| Series | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | Pink Power Ranger Pink Ninja Ranger |
| Color(s) | Pink |
| First appearance | Day of the Dumpster (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) |
| Last appearance | Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie |
| Status | unknown |
| Homeworld | Earth |
| Zords | Pterodactyl Dinozord Firebird Thunderzord Crane Ninjazord White Shogunzord |
| Portrayed by | Amy Jo Johnson (teenager and adult) Maxxe Sternbaum (child) |
Kimberly Ann Hart is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe. She was played by actress Amy Jo Johnson during the first three seasons of the show, plus on the two feature films of the franchise. Kimberly is best remembered as the first Pink Ranger from the first entry of the franchise Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.[1] Kimberly spent three years as a Ranger before giving up her powers for good to Zordon's new alumna Katherine Hillard.
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Kimberly was one of the original five Power Rangers chosen by Zordon when Rita Repulsa attacked Earth following her release from containment. Kimberly received the Pterodactyl Power Coin and the Pterodactyl Dinozord, thus becoming the Pink Power Ranger.[2] Kimberly starts the series as a stereotypical valley girl, but with a heightened awareness for her friends. Throughout the series, she is the member of the team most likely to fire off a sarcastic or witty retort. However, as the series progresses, she becomes a deeper and kind-hearted person, due to experiences such as switching bodies with the nerdy Billy Cranston[3] and being turned into a punk after Baboo administers a potion to one of Kimberly's drinks.[4]
Kimberly was a capable gymnast and was often shown training and using her abilities in fights against Rita's forces, as she fought with a blend of gymnastic maneuvers, elbows and kicks. She often used the environment around her as a springboard for her attacks and was often needed to defeat monsters with visible weaknesses, such as the archery-based Snizzard and the Terror Toad.[4][5] She also taught dance classes at Angel Grove's Youth Center, while using American Sign Language to interpret for a student with a disability.[6] Kimberly was revealed to be proficient in many hobbies throughout the series, including designing and arranging the floral pattern for a parade float,[7] being regarded as a great cheerleader throughout Junior High School[8] and being able to sing and play guitar.[9]
Kimberly's best friend is Trini Kwan, with whom she starts a petition for environmental awareness[10] and volunteered to become "Big Sisters" to Maria, a young girl who needed guidance.[11] When Kimberly starts a botany club that is less popular than Trini's volleyball club, Lord Zedd uses a spell to turn Kim's jealousy into hatred; however, she overcomes the spell and the two girls defeat Zedd's monster, the Bloom of Doom, before reaffirming that they are lifelong friends.[12] When Trini leaves for a Peace Conference in Switzerland, Kim becomes close with Trini's replacement, Aisha Campbell, with whom she shops everyday.[13]
When Tommy Oliver transfers to Angel Grove, Kimberly becomes attracted to the young man on the spot[14] and becomes visibly upset when Tommy's demeanor toward her becomes hostile.[15] After Tommy breaks Rita Repulsa's spell, a relationship develops between the two after a series of tender moments,[16] including the couple's first kiss when Kimberly supports Tommy after losing his Green Ranger powers and accepts his invitation to a dance.[17] Skull, one of the local bullies, had a crush on Kimberly, but she rejected him until beginning her relationship with Tommy.[4][18][19] Years later, Skull was shown to still harbor feeling toward Kimberly, who was put under a love spell and became attracted to him. After the spell was broken, Kimberly apologized for her behavior, noting the two were friends and offering to dance with him.[20]
In show's second season, Kimberly controlled the Firebird Thunderzord.[21] After Tommy lost his Green Ranger powers once again, this time permanently, and left Angel Grove, Kimberly frequently wished Tommy were still around.[22][23] She was also kidnapped by Lord Zedd's forces to serve as his new Queen, but was saved by her teammates.[24] When Tommy returned as the White Ranger, Kimberly fainted upon seeing him[25] and two resumed their relationship, going on dates together.[26]
Tommy and Kimberly's relationship,[27][28] as well as Kimberly and Aisha's friendship,[29] were tested many times by Lord Zedd, but the relationships always maintained intact. When Tommy and Kim ran against each other to become class president, they bickered until Tommy conceded the race.[30] Kimberly was often isolated from the rest of the team and put into danger, but she overcame adversity each time, including landing her uncle's airplane,[5] escaping from Samurai Fan Man[18] and Lord Zedd, and recruiting the ancestors of her present-day friends to become the Wild West Rangers when she falls into a time hole that brings her to 1880's Angel Grove.[31]
In the show's third season, Kimberly remains on Earth with the flu while her friends travel to the planet Edenoi to help Dex, the Masked Rider; as a result, Kimberly battles a monster, Repellator, despite her illness.[32] When Rito Revolto destroys the Thunderzords, Kimberly and the other Rangers travel to the Desert of Despair and gain new powers from the creator of the Power Coins, Ninjor. Kimberly becomes the Pink Ninja Ranger, harnessing the spirit of the crane and controlling the Pink Crane Ninjazord.[33] Kimberly later moves in with Aisha's family when her mother becomes engaged to a painter and moves to France; Zedd creates a monster, Artistmole, from Kimberly's nightmares about her mother's fiancee, but Kimberly defeats it.[34] Kimberly was sad when her mother was not present for the 1995 holiday season, but she returned from France to surprise her daughter.[35]
