Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movieis a 1997 Americansuperhero filmdirected byDavid WinningandShuki Levyand written by Levy andShell Danielson.It is the second installment inPower Rangersfilm series and astandalone sequeltoMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.It was produced bySaban EntertainmentandToei Company, Ltd.,and was distributed by20th Century Fox.The film starsJohnny Yong Bosch,Nakia Burrise,Steve Cardenas,Jason David Frank,Austin St. John,Catherine Sutherland,Jason Narvy,Paul Schrier,Hilary Shepard Turner,Amy Jo Johnson,andBlake Foster.

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Winning Shuki Levy
Written by	Shuki Levy Shell Danielson
Based on	Gekisou Sentai Carranger byToei Company Power Rangers byHaim Saban Shuki Levy
Produced by	Jonathan Tzachor
Starring	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 Blake Foster
Cinematography	Ilan Rosenberg
Edited by	Henry Richardson B.J. Sears
Music by	Shuki Levy
Production companies	Saban Entertainment Toei Company Fox Family Films
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	March 28, 1997(1997-03-28)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$9.6 million

Taking place after the events ofPower Rangers Zeo,the new cast and characters from the film become cast members ofZeo'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 JapaneseSuper SentaiseriesGekisou 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 subsequentPower Rangers in Spaceseason.

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 byDivatox;an intergalactic space pirate, who seeks his golden key to traverse an inter-dimensional gateway and enter into matrimony withMaligore,an imprisoned demon who promises her great riches and power. Lerigot escapes Divatox's forces and travels to Earth in search ofZordonand his friendAlpha 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, andTommy Olivertrain 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 nephewElgar,abductsFarkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier and Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch,but Divatox rejects them for not being pure of heart. Upon findingKimberly HartandJason Lee Scott,who arescuba divingnearby, 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 newTurbopowers 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 andRygogflee, 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

• Johnny Yong BoschasAdam Park/ Green Turbo Ranger, a martial artist originally from Stone Canyon and formerly, the second Black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and Green Zeo Ranger. He pilots the Desert Thunder Turbozord.
• Nakia BurriseasTanya Sloan/ Yellow Turbo Ranger, an orphaned girl from Africa and formerly, the Yellow Zeo Ranger. She pilots the Dune Star Turbozord.
• Steve CardenasasRocky DeSantos,a martial artist and formerly, the second Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and Blue Zeo Ranger.
• Jason David FrankasTommy Oliver/ Red Turbo Ranger, the leader of the Power Rangers, Katherine's current love interest and formerly, the Green/White Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, and Red Zeo Ranger. He pilots the Red Lightning Turbozord.
• Austin St. JohnasJason Lee Scott,the first Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and formerly the Gold Zeo Ranger.
• Catherine SutherlandasKatherine "Kat" Hillard/ Pink Turbo Ranger, anAustralianteenager and Tommy's current love interest and formerly, the second Pink Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and Pink Zeo Ranger. She pilots the Wind Chaser Turbozord.
• Jason NarvyasEugene "Skull" Skullovitch,a young police officer working at Angel Grove.
• Paul SchrierasFarkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier,a young police officer working at Angel Grove.
• Hilary Shepard TurnerasDivatoxthe evil pirate queen, who seeks to marry the demon Maligore and conquer the galaxy.
• Amy Jo JohnsonasKimberly Hart,the first Pink Mighty Morphin Power Ranger and Tommy's former love interest.
• Blake FosterasJustin Stewart/ Blue Turbo Ranger,a child in the care of Tanya and Katherine at an Angel Grove shelter. He becomes the Blue Turbo Ranger in Rocky's place and pilots the Mountain Blaster Turbozord.

Additionally, Gregg Bullock reprises his role as Lt. Jerome Stone fromPower Rangers Zeo.Richard Genellereprises his role as Ernie, the Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar's owner; Winston Richard playsZordon,an inter-dimensional wizard and the Rangers' mentor, withBob Manahanvoicing the character; and Donene Kistler playsAlpha 5,a robot from Edenoi and Zordon's assistant, withRichard Woodvoicing Alpha 5. Jon Simanton portrays Lerigot, a wizard who holds a magical key that can open portals to worlds and realms, whileLex Langprovided 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 portraysElgar,Divatox's dimwitted nephew, whileDavid Umanskyprovides his voice. Mike Deak portraysMaligore,Divatox's fiancé and true antagonist of this movie. Carla Perez reprises her role asRita Repulsa,a sorceress who has fought the Power Rangers in the past, withBarbara Goodsonproviding 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 bythe 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 onCarrangerfootage.

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 throughPower Rangers in Space.

Music

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack albumby Various artists
Released	March 18, 1997
Recorded	1996
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	41:05
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 byHollywood Recordson March 18, 1997, onAudio CDandCompact 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 fromPower Rangers Zeo.

Release

Home media

The film was released on July 8, 1997, onVHSandLaserDisc.The film (as well as 1995'sMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie) was then released on a two-sidedDVDdisc 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 withMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movieto coincide with the release of the 2017 filmPower Rangers.

In 2019, it was announced thatShout! Factoryhad acquired the rights to re-release the movie and confirmed thatTurbo: A Power Rangers Moviewould be released for the first time onBlu-ray.It was released on July 30, 2019.

Reception

Box office

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movieopened 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.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.

Critical response

On thereview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,16% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "No no, Power Rangers."Metacritic,which uses aweighted average,assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.Audiences surveyed byCinemaScoregave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.

Joe Leydon ofVarietycriticized the "high-camp cheesiness" and praised the acting of bothHilary Shepard TurnerandAmy Jo Johnson.

Lawrence Van Gelder ofThe New York Timeshas mixed feelings on the film, criticizing the storyline and dialogue and praising the visual effects and production values.

Rita Kempley ofThe Washington Postcalled it "A purgatory of low-budget interplanetary adventure."

Kevin Thomas of theLos Angeles Timesgave 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 "Turbois a solid follow-up. "He also praised Turner's acting and the visual effects.

Accolades

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

Standalone sequel

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

See also

• List of American films of 1997
• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
• Power Rangers

External links

• Turbo: A Power Rangers MovieatIMDb
• Official Movie Site from Fox Kidsat theWayback Machine(archived June 5, 1997)