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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always

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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always
Created byHaim Saban
Toei Company, Ltd.
Based onMighty Morphin Power Rangers
by Saban Entertainment and Toei Company
& Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger by Toei Company
Written by
  • Alwyn Dale
  • Becca Barnes
Directed byCharlie Haskell
Starring
Music byRon Wasserman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersOliver Dumont
Kari Rosenberg
Randi Yaffa
Haim Saban
Producers
  • Simon Bennett
  • Hillary Zwick Turner
Production locationsAuckland, New Zealand
CinematographyOllie Jones
EditorBrad Davison
Running time55 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 19, 2023 (2023-04-19)

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.[1][2]

Plot

In 2022, Billy Cranston calls in the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers to fight a robotic version of Rita Repulsa and her Putties. However, Robo-Rita vaporizes Trini Kwan who sacrifices herself to shield Billy, and flees to plan her revenge. Billy and Zack Taylor are forced to tell Trini's now-orphaned daughter Minh about her fate.

One year later, Zack has become the guardian of Minh. They go to meet the other Rangers at Trini's grave to mark the anniversary of her death but come upon an ambush by Robo-Rita, Robo-Snizzard, and Robo-Minotaur. Robo-Snizzard captures Jason Lee Scott, Tommy Oliver, and Kimberly Hart and imprisons them in a machine. Minh reacts badly when Zack and Billy don't want her involved in the recovery mission and blames Billy for Trini's death.

A flashback revealed that Billy built a new Command Center secretly under his company Cranston Tech. He works with Alpha 8 to attempt to revive his former mentor Zordon by collecting particles from the Z-Wave.[a] However, they end up with the evil purged from Rita Repulsa's original body which possesses Alpha 8 and reshapes it into a new body called Robo-Rita.

Alpha 9 initiates the Bandora Protocol, alerting all Ranger teams throughout the universe, as Putties attack all of Earth. Former Rangers Kat Hillard and Rocky DeSantos teleport to the Command Center, being given proxy Power Coins so they can again morph. As they battle, Alpha overhears Minotaur tout his ability to track morphed Rangers and alerts Rangers worldwide to power down. Meanwhile, Minh unsuccessfully attempts to use Trini's Power Morpher to battle Putties at the juice bar and is overwhelmed until Zack and Rocky teleport in. Upon their return to the Command Center, Zack has a heart-to-heart talk with Minh about what it means to be a Power Ranger.

At a junkyard, Billy, Rocky, and Kat morph to lure out Robo-Snizzard and Robo-Minotaur, then trap them on a giant electromagnet. Using Stealth Tech Projectors, the Rangers infiltrate Rita's Moon Palace and discover that several more Rangers have been captured and frozen in Robo-Rita's machine. Minh takes one of the Stealth Tech Projectors to sneak past Alpha and commandeers Billy's RADBUG. However, she is captured at the junkyard by Robo-Rita.

Billy deduces that Robo-Rita is constructing a time portal using the power of the captured Rangers to contact her past self, hoping to kill the Power Rangers before Zordon can recruit them. Robo-Rita arrives with Robo-Snizzard, Robo-Minotaur, and a captured Minh in tow. Robo-Rita attempts to kill Billy, but Minh jumps in front of the blast. The other Rangers fear her dead, but this good deed bonds the morpher to Minh. Kat, Rocky, and Zack battle and destroy Robo-Minotaur, while Billy and Minh form the Megazord to battle an enlarged Robo-Snizzard. After Robo-Snizzard is destroyed, the Rangers return to the Moon Palace where Minh and Zack finally destroy Robo-Rita once and for all.

