Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

From Power Rangers Universe

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (also known as Power Rangers: The Movie) was created by Saban Entertainment and released by 20th Century Fox in summer of 1995. The movie stars the same actors from the 1994-1995 version of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series. The movie had come to DVD in 2003 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 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 which is planned by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The sneak peek for the film can be seen on the 1995 VHS of The Pagemaster. [1]

Contents 1 The Story 2 The Movie Continuity 2.1 Aesthetic differences 2.2 Literary difference from the established continuity (Season 1 to 2) 2.3 Literary differences after the film (season 3) 2.4 Production Trivia

[edit] The Story

When an egg in Angel Grove is unearthed, Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa release the creature inside, Ivan Ooze. Zordon trapped him inside thousands of years ago, so Ivan leaves to seek revenge. Ivan destroys the interior of the Command Center, almost killing Zordon, weakening and slightly diswiring Alpha 5, and causing the Power Rangers to lose their powers, so the Rangers must go on a quest to find new Ninja powers on Phaedos, granted to them by Dulcea (played by Gabrielle Fitzpatrick). The Rangers find the powers located in a temple, along with new Zords, themed to the Ape, Wolf, Frog, Bear, Crane, and Falcon. The Zords come from the Sentai series Kakuranger.

[edit] The Movie Continuity

This movie takes place in an alternate timeline than the Power Rangers television show, as numerous differences appear between the two.

[edit] Aesthetic differences

Naturally, having a bigger budget, the film boasts of more detailed, 'bigger' visuals.

• Some international prints, television airings (such as on HBO, ABC Family and related channels) and DVD releases omit the words "Mighty Morphin" from the film's logo, rendering the title as simply Power Rangers: The Movie.
• The TV shows are known for using the action scenes from the Super Sentai series in Japan, but MMPR: The Movie was the first Power Rangers feature to use 100% new and original material.
• 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. Also, Kimberly's suit has no skirt, unlike in TV.
• 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.
• Alpha 5 looks quite different than on the show, but Richard Steven Horvitz still provides his voice.
• 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.
• The city of Angel Grove looks significantly different from how it appeared in the show (of course, the show was shot in Los Angeles, and the movie was shot in Sydney).
• Kimberly, Aisha and Adam do not wear Ranger-colored shirts. Instead, Adam wears black pants and a black vest, and Kimberly and Aisha wear pink and yellow shorts respectively.

[edit] Literary difference from the established continuity (Season 1 to 2)

As much as possible, the film allows the viewer to jump off the established continuity from the TV series, story-wise, so that the movie may serve as somewhat of a continuation following season 2. However, a few minor differences remain.

• 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 Rangers morphed in a different order than the tv show's morphing sequence.
• Tommy used the morphing call "WHITE TIGER!" in the movie, instead of "TIGERZORD!"
• 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. The reason for this is because the explanation for Mordant's appearance, which was on the script, was dropped.

[edit] Literary differences after the film (season 3)

Since the film loosely continues off of season 2 of the show, but creates its own continuation, many differences occur especially as season 3 began.

• The story of how the Rangers received their Ninja powers and the Ninjazords is retold entirely differently in the four-part episode "Ninja Quest".  The only real similarities are that the Command Center was destroyed, the Rangers traveled to a different planet in search of new powers, and the one who gave them to them did not initially trust them.
• The character of Dulcea never appears in the show, or is even referenced.
• The Ninja Megazord looks very different from its Kakuranger, and naturally, the season 3 counterpart. 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.
• The Ninja Megazord, known to have a handicap of not being able to hold anything due to possessing solid fists, somehow has the ability to bear a sword, in the movie's case, the Fire Saber of the Shogun Megazord

