Power Rangers: Looking Back at How It Started
Power Rangers will open on March 24th and introduce audiences to the teenagers from Angel Grove who fight Rita Repulsa and save the world from alien threats. The film has been a couple years in the making and with high anticipation, it has the potential of doing well at the box office.
The film will have no connection to the 1993 television show Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers but we would not have this movie had it not been for the success of that show.
When it debuted in 1993, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was an overnight success. The show's producers hoped it would be a hit but had no idea what a phenomenon it would become. The show borrowed a lot of stock footage from a Japanese show that was similar, had a low budget, and not many expected it to be the hit it became.
Looking back, the show had a low budget but it didn't matter to the kids who became enamored by it. It was considered to be too violent in some aspects but it still won over millions of kids and grew a large fan base within weeks of its debut. Kids didn't mind that the show didn't have any big name actors in it, that stock footage was used, that the plots were similar in each episode, and the special effects were low key. What mattered was they had new superheroes to watch everyday after school.
The show became popular to the point stores couldn't keep Power Ranger toys on the shelves. The toy makers put the action figures and toys into low production because they didn't think the show was going to be a hit. Once the show rose in popularity overnight, there was a shortage of Power Rangers merchandise on the shelves. Parents scrambled from store to store looking for Power Rangers toys and often came up short. The demand was high due to the popularity of the show.
When looking back on the show years later, many of the stars in the early days mentioned the attention from the fans was overwhelming. Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger who would later star in Felicity, has stated that the response from the fans overwhelming but was grateful from the experience. Johnson has joked that she will never live down playing the character and understands the reasons behind the attention she received from playing the role. Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger, mentioned going out became difficult because people would recognize him instantly.
What started out as a low-budget production in 1993 became a franchise that is still strong today. Without that show in 1993, we would not be here in 2017 discussing the new movie coming out.
The film will have no connection to the 1993 television show Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers but we would not have this movie had it not been for the success of that show.
When it debuted in 1993, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was an overnight success. The show's producers hoped it would be a hit but had no idea what a phenomenon it would become. The show borrowed a lot of stock footage from a Japanese show that was similar, had a low budget, and not many expected it to be the hit it became.
Looking back, the show had a low budget but it didn't matter to the kids who became enamored by it. It was considered to be too violent in some aspects but it still won over millions of kids and grew a large fan base within weeks of its debut. Kids didn't mind that the show didn't have any big name actors in it, that stock footage was used, that the plots were similar in each episode, and the special effects were low key. What mattered was they had new superheroes to watch everyday after school.
The show became popular to the point stores couldn't keep Power Ranger toys on the shelves. The toy makers put the action figures and toys into low production because they didn't think the show was going to be a hit. Once the show rose in popularity overnight, there was a shortage of Power Rangers merchandise on the shelves. Parents scrambled from store to store looking for Power Rangers toys and often came up short. The demand was high due to the popularity of the show.
When looking back on the show years later, many of the stars in the early days mentioned the attention from the fans was overwhelming. Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger who would later star in Felicity, has stated that the response from the fans overwhelming but was grateful from the experience. Johnson has joked that she will never live down playing the character and understands the reasons behind the attention she received from playing the role. Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger, mentioned going out became difficult because people would recognize him instantly.
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