Shella's World

The Penguins of Madagascar is an American CGI animated television series airing on Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from the DreamWorks Animation animated film Madagascar: The penguins Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Jeff Bennett), Private (James Patrick Stuart), and Rico (John DiMaggio); the lemurs King Julien (Danny Jacobs), Maurice (Kevin Michael Richardson), and Mort (Andy Richter); and Mason (Conrad Vernon) and Phil the chimpanzees. Characters new to the series include Marlene the otter (Nicole Sullivan) and a zookeeper named Alice (Mary Scheer). It is the first Nicktoon produced with DreamWorks Animation.

Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato (天空戦記 シュラト, Tenkū Senki Shurato^?, lit. "Shurato of the Heaven Wars", occasionally spelled in the Siddhaṃ script on the logo and related merchandise as : Ten・ku・u・Sem・ki ・ Su・ra・to),^[2] is a Japanese manga created, written and illustrated by Hiroshi Kawamoto and later adapted to anime by Tatsunoko Production. It ran 38 episodes on TV Tokyo from April 6, 1989 to January 18, 1990 and also spawned a 6-episode OVA series named Shurato: Dark Genesis (シュラト 創世への暗闘 , Shurato Sōsei e no Antō^?, lit. "Shurato: The Secret Feud of Creation"), that ran from August 16, 1991 to March 16, 1992. It was one of the most popular shōnen anime series of 1989.^{[citation needed]}
Set in a parallel world called "Tenkūkai", which exists alongside Earth, evil forces known as the Asura Gods threaten to overcome the forces of good, causing the magical leader of this realm to transport warriors from Earth to their world. It was heavily based on Hindu and Buddhist mythology, and covered a range of topics, including brotherhood, reincarnation, camaraderie, inter-dimensional travel, destiny, and spirit magic.^{[citation needed]}

Plot

The plot revolves around two non-hereditary brothers, Shurato Hidaka and Gai Kuroki, lifelong best friends who are polar opposites of each other in appearance and personality. While fighting each other in a martial arts tournament, they are suddenly encased in a beam of light and transported to a parallel world, Tenkūkai, where modern technology does not exist and instead the people rely on Sohma, a form of spiritual energy.
Shurato discovers he is actually the reincarnation of an ancient king of the same name, who once ruled this world, and one of the "Hachibushu", a group of eight legendary warriors with large quantities of Sohma, and was brought here along with Gai to fight the Asura Gods, a legion of destructive warriors. However, for unknown reasons, Gai attempts to kill Shurato repeatedly, confusing Shurato as the real Gai is a pacifist and the most compassionate person he knows.
Things quickly go wrong when Shurato and another of the Hachibushu, Ten-ō Hyūga, are framed for the petrification of Lady Vishnu, a powerful divinity and the leader of the people of Tenkūkai. The actual culprit, Vishnu's highest advisor and Asura spy Indrah, and the corrupted Gai manage to convince the remainder of the Hachibushu, as well as all of Tenkūkai's warriors and soldiers, that Shurato and Hyūga are evil and must be killed.
Although at first reluctant to get involved, Shurato eventually resolves to aid Hyūga in uncovering the conspiracy and cure Vishnu. They are accompanied by the young Tenkūkai spirit priestess Lakshu, and two others of the Hachibushu, Ryū-ō Ryōma and Karura-ō Reiga. Along the way, they engage in battle with the other four of the Hachibushu, sinister Asura agents in league with Indrah, and the majority of Tenkūkai's population.

Characters

Shurato Hidaka (日高秋亜人, Hidaka Shurato^?)

(also Shura-Oh Shurato (修羅王シュラト, Shura-ō Shurato^?))

The main character and protagonist of the show, Shurato, is a hot-headed, reckless, and impatient 16-year old. He is depicted as having low tolerance and understanding of Tenkūkai's laws and inner workings, but is strong and pure-hearted. Like Gai, he is a martial arts master, and eventually becomes the most powerful of the Hachibushu and their de facto leader. His shakti and armor are both modeled after the lion, and his weapon is a vajra.

Gai Kuroki (黒木凱, Kuroki Gai^?)

(also Yasha-Oh Gai (夜叉王ガイ, Yasha-ō Gai^?))

A primary character and one of the main antagonists of the show, Gai was Shurato's best friend on Earth, but became his greatest enemy in Tenkūkai when he was put in a spell by Indrah. Unlike Shurato, he is cool, collected, and highly intelligent. He was a martial arts master, depicted as Shurato's equal, even though he was also a pacifist. His shakti and armor are both modeled after the wolf, and his weapon is a sword.

