Power Rangers Dino Thunder facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre	Action-adventure Fantasy Science fiction Superhero Tokusatsu
Based on	Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger by Toei Company
Developed by	The Walt Disney Company Toei Company
Directed by	Charlie Haskell Andrew Merrifield Paul Grinder Douglas Sloan Britta Johnstone
Starring	See below
Theme music composer	Bruce Lynch
Composer(s)	Bruce Lynch
Country of origin	United States Japan
No. of episodes	38
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ann Austen Douglas Sloan
Producer(s)	Janine Dickins Koichi Sakamoto
Production location(s)	New Zealand (Wellington, Auckland) Japan (Saitama, Kyoto, Yokohama and Tokyo)
Cinematography	Simon Riera
Running time	20–21 minutes
Production company(s)	BVS Entertainment Renaissance Atlantic Entertainment Toei Company, Ltd. Village Roadshow KP Productions Limited
Release
Original network	ABC Family ABC
Original release	February 14 (2004-02-14) – November 20, 2004 (2004-11-20)
Chronology
Related shows	Power Rangers Ninja Storm Power Rangers S.P.D.

Power Rangers Dino Thunder is the twelfth season of the popular television series, Power Rangers. It first aired in 2004. This season is special because it brings back Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver, a famous Power Ranger from earlier seasons. He becomes a main character again.

The show is all about dinosaurs! The Power Rangers get their powers, abilities, and giant robots (called Zords) from dinosaurs. This season was also the first to be shown on the ABC Family channel.

Story of Dino Thunder

The story begins with a soccer player, a computer expert, and a singer. They are joined by their teacher, Dr. Tommy Oliver. Together, they become the Power Rangers to protect Earth. Their enemy is the evil Mesogog, a dinosaur-like creature. Mesogog wants to get rid of all humans and bring back the age of dinosaurs. He has helpers like Elsa and Zeltrax, along with armies of Tyrannodrones and Triptoids.

Dr. Tommy Oliver, who was a Power Ranger many times before, is now a paleontology professor. He teaches in Reefside, California. He meets three students in detention: Conner McKnight (the athlete), Ethan James (the computer whiz), and Kira Ford (the singer). They find three special Dino Gems. These gems give them the power to become the Dino Thunder Power Rangers!

• Conner becomes the Red Dino Ranger. He gets the power of the Tyrannozord and super speed.
• Ethan becomes the Blue Dino Ranger. He gets the power of the Tricerazord and can make his skin super tough like a shield.
• Kira becomes the Yellow Dino Ranger. She gets the power of the Pterazord and can make sonic screams.

Later, Dr. Tommy Oliver also becomes a Ranger again! He finds the Black Dino Gem and becomes the Black Dino Ranger. His power is invisibility. Another Ranger joins the team: Trent Fernandez-Mercer. He is the adopted son of Anton Mercer. Trent becomes the White Dino Ranger. His White Dino Gem gives him the power of camouflage. At first, Trent struggles with good and evil because he got his powers from Mesogog's lab. Mesogog is actually Trent's adopted father, Anton Mercer, who mutated into the villain after a lab accident. Trent eventually joins the good side and helps his father.

The Rangers transform by using their Dino Gems. They shout, "Dino Thunder, Power Up!" They also have a "Super Dino Mode." In this mode, spikes appear on their suits, and Kira even gets wings. Trent's Super Dino Mode gives him sharp blades from his hands. Each Dino Gem has a special power: red for speed, blue for armor, yellow for sonic screams, and black and white for stealth.

The Rangers use many giant robots called Zords to fight Mesogog's monsters. These Zords are based on different dinosaurs:

• The Cephalozord (like a Pachycephalosaurus)
• The Dimetrozord (like a Dimetrodon)
• The Stegozord (like a Stegosaurus)
• The Parasaurzord (like a Parasaurolophus)
• The Ankylozord (like an Ankylosaurus)

Tommy has the Brachiozord, which is a giant carrier Zord for many of the others. Conner also gets the Shield of Triumph. This lets him become the Triassic Ranger, giving him extra power. He pilots the Mezodon Rover/Megazord, which is like a Styracosaurus. This Zord can combine with others to form the Triceramax Megazord.

In the end, the Rangers use the last of their Dino Gem powers to destroy Mesogog. This uses up their powers forever. Before this, they have to sacrifice their Zords in a big battle against Zeltrax. After saving the world, the Rangers go back to their normal lives.

Characters and Cast

Here are the main characters you'll see in Power Rangers Dino Thunder:

Dino Thunder Rangers

• James Napier as Conner McKnight, the Red Dino Ranger and Triassic Ranger.
• Kevin Duhaney as Ethan James, the Blue Dino Ranger.
• Emma Lahana as Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger.
• Jason David Frank as Dr. Tommy Oliver, the Black Dino Ranger. He was also the Green Ranger, White Ranger, and Red Zeo Ranger in past seasons.
• Jeffrey Parazzo as Trent Fernandez-Mercer, the White Dino Ranger.

Friends and Allies

• Ismay Johnston as Hayley Ziktor, who helps the Rangers with their technology.
• Katrina Devine as Cassidy Cornell.
• Tom Hern as Devin Del Valle.
• Latham Gaines as Dr. Anton Mercer, Trent's adopted father.

Villains

• Latham Gaines as Mesogog, the main villain.
• Miriama Smith as Elsa, who often disguises herself as Principal Randall.
• James Gaylyn as the voice of Zeltrax, a powerful enemy.
• Adam Gardiner as the voice of the Evil White Dino Ranger Clone.

Guest Rangers

• Pua Magasiva as Shane Clarke, the Red Wind Ranger from Power Rangers Ninja Storm.
• Sally Martin as Tori Hanson, the Blue Wind Ranger.
• Glenn McMillan as Waldo "Dustin" Brooks, the Yellow Wind Ranger.
• Adam Tuominen as Hunter Bradley, the Crimson Thunder Ranger.
• Jorgito Vargas, Jr. as Blake Bradley, the Navy Thunder Ranger.
• Jason Chan as Cameron "Cam" Watanabe, the Green Samurai Ranger.

Episodes

Behind the Scenes

Jason David Frank, who played Tommy Oliver in many past Power Rangers seasons, came back for Dino Thunder. He played a teacher and a Power Ranger, helping the new team.

The episode "Legacy of Power" was the 500th Power Rangers episode ever! It showed clips from all the previous seasons. Another special episode, "Fighting Spirit", aired on the 11th anniversary of Power Rangers. In this episode, Tommy fought against his past Ranger forms in a dream.

Dino Thunder was the first Power Rangers season to openly show its connection to the Japanese Super Sentai series. There was an episode called "Lost and Found in Translation." It showed a Japanese TV show about Power Rangers, which was actually footage from Dino Thunder's Japanese source series, Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger.

Video Games

There were two video games made for Dino Thunder.

• One was a side-scrolling fighting game for the Game Boy Advance.
• The other was for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. This game was special because all the action happened inside the Zords.

Home Videos

In the United States, the series was released on DVD in five different sets. Later, the complete series was released on a seven-disc box set in the United Kingdom in 2008. In 2016, the complete series was released in the United States on a five-disc set.

See also

In Spanish: Power Rangers Dino Thunder para niños