Bootleg's Power/Rangers taken off YouTube

  Since first appearing on the internet, the more gritty and violent take on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has created even more controversy with the original creators of the franchise Saban Entertainment. For some messed up reason (that I will get into later), they have decided to remove the fan film of YouTube (sigh).  

  Since the fan films inception the Power Rangers fan base have been split right down the middle over their appreciation of the short movie, many of the original actors for the series weighed in their opinions on the matter. 

  The Green Ranger actor Jason David Frank addressed his fans via video log, and said that he was originally approached by Bootleg but he turned them down due to other commitments, he felt the show was too dark and gritty for a main stream audience which is fair for him to say seeing that the show was originally tailored to a young audience ranging and as a cautious father he would not let his daughter see the movie.  

  The original pink and black rangers put their opinions forward, both Amy Jo Johnson and Walter Jones thought the fan flick to highly entertaining and a unique way to look at the Power Rangers, Johnson even posted the video on her Facebook page before it got mercilessly taken down. This just goes to show that even the original actors even think that the film has a positive effect on the franchise and fans. 

    To begin with Adi Shankar got the idea to create the short movie simply because he had a revelation on the original show and asked the question what if the Power Ranger grew up, how would they live their lives and would the past catch up with them. This revelation was then brought to life through the genius that is Joseph Khan's mind. 

  Joseph Khan has been very vocal about how Saban is treating their film and how they are amking it their mission to bury it, they started with Vimeo and now they have taken down the YouTube link. Adi Shankar was not happy with this had very meaningful words for Saban Entertainment and they should listen because he has a damn good point. 

"To Whom It May Concern:

Today, I was deeply disappointed to learn that Saban Brands decided to attack my Power/Rangers “Bootleg Universe One-Shot” film. To all the viewers that enjoyed this film, I consider this an outright infringement on freedom of expression and individualism. I set out to make this film because I am a childhood fan of the Power Rangers.
As children our retinas are burned with iconic images and as we grow older these images come to represent crucial moments within the trajectories of our own lives. This film is a homage to the original creators of the Power Rangers, and a parody of a television series we all grew up loving. Films like my Power/Rangers “Bootleg” are vital expressions of creativity in our troubled world. If we suppress this creativity and become passive participants in the consumption of the culture we live in, we implicitly allow a dangerous precedent to be set for the future of the internet.

Warm Regards,

Adi Shankar

P.S. Thank you Mark Zuckerberg for hosting Power/Rangers and taking a stand.

https://www.facebook.com/theadishankarbrand" 

  This whole situation is all about the old guard versus the new guard, Saban doesn't want their original franchise being "tainted" by a more realistic and risky concept that has the balls to take an over used product, breath a new life into it and make it relate-able to an older audience. 

  And to Saban Entertainment, the picture below sums up everything I feel.