Lakshu of Hōraisan (蓬莱山のラクシュ, Hōraisan no Rakushu^?)

Based on the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, Lakshu is a young native of Tenkūkai and a fledgling spirit priestess. She is the first person to find Shurato after he is teleported to Tenkūkai, attempting to wake him up with a kiss. She then accompanies Shurato and Hyūga on their journey, and becomes a major asset to the team when her latent Sohma powers manifest.

 

Saint Seiya Omega (聖闘士星矢Ω（セイントセイヤオメガ）, Seinto Seiya Omega^?, stylized as Saint Seiya Ω) is an anime series produced by Toei Animation. It is a spin-off based on the Saint Seiya manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the franchise.^[1] The series began broadcasting in Japan on TV Asahi on April 1, 2012. It is being directed by Morio Hatano (his debut as series director), with animation character designs by illustrator and animator Yoshihiko Umakoshi, known for performing the same duties on Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, HeartCatch PreCure! and Casshern Sins.^[1]
Toei Animation describes it as an "original anime story", separate from the continuity of Kurumada's manga.^[1] Original Saint Seiya author Kurumada is not involved in the creative process of Omega, thus he is credited as the original creator of the series' concept.^[2]

Case Closed, known as Meitantei Conan (名探偵コナン^?, lit. Great Detective Conan, officially translated as Detective Conan) in Japan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The series is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since January 19, 1994, and has been collected in 78 tankōbon volumes as of December 2012. Due to legal considerations with the name Detective Conan, the English language release was renamed Case Closed.^[1] The story follows the adventures of Jimmy Kudo, a prodigious young detective who was inadvertently transformed into a child after being poisoned.

Super Mario Bros. (スーパーマリオブラザーズ, Sūpā Mario Burazāzu^?) is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a pseudo-sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. It is the first of the Super Mario series of games. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario and in a two-player game, a second player controls Mario's brother Luigi as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist Bowser.
The success of Super Mario Bros. has caused it to be ported to almost every one of Nintendo's major gaming consoles. Nintendo released special red variants of the Wii and Nintendo DSi XL consoles in re-packaged, Mario-themed, limited edition bundles in late 2010 as part of the 25th anniversary of the game's release. In 2005, IGN's poll named it as The Greatest Game Of All Time.^[8]

B-Daman (ビーダマン, Bīdaman^?) is a marble shooting toy produced in Japan by Takara. In 2005, Hasbro licensed the "Battle B-Daman" configuration of the toy. In 2004, Hasbro joined forces with Takara and Fox Entertainment Group to bring it to the Japan and USA. In 2005, Takara licensed the show to Fox Entertainment Group.^{[citation needed]}
The blaster's design is a humanoid figure at the centre, from which a specially made marble, is launched (not just any marbles can be used). Different attachments are used to change a B-Daman's accuracy, power, balance, control, and rapid fire. They are customizable and each have a special gimmick.
In the English language Battle B-Daman toys, the marbles are referred to as "B-Daballs". In all cases they are simply called "marbles" (Japanese: ビー玉; biidama, hence the name "B-Daman") in Japan.

Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! (爆走兄弟レッツ&ゴー!!, Bakusō Kyōdai Rettsu Endo Gō!!^?) is a manga by Tetsuhiro Koshita that appeared in CoroCoro Comic centered around Mini 4WD racing. It was later adapted into three TV anime series, each of which consisting of three 51-episode series, and was also made into several games. The series also released various merchandise, including CDs, trading cards, and stickers. Due to its early premiere date, the MAX series was the first anime to use TV Tokyo's current logo.

Scooby-Doo is an American animated cartoon franchise, comprising several animated television series produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969. This Saturday morning cartoon series featured four teenagers—Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers— and their talking Great Dane dog named Scooby-Doo, who solve mysteries involving supposedly
 supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps.^[1]

Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield (named after Davis's grandfather); his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie. As of 2007, it was syndicated in roughly 2,580 newspapers and journals, and held the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip.^[1]
Though this is rarely mentioned in print, Garfield is set in Muncie, Indiana, the home of Jim Davis, according to the television special Garfield Goes Hollywood. Common themes in the strip include Garfield's laziness, obsessive eating, and hatred of Mondays and diets. The strip's focus is mostly on the interactions among Garfield, Jon, and Odie, but recurring minor characters appear as well. Originally created with the intentions to "come up with a good, marketable character", Garfield has spawned merchandise earning $750 million to $1 billion annually. In addition to the various merchandise and commercial tie-ins, the strip has spawned several animated television specials, two animated television series, two theatrical feature-length live-action films and three CGI animated direct-to-video movies. Part of the strip's broad appeal is due to its lack of social or political commentary; though this was Davis's original intention, he also admitted that his "grasp of politics isn't strong", remarking that, for many years, he thought "OPEC was a denture adhesive".^[2][3]

