Television series

Power Rangers

Name: Power Rangers
Genre: Action, Children, Science Fiction
Released: 1993
Cast: Jason David Frank, David Yost, Amy Jo Johnson, Paul Schrier, Jason Narvy

Other titles called Power Rangers: the 2017 film.

Superhero
Fantasy
Light-hearted

Power Rangers is a gonzo action series where high school kids become spandex-clad warriors fighting rubber monsters. It's pure kinetic joy: goofy, earnest, gloriously cheap-looking, and absolutely confident in its own ridiculousness. Built on Japanese tokusatsu action, it's for anyone who loved Saturday morning cartoons or anyone discovering them now.

TVMaze rating

3.3

If you liked this

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie1995

A theatrical-budget upgrade with better effects, higher stakes, and genuine movie-star energy. Still utterly silly but proves the universe works at any budget level. Pure 90s spectacle.

But It's not meaningfully better than the show—just shinier. If camp is the appeal, the TV version's scrappiness is often more fun.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie poster

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie1997

The franchise's peak accessibility moment. Introduces the Turbozords with genuine charm, better writing than the TV show, and Jason David Frank cementing himself as the franchise's heart. Wild, earnest, and incredibly fun.

But It's still a 90s kids' action film with creature effects that haven't aged gracefully. The Turbo rangers themselves divide long-time fans.

Ultraman1966

The grandfather of the tokusatsu tradition. Similar DNA—a team (well, a hero) fighting rubber monsters in a city—but with an melancholy, almost noir sensibility underneath. Gorgeously shot and genuinely moving.

But Black and white, slow-burn pacing, and a fundamentally different emotional register. This is serious where Power Rangers is gleeful.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Power Rangers

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Troma's War1988

Both are low-budget action spectacles that make virtue out of necessity, creating wildly entertaining chaos from rubber, cheap mechanics, and pure conviction. Different audiences, same joyful fearlessness.

Lloyd Kaufman's trashy action-comedy where low-budget practical effects create genuine visual chaos and creativity. It's Power Rangers' id—all the campy violence and rubber monsters cranked to maximum absurdity with real affection for its own ridiculousness.

But Deliberately crude, sexually explicit, and utterly lacking in good taste. The Troma aesthetic is 180 degrees from family-friendly, even if the energy is similar.

Kamen Rider Ghost2015

Another foundational tokusatsu series with motorcycle-powered action and genuinely inventive monster design. More adult-skewing than Power Rangers, with actual plot complexity and stunts that impress regardless of era.

But The early episodes are deliberately weird in ways that feel impenetrable. It demands patience and rewards it unevenly.

V.R. Troopers1994

Direct spiritual sibling: Saban's attempt to replicate Power Rangers' formula with virtual reality. Same DNA, different aesthetic. Scratches an identical itch with slightly more kitchen-sink charm.

But It's patently a knockoff, and knowing that fact makes it harder to love. The writing is thinner and the effects budget was smaller.

Masked Rider1995

Another Saban production from the same era, built on Kamen Rider. A lone hero instead of a team, but the same campy monster-fighting energy and genuinely imaginative villain designs. Wildly underrated.

But Only ran two seasons and it shows—the mythology gets confused and the show spins its wheels. Feels unfinished even by 90s kids' TV standards.

The Incredibles2004

Pixar's love letter to superhero teams with genuine warmth, wit, and action that matters. It understands the giddy pleasure of heroes fighting together, and it executes with real craft and soul.

But It's entirely different in tone and stakes—a family film about middle-aged trauma, not a gonzo action romp. The pleasures don't quite align.