Power Rangers Gritty Force

A couple of weeks ago I watched the "Bootleg Power Rangers" video, and I have to admit, at first I thought it was pretty awesome. Not only was it a good parody of "gritty" reboots (and of Power Rangers in general), it was a good action flick.

However, the F-bombs and prostitutes did kind of shake me out of my nostalgia trip. Those elements didn't need to be in there, and as far as making a "real" Power Rangers show or movie with that kind of atmosphere, I agree with Jason David Frank, in that Power Rangers is a kid's franchise, and making it messy or trashy would make it not be Power Rangers anymore.

That being said, I don't agree with Saban trying to get the video taken offline. It's a parody, it doesn't take anything away from Saban's brand. They might have a leg to stand on if JDF was actually in it like the creators wanted, because they don't have the rights to the "Tommy" character established by the series, and having Mr. Frank in the video would make it look it had Saban's official approval, which they don't want for the reasons I explained above.

This whole deal has got me thinking about the place of violence in kids' entertainment, and I plan to go in-depth with the subject next week.