History

In the 1970s the comic strip artist Jim Davis authored a strip, Gnorm Gnat, which met with little success. One editor said that "his art was good, his gags were great," but "nobody can identify with bugs." Davis took his advice and created a new strip with a cat as its main character.^[4] The strip originally consisted of four main characters. Garfield, the titular character, was based on the cats Davis was around growing up; he took his name and personality from Davis's grandfather James A. Garfield Davis,^[5] who was, in Davis's words, "a large cantankerous man". Jon Arbuckle came from a coffee commercial from the 1950s, and Odie was based on a car dealership commercial written by Jim Davis, which featured Odie the Village Idiot. Early on in the strip Odie's owner was a man named Lyman. He was written in to give Jon someone to talk with. Davis later realized that Garfield and Jon could "communicate nonverbally". The strip originally centered on Jon, being rejected by the King Features, Post-Hall and the Chicago Tribune-New York News agencies, all which asked Davis to focus on the cat, who in their opinion, got the better lines. United Feature Syndicate accepted the retooled strip in 1978 and debuted it in 41 newspapers on June 19^[6] of that year (however after a test run, the Chicago Sun-Times dropped it, only to reinstate it after readers' complaints).^[1][7] Garfield's first Sunday page ran on June 25, 1978,^[8] being featured as a third-pager until March 22, 1981.^[9] A half page debuted the following Sunday (March 29),^[10] with the strips for March 14^[11] and 21, 1982,^[12] having a unique nine-panel format, but UFS curtailed further use of it (but it allowed Davis to use the format for his U.S. Acres strip).
The strip's subject matter in the early months varied from the pattern it later settled into. Some could be seen today as politically incorrect, such as strips involving Jon's pipe smoking^[13][14][15] or his subscription to a bachelor magazine.^[16] Another point which has distanced these strips was the U.S./Canada-centric humor, with a few jokes being totally untranslatable to some languages,^[17] however by 1980, the strip became the universal family fare product that it's known for.
More notably, the strip underwent stylistic changes with 1978–83 strips being more realistic, while comics from 1984 onwards have been more cartoony. This change has essentially affected Garfield's design; who underwent a "Darwinian evolution" in which he began walking on his hind legs, "slimmed down", and "stopped looking [...] through squinty little eyes". His evolution, according to Davis, was to make it easier to "push Odie off the table" or "reach for a piece of pie". Jon also underwent major changes, and still currently is. Now, he looks older than 1990 strips; he is taller and he has larger features.
Garfield quickly became a commercial success. In 1981, less than three years after its release, the strip appeared in 850 newspapers and accumulated over $15 million in merchandise. To manage the merchandise, Davis founded Paws, Inc.^[19] By 2002, Garfield became the world's most syndicated strip, appearing in 2,570 newspapers with 263 million readers worldwide;^[1] by 2004, Garfield appeared in nearly 2,600 newspapers and sold from $750 million to $1 billion worth of merchandise in 111 countries.^[20] In 1994, Davis's company, Paws, Inc., purchased all rights to the strips from 1978 to 1993 from United Feature. The strip is currently distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, while rights for the strip remain with Paws.
While retaining creative control and being the only signer, Davis now only writes and usually does the rough sketches. Since the late 1990's most of the work has been done by long-time assistants Brett Koth and Gary Barker. Inking and coloring work is done by other artists while Davis spends most of the time supervising not production and merchandising of his characters^[20].

Marketing

Garfield was originally created by Davis with the intention to come up with a "good, marketable character".^[20] Now the world's most syndicated comic strip, Garfield has spawned a "profusion"^[20] of merchandise including clothing, toys, games, Caribbean cruises, credit cards, dolls,^[21] DVDs of the movies or the TV series,^[22] and related media.^[23]

Media

Feature films

Garfield: The Movie was the strip's first feature film. Released on June 11, 2004, the movie followed Garfield's quest to save the newly adopted Odie from a TV pet-show host. While some critics lauded the casting of Bill Murray as the voice of the title character, Garfield: The Movie met with mostly negative reviews: Manohla Dargis of the Los Angeles Times called it "soulless excuse for entertainment", while Desson Thomson of The Washington Post said of the film "There's nothing to recommend about this film except its sheer innocuousness".^[24][25] The film garnered a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while Yahoo! Movies gave the film a C- grade.^[26][27] The film's sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006), did not perform any better in terms of critical reception, gathering an 11% rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a C- grade from Yahoo! Movies.^[28][29] In 2007, the CGI movie Garfield Gets Real was released,^[30] followed by Garfield's Fun Fest in 2008, and Garfield's Pet Force in 2009.