Back on Earth, former Rangers Adam Park and Aisha Campbell prepare to take the newly freed Rangers (including Jason, Kimberly, and Tommy) to the planet Aquitar to be fully healed. Billy, Zack, and Minh celebrate their victory at the Juice Bar. After Billy notes that it still might be possible to bring back Zordon one day, he and Zack tell Minh about their past adventures.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers characters

Rangers

Thuy Trang, Amy Jo Johnson, Jason David Frank, and Austin St. John appear in archive audio and footage. Their characters (Trini Kwan, Kimberly Hart, Tommy Oliver, and Jason Lee Scott) otherwise appear only in morphed form portrayed by uncredited performers.

Supporting characters

  • Richard Steven Horvitz as the voices of:
    • Alpha 8, a multi-functional sentient automaton from Edenoi.[3]
    • Alpha 9, the successor of Alpha 8.

Villains

  • Barbara Goodson as the voice of Robo-Rita Repulsa, the main antagonist for the movie who is the result of the evil purged from Rita Repulsa's original body possessing Alpha 8's body.[3]
  • Ryan Cooper as the voice of Robo-Minotaur, a robot version of Mighty Minotaur.
  • Daniel Watterson as the voice of Robo-Snizzard, a robot version of Snizzard.

Other characters

  • Benny Joy Smith as Annie, an employee at BuzzBlast. Smith reprises her role from Power Rangers Dino Fury.
  • Howard Cyster as a boyfriend

Production

Development

A reunion was first conceived in 2021 by David Yost, who had scripts for a multi-part project called Power Rangers: Quantum Continuum. He pitched the idea to multiple networks, but later revealed that the project itself was still in its early stages.[5] Yost was not credited as a writer of the special. However, Jackie Marchand, a former writer and story editor for the show, was credited as a story consultant.

In 2022, Netflix became the home for first-run Power Rangers episodes after an existing deal with Nickelodeon, inherited from Saban Brands, was allowed to expire.[6] The special, like the second half of Power Rangers Dino Fury, therefore was set to premiere on Netflix.

The title is a reference to "Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger,” the long-standing phrase used in Power Rangers; first spoken by Jason David Frank’s character, Tommy Oliver in the 2-part season premiere episode of Power Rangers Zeo. The phrase also served as the basis for the Power Rangers Operation Overdrive two-part special episode "Once a Ranger," which marked the show's 15th anniversary.

Casting

On February 25, 2022, casting sides for a character with the placeholder name "Yen" were released, though it was originally thought to be related to Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. On September 30, 2022 during Hasbro PulseCon 2022, it was announced that both Yost and Walter Jones were in the process of filming a "special anniversary" project in New Zealand. Furthermore, it was announced that Charlie Kersh would be joining the cast of the special as well. One month later, Hasbro announced the reprisals of Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, Karan Ashley, and Johnny Yong Bosch in their original roles.

Whereas the show had been a non-union production since moving to New Zealand, Once & Always was filmed under the SAG-AFTRA agreement for independent high-budget subscription video-on-demand programming.[7]

Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson were originally approached but turned down offers to appear in the special. Johnson cited a host of personal reasons while Frank said he had "done enough" for the franchise and wanted to focus on his film, Legend of the White Dragon. Frank died in November 2022, after the special had been filmed.[8][9][10]

Austin St. John was unable to leave the country due to his May 2022 indictment in an alleged scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program.[11][12]

Filming

The cast had "weeks" of rehearsals in Auckland, Jones said.[13] Filming occurred over the course of 12 days.[14]

The sets for Angel Grove Youth Center, Rita's palace and the Dino Megazord cockpit were recreated based on extensive research, production designer Tracey Collins said.[15]

Post-production

The special was audio mixed in Dolby Atmos, the first Power Rangers media to be given that treatment. Ron Wasserman, who composed the theme song and score for the original series, and the theme for Power Rangers S.P.D., returned to score the special.[16] Post-production ended in February.

