 This article is about a/an series entry (the 16th) in the Power Rangers franchise.
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Power Rangers Jungle Fury is the sixteenth season of Power Rangers, based on the Super Sentai series, Juken Sentai Gekiranger. It was the final series to air on Jetix before it was consolidated into Disney XD.
Contents
Production
Power Rangers Jungle Fury was the brainchild of producer Sally Campbell in many ways and was conceived to adapt many of the Asian elements from Gekiranger like the dojos and especially the Pai Zhuq Academy setting. Pai Zhuq itself is a completel fictional martial art invented by Campbell combining meditation techniques taught by many martial arts, kung fu, karate and borrowed heavily from White Tiger Kung Fu (much like Gekiranger) due to that being the practice teaching animal spirits in the real world. Jungle Karma Pizza had a rather complicated production history; RJ was conceived to be a unique mentor in the franchise since he was less a wise and sagely mentor like Zordon and written as a very strange if wise sensei. Co-executive producer Bruce Kalish was reportedly the one who came up with the idea for him to operate out of a pizzeria to contrast the usual mposing and abnormal bases seen in Power Rangers (eg the original Command Center or the Animarium). The weird designs (such as the big skylight, jungle planting and armchair)were designed to visually communicate to the audience how eccentrically strange RJ is. In real life, the entire set for the Jungle Karma Pizzeria was all on the same floor so the production crew set up a fake staircase to give the impression of two floors.
Casting for this series was complicated and detailed. Jason Smith was hired to be Casey Roades after appearing on the Australian drama Home and Away and was excited as he was a longtime fan of the show. Anna Hutchison once appeared in the movie The Homecoming Warrior as Lisa where she met Koichi Sakamoto (the film's choreographer turned co-executive producer in the Disney Era of Power Rangers) and she got the role of Lily Chillman after a personal recommendation to New Zealand casting director Terri Death. Hutchison had a lot of experience in mixed martial arts as well as kickboxing and regular boxing and the cast were given a giant warehouse to practice thier skills before filming began for each episode. Ajin Abella was a very veteran actor as he had been working for a decade in acting by this point and was a longtime fan of Power Rangers. David de Lautour was known to Terri Death already due to having previously auditioned for the role of Tyzonn a year earlier and was bought back on to play RJ. Melbourne born Nikolai Nikolaeff became Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger Dominic Hargan and did many of his own stunts as he is a very good fighter and extremely agile. For the villains, Bede Skinner (who played Jarrod) was fresh out of college with a pharmaceutical degree and this was his first acting role ever though now he has a successful TV career. Holly Shanahan had previously worked in the franchise as Leelee Pimvare in Power Rangers Mystic Force so was bought back and cast as Camille.
The 2007-08 Writers Guild strike happened during production, upending some plans and forcing Bruce Kalish, Jackie Marchand, and John Tellegen to rush a few episodes to get them done. Jungle Fury was then written by strikebreaking/non-union writers until the strike finished [1], forcing the original writers to work out how to pick up where the interim had left off. [2]
Synopsis
When the ancient evil spirit Dai Shi returns to wipe out all humans, a trio of teenagers must learn secret kung fu styles based on the world's most ferocious jungle animals to become Power Rangers and save the world.
Characters
Rangers
The Jungle Fury Rangers
| Color | Role | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Jungle Fury Red Ranger | Casey Rhodes | Jason Smith |
| Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger | Lily Chilman | Anna Hutchison |
| Jungle Fury Blue Ranger | Theo Martin | Aljin Abella |
| Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger | Robert James | David de Lautour |
| Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger | Dominic Hargan | Nikolai Nikolaeff |
Spirit Rangers
The Spirit Rangers
| Color | Role | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Jungle Fury Elephant Ranger | Elephant Spirit Ranger | Bruce Allpress |
| Jungle Fury Bat Ranger | Bat Spirit Ranger | Oliver Driver |
| Jungle Fury Shark Ranger | Shark Spirit Ranger | Paul Gittins |
Warriors
Jarrod and Camille transformed
| Color | Role | Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Black Lion Warrior | Jarrod/Dai Shi | Bede Skinner |
| Green Chameleon Warrior | Camille | Holly Shanahan |
Allies
- Fran (Portrayed by Sarah Thomson) - A bumbling loyal customer of Jungle Karma Pizza who is hired to work there by RJ and at the end of the series starts to travel through Europe with Dominic.
- Flit (Portrayed by Kelson Henderson) - A former enemy of Camille.
Pai Zhuq Masters
| Animal | Name | Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|
| Caracal | Master Mao | Nathaniel Lees |
| Elephant | Master Phant | Bruce Allpress |
| Bat | Master Swoop | Oliver Driver |
| Shark | Master Finn | Paul Gittins |
| Gorilla | Master Rilla | Stig Eldred |
| Penguin | Master Guin | Michelle Langstone |
| Antelope | Master Lope | Andrew Laing |
Other
- Whiger - After stealing Casey's animal spirit he tried to finish him off, but he almost fell off a cliff and Casey would not let him fall. With this, he helped Casey find the other rangers and returned to Casey his animal spirit, with Whiger's animal spirit manifesting as the White Tiger.