[edit] Production Trivia

• The last Fox Video VHS to feature the 1993 Fox Video logo.
• LOGO GIMMICK: The 20th Century Fox logo is skinny in size, and the 1994 fanfare was electronic muffled.
• 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 changed their minds and decided to put more resources into the production.
• Originally, the crew felt that the total covering of the Power Rangers' faces removed any ability to express emotion, so initial shooting took place using the actors in costume with no visors on the helmets. However, they realized that this was a mistake and realized that the Power Rangers in Morphed Mode are not supposed to show emotion, but rather were supposed to be a powerful fighting force and that their identities had to be concealed. To correct the error, the action scenes were re-shot the next month with the visors added back.
• 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.
• In the park scene where Ivan Ooze begins to peddle his slime to children, there is a boy in blue with bowl-cut hair who looks remarkably like Justin, a character introduced two years later. It is, of course, not the same actor.
• The movie was the first time the Rangers used something other than their own weapons (in this case, a comet) to destroy a villan.
• At Power Morphicon 2007, Johnny Yong Bosch stated that it was his idea to have Adam be disappointed that his new powers were drawn from the Frog.
• Catherine Sutherland originally auditioned for the part of Dulcea, but was turned down because the producers felt that she was too young for the part. However, she would later be cast on the TV series' third season as Katherine and would take over the role of the Pink Ranger when actress Amy Jo Johnson left the show.
• Walter Emmanuel Jones, Thuy Trang, and Austin St. John (the original Black, Yellow and Red Power Rangers) were originally set to star in the movie, but ultimately weren't included because they were let go due to their contract dispute with the TV show.
• Johnny Yong Bosch actually did all of his own stunts in the movie, including the morphed fight scenes. His stuntman was injured at the time and couldn't do any work for the film, so Bosch gratefully accepted their offer to replace him. Jason David Frank also did many of his own stunts.
• Each of the Power Rangers' new movie costumes weighed 40 pounds and the actors had to film sometimes as long as ten hours a day in their Power Ranger uniforms.
• Due to the long hours of filming for the movie, the 40 pound Power Rangers that the actors had to wear caused back pain to co-stars Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly Ann Hart/The Pink Ranger) and Karan Ashley (Aisha Campbell/The Yellow Ranger) after filming their scenes.
• In order for the purple tongue to match the purple body, Paul Freeman had drank black currant juice, held it in his mouth and spit it out before each take.
• Mariska Hargitay originally replaced Gabrielle Fitzpatrick during filming and several weeks' of Hargitay's filming had taken place at the Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour. When the crew thought that Hargitay didn't seem right for the role after filming her scenes, she was fired and Fitzpatrick got the part back.
• Except for some occasions, such as the moments when they are in costume with their helmets removed, stunt men were actually in the Power Rangers uniforms when they were morphed instead of the actors. The following stunt men and women played as the Power Rangers, but were not credited with doubling the actors: Hien Nguyen (White Ranger), Sophia Crawford (Pink Ranger), David Wald (Blue Ranger), Bridget Riley (Yellow Ranger), Danny Stallcup (Black Ranger) and Stuart Quan (Red Ranger). During filming, the stunt men were nicknamed "Ranger Actors" by the crew.
• The Temple of the Great Power set was the largest set constructed for the movie. The set, which included a functional waterfall, pool and the huge door that reveals the Great Power pyramid, took up an entire sound stage at the Warner Roadshow Movie World Studios on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia.
• The set for the ancient ruins of the Ninjetti Temple, also referred to as Dulcea's Palace, was built eight feet off the ground and was so large that it took up the combined space of both the Command Center set and the set of Lord Zedd's palace.
• Several of the sets, including Lord Zedd's throne room (a.k.a. the Chamber of Command) and Dulcea's Palace, were made up of aluminum foil over constructed wood framings.
• The Power Rangers' Command Center set used for this film was built in the Commemorative Pavilion at the Showgrounds in Sydney, Australia.
• In an original script, the Rangers were supposed to fight giant Rat Monsters that Ivan Ooze created. Because the suits didn't work well enough and looked "too low budget" for the movie, the Rat Monsters were instead replaced by the Ooze Creatures that Ivan creates in the film. However, the Rat creature suits didn't go to waste either. Instead, they would later appear in the "Return of the Green Ranger" storyline of the Power Rangers television series.
• The theme music Go Go Power Rangers, although having the same lyrics and musical notes, was played using electrical and heavy metal instruments, with rock star-like singing, whereas the series' theme song is more orchestral.
• *When this movie was shown in the UK, "The Wedding" three part episode had not aired yet and therefore spoiled Zedd and Rita's wedding.
• The movie spawned two tie-in videogames, one for the Sega Genesis and one for the Super Nintendo. The Genesis version mostly follows the plot of the movie, but as the levels only encompass the parts where the Rangers had their morphing powers, levels about the episodes where Rocky, Adam and Aisha joined the team were included to fill out the game. The Super Nintendo version has almost no connection to the movie whatsoever other than Ivan Ooze as the final boss.