Internet

Garfield.com is the strip's official website, containing archives of past strips along with games and an online store. Jim Davis has also collaborated with Ball State University and Pearson Digital Learning to create Professor Garfield, a site with educational games focusing on math and reading skills and with Children's Technology Group to create MindWalker, a web browser that allows parents to limit the websites their children can view to a pre-set list.^[31][32][33]
A variety of edited Garfield strips have been made available on the Internet, some hosted on their own unofficial, dedicated sites. Dating from 2005, a site called the "Garfield Randomizer" created a three-panel strip using panels from previous Garfield strips.^[34] Another approach, known as "Silent Garfield",^[35] involves removing Garfield's thought balloons from the strips.^[36] Some examples date from 2006.^[37] A webcomic called Arbuckle does the above but also redraws the originals in a different art style. The Arbuckle website creator writes: "'Garfield' changes from being a comic about a sassy, corpulent feline, and becomes a compelling picture of a lonely, pathetic, delusional man who talks to his pets. Consider that Jon, according to Garfield canon, cannot hear his cat's thoughts. This is the world as he sees it. This is his story".^[38] Another variation along the same lines, called "Realfield" or "Realistic Garfield", is to redraw Garfield as a real cat as well as removing his thought balloons.^[39][40] Still another approach to editing the strips involves removing Garfield and other main characters from the originals completely, leaving Jon talking to himself. While strips in this vein can be found online as early as 2006,^[37] the 2008 site Garfield Minus Garfield by Dan Walsh received enough online attention to be covered by news media. Reception was largely positive: at its peak, the site received as many as 300,000 hits per day. Fans connected with Jon's "loneliness and desperation" and found his "crazy antics" humorous; Jim Davis himself called Walsh's strips an "inspired thing to do" and said that "some of [the strips] work better [than the originals]".^[41][42] Ballantine Books, which publishes the Garfield books, released a volume of Garfield Minus Garfield strips on October 28, 2008. The volume retains Davis as author and features a foreword by Walsh.^[39]

Television

From 1982 to 1991, twelve primetime Garfield cartoon specials and one hour-long primetime documentary celebrating the character's 10th anniversary were aired; Lorenzo Music voiced Garfield in all of them. A television cartoon show, Garfield and Friends aired for seven seasons from 1988 to 1994; this adaption also starred Music as the voice of Garfield, one of the very last times Lorenzo Music would voice the character was in Garfield's Phone Messages from the Official Garfield site before his death.^{[citation needed]} The Garfield Show, a CGI series, started production in 2008 to coincide with the strip's 30th anniversary.^[43] It premiered in France in December 2008 and made its US debut on Cartoon Network on November 2, 2009.

Video games

Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal is a 1987 video game for the Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and the Amiga based on the comic strip. Sega also made video games based on Garfield for the Genesis (Garfield Caught in the Act) and Windows 3.1 computers, as well as other companies made games, such as A Tale of Two Kitties for the DS, published by Game Factory, Garfield's Nightmare for DS, Garfield's Funfest for DS, and Garfield Labyrinth for Game Boy. On PlayStation 2 were Garfield and Garfield 2 (known in the US as Garfield, a Tale of Two Kitties). Also, Garfield Lasagna World Tour was also made for PS2. And a recent addition for mobile devices is "Garfield's Diner".
Konami also released a Garfield Handheld electronic game.

Stage

Joseph Papp, producer of A Chorus Line, discussed making a Garfield stage musical, but due to some complications, it never got off ground. A full-length stage musical, titled "Garfield Live", was planned to kick off its US tour in September 2010, but got moved to January 18, 2011, where it premiered in Muncie, IN. The book was written by Jim Davis, with music and lyrics by Michael Dansicker and Bill Meade, and it was booked by AWA Touring Services. However, no other cast or crew's name is available for dispersion to the public. The opening song, "Cattitude" can be heard on the national tour's website, along with two more, "On the Fence," and "Going Home!".^[44] When the North-American tour concludes in 2012, it will tour throughout Asia.

