Power Rangers Ninja Storm

Power Rangers: Ninja Storm (often abbreviated as "PRNS") was the eleventh incarnation of the Power Rangers TV series, based on the Super Sentai series Ninpū Sentai Hurricaneger (English: Covert Wind Squadron Hurricaneger)

Production
After acquiring Power Rangers in 2002 as part of their purchase of the Fox Kids franchise, Disney decided to cancel the show at the conclusion of Power Rangers Wild Force, but were convinced to continue with the show when informed they could produce it for a fraction of the previous cost by moving production to New Zealand. As well as this, Disney chose to make the show non-union, which resulted in much of the crew (including long-time producer Jonathan Tzachor) being let go. Ninja Storm was based on the Super Sentai series Ninpū Sentai Hurricanger. A subsidiary of Disney named Buena Vista Entertainment managed the Power Rangers property after Disney took over, and MMPR Productions was dissolved. Doug Sloan, the production manager from the show's inception until the midway mark of Turbo, and Ann Austen (another past production team member) returned to Power Rangers for the first time in years as the head of the show for Disney. A few past writers were also brought back into the fold. Jackie Marchand returned to be the story editor. Koichi Sakamoto (the leader of Alpha Stunts team and producer) remained on the show. Ninja Storm brought a lot of light-heartedness to Power Rangers. This was met with mixed reception from fans. Nevertheless, Ninja Storm aired on ABC and ABC Family like Wild Force before it. Due to union and cost issues, Ninja Storm was the first season to not feature a team-up with the previous year's team since the trend began in Lost Galaxy. Due to the new ownership and its lighthearted story, the series brought new interest to the franchise as ratings and toy sales went up.

Doug Sloan would interact heavily with fans at this point, posting on Rangerboard and the Newsgroup. Sally Martin and Jason Chan (Tori and Cam on Ninja Storm) would also make appearances at Rangerboard. Doug would interact with fans for the rest of his run until the end of Dino Thunder.

An early episode in Ninja Storm's run was cut by the censors. It was later re-edited and shown out of production order. Originally it dealt with a peace conference to avoid a war, however, was held back due to the outbreak of the Iraq War as it was felt an anti-war message would not be appropriate. The episode, 'Snip It, Snip It Good' aired later in the run, with the peace conference substituted with an environmental conference.

Synopsis
"Deep in the mountains, secret ninja academies train our future protectors. Ancient scrolls told of three who would be chosen above the others. Three who would become..."

- Narrator

A skateboarder (Shane Clarke), a surfer (Tori Hanson) and a dirt biker (Dustin Brooks), are students of the Wind Ninja Academy, under the tutelage of Sensei Kanoi Watanabe and his son Cam. Although it seems as if they will never be good enough to be a full-fledged ninja, they are the only three left when the evil ninja master, Lothor arrives on Earth and captures all the other students. Their sensei, who was transformed into a guinea pig by Lothor, decided that they would become Wind Power Rangers and gave them Wind Morphers to allow them to transform. As the Wind Rangers, they fought to save the world from Lothor and his space minions, using Zords created by Cam for emergencies.

Over time, they were joined by the Thunder Rangers, Hunter, and Blake, as well as Cam, who gained Green Samurai powers in a trip to the past.

The show marked a turning point for the franchise with a willingness to make fun of itself and its history (a theme that would return in "Dino Thunder".) Of special note is that Lothor, instead of the standard melodramatic evil emperor, had a sense of humor and often got lines that sent up the show. After making a monster grow, he seems to turn to the camera and say "What'd you expect? It wasn't going to get smaller." In the final episode, when piloting a robot against the Zords, he yells "This is the most fun I've had all season!"

Eventually, the Rangers managed to defeat all of Lothor's minions, unwittingly overloading the Abyss of Evil (to which they were all sent upon their demise). The Wind Rangers were able to stop evil from spreading across the Earth and sealed Lothor away in the Abyss of Evil...along with their own powers.

Now powerless, Shane, Tori, and Dustin became teachers at the rebuilt Wind Ninja Academy, aided by Cam and a newly human Sensei. Hunter took a job as the head teacher at the Thunder Ninja Academy while his brother Blake continued his racing career. And they lived happily ever after...

Thunder Storm
...that is until the following year when the Ninja Storm Rangers were forced back into action after Lothor arose from the Abyss of Evil.

The former Rangers are shown settled into their new careers. Blake goes to Reefside (the location of the Dino Thunder series) to compete in a motocross tournament and meets Conner, Ethan, and Kira when he's there. They go to watch him compete, but are perplexed when he is suddenly called away after the race.

Meanwhile, Lothor claws his way out of the Abyss of Evil. He forms an alliance with Mesogog and, posing as Sensei Watanabe, brainwashes Shane, Tori, and Dustin into taking corrupted power disks, which turns them to Lothor's side. They recapture the students of the Wind Ninja Academy and beat back the three primary Dino Thunder Rangers.

Hunter, Blake, and Cam enter the Abyss of Evil and fight off Zurgane to rescue their lost powers. As the Wind Ninja and Dino Thunder Rangers duel unmorphed, Hunter, Blake and Cam appear and cure the Wind Rangers of their mind control by using the true Wind power discs. The two teams of Rangers - including Trent Mercer and Tommy Oliver - meet with Mesogog and Lothor's combined force, obliterating it and causing Elsa to flee.

Mesogog and Lothor duel for supremacy. They seem to be evenly matched until Mesogog uses his mind powers to shrink Lothor to the size of an action figure ("Very collectible") and traps him a jar.

At the end, it is discovered that when the Ninja Storm Rangers' Powers were extracted from the Abyss of Evil, they only had enough energy for one last battle so they return to their normal lives, leaving the Dino Thunder Rangers to protect the world. Both teams watch Blake win the Motocross Tournament.

Rangers

 * Main articles: Ninja Storm Rangers, Wind Rangers, and Thunder Rangers Legendary-NINJA-STORM.jpg



Allies

 * Sensei Kanoi Watanabe - the sensei of the Wind Ninja Academy and Cam's father who was turned into a guinea pig by Lothor (played and voiced by Grant McFarland)
 * Kelly
 * Miko Watanabe - Cam's late mother who died of an illness when Cam was young.
 * Cyber Cam - a holographic, more outgoing version of Cam who takes control of Ninja Ops' control center when the real Cam becomes a Ranger.
 * Dino Thunder Power Rangers

Villains

 * Lothor - the evil general who was once Kiya Watanabe, the brother of Sensei Watanabe
 * Marah and Kapri - Lothor's nieces and Cam's cousins.
 * Zurgane - the main general of Lothor's army.
 * Choobo - the lieutenant, promoted general.
 * Vexacus - a renegade bounty hunter.
 * Motodrone - Once fused with a human named Perry, Motodrone was rebuilt and reprogrammed under Lothor's command.
 * Shimazu - A renegade warlord, and the incarnation of a Japanese legend.
 * Beevil - Marah's old friend and temporary replacement. Beevil created the Kelzak Furies.
 * Kelzaks - the footsoldiers.
 * Kelzak Furies - an upgraded variation of the Kelzaks.
 * Evil Ninja Rangers
 * List of Ninja Storm Monsters

DVD

 * Power Rangers Ninja Storm (Complete Season) [RC2]
 * Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 (Lightspeed Rescue to Dino Thunder)
 * Power Rangers Ninja Storm: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)

Reception and Ratings
While the lighthearted story was a bit polarizing at first, the show was a commercial success. Many fans considered this one of the best Power Ranger seasons and critics praised the lighthearted humor, characters, and soundtrack.