Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American superhero children's 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.[1] 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.[2] 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 (White 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. The series was well known for its campy tone.
In 2010, a re-version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with a revised new look of the original 1993 logo, comic book-referenced graphics, and extra alternative visual effects, was broadcast on ABC Kids, and Bandai produced brand new toys to coincide with the series. Only the first 32 of season one's 60 episodes were remade. It was the final Power Rangers season to air on ABC Kids as Haim Saban re-acquired the series from Disney, who took over the rights of the franchise in 2002. With the beginning of Power Rangers Samurai in 2011, the series had moved to Nickelodeon.[3][4][5]
The original series also spawned the feature film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, released by 20th Century Fox on June 30, 1995. Despite mixed reviews, it was a modest financial success.[6] In 2017, a reboot film based on the original series was distributed by Lionsgate, simply titled Power Rangers.[7] Due to both the film's financial failure and Hasbro's acquisition of the franchise in 2018, another reboot is in development.[8][9]
