Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie

Last updated

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Turbo a power rangers movie.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
Based on Gekisou Sentai Carranger
by Toei Company
Power Rangers
by Haim Saban
Shuki Levy
Produced by Jonathan Tzachor
Starring
CinematographyIlan Rosenberg
Edited by
  • Henry Richardson
  • B.J. Sears
Music byShuki Levy
Production
companies
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • March 28, 1997 (1997-03-28)
Running time
99 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States [3]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$9.6 million [4]

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie is a 1997 American superhero film directed by David Winning and Shuki Levy and written by Levy and Shell Danielson. It is the second installment in Power Rangers film series and a standalone sequel to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie . It was produced by Saban Entertainment and Toei Company, Ltd., and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. [5] The film stars Johnny Yong Bosch, Nakia Burrise, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, Austin St. John, Catherine Sutherland, Jason Narvy, Paul Schrier, Hilary Shepard Turner, Amy Jo Johnson, and Blake Foster.

Contents

Taking place after the events of Power Rangers Zeo , the new cast and characters from the film become cast members of Zeo' s successor series, Power Rangers Turbo , with the film's events leading into the successor series. As with its television season, the film used concepts and costumes from the Japanese Super Sentai series Gekisou Sentai Carranger . Sets and costumes created for original characters in the film were later used in the television series, with the film's climactic antagonist Maligore being reused for the evil Dark Specter in the subsequent Power Rangers in Space season.

The film was released on March 28, 1997, to generally unfavorable reviews. It was criticized for its visual effects and campiness, but critics praised the performance of its cast.

Plot

On the planet Liaria, a wizard named Lerigot is being hunted down by Divatox; an intergalactic space pirate, who seeks his golden key to traverse an inter-dimensional gateway and enter into matrimony with Maligore, an imprisoned demon who promises her great riches and power. Lerigot escapes Divatox's forces and travels to Earth in search of Zordon and his friend Alpha 5, but inadvertently arrives in Africa. Weakened by the sun's ultraviolet rays, Lerigot meets a tribe of chimpanzees and wanders off with them. Meanwhile, Divatox heads for Earth in pursuit.

In Angel Grove, Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park, and Tommy Oliver train for a charity fighting competition to save the Youth Shelter, when Rocky accidentally injures his back. Katherine Hillard and Tanya Sloan arrive with Justin Stewart, a child who admires Rocky and frequents the shelter. As Rocky is taken to a hospital, Justin follows the group and learns they are Power Rangers. Zordon sends Tommy and Katherine to search for Lerigot. They find him and return to the Power Chamber.

Searching for two human sacrifices to revive Maligore, Divatox's nephew Elgar, abducts Farkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier and Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch, but Divatox rejects them for not being pure of heart. Upon finding Kimberly Hart and Jason Lee Scott, who are scuba diving nearby, Divatox captures them. While recovering, Lerigot is contacted by Divatox, who has captured his family and demands he surrender himself. Divatox also uses Kimberly and Jason to pressure the Rangers. At the exchange site, Elgar tricks the Rangers and captures Lerigot.

Zordon and Alpha create new powers for the Rangers to defeat Divatox. With these new Turbo powers and new vehicular Turbo Zords, the Rangers travel across the desert to a ship called the Ghost Galleon. They are joined by Justin, who has received Rocky's Blue Ranger powers during his recovery. On Divatox's submarine, Jason and Kimberly come up with a plan to escape, but though Bulk, Skull, and Kimberly escape the sub, Jason is trapped and left behind.

After Divatox and the Rangers traverse the Nemesis Triangle and reach the island where Maligore is, Divatox destroys the Ghost Galleon and the Rangers narrowly escape. Kimberly is recaptured and brought to Divatox by the tribal natives of the island who worship Maligore as their god. At the temple in the volcano, the Rangers fail to free Jason and Kimberly before they are possessed by Maligore and attack the Rangers mercilessly, but the Rangers succeed in freeing Lerigot and his wife Yara, who undo the possession.

A frustrated Divatox sacrifices her nephew and successfully revives Maligore. The Rangers combined their Turbo Zords and form the Turbo Megazord to fight Maligore. They defeat him as Divatox and Rygog flee, vowing vengeance. The Rangers pick up Jason, Kimberly, Lerigot, Yara, Bulk and Skull and return to Angel Grove. At the competition, Jason wins the fight in Rocky's place, earning the money to save the shelter.