A trailer was released on March 21, 2023.[17]

After Frank's death, the special's ending was followed with a clip from the denouement of the season 2 episode The Song of Guitardo, in which Kimberly and Zack play a song for Tommy to help ease his anxiety over losing his Green Ranger powers. The song led into the episode's dedication to the memories of Trang and Frank. Jones called the song's reuse "very poignant."[18][19]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[21]

IGN reviewer Joshua Yehl praised the performances of Yost, Jones, and Kersh and said the special effectively balanced the weighty subject of Trini's death with the playfulness the franchise is known for. However, he criticized the "clunky" plot and dialogue and found the quality of the effects and fight choreography to be lacking.[22] Den of Geek's Shamus Kelley wrote that the special "catered to all possible audiences" while crafting a moving tribute to Trang and Frank.[23]

In its first week of availability, the special was Netflix's eighth most-watched movie worldwide and was on top 10 lists in 22 countries, including Brazil, Portugal and Argentina.[24]

In April 2023, Yost expressed hope that the reception of the special would lead to future reunions.[13] It was later revealed that Yost himself stayed behind in New Zealand after filming the special to join the cast of Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.

In June 2024, Digital Eclipse released a trailer for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind, which explores a "what-if" scenario to Once & Always set to release on December 10.

Notes

  1. ^ The Z-Wave was the result of Zordon's sacrifice as seen in the Power Rangers in Space episode "Countdown to Destruction" Pt. 2.

References

  1. ^ "MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS Stars David Yost & Walter Jones To Return For 30th Anniversary Reunion Special". Comic Book Movie. October 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. ^ Pina, Christy (March 22, 2023). "Original Power Rangers Reunite in 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always' Trailer to Defeat Rita Repulsa". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always Cast & Character Guide". Screen Rant. April 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Who Are Adam & Aisha In Power Rangers: Once & Always". Screen Rant. April 20, 2023.
  5. ^ LA COMIC CON 2021 POWER RANGERS JASON DAVID FRANK AND DAVID YOST VLOGMAS DAY 10. December 11, 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Power Rangers Dino Fury Season 2 Chapter 2 is Now Streaming on Netflix". Power Rangers. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "Signatory Search". www.sagaftra.org. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  8. ^ Thomas, Carly (March 26, 2023). "Amy Jo Johnson Slams Claim She's Not in 'Power Rangers' Anniversary Special for Financial Reasons: "Simply Not True"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  9. ^ "Amy Jo Johnson Says She's Not in Power Rangers Special for Personal Reasons, Blasts Money Claim". Peoplemag. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  10. ^ "Power Rangers: Is Jason David Frank Finally Done With The Beloved Brand? - The Illuminerdi". May 31, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Haring, Bruce (May 21, 2022). "'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' Star Austin St. John Arrested For Government Pandemic Loan Fraud". Deadline. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  12. ^ "Updates from Tuesday". Twitter. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Francisco, Eric (April 24, 2023). "Netflix's 'Power Rangers' Reunion Stars Hint at More to Come: "You Never Stop Being a Power Ranger"". Inverse. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  14. ^ https://twitter.com/Pookina1/status/1648946153772417029
  15. ^ ""MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: ONCE AND ALWAYS" PRODUCTION DESIGNER ON PAYING HOMAGE TO THE ORIGINAL SERIES WITH CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS". ProductionHUB. June 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  16. ^ Legacy, Spencer (April 19, 2023). "Power Rangers: Once & Always Composer Ron Wasserman Talks Revisiting the Iconic Series". ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always Official Trailer Netflix. March 22, 2023 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ April 19, Patrick Gomez. "'Power Rangers' reunion honors Yellow and Green Ranger actors with song by Amy Jo Johnson". EW.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "David Yost & Walter Emanuel Jones on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always". Screen Rant. April 26, 2023.
  20. ^ "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  21. ^ "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  22. ^ Yehl, Joshua (April 18, 2023). "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always Review". IGN. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  23. ^ Kelley, Shamus (April 19, 2023). "Power Rangers Once and Always Review: Netflix Doesn't Just Play the Hits". Den of Geek. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  24. ^ Waldman, Tyler. "'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always' Among Netflix's Most Watched". Rangercast. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
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