Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie is the 191st episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, and Andy Signore. It parodies the 1995 ninja superhero film Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It was published on March 21, 2017, to coincide with the theatrical release of the 2017 reboot Power Rangers (2017). It is 5 minutes 17 seconds long. It has been viewed over 3.1 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger: The Movie of YouTube
"Gear up for this feature-length episode of what's basically a live-action cartoon, that was so forgettable, the show ignored it and did their own episode about ninja powers instead ." ~ Honest Trailers - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie
Script[]
You loved the Power Rangers when you were a kid. Now, take a trip down memory lane and realize "What was I thinking?" (shows a construction worker dancing) This is terrible!
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Before they try to make a grounded reboot out of rainbow-suited teenagers karate-fighting a Grumblebee (Power Rangers), revisit the first Ranger project that didn't rely on archived Japanese footage, which only makes it worse. (shows a poorly-rendered CGI Ninja Megazord fighting a poorly-rendered CGI Ivan Ooze) Now what's their excuse? You know it's bad when your rapping pumpkin looks better than your CGI robot.
Pumpkin Rapper: Oooh, you Rangers make me mad, waking me up with a rap that bad!
Follow the exact same formula that cranked out over 800 episodes of television, where Rita summons a monster, the Power Rangers fight their minions hand-to-hand, someone gets really big, and the Rangers morph into a Zord to save the day; but this time, everyone's parents get drugged into committing mass suicide. (shows a crowd of mind-controlled adults walking toward a cliff) Whoa, that got dark.
Return to the '90s, an era so extreme, every group from the high school to the fire department has their own competitive skydiving team (shows the Power Rangers at a skydiving competition); and get pumped because all your favorite teenagers with attitude have returned...uh, minus the attitude (Dulcea: Six extraordinary teenagers...). Also, none of the actors were actually teenagers, and three of them (Adam, Aisha, and Rocky) are actually replacing your favorites from the show (Zack, Trini, and Jason). But still, three of your favorite non-teenagers without attitude and no active contract disputes are here, like Tommy, the only one you care about (Fred: Yeah, go, Tommy!); Kimberly, the damsel in distress (shows clips of Kimberly in peril); and Billy, the nerd who was bullied so badly, he walked off the show.
David Yost: I was worried that I might take my own life.
Dude, again, dark!
When Sydney, Austra- Angel Grove is attacked by Ivan Ooze, a Freddy Krueger-ish slime monster (shows Ivan Ooze and Freddy Krueger saying "Welcome to my nightmare"), the Rangers will travel to Sydney, Aust- uh, another planet (Phaedos) to gain the power of the Ninjetti -- which, I believe, is Italian for "ninja" -- an all-new way to make it easier to swap the actors out with their stunt doubles. Now, they'll come together to save the universe from evil with a fresh set of action figures (Ninja Zords), dumb new accessories...
Kimberly: Pterodactyl Thunder Whip!
Billy: Stega Stinger!
Aisha: Activating Power Beam.
...and a new, awful-looking Zord, complete with emergency junk-kicking action. (shows the Ninja Megazord kneeing a giant Ivan Ooze in the crotch) Ohhh, right in the Bulk and Skull!
So gear up for this feature-length episode of what's basically a live-action cartoon, that was so forgettable, the show ignored it and did their own episode about ninja powers instead (shows the Power Rangers receiving ninja powers from Ninjor), but at least it gave more fuel to every Power Rangers fan's most important question: are Tommy and Kimberly hooking up, or what? (shows Tommy and Kimberly together as romantic music plays in the background) Now that Jason's outta the picture, they have to be, right? It's so vague.
Starring M-M-Ay Actually Kick Your Ass (Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver), Pinky & the Brain (Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart and David Yost as Billy Cranston), The Sorceress from the He-Man Movie (Nicholas Bell as Zordon), Fred Sav-ish (Jamie Croft as Fred Kelman), Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark...Seriously Needed a Paycheck (Paul Freeman as Ivan Ooze), Pointless Back Handsprings (shows clips of characters doing back handsprings), Ay Yi Yi Yi's (shows clips of Alpha 5 saying "Ay yi yi!"), Ee-Ya's! (shows clips of characters yelling out "Hyaa!"), Whooshes (shows clips of characters flailing around while making whooshing sounds), and The More You Know (shows the Power Rangers flying through space with colored streaks behind them).
Honest title for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - Teenage Morphin' Ninja Jaegers. Title design by Robert Holtby.
Teenage Morphin' Ninja Jaegers
Ivan Ooze (takes a strong whiff): Smells like...teenagers.
Sooo...clubs and Axe Body Spray. Echhh.
Trivia[]
- Screen Junkies also produced Honest Trailer for the 2017 reboot Power Rangers (2017).
- Screen Junkies have produced several Honest Trailers for 1990s movies including Super Mario Bros., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of Their Shells, Space Jam, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Fight Club, Showgirls, The Matrix, Point Break, Home Alone, Hook, The Santa Clause, The Lion King, Toy Story, Forrest Gump, Jurassic Park and the 90s TV show X-Men: The Animated Series.
- An Honest Trailer Commentary for this episode was recorded and was available on the Screen Junkies Plus until the website/app was discontinued. Screen Junkies don't currently have any way of releasing the video.
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers has a 97.8% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Reviews for this Honest Trailer were positive, with many sites remarking on how the Honest Trailers treatment commented on nostalgia. Heroic Hollywood noted that "the honest trailer calls to your attention quite a few times that the film is very campy if you give it a rewatch." In the same article, Heroic Hollywood also remarked "the goal of Honest Trailers is to poke fun at all parts of the film, and the Screen Junkies do not back down here. From the recognition of the campy humor to the costumes allowing for stunt double tradouts, this Honest Trailer about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers might leave you asking why exactly you were ever fascinated with such an odd show." CBR.com wrote that the Honest Trailer "satirizes the nostalgia often associated with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, asking, “What was I thinking? This is terrible!” The clip hits all of the key problems with the movie, pointing out how ridiculous parts of it are."
EW lauded the "priceless (and long) “pointless back handsprings” montage at the end, in which virtually every character handsprings across the screen for absolutely no reason, and wonder if they’ll throw a couple (hundred) of those into the big screen reboot. And don’t forget the “Ai ai ai ya’s” or karate-chop “Whooshes” that abound."
Screen Rant commended Screen Junkies for showing insight into the franchise's past and future, writing:
Screen Junkies are known for several things; however, they may be best known for their Emmy-nominated Honest Trailers web-series. The program takes movie and franchises, both young and old, and breaks them down with brutally honest and hilarious critiques of the given film's strengths and flaws. The next target on their hit list is the 1995 gem, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, just in time for their big screen return of Power Rangers.... However, leave it to the Screen Junkies to shine a revealing light on the entire Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise and its history, while simultaneously proving why the time is right to update the property for a new generation. (Braxter Timberlake, March 21, 2017, Screen Rant).
Production credits[]
Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title design by Robert Holtby
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Executive Producer - Andy Signore
Producers - Dan Murrell, Spencer Gilbert, Michael Bolton, Christina Kline
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell & Andy Signore
Edited by Kevin Williamsen and TJ Nordaker
David Yost interview footage by No Pink Spandex
External links []
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Honest Trailer - 90s Nostalgia Attack - Screen Rant article
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie honest trailer is a trip into '90s nostalgia - EW article
- The Original ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ Gets An Honest Trailer - Heroic Hollywood article
- MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE MOVIE Gets an Honest Trailer - Geek Tyrant article
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie Gets An Honest Trailer - CBR.com article