July 27, 2025 — It was truly “morphin’ time” on June 30, 1995, as the film “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie” was adapted from the children’s action series onto the big screen. It would go on to gross 66 million dollars on a 15-million-dollar budget and become a cult classic.
And now the franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary of when the “teenagers with attitude” and zords kicked their way into theaters. When the show premiered in 1993, it became a huge hit and a merchandising empire, and talks for a movie were immediate. Saban Entertainment capitalized on its popularity because of its unique format that combined American actors with footage from the “Super Sentai” series in Japan for the fighting and action sequences.
Clovis joined in on the celebration when actor David Yost, who portrayed Billy Cranston and the Blue Ranger, came to Legends Comics on Saturday, July 12, to sign autographs and take photos with fans.
He, along with Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly/Pink Ranger) and Jason David Frank (Tommy/White Ranger), were the only original cast members to make the transition from the small screen to the big one. Karan Ashley (Aisha/Yellow Ranger), Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam/Black Ranger), and Steve Cardenas (Rocky/Red Ranger) were added in the middle of the second season, in time to be considered for the movie. Karan replaced Thuy Trang (Trini), Johnny replaced Walter Emmanuel Jones (Zack), and Steve replaced Austin St. John (Jason).
Synopsis
“A giant egg is unearthed at a construction site and soon opened, releasing the terrible Ivan Ooze, who wreaks vengeance on Zordon for imprisoning him millennia ago. With Zordon dying and their powers lost, the Rangers head to a distant planet to find the mystic warrior Dulcea.” (IMDb)
The reasons the film has endured and endeared fans all over were the upgrades made to the picture. It was darker, edgier, and more mature in comparison to the cheesy children’s serial. The movie was a far cry from cardboard buildings and men in monster suits.
The production value was immense with a bigger budget and special effects. The villain, Ivan Ooze, was portrayed by Paul Freeman, the antagonist in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981). Prominent composer Graeme Revell contributed an epic score. The show had rock music, but the film’s soundtrack had big name artists ranging from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Devo, They Might Be Giants, and Van Halen.
The movie was meant to be a continuation of the series bridging the second season into the third season. The studio 20th Century Fox owned the film rights, and Saban owned the television rights. This meant the show couldn’t use anything from the movie, so they had to use a copycat storyline that was similar but slightly different than the one in the motion picture.
A couple of installments came afterward with “Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie” (1997) and “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always” (2023) on Netflix. Even with the remake “Power Rangers” (2017), a lot of the faithful fans prefer the 1995 version.
The nostalgia lives on. With the rising popularity of the Power Morphicon, a convention dedicated solely to Power Rangers, and the continuation of the original characters in an expanding universe in the comic books, the legacy lives on.
Yost is one of the longest serving Rangers and consistently appears at the top cons in the country. For the Clovis fans who came to see him, it was evident how much their love for the film and his character has remained. Like the saying goes in the franchise, “once a Ranger, always a Ranger.”