Cast

Additionally, Gregg Bullock reprises his role as Lt. Jerome Stone from Power Rangers Zeo . Richard Genelle reprises his role as Ernie, the Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar's owner; Winston Richard plays Zordon, an inter-dimensional wizard and the Rangers' mentor, with Bob Manahan voicing the character; and Donene Kistler plays Alpha 5, a robot from Edenoi and Zordon's assistant, with Richard Wood voicing Alpha 5. Jon Simanton portrays Lerigot, a wizard who holds a magical key that can open portals to worlds and realms, while Lex Lang provided the voice for the character. Divatox's henchmen includes Lang also voices Rygog, one of Divatox's henchmen. J.B. Levine voice Yara and Bethel, Lerigot's wife and daughter. Danny Wayne Stallcup physically portrays Elgar, Divatox's dimwitted nephew, while David Umansky provides his voice. Mike Deak portrays Maligore, Divatox's fiancé and true antagonist of this movie. Carla Perez reprises her role as Rita Repulsa, a sorceress who has fought the Power Rangers in the past, with Barbara Goodson providing her voice.

Mark A. Richardson the prop master was the body actor for Lord Zedd. Rob Axelrod provided the voice.

Production

The costumes for Elgar, Maligore and the Eaglettes were built by the Chiodo Brothers.

As opposed to the CGI Megazord used in the first Power Rangers film, this sequel uses a practical costume for the Turbo Megazord. The television series would instead rely on Carranger footage.

Between production of the film and television series, Hilary Shepard Turner took maternity leave and was initially replaced by Carol Hoyt as Divatox. Shepard resumed the role in the 26th episode, continuing through Power Rangers in Space .

Music

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedMarch 18, 1997
Recorded1996
Genre Soundtrack
Length41:05
Label Hollywood Records
Saban Records
Producer Ron Kenan
Howard Paar
Power Rangers Film Soundtrack chronology
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie: Original Motion Picture Score Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the licensed soundtrack to the film. It was released by Hollywood Records on March 18, 1997, on Audio CD and Compact Cassette.

The album serves a dual purpose, as it not only used much of the music heard in the movie, but also contained several tracks from Power Rangers Zeo .[ clarification needed ]

Release

Home media

The film was released on July 8, 1997, on VHS and LaserDisc. The film (as well as 1995's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie ) was then released on a two-sided DVD disc on March 13, 2001, and then re-released on a single-sided disc in 2003. This film was re-released with different packaging in 2011. The film was then re-released in March 2017 in a bundled set with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie to coincide with the release of the 2017 film Power Rangers .

In 2019, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to re-release the movie and confirmed that Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie would be released for the first time on Blu-ray. It was released on July 30, 2019. [7]

Reception

Box office

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie opened theatrically on March 28, 1997, in 2,113 venues. It earned $3.3 million in its opening weekend, ranking number seven in the domestic box office. [8] At the end of its run, the film had grossed $8.4 million in North America and $1.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $9.6 million. [4]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 15% based on 20 reviews with an average rating of 3.8/10. The sites critical consensus reads: "No no, Power Rangers." [9] On Metacritic, it has received a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [10] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F. [11]

Joe Leydon of Variety criticized the "high-camp cheesiness" and praised the acting of both Hilary Shepard Turner and Amy Jo Johnson. [12] Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times has mixed feelings on the film, criticizing the storyline and dialogue and praising the visual effects and production values. [13] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post called it "A purgatory of low-budget interplanetary adventure." [14]

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave a positive review, saying the filmmakers have brought "much panache and sophistication to the making of this fantasy adventure extolling the good old-fashioned virtues of spirit and courage embodied by the Power Rangers" and that "Turbo is a solid follow-up." He also praised Turner's acting and the visual effects. [5]

Accolades

Blake Foster was nominated for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor at the 1998 Young Artist Awards. [15]

Standalone sequel

The film was followed by another standalone sequel, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always (2023).