Civilians
- Josh - A kid who Casey taught that the easy way isn't always the right way.
- Gabby - Master Phant's niece who Lily teaches to dance.
- Luen Martin - Theo's identical twin brother.
- Jimmy - A kung-fu student of Casey that also has the Tiger Spirit.
- Dr. Silva Jennings - A scientist who found five of the Crystal Eyes. Also a holder of the Dolphin Spirit.
- Maryl Snyder - A geneticist who develops the X5 cloning formula.
Villains
- Dai Shi
- Jarrod
- Camille
- Flit
- Overlords
- Phantom Beasts
- Rinshi
- Monsters
Arsenal
Morphers
- Solar Morphers ◆◆◆
- Wolf Morpher ◆
- Rhino Morpher ◆
Sidearms
- Battle Claws ◆◆◆
- Claw Boosters ◆◆◆
Individual Weapons
- Junglechucks ◆
- Jungle Tonfa ◆
- Jungle Bo ◆
- Jungle Mace ◆/◆
- Jungle Fan ◆/◆
- Shark Sabers ◆/◆
- Chameleon Sai ◆
- Control Dagger ◆
Team Cannon
- Claw Cannon ◆◆◆
Power-Up
Vehicles
Zords
Animal Spirit System
- Legend:◆ piloted zord, ❖ aux zord, ➲ carrierzord; colors are in reference to Rangers who piloted them and not the physical color of the zords
Jungle Pride System
- Jungle Pride Charge with Lion and Chameleon ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆➲
- Jungle Pride Charge ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆➲
- Lion Animal Spirit ◆
- Chameleon Animal Spirit ◆
Jungle Master System
Alternate Combinations
Alternate Megazords
- Wolf Pride Megazord ◆◆◆ (◆❖❖)
- Jungle Master Stampede ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆➲
Jungle Pride Megazord
- Jungle Pride with Shark Power ◆◆◆◆
- Jungle Pride with Bat Power ◆◆◆◆
- Jungle Pride with Elephant Power ◆◆◆◆
Jungle Master Megazord
- Jungle Master with Shark Power ◆◆◆◆
- Jungle Master with Bat Power ◆◆◆◆
- Jungle Master with Elephant Power ◆◆◆◆
Episodes
- Welcome to the Jungle (1)
- Welcome to the Jungle (2)
- Sigh of the Tiger
- A Taste of Poison
- Can't Win Them All
- Dance the Night Away
- Pizza Slice of Life
- Way of the Master
- Good Karma, Bad Karma
- Blind Leading the Blind
- Pushed to the Edge
- One Master Too Many
- Ghost of a Chance (1)
- Ghost of a Chance (2)
- Bad to the Bone
- Friends Don't Fade Away
- No 'I' in Leader
- True Friends, True Spirits
- Path of the Rhino
- Dash for the Dagger
- Race to the Nexus
- Arise the Crystal Eyes
- Fear and the Phantoms
- Blue Ranger, Twin Danger
- One Last Second Chance
- Don't Blow That Dough
- Tigers Fall, Lions Rise
- The Spirit of Kindness
- Maryl and the Monkeys
- To Earn Your Stripes
- Path of the Righteous
- Now the Final Fury
Notes
- The Spirit Rangers came about during a meeting about toys. Marchand pitched the idea of making the three masters into Rangers, rather than do more motorcycle toys. [3]
- This is the first series to feature Rangers using their Zords to battle grunts/foot soldiers.
- This is the first series where the foot soldiers retain their Japanese name from the Sentai counterpart.
- This is the first season where the core team does not have belts. Dominic is the only Ranger on this team with a belt as part of his suit's martial arts theme.
- There are eight mentors in this season, the most mentors in every season of the Power Rangers.
- This is the final series that aired on Jetix and Toon Disney due to Toon Disney and Jetix changing to Disney XD.
- This was the only series to feature Rangers who have no interaction with both their direct predecessors and their direct successors in any form. The first and only appearance of a Jungle Fury Ranger alongside another team was when the Power Rangers Super Megaforce episode Spirit of the Tiger featured Casey.
- This season continues the pattern established by its executive producer, Bruce Kalish by having four-word titles for the episodes. S.P.D had one-word episode titles, Mystic Force (excluding The Snow Prince) had two-word episode titles, and Operation Overdrive had three-word episode titles.
- The first season to use a morpher that is not held in or on the hands of the Rangers.
- This is the first season where all the actors credited in the intro is either from Australia or New Zealand.
See Also
- Juken Sentai Gekiranger - Super Sentai counterpart . See comparison page.
- Jungle Fury (Toyline)
External links
- Power Rangers Jungle Fury | Power Rangers - The Official Power Rangers Website
- Power Rangers Jungle Fury Episodes on the Power Rangers Official YouTube Channel
References
- ↑ Toku Rants interview with Jackie Marchand: 29:54 to 31:57
- ↑ [http://danstokurants.rangercentral.com/?p=3182 Toku Rants interview with Jon Tellegen
- ↑ Toku Rants interview with Jackie Marchand: 31:55 to 33:18
