on), and was thus treated to a more Western type of storytelling. Many of the differences are listed below.

• The story of how the Rangers received their Ninja powers and the Ninjazords is told in an entirely different way as opposed to the four-part episode Ninja Quest.
• Alpha 5's appearance is quite different, but Richard Steven Horvitz provides his voice in both.
• The Command Center and Zedd's Palace sets are much more detailed. The command center has lights built into the walls that dim and brighten, as well as a "rotating" light in the floor. The neon columns are also designed differently too, giving the Command Center a more futuristic appearance than on the show. In the Zedd's Palace appear a new gray stone - room than on the show.
• The Rangers' suits are made of PVC and metal plating rather than the standard spandex, and several Rangers have features in their helmets that never appeared in the series (a mountable scope on Rocky's helmet, and headlights built into Aisha's). The helmets also appear heavier and bulkier.
• The Rangers' suits also feature emblems in the center of the white diamond on the chest with a picture of their respective prehistoric animals early on, and later, their Ninja animals. Although these emblems were not part of the Zyuranger outfits used in the show (and were not added even after the movie was released), they appeared in early promotional art and the Power Rangers merchandise during its early years. In a leaked early draft of the script, the emblems DID have a use (albeit, only for their Ninjetti costumes); on the backs of the emblems were mirrors that the Rangers had to use to solve a puzzle connected to the Great Power that would eventually give them their new Ranger powers and Zords. (Kimberly primps her hair a moment during the scene as well, demonstrating the popular girl stereotype.)
• There are two weapons from the movie that don't appear in the series: Kimberly's "Pterodactyl Thunder Whip", and Billy's "Stega Stinger" .
• The character of Dulcea never appears in the show, or even referenced.
• The city of Angel Grove looks significantly different from how it appeared in the show. This is a result of the show's being shot in Los Angeles, while the movie was shot in Sydney, Australia.
• The new character of Mordant is treated as if it had always been among the "Evil Space Aliens," and Squatt and Baboo are nowhere to be seen, and neither were Finster and Scorpina (Mordant's presence was explained in a scene cut from the final draft of the script).
• The face of the Ninja Megazord looks different from its Kakuranger counterpart, Kakure Dai Shougun. Even the seating is somewhat changed. For example, Pink Ranger sits lower-down, front-and-center, Blue Ranger sits to the left of her, and Red Ranger sits to her right.
• According to Paul Freeman, who played Ivan Ooze, the movie was originally going to be done in the style of the TV shows before the producers wisely changed their minds and decided to put more resources into the production.
• Episodes of the TV show were shot at the same time as the movie, notably in The Wedding, where the rangers went on vacation to Australia.
• The Rangers morphed in a different order than the tv show's morphing sequence.
• The movie was the first time the Rangers used something other than their own weapons (in this case, a comet) to destroy a villain.
• The movie also has the dubious distinction of adding crude humor (like the various snot jokes regarding Ooze and his minions, or the occasional 'low blow' visual humor done on Rocky and eventually Ooze himself).
• Even after the Rangers have claimed the Great Power, their Power Suits retain the likenesses of the Prehistorically-oriented animals (i.e., the "Triceratops" helmet shape as opposed to the changed "Wolf" Power sign).
• At the Great Temple, when the Ninjetti spirits fly around the Rangers, the spirits for Billy and Adam (the wolf and frog), fly around their opposite Ranger.
• In the series, Zordon appears as a projection from another dimension via his Energy Tube and the large blinking poles around him. The movie portrays Zordon as living inside the Energy Tube for protection with the poles as a form of life-support.

Trivia

• Catherine Sutherland auditioned for the part of Dulcea, but was turned down because the producers thought she was too young for the part. She would later take on the role of the Pink Ranger when Amy Jo Johnson left the series.
• Johnny Yong Bosch did all of his own stunts himself, including the morphed fight scenes. Danny Wayne Stallcup, his stuntman was injured at the time, and he gratefully accepted their offer to replace him.
• Amy Jo Johnson commented that the Ranger suits looked more powerful and that the movie itself was "kind of a mix between The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars."
• Though not canon, the movie is the first time Zordon's home planet of Eltar was mentioned.
• Various video games were created for the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and Sega Game Gear.
  • The Sega Genesis version had three levels dedicated to the movie battles against Ivan Ooze, the Scorpitron, Hornitron, and the Ooze Men. The other four levels were dedicated to memorable Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2 episodes, such as Tommy getting his White Ranger power, and the recruitment of Rocky, Adam, and Aisha.
  • The Sega Game Gear version had three levels dedicated to Season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers while the other four levels were dedicated to the movie-based battles.
• Walter Jones, Thuy Trang, and Austin St. John were set to star in the movie, but plans fell through because of their contract dispute with the show.
• The Ninja Megazord's Power Sword resembles the Fire Sword used by the Shogun Megazord in the series.
• Kimberly's comment, "Nice stereo", when the Rangers enter their new Zords, is reminiscent of the first thing she said upon entering her original Dinozord, in the first episode of the series.
• When aired on certain television stations, the movie no longer retains it's original title, "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie". It has since been reduced to "Power Rangers: The Movie" to prevent confusion from younger viewers who didn't grow up with the original series. This reduced title can also be seen on the DVD of the movie.
• When actress Gabrielle Fitzpatrick (Dulcea) fell ill, she was replaced for several weeks by Mariska Hargitay. But when the crew felt Hargitay was not right for the part, she was fired. By this time, Fitzpatrick was well, so she resumed the role. The footage of Mariska Hargitay as Dulcea has not been released.
• Originally the Rangers helmets lacked visors as part of an original play by the producers to see the emotions of the Rangers in their eyes, Mid-way through filming the Producers realised they had made a terrible mistake as the helmet looked incomplete without visors, and the crew were forced to start filming again for all the Ranger scenes, once new helmets were constructed

See also

• Planets of Power Rangers

External links

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie at IMDb