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Mighty Morphin Power Rangers</i> American live action childrens television series

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (MMPR) is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the Power Rangers franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along with a large line of toys, action figures, and other merchandise. The show adapted stock footage from the Japanese TV series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992–1993), which was the 16th installment of Toei's Super Sentai franchise. The second and third seasons of the show drew elements and stock footage from Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, respectively, though the Zyuranger costumes were still used for the lead cast in these two seasons. Only the mecha and the Kiba Ranger costume from Dairanger were featured in the second season while only the Kakuranger mecha was featured in the third season, though the Kakuranger costumes were later used for the mini-series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. The series was produced by MMPR Productions and distributed by Saban Entertainment, while the show's merchandise was produced and distributed by Bandai Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Repulsa</span> Fictional character

Rita Repulsa is a character from the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and the principal nemesis of the superhero protagonists in the show's first season. She is portrayed in the first season by Machiko Soga and by Carla Perez in the remaining seasons, while voiced by Barbara Goodson in the series. Soga reprised her role as Rita, now the Mystic Mother, while Susan Brady provided her voice in the TV series Power Rangers Mystic Force. In the films, she is portrayed by Julia Cortez in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, and by Elizabeth Banks in the 2017 reboot film. Rita Repulsa is based on the Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger villain Witch Bandora.

Zachary "Zack" Taylor is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe, appearing in the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He is the first on-screen Black Ranger of Power Rangers. He would be succeeded as the Black Ranger by Adam Park. A reimagined version of Zack, now Chinese-American, would appear in the 2017 reboot film, played by Canadian actor Ludi Lin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Oliver</span> Fictional character

Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver is a fictional character in the American live-action television franchise Power Rangers. He is best known as being the original Green Ranger and the first evil Ranger who fought and nearly defeated the original Power Rangers while under the control of Rita Repulsa. He was eventually freed from Rita's spell and aligned himself with the other Power Rangers. He is a main character in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, as well as four of its successive incarnations Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, and Power Rangers Dino Thunder. He also appeared in the Power Rangers Wild Force episode "Forever Red", the Power Rangers S.P.D. episode "Wormhole", the Power Rangers Super Megaforce episode "Legendary Battle", and in the Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel episode "Dimensions in Danger". He was portrayed by actor Jason David Frank in all of his appearances from the Zordon era until Saban Brands era's seasons of the franchise prior to his death in November 2022, with the exception of the episode "Wormhole", where he appeared only in Ranger form and was voiced by actor Jeffrey Parazzo. He was also infrequently portrayed by actor Michael Gotto in instances where the story required the character during childhood, such as in the series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers.

<i>Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers</i> Television series

Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers is a Power Rangers mini-series set immediately after the end of the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. As with the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, this mini-series adapted footage and costumes from the eighteenth Super Sentai series, Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.

<i>Power Rangers Zeo</i> American television series from 1996

Power Rangers Zeo is a television series and the fourth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series Chouriki Sentai Ohranger. It is the continuation of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which aired in 1996.

<i>Power Rangers Turbo</i> Television series

Power Rangers Turbo is a television series and the fifth season of the Power Rangers franchise that aired in 1997. The show was prefaced with the franchise's second film, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.

<i>Power Rangers in Space</i> US 1998 television series

Power Rangers in Space is a television series and the sixth season of the Power Rangers franchise, based on the 21st Super Sentai series Denji Sentai Megaranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zordon</span> Fictional character in Power Rangers franchise

Zordon is a fictional character from the Power Rangers franchise who serves as the Rangers' mentor. Zordon first appeared on the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and appeared in subsequent seasons until the conclusion of Power Rangers in Space, where he was the titular major supporting character of his saga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberly Hart</span> Fictional character in Power Rangers

Kimberly Ann Hart is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe. Played by American actress Amy Jo Johnson during the first three seasons of the show, plus on the two feature films of the franchise, Kimberly has the longest tenure of any female ranger in the series' history, and fourth overall. She is best remembered as the first Pink Ranger (pterodactyl) and first Pink Ninja Ranger from the first entry of the franchise Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Kimberly was the Pink Ranger for nearly three years before she was written off the show as having given up her powers for good to Zordon's new pink ranger Katherine Hillard, to participate at the Pan Global Games in Florida. However, she would briefly return as the Pink Ranger on three occasions. She first returned during the Legendary Battle of Power Rangers Super Megaforce alongside former teammates Zack Taylor, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, and Jason Lee Scott. The five of them later fought alongside the Dino Thunder Rangers, Dino Charge Rangers, and the Grid Battleforce Rangers against Goldar Maximus in Power Rangers Beast Morphers. She also returned to fight a robotic version of Rita Repulsa with the other four original rangers and Tommy Oliver in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. Johnson did not reprise her role for any of these appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trini Kwan</span> Yellow Power Ranger character

Trini Kwan is a fictional character from the Power Rangers franchise, first appearing in the original series as the Yellow Ranger. She was portrayed by Vietnamese-American actress Thuy Trang.

