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To Prepare You For The 2017 ‘Power Rangers’ Movie, A Crash Course From My Four Year-Old Son

By TK & Wee-K | Miscellaneous | October 7, 2016 |

By TK & Wee-K | Miscellaneous | October 7, 2016 |


Did you know that there’s a Power Rangers movie coming out next year? Normally, I wouldn’t think it’s a big deal except a) I have a small child who is moderately obsessed with them and b) this is no cheap throw-aside adaptation. It’s a $120 million production, with a cast that includes Elizabeth Banks and Bryan Cranston. It’s being directed by Dean Isrealite (Project Almanac) and distributed by Lionsgate. The Power Rangers are a monster franchise, with 23 television seasons of 19 different team-based series. Basically, they’re hoping that this will be the beginning of a new tentpole.

So, to help everyone understand the complexities of such a massive franchise, I thought I’d ask an expert: Wee-K, my four year-old son, whom I interviewed over pie and ice cream one evening.

TK: How are you today, Wee-K?
WK: (giggles) GOOD!
TK: So, what are the Power Rangers?
WK: So, um, they are people, and they’re super powerful and they turn into something called Power Rangers and they have little morpher things. And each of the episodes are different!
TK: OK. And each one’s a different color, right?
WK: Yes. And the colors on their blades are the same colors of their uniforms. And they use their blades to fight Nighloks.
TK: What’s a Nighlok?
WK: A Nighlok is something that, uh… looks like a headed monster and is really scary. And their helpers are called Loogies.
TK: Where do the Nighloks come from?
WK: They come from something called the Sanzou River
TK: So… what are the colors of the Rangers.
WK: Um… red. Pink. Blue - Blue is Kevin. And then there’s Jayden, and um… just give me a second?
(eats more pie)
WK: And then there’s Emily the pink one, and Jade the green, and… a yellow one, and I don’t know his name.
TK: But there are also different kinds of Power Rangers, right?
WK: OH! YES! There are all kinds! There’s Jungle Fury and Samurai and Super Samurai, there’s Wild Force, there’s Dino Fury, there’s Dino Thunder, there’s Space!
TK: Do these different teams ever meet each other?
WK: Well, on one episode of Super Mega Force, they all get together with the Mega Force. Every single one.
TK: How many Power Rangers is that?
WK: About 10 million. And then they all get together to fight the X Borgs.
TK: The whatnow? What are those?
WK: They’re tiny little roboty things that have guns that go pew! Pew! Pew! And there’s something called the Armada, which is a big bad guy ship and there’s about 200 and a billion of them.
TK: That’s a lot of ships.
WK: Can I have some more ice cream with my pie?
TK: Sure. OK, so… do the Nighloks have a boss?
WK: Yes. His name is Master Xandrid.
TK: Do the Nighloks have names?
WK: Yes, but I only remember Double Head. He has two heads, the head of a Nighlok and the head of a tiger. And there’s also a bad guy named Goldar. I’ll show you what he looks like, I’ll go get my toy.
(a Goldar demonstration occurs, along with all of the features of the toy that I know all about because he showed me when I bought it for him)
WK: There’s also Rita Repulsa, but she’s not a Nighlok, she’s a people. She’s a bad guy too.
TK: Who are some of the other bad guys?
WK: Um… I don’t remember.
TK: Which is your favorite Power Ranger?
WK: The gold one.
TK: Like your costume?
WK: Yes.
TK: Is that your favorite costume?
WK: Yes.
TK: What’s your second favorite? (note, he’s very into costumes)
WK: Captain America. WAIT NO - firefighter. NO, Superman!
TK: OK, back to Power Rangers. Don’t they also have giant robots that they get into or something?
WK: Yes, but they’re called Zords. They’re giant robot things that they control and then they form together into something called the Mega-Zord. It’s all the animals combined together, like Voltron, only it’s made out of different animals and Voltron is only made out of lions.
TK: Well, yes. There’s actually also a different Voltron that’s made out of spaceships, but that’s a discussion for another time.
WK: Wait, there is?
TK: Yup.
WK: (awed hush) Are you being serious? Another Voltron? Can we watch it sometime together?
TK: Absolutely.
WK: Anything else you want to ask me?
TK: Um… Where do the Zords come from?
WK: Welllll… the Wild Force Zords come from something called the Animarium. It’s a floating island.
TK: A floating island? Where is it?
WK: (impatient sigh) In the sky, Dad.
TK: Right, of course.
WK: So let me tell you about the mega Zords. There’s a bear, a turtle, a dragon, and they’re all friends.
TK: So which is your favorite Power Ranger show?
WK: Super Samurais.
TK: More than Dino… charge? Force? Jungle Squad? Jungle Fever? What are they again?
WK: Dad, you’re being ridiculous.
TK: You should be used to it by now. OK, what’s one more thing about Power Rangers you want to tell me before we have to go upstairs for bedtime.
WK: OK. One more thing is that… the first time you see it, the Nighloks are a little scary so if you need me to hold your hand I will.
TK: I appreciate that, bug. OK, thanks very much for your help, buddy.
WK: You’re welcome. Thank you for the pie and ice cream. Is it bedtime now?
TK: Yes.
WK: Can we read my library books?
TK: Of course.
WK: Yay! Let’s GO!

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