[edit] Comic book

In agreement with Paws, Boom! Studios launched in May a monthly Garfield comic book, with the first issue featuring a story written by Mark Evanier (who has supervised Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show) and illustrated by Davis's long-time assistant Gary Barker.^[45]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield

Snoopy is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet dog. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable comic characters in the world. The original drawings of Snoopy were "greatly patterned" after Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs.^[1][2]

Pekkle (Ahiru no Pekkle) is a fictional character appearing in anime.^[1] He is a small white duck who typically wears a blue t-shirt that has the letter P on it. Pekkle is characterized as good-natured and kind, as well as being a singer and dancer.^[2] For example, the character takes tap-dancing lessons. Pekkle's birthday is on July 27 and he was first released in 1989.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekkle

Wish me mell (ウィッシュミーメル, Uisshu mī meru^?) is a character series created by Sanrio in December 27, 2010,^[1][2] with character designs done by Miyuki Okumura, who designed Cinnamoroll.^[3]The main heroine of the series is a Rabbit Girl named Mell, who is meant to be a character that expresses the feelings every one has, simply stating "Thank you", "I am sorry" or "I like you!", connecting hearts in the process.
The series Image Song is titled "Stay the Same", performed by Japanese singer Mai Kuraki. The song itself is used in some Sanrio Puroland events.

Sugarbunnies (シュガーバニーズ, Shugābanīzu^?) is a character duo created by Sanrio in 2004.^[1] The duo are composed of twin bunnies called Shirousa and Kurousa (Both born on May 26, 2004), who specialize on making sweets and pastries. After the success of the franchise, Sanrio created more bunny twins who each specialize on their own jobs. They all live in the magical world of Bunniesfield.
The series gained a Japanese anime series in 2007. The series is directed by Hiroshi Kugimiya, the key animator of Death Note and produced by Asahi Production. The original series premiered on TV Tokyo and Kids Station as a segment of the program Kitty Paradise Plus on April 3, 2007 and ended later that year

Pochacco is an anime character.^[1]
He is drawn as a white dog with black floppy ears, but no visible mouth. He is often dressed in athletic attire, as he has a sporty and playful personality. He is a vegetarian, as he loves carrots, but his favorite food is banana-flavoured ice cream. Pochacco is a curious and clumsy little guy who sometimes sticks his nose in where it isn’t wanted. Like most dogs, Pochacco loves going for walks.

Jewelpet (ジュエルペット, Juerupetto^?) is a Japanese media franchise and toy line created in 2008 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings, illustrated by the third character designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi.^[1] The character series was originally released on January 15, 2008, focusing on animals named after jewels, birthstones and minerals, who can use magic using their eyes.^[2]
Due to the success of the franchise, Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings expanded the Jewelpet franchise overseas, but it is unknown if the expansion plan will ever include the United States. The franchise is currently been licensed by Giochi Preziosi for its European release.

 

Cinnamoroll (シナモロール, Shinamorōru^?) is a character series created by Sanrio in 2001, with character designs from Miyuki Okumura. The main character, Cinnamon, is a white puppy with long ears, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and a plump and curly tail that resembles a cinnamon roll. He starred in his own Manga series, an anime movie and various animation shorts.
In its initial run, the series expanded into two official side series: Cinnamoangels (シナモエンジェルス, Shinamoenjerusu^?) in 2005, which focuses on Azuki, Mocha and Chiffon and Lloromannic (ルロロマニック, Ruroromanikku^?) in 2007, which focuses on both Berry and Cherry.

My Melody is a little girl rabbit who always wears a red or pink hood that also covers her ears. Her birthday is on January 18. Like Hello Kitty, My Melody is rather popular in Asia and can be found on children's toys and merchandise. My Melody was first released in 1975 and the first related merchandise was released at the end of that year. At first she was mostly marketed toward young girls, but like Hello Kitty her popularity has increased within women of all ages, especially in Asia. According to The New York Times, this character is "moderately successful" in terms popularity but shows no signs of reaching the global popularity of Hello Kitty.^[34]

