Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Teaser poster for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Directed byBryan Spicer
Written byJohn Kamps
Arne Olsen
Produced byHaim Saban
Shuki Levy
Suzanne Todd
StarringAmy Jo Johnson
David Yost
Steve Cardenas
Johnny Yong Bosch
Karan Ashley
Jason David Frank
Paul Freeman
Paul Schrier
Jason Narvy
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick
Nicholas Bell
Peta-Maree Rixon
Julia Cortez
Mark Ginther
Jean Paul Bell
Kerry Casey
CinematographyPaul Murphy
Edited byWayne Wahrman
Music byGraeme Revell
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
June 30, 1995
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15,000,000

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie also known as, 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 Mecha of Kakuranger, no other storyline elements were used in the movie). It was released by 20th Century Fox on June 30, 1995.

Plot

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 Kelman, 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 their 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. Fred 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.

The movie ends with a celebration in the Angel Grove harbor, thanking the Power Rangers for saving the world, although Bulk and Skull complain it was themselves who saved the day.

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

Villains

Box office and Critical Reception

The film was a financial success, grossing $66,433,194 worldwide and $37,804,616 in the U.S. with a budget of $15,000,000. Roger Ebert[1], one of the prominent critics of the United States calls Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie "one of the worst movies of 1995" giving it a half star, and stating that the movie is about as close as you can get to absolute nothing and still have a product to project on the screen. The movie is like those synthetic foods that have no fat, no sugar, no vitamins and no calories, but they come in bright packages and you can chew them."

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 and television releases

The movie was first released on DVD in 2003. It has also aired a few times on the ABC Family channel as well as Cinemax and HBO.

Retitling

  • 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 did not grow up with the original series. This reduced title can also be seen on the DVD of the movie.

Behind the scenes

  • 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."
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Johnny Yong Bosch revealed during the Power Morphicon 2007 that the line where he replies "I'm a frog" to Dulcea after she asks him why he's upset was added at his insistence when he asked the director, feeling that the frog was so confusing.

Adaptations in other media

  • 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 (Hornitor in the film), 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.
  • Marvel Comics released an adaptation comic of the movie which was dated Semptember 1995. It is nearly faithful to the movie except for:
    • Some deleted concepts from the film, though minor appear. Such as Zordon referring to his previous warriors as The Order Of Meledan, and Dulcea's stick making the whistling sound the Tengus refer to later in the film.
    • The Ninjazords from Kakurangers/MMPR Season 3 are used rather than the movies version, but still has the sword similar to the Shogun Megazord.

Differences between the movie and the show

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. Despite this, 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).

Canon

This movie takes place in an alternate timeline from the Power Rangers television show, 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. The story of how the Rangers received their Ninja powers and the Ninjazords is told in an entirely different way on the television show in a four-part episode entitled "Ninja Quest".

Though not canon, the movie is the first time Zordon's home planet of Eltar was mentioned. Following this however, Eltar became part of the TV show's continuity.

Characters such as Dulcea never appears in the show, or even referenced (Ninjor bequeathed the Ninja Powers to the Rangers in the TV show). 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).

Sets

Many of the differences are merely cosmetic, as the movie budget and the fact the film was shot in Sydney, Australia necessitated new and more elaborate sets to be constructed. 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 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, which acts as a time-lock chamber, preventing him from aging, with the poles as a form of power and life-support.

Even the face of the Ninja Megazord looks different from its Kakuranger counterpart, Kakure Dai Shougun. 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. Due to this, Kimberly is hinted to be the second-in-command as opposed to the show in which Rocky seems to be second-in-command in the ninja megazord. The Ninja Megazord's Power Sword resembles the Fire Sword used by the Shogun Megazord in the series.

The city of Angel Grove looks significantly different from how it appeared in the show. This is a result of the show being shot in Los Angeles, while the movie was shot in Sydney.

Costumes

Costumes were also upgraded. 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. In addition, Alpha 5's appearance is quite different, but Richard Steven Horvitz provides his voice in both.

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.)

Action sequences

The Rangers morphed in a different order than the TV show's morphing sequence. There are two weapons from the movie that do not appear in the series: Kimberly's "Pterodactyl Thunder Whip", and Billy's "Stega Stinger".

Notes

  • 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.
  • The movie was the first time the Rangers used something other than their own weapons (in this case, a comet) to destroy a villain.

See also

References

  1. ^ rogerebert.suntimes.com

External links

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