Midway through third season, Amy Jo Johnson requested that Kimberly be written off the show because she wanted to pursue other opportunities in acting. The character was accommodated with a 10-episode story arc focused on Kimberly, leading up to her departure. Kimberly and Aisha adopt a stray white cat, "P.C.," who is the secret form of Rita's new spy Katherine Hillard.[36] Katherine, jealous of Kimberly's relationship with Tommy, steals Kimberly's Power Coin; with the Coin in evil hands, Kimberly's very life force is in danger. Lord Zedd kidnaps Kimberly and uses her as ransom for the other Rangers, but they rescue her. Zordon disconnects Kimberly's connection to the Morphing Grid, forcing her to receive power from the other Rangers, much like Tommy had when he was losing his Green Ranger powers; Tommy consoled Kimberly through this time, as she done previously for him.[37]
Meanwhile, Kimberly caught the interest of a gymnastics coach, Gunthar Schmidt, and began training for the preliminaries of the Pan Global Games.[38] As she trained, Rita and Zedd plotted to exploit this and overexhaust Kimberly in battles; they succeed when she falls off a balance beam while training and injures herself. However, this event breaks Rita's spell over Katherine, who calls an ambulance and convinces Kimberly not to give up on gymnastics. Katherine also returns Kimberly's Power Coin back to her. When Zordon allows Kimberly to give up her Ranger duties to participate in the Pan Global Games, which occurred in Florida, Kimberly chose Katherine to replace her as the Pink Ranger, ending her appearances on the show as her character relocated.[39]
Kimberly is mentioned in Power Ranger Zeo, when she sends Tommy a dear John letter while at the Juice Bar, in which she states that Tommy was her best friend and like a brother to her, but that she had met somebody else in Florida, effectively ending their long-distance relationship. Due to this, Katherine and Billy take Tommy on a ski vacation and try, unsuccessfully, to fix Tommy up with another girl. Amy Jo Johnson is credited in one episode for archive footage that represents Tommy's memories of Kimberly.[40]
Kimberly makes a special appearance in the franchise in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, when she and Jason Lee Scott, returning to Angel Grove to surprise the Rangers, are captured by the evil pirate queen Divatox, who plans to sacrifice the two to her fiancee Maligore.[41] Toward the end of the film, Jason and Kimberly are lowered into the volcano and emerge as evil beings, at which point Kimberly attacks Tommy and Katherine, noting that she "had no friends" and that "pink is out" (by this, she means she's no longer the pink ranger). However, the Rangers soon rescued Lerigot from his captivity, at which point, the alien used his powers, combined with his wife's, to restore Jason and Kimberly's goodness. The two escaped with the Rangers aboard the Turbo Megazord and were among the spectators of the martial arts tournament in the finale. Rumors insist that an original shooting script for "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie" had paired Jason and Kimberly as a couple. This would serve as an explanation as to why Kimberly's boyfriend from Florida mentioned in "Power Rangers Zeo" and Jason's love interest Emily from "Zeo" were not seen or mentioned in the "Turbo" film. It would also explain why Kimberly goes to Jason, not Tommy, to congratulate their win in the karate match at the finale of the film. While the romance was written out, Jason and Kimberly are very protective of each other in the film, and the concerned/loving glances the two give to one another remain in the film. It is also Jason, not Tommy, who mentions Kimberly in the finale of the "Power Rangers: Wild Force" episode "Forever Red", leading some fans to believe that a reason why Jason mentions Kim is because they are possibly now together as a couple or possibly married. During the first part of "Shift into Turbo" episode (from Power Rangers Turbo, the Rangers made a recap from "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie". They briefly remember Jason's and Kim's appearance during this clip show and was stated that Kimberly and Jason weren't dating just good friends[42]
When Mesogog kidnaps Tommy to find out how to access a mysterious power source. As Hayley searches a for way to rescue Tommy, the Rangers watch a video diary about the history of Power Rangers narrated by Tommy. During Mighty Morphin' segment, Tommy tells the Dino Rangers that Kimberly was one of the original Earth Power Rangers and passed on her powers to Katherine "right on time" when she decided to leave.[43] When Kira and Tommy are working in the Dino Lab, they come across a picture of the original Power Rangers in the Command Center. Kira comments on Tommy's hairstyle.[44]. At the season finale, the rangers are gathered at the Reefside Senior Prom, and Tommy can be seen dancing with Kimberly, who has since become his wife.
Kimberly was a main character in this movie; however, due to the movie's alternate timeline, it is unknown whether Kimberly had control of the Pterodactyl Dinozord or the Firebird Thunderzord, although she still had the Pterodactyl Power Coin. She also used a weapon that did not exist on the show, the Pterodactyl Thunder Whip, before being depowered by Ivan Ooze and traveling to Phaedos with the other Rangers. There she gains the Pink Ninjetti power, harnessing the spirit of the crane as she did in the show, as well and the Pink Crane Ninjazord. Kimberly appeared to be Tommy's second-in command throughout the movie, serving as the main pilot of the Ninja Megazord until Tommy's Falcon Zord linked up to form the Ninja Mega Falconzord. The Pink Ranger suit, along with the other five, was modified with metal and PVC plating and a new helmet design; it also now lacked a skirt.
Kimberly Hart was one of the most beloved female characters in the Power Ranger's universe. She was well liked by many fans during the glory days of Power Rangers. Her character was played by Amy Jo Johnson, who went on to appear in a few other television roles. She is one of the most successful of the Ranger actors (especially in the field of television).[45]
Kimberly started out as the typical valley girl. She seemed rather shallow on the surface but really took her duties as a Power Ranger seriously and cared deeply for her friends. Kim grew into an excellent, more effective, Ranger and became a very strong confident woman over the years she spent as a Ranger.[45]
The Official Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Guidebook ISBN 1570822352, 9781570822353
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