Saban has re-acquired from Disney the franchise that made it a fortune in the mid/early-1990s – Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers – and it could see a revival for a new generation.
If you were a kid growing up during the mid-early 1990s (in the States, anyway, can’t speak for everywhere else) then you probably have very fond memories of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. It was a show about five teenagers with attitude who were granted mystical morphing powers to battle the evil sorceress Rita Repulsa and her army of monsters with their sweet transforming dinosaur-themed robots.
Looking back on it now, the “teenagers” were all 30, the monsters and Megazord were just guys in rubber suits, and the whole thing was just slightly silly. In fact, it was actually an American take on the Japanese super sentai (that is, teams of costumed heroes in colorful armor) show Zyuranger – but for all of its flaws, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t completely awesome to your average 10-year-old at the time. I can’t speak for all of the eleventy million spinoffs that followed, though.
In 2001, when Disney snapped up the license to Power Rangers, the franchise had already grossed some $5 billion. However, Saban representatives think that Disney hasn’t done much to expand the franchise since then, other than minor merchandising and the like. According to Saban Brands prexy Elie Dekel, founder Haim Saban and his company believes that Power Rangers holds the potential for a “strong revival” for a modern era.
“Haim has always felt that the brand could truly be evergreen, and while Disney continued to produce the series and support consumer products part of the business, we still see tremendous untapped potential,” said Dekel.
Saban Brands will be producing 20 new Power Rangers episodes for kids’ TV network Nickelodeon, and the massive library of past Rangers episodes – all 700+ of them – will begin airing on Nick this year.
Now, how about something different: Watch the theme song to the original Zyuranger and notice how bizarre it seems even if all the familiar set pieces are in place. The Yellow Ranger is a guy? What the hell!
And yes, it does sound like they’re saying “Jew Ranger.”