<i>Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie</i> 1995 film directed by Bryan Spicer

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie is a 1995 American superhero film. It stars the ensemble cast of Karan Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson, and David Yost alongside the villains cast from the original series and Paul Freeman as Ivan Ooze. Much like the television season that followed the release, it used concepts from the Japanese Super Sentai series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. It is the first Power Rangers production from Saban Entertainment not to feature any archived footage from Super Sentai. It is the first installment in the Power Rangers film series. The film was released in between the second and third seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but is incompatible with season three, which provides a different explanation for the Rangers gaining their Ninja Ranger powers and Ninjazords, indicating they are set in different continuities.

Jason Lee Scott is a fictional character in the Power Rangers franchise, played by actor Austin St. John. Jason is known as the first on screen Red Ranger from the first on screen series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, as well as the leader of the first on screen team of Power Rangers. He later becomes the temporary Gold Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo. He once again becomes the Red Ranger by Power Rangers: Beast Morphers, alongside his original team. A reimagined version of Jason appears in the 2017 reboot film, played by Australian actor Dacre Montgomery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Cranston</span> Fictional character in Power Rangers

Billy Cranston is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe. He is the Blue Ranger (triceratops) in the series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and was portrayed by actor David Yost. Billy is the only original Power Ranger to remain for the entire MMPR series, and is the second longest-serving Ranger overall behind Tommy Oliver. Until his departure, he is considered the brains of the Power Rangers team, creating many gadgets with which to solve problems that not even Zordon foresees, and he even invents the first team's wrist-worn communication devices. A reimagined version of Billy appears in 2017 reboot film, played by actor RJ Cyler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulk and Skull</span> Fictional characters

Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier and Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch are fictional characters in the Power Rangers universe. They appeared as permanent cast members from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers until Power Rangers in Space. Bulk was a recurring character in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, along with Power Rangers Samurai and Power Rangers Super Samurai, but the duo never returned together as permanent cast members.

<i>Power/Rangers</i> 2015 short film by Joseph Kahn

Power/Rangers, or Power Rangers: Unauthorized, is an American superhero fan short film based on the Power Rangers franchise, and was directed and co-written by Joseph Kahn, produced by Adi Shankar and Jil Hardin, and co-written by James Van Der Beek and Dutch Southern. The short film featured an ensemble cast starring Katee Sackhoff, Van Der Beek, Russ Bain, Will Yun Lee, and Gichi Gamba. It was released on YouTube and Vimeo on February 23, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shattered Grid</span> 2018 comic book event published by Boom! Studios

"Shattered Grid" is a 2018 crossover comic book event published by Boom! Studios, in collaboration with Saban Brands. Based on the Power Rangers franchise by Haim Saban, it was mostly written by Kyle Higgins and Ryan Parrott through the ongoing comic series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Saban's Go Go Power Rangers to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original television series.

<i>Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle</i> 2017 video game

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle is a beat 'em up video game based on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series, developed by Peruvian studio Bamtang Games. It was first announced in October 2016. It was released on January 17, 2017. The game never received a physical release and is only available via digital download.

<i>Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always</i> 2023 American superhero television film

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always is a 2023 American superhero television film serving to commemorate the 30th anniversary of both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–1995) and the Power Rangers franchise.

References

  1. Petrikin, Chris (February 18, 1998). "Fox renamed that toon". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  2. "TURBO - A POWER RANGERS MOVIE (PG)". British Board of Film Classification . June 6, 1997. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie". American Film Institute . Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Thomas, Kevin (March 28, 1997). "Power Rangers Encounter 'Turbo'-Charged Villainess". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  6. "TV Playbook: Let's Add a Kid!". IGN. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  7. "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie". Shout! Factory . July 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  8. "Weekend Box Office Results for March 28-30, 1997". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database. March 31, 1997. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  9. "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 7, 2021. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  10. "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  11. "TURBO A POWER RANGERS MOVIE (1997) B". CinemaScore . Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
  12. Leydon, Joe (March 26, 1997). "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie". Variety. Penske Media LLC. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  13. Van Gelder, Lawrence (March 29, 1997). "'You Have No Choice, Humans.' Really". The New York Times . Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  14. Rita Kempley (March 28, 1997). "'Turbo' Rangers: Say Cheese". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  15. "19th Annual Young Artist Awards". Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2012.