When first released she was the Little Red Riding Hood character in a version of the classic fairy tale featuring all animal characters. The name My Melody first appeared in 1976 and soon the connection to Little Red Riding Hood all but disappeared, with the exception of a series of Little Red Riding Hood-style goods which were re-released in 2000. During 1976, her cute animal friends, such as Flat the mouse, Piano the sheep, Risu the squirrel, and her brother Rhythm, started appearing. The original My Melody goods featured a red hood but as of 1977, merchandise featuring a pink hood was released, which would be the norm for My Melody goods for several years to come.
My Melody's popularity waned toward the late 1980s, and the only goods produced were stationery, stickers and candy. In 1996, in a Strawberry News (a magazine published by Sanrio) reader survey, My Melody came out amongst some of Sanrio's most popular characters and as a result, standard merchandise started re-appearing as of February 1997 featuring the original red hood. Goods with the pink hood were re-released in 1999 and as of 2000 there were goods released with multiple color hoods.
My Melody has been turned into a Pullip doll, like two other Sanrio characters, Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll. The doll includes a toy of Flat the mouse.

Bugs Bunny is a funny animal cartoon character, best remembered for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of theatrical shorts produced by Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation.^[1] His popularity during this era led to his becoming a corporate mascot of Warner Bros. Entertainment. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare or rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality, a pronounced New York accent, his portrayal as a trickster, and his catch phrase "Eh... What's up, doc?" (usually said while chewing a carrot). Bugs has appeared in more films than any other cartoon character and is the ninth most portrayed film personality in the world.^[2]
According to his 1990 "biography" Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Grey Hare, Bugs was born on July 27, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York in a warren under Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.^[3] In reality, he was brought to life by the animators and staff of Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons): including Tex Avery, who directed Bugs' "official" debut short A Wild Hare (1940); Robert McKimson, who created Bugs' definitive character design; and Mel Blanc, who originated the voice of Bugs.

Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, later by BVS Entertainment, and currently by SCG Power Rangers LLC, the television series takes much of its footage from the Japanese tokusatsu Super Sentai, produced by Toei Company.^[2] Its first entry, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, debuted on August 28, 1993, and helped launch the Fox Kids programming block of the 1990s, during which it catapulted into popular culture along with a line of action figures and other toys by Bandai.^[3]
Despite initial criticism for its action violence targeted to child audiences, the franchise has continued, and as of 2012^[update] the show consists of 19 television seasons of 16 different series and two theatrical films. Creator Haim Saban regained ownership of the franchise in 2010 after seven years under The Walt Disney Company. The current season Power Rangers Megaforce debuted in the United States on February 2, 2013.

Premise
Since Power Rangers derives most of its footage from the Super Sentai Series, it features many hallmarks that distinguish it from other superhero series. Each series revolves around a team of young people recruited and trained by a mentor to morph into Rangers, able to utilize special powers and pilot colossal assault machines called Zords to defeat and overcome evil forces that threaten humanity. At the end of a series, Rangers sacrifice their weapons, Zords, or powers in order to defeat the lead villain they had fought during the series. For example in Mighty Morphin, alien wizard Zordon recruits "teenagers with attitude" to harness the power of the dinosaurs to overcome the forces of evil space alien Rita Repulsa.^[4]
When "morphed" rangers become powerful superheroes wearing color-coded skin-tight battle suits and helmets with opaque visors. Each team's costumes are nearly identical aside from individual rangers' color and helmet design. Morphed Rangers generally possesses superhuman strength, durability, and ability in hand-to-hand combat. Some possess superhuman abilities such as super-speed or invisibility, attributes somewhat related to their Ranger abilities.^[5] In addition, each individual ranger has a unique individual weapon as well as common weaponry used for ground fighting.^{[note 1]} When enemies grow to incredible sizes, Rangers utilize individual Zords that combine into a larger Megazord.
Rangers teams operate in teams of five or three, with more Rangers joining the team part way into each season. Each team of Rangers, with a few exceptions, obeys a general set of conventions, outlined at the beginning of Mighty Morphin and implied by mentors throughout many of the other series: Power Rangers may not use their Ranger powers for personal gain or for escalating a fight (unless forced to do so), nor may the Power Rangers disclose their identities to the general public.^{[note 2]} The penalty for disobeying these rules, at least in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, would be the loss of their power.
As in Super Sentai, the color palette of each Power Rangers team changes every series.^{[note 3]} Only Red, Blue, and Yellow appear in every Ranger team. The most common color that does not appear every year is Pink, followed by Green, Black, and White. Other colors and designations also appear throughout the series.^{[note 4]} A Rangers' color designation also influences their wardrobe throughout the series: civilian clothing often matches Ranger color.<sup>[note 5]

