Power Rangers facts for kids

Power Rangers is a popular American TV show and toy line. It's about a team of superheroes. The show is based on a Japanese series called Super Sentai.

The first Power Rangers show was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It started on August 28, 1993. This show quickly became very popular. It helped make the Fox Kids TV block famous in the 1990s. The show also led to many action figures and toys. By 2001, Power Rangers toys had made over $6 billion in sales!

Even though some people worried about the action violence, the show has been a huge success. As of 2022, there have been 29 TV seasons and 21 different themed series. There are also three movies that came out in 1995, 1997, and 2017.

In 2010, Haim Saban, who created the series, bought it back. Before that, The Walt Disney Company owned it for eight years. In 2018, Hasbro became the main company for making Power Rangers toys. Soon after, Hasbro bought the entire Power Rangers franchise for $522 million. New toys from Hasbro started appearing in early 2019.

What are Power Rangers?

The Power Rangers series uses a lot of footage from the Japanese Super Sentai shows. This means it has many special features that make it different from other superhero shows.

Each series is about a team of young people. A wise mentor chooses and trains them. They can "morph" into Power Rangers. This gives them special powers. They also pilot huge machines called Zords. These Zords combine into a giant Megazord to fight big monsters. In the first series, Mighty Morphin, a wizard named Zordon chose "teenagers with attitude" to fight Rita Repulsa.

Ranger Powers and Rules

When the Rangers "morph," they become powerful superheroes. They wear colorful, tight suits and helmets. The helmets have dark visors. Each Ranger's suit is the same except for their color and helmet design.

Morphed Rangers are much stronger, tougher, and faster. They are also better at fighting. Some Rangers even have special powers like super-speed, controlling elements, or becoming invisible. Each Ranger also has a unique weapon. They also share common weapons for ground fights. When enemies grow to a giant size, the Rangers use their individual Zords. These Zords combine to form a larger Megazord.

Ranger teams usually have five or three members. Sometimes, more Rangers join the team later. Most Ranger teams follow a set of rules. These rules were first explained in Mighty Morphin. Mentors in other series also mention them.

• Power Rangers cannot use their powers for their own benefit.
• They cannot make a fight worse unless the enemy does.
• They must not tell anyone their secret identities.

If they break these rules, they might lose their powers.

Ranger Colors

Like Super Sentai, the colors of the Power Rangers team change with each series. Only Red and Blue Rangers appear in every team. A Yellow Ranger has been in every season except Power Rangers Dino Charge. Other colors and special Rangers also appear. A Ranger's color often matches their everyday clothes.

How Power Rangers are Made

Making Power Rangers episodes involves changing the original Super Sentai shows. This is done to fit American culture and TV rules. Instead of just dubbing the Japanese footage, Power Rangers mixes new scenes with old ones.

The new scenes feature English-speaking actors. These actors are from places like the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom. These scenes are then combined with action scenes from Super Sentai. The Super Sentai scenes show the Rangers fighting monsters or giant robots (Zords and Megazords). The Japanese actors' voices are dubbed into English.

Sometimes, new fight scenes are filmed. This is done to include characters or items that are only in Power Rangers. The story and character names are usually very different from the Japanese show. However, a few seasons have stayed close to the original Super Sentai story.

Most Power Rangers series also have villains that are not from the Super Sentai shows. Often, the main bad guy in a Power Rangers series (like Lord Zedd) is new. But some series, like Mighty Morphin and Zeo, only use villains from the Japanese shows.

The first series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, was an American version of the 1992 Japanese Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. It aired on Fox Kids from 1993 to 1996.

Power Rangers on TV

The Power Rangers logo used by Saban Entertainment from 1998 to 2001, starting with Power Rangers In Space.

Saban Entertainment was in charge of Power Rangers from 1993 until 2001. Fox TV aired it until 2002. The Walt Disney Company bought the franchise in 2001. This meant that Fox Family Worldwide became ABC Family Worldwide Inc.. Saban Entertainment also became BVS Entertainment in 2002.

The show kept airing on Fox until Fox replaced its Fox Kids block with "FoxBox." From September 2002, all Power Rangers shows aired on different Disney-owned channels. These included ABC Kids, Toon Disney, and Jetix.

When Power Rangers Wild Force finished, Disney moved the show's production from Los Angeles to New Zealand. This led to the closure of MMPR Productions. Many people who worked on the show lost their jobs. Since Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Power Rangers has been made in New Zealand.

In 2009, some news reports said that Power Rangers RPM would be the last season. A production manager said they would not be filming another season. Production of Power Rangers stopped, and RPM ended on December 26, 2009.

However, on May 12, 2010, Haim Saban bought the Power Rangers franchise back from Disney for $43 million. He announced plans to make new seasons. The eighteenth season, Power Rangers Samurai, started airing on Nickelodeon on February 7, 2011. Older episodes also started airing on Nicktoons. Saban also announced plans for a new Power Rangers movie.

In 2012, Saban Brands launched a Saturday morning block on The CW called Vortexx. It aired Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. For the series' 20th anniversary, Nickelodeon started airing Power Rangers Megaforce on February 2, 2013. This season featured many past Rangers. Saban and Nickelodeon extended their partnership through 2018.

Power Rangers Movies

The Power Rangers franchise has also made three movies for theaters. The first two were released by 20th Century Fox. The third movie, released in 2017, was by Lionsgate.

Where to Watch Power Rangers

Power Rangers has been very successful around the world. It still airs in many countries. As of 2006, Power Rangers aired at least 65 times a week in over 40 countries. Many places showed the series on their local Fox or Jetix/Disney XD channels. They also showed it on children's channels, sometimes dubbed into the local language.

In Japan, many Power Rangers TV seasons and movies were dubbed into Japanese. The voice actors were often from past Super Sentai shows. This meant the English action scenes were "re-dubbed" back into Japanese.

Home Video Releases

Many Power Rangers DVD collections have been released. As of October 2009, 33 DVD collections were available in the United States. Other countries also had DVD releases.

The iTunes Store used to have Power Rangers episodes available. This included parts of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and all of Power Rangers S.P.D.. As of February 2013, all three seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were on iTunes.

On June 15, 2011, all episodes from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1 to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers re-version became available on Netflix. As of 2015, all seasons up to Dino Charge were on Netflix.

In 2012, Shout! Factory announced a deal to release the first 17 series of Power Rangers on DVD. They released the first seven seasons in August 2012.

See also

In Spanish: Power Rangers para niños