HISTORY</sup> 

Adapting the Super Sentai series

Production of Power Rangers episodes involves extensive localization of and revision of original Super Sentai source material in order to incorporate American culture and conform to American television standards. Rather than making an English dub or translation of the Japanese footage, Power Rangers programs consist of scenes featuring English-speaking actors (either from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom) spliced with scenes featuring either Japanese actors dubbed into English or the action scenes from the Super Sentai Series featuring the Rangers fighting monsters or the giant robot (Zord and Megazord) battles with English dubbing. In some series, original fight scenes are filmed to incorporate characters or items unique to the Power Rangers production.^[6] Like many of Saban Entertainment's previous ventures in localizing Japanese television for a Western audience, the plot, character names, and other names usually differ greatly from the source footage, though a few seasons have stayed close to the story of the original Super Sentai season.
The series that began the franchise, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (an American adaptation of the 1992 Japanese Super Sentai Series, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger), began broadcasting as part of the Fox Kids block of programing that aired on the Fox network. It lasted for three seasons (from 1993 to 1996).^[7]

Broadcast history

Saban Entertainment distributed the Power Rangers series from 1993 until the end of 2001, and Fox broadcast it until the fall of 2002. The Walt Disney Company purchased the franchise as part of a buyout that took place in 2001.^[1][7][8][9] This resulted in Fox Family Worldwide becoming ABC Family Worldwide Inc.^[9] This buyout also saw Saban Entertainment becoming BVS Entertainment, from News Corporation, Fox's parent company, and Haim Saban.^[9] The show continued to air on Fox until the company replaced its Fox Kids package with "FoxBox" in the United States. Since September 2002, all Power Rangers shows have aired on various Disney-owned networks (ABC Kids, Toon Disney and Jetix channels worldwide).^[7] ABC Family, another Disney-owned network, also used to air Power Rangers until it did away with its Jetix timeslot after August 31, 2006. Also in the United States, Disney Channel never aired any, if not all, of the Power Rangers incarnations from the Disney era due to its commitment to air its own original programming. On February 12, 2009, Toon Disney ended in the wake of Disney XD, ending cable airings of Power Rangers in certain areas of the United States. Several ABC affiliate broadcasting groups, most notably Hearst-Argyle Television and Allbritton,^{[citation needed]} have declined to air most of the Power Rangers series since 2006 due to the lack of FCC-compliant educational and informational content in the programs.^[10]
An article in The New Zealand Herald published on March 7, 2009 identified Power Rangers RPM as the last season of the Power Rangers run. Production manager Sally Campbell stated in an interview, "...at this stage we will not be shooting another season."^[11][12] A September 1, 2009, revision to Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopedia by Disney's head archivist Dave Smith states that "production of new episodes [of Power Rangers] ceased in 2009".^[13] Production of Power Rangers ceased and the last^[update] series by BVS Entertainment, RPM, ended on December 26, 2009.^[11]
On October 1, 2009, Bandai released a press release that Disney would re-broadcast Mighty Morphin Power Rangers starting in January 2010 on ABC Kids in lieu of a new series utilizing footage from the 2009 Super Sentai television series. A new toy line accompanied the series and appeared in stores in the later part of 2009.^[7][14][15] ABC's over-the air telecasts ended on August 28, 2010, and turned the hour back to affiliates.
On May 12, 2010, Haim Saban's Saban Brands bought back the Power Rangers franchise from Disney for $43 million^[16][17][18] and announced plans to produce a new season of the television series. The eighteenth season, Samurai, began airing on Nickelodeon on February 7, 2011,^[17][19] with the previous episodes beginning rebroadcast on Nicktoons later that year.^[19][20][21] It was also announced that Saban plans to make a new Power Rangers movie.^[22]
On July 2, 2012, it was announced that Saban Brands will launch a Saturday morning cartoon block on The CW, called Vortexx, on August 25, 2012 that will air Power Rangers.^{[23][24][25][26][27]} To commemorate the series' 20th anniversary, Nickelodeon began airing Power Rangers Megaforce on February 2, 2013, featuring all of the past rangers from the series' 20-year history.

Television series

The first series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers through In Space followed a story arc with a gradually changing cast and characters over six years.^{[note 6]} Beginning with Lost Galaxy, although it had ties with the previous story arc, each Power Rangers series had its own self-contained storylines, independent of previous series. Crossover episodes between different series featuring rangers, villains, and other characters from past seasons also began with Lost Galaxy.^{[note 7]}

• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the longest-running series, aired from 1993 to 1995, spanning three seasons. In those three seasons, MMPR used footage, costumes, and props from three of the Super Sentai Series: Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger for season 1, Gosei Sentai Dairanger for season 2, and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger for season 3. In 2010, MMPR was re-versioned for broadcast.
  • Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers aired in early 1996 as a miniseries that served as a link between MMPR and Zeo. It also utilized footage and props from Kakuranger and featured the costumes used by the Kakurangers as the footage for the Alien Rangers.
• Power Rangers Zeo aired in 1996 and featured the first change in costume for the American Power Rangers, using footage from Chōriki Sentai Ohranger.
• Power Rangers Turbo aired in 1997 and also had a movie with the series, titled Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie which acted as the bridge between Zeo and Turbo, and introduced Justin Stewart, the youngest Power Ranger. Turbo used footage from Gekisou Sentai Carranger.
• Power Rangers in Space aired in 1998. It ended a story-arc concerning the character Zordon and introduced the Battlizer armor, unique to the American productions. The in Space series took footage from Denji Sentai Megaranger
• Power Rangers Lost Galaxy aired in 1999. Whereas all of the previous series featured interconnections in their casts and characters, Lost Galaxy used an entirely new cast of characters to play the Power Rangers. It also began the trend of the "team up" crossover episode where the current team meets with the previous team to fight a common enemy. The series used props and footage from Seijuu Sentai Gingaman.
• Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue aired in 2000 and is the first to feature an original Power Ranger, the Titanium Ranger. Lightspeed Rescue used footage, costumes, and props from Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGoFive.
• Power Rangers Time Force aired in 2001; it was the last series fully produced by Saban Entertainment. Time Force used footage and props from Mirai Sentai Timeranger.
• Power Rangers Wild Force (the first series produced partly by BVS Entertainment) aired in 2002. As the 10th anniversary series, it also featured an anniversary crossover episode titled "Forever Red" where every series' original Red Ranger up until that point returned to fight a common enemy. Wild Force used footage and props from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger. Wild Force is currently the final season that was filmed in the United States.
• Power Rangers Ninja Storm aired in 2003. The first series produced entirely by BVS Entertainment and to be filmed in New Zealand. Unlike several of its predecessors, it did not feature a crossover episode with the previous group of Power Rangers. Ninja Storm used footage and costumes from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger.
• Power Rangers Dino Thunder aired in 2004 and re-introduced Jason David Frank's character Tommy Oliver, who had previously appeared in Mighty Morphin, Zeo, and Turbo. Dino Thunder used footage from Bakuryū Sentai Abaranger. Tommy and the Ninja Rangers' appearances in Dino Thunder established the continuity between the Saban and Disney productions.
• Power Rangers S.P.D. aired in 2005. Like its Japanese counterpart Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger it featured more than six Rangers, two of which only appeared once.
• Power Rangers Mystic Force aired in 2006 and is the first series to have a cast of entirely Australians and New Zealanders, as well as the first BVS-produced series to not create a new antagonistic character, relying totally on the villain characters from its Super Sentai counterpart Mahou Sentai Magiranger.
• Power Rangers Operation Overdrive aired in 2007 and was the 15th anniversary season for the franchise, featuring the crossover episode Once a Ranger that featured the return of Johnny Yong Bosch's character Adam Park. Operation Overdrive used footage and costumes from GoGo Sentai Boukenger.
• Power Rangers Jungle Fury aired in 2008 and is the first BVS-produced series, as well as second altogether, to introduce original Power Rangers, the Spirit Rangers. This series uses footage and costumes from Juken Sentai Gekiranger.
• Power Rangers RPM, the seventeenth season, premiered in March 2009. It is the second series to take place in a futuristic setting and the first to take place in a post-apocalyptic setting. This series uses costumes and footage from Engine Sentai Go-onger.
• Power Rangers Samurai, aired in February 2011.^[28] This is the first series to be produced by Saban Brands since Time Force. This series uses costumes and footage from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.
  • The second half to Samurai is subtitled Super Samurai. It premiered on February 18, 2012.
• Power Rangers Megaforce was announced by Saban Brands to be the new program for the 2013 television season, serving as the 20th anniversary for the franchise.^[29] The series will use costumes and footage, as well as the names "Warstar", "Tensou", and "Gosei", from Tensou Sentai Goseiger.^[30] Kidscreen reported that Megaforce will feature "the return of many historic Rangers",^[31] and Barnes and Noble that the show would feature "flashbacks, weapons" from older series and focus on "a few ordinary teens with one extraordinary destiny".^[32]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Rangers