Transformers Animated

[Dragon Turtle]

Info on the new Transformers series:

From IGN:

http://tv.ign.com/articles/799/799046p1.html

From Toonzone:

http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=17708


Sounds like Legion of Superheroes meets Transformers.

[JetsAndHeels]

Ughh..this animation looks horrible. Are they trying to ruin the franchise that I so loved as a child growing up in the 80's?

And what is the deal with this plot? Ok the Transformers are in Detroit? What are they doing, working for Ford making car parts??

Seriously, is anyone else put off by this? It seems like someone is trying to put a big blemish on the cartoon franchise.

[Barkworm]

Optimus is a firetruck?

[Brodie]

He's been a firetruck before.

[Mecha Cow]

This looks beyond awful. Just offensively bad, and I'm not even a Transformers fan.

Everyone still complaining about the movie designs, please direct your attention here. This is where the real sh*t is.

[DrSpengler]

Meh. Its different, but after 4 years of bland, boring, textbook anime shows, I whole-heartedly welcome a change of pace.

I thought the Teen Titans designs looked terrible on promotional material, but after I saw them animated I discovered they worked entirely well. Same with Clone Wars and Samurai Jack. So I'm not down on this stylistic change at all. Also keep in mind that the animation is being done by Mook, a VERY good animation studio who have worked with American and Japanese productions for years. If you want to see how good they are, check out some of the season 2 Swat Kats episodes. Those are gorgeous and they're over 10 years old.

And on top of that, this show is being written in America. Is that a 100% guarantee of quality? No, but it sure as hell means it'll be better than anything the Japanese have been offering for the past few years. At the very least, there won't be a mandatory 10 minutes of stock footage per episode and every conflict being resolved with "BURNING HEART I MUST SUCCEED SUPER LINK CYBER KEY POWER UP KAMEHAMEHA JUSTICE LOVE!"

I am optimistic about this show. The simple fact that it's not Japanese ensures a level of quality greater than what we've been getting for the past 4 years, ie; "better than crap".

[Buslady]

superheros?!?!!? WTF!!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!

[SassyGal]

Wow. Does anyone else think Optimus looks a little skinny?? Maybe it's the angle of the pic?

Anyway, I can't wait to actually see it animated and agree with DrSpengler. I also thought Teen Titans looked a little crap until I saw the finished animation.

[JetsAndHeels]

I'm going to give it a chance...still like I said in my previous post I don't like what I have seen so far.

I will reserve judgement until it actually airs.

[Brodie]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

I am optimistic about this show.

Or should you say...Optim-US-tic!



See what I did there?
Optimus?




26 hours, NO SLEEP.

[Peanut]

^^ ROALZ!

Anyways, I love Transformers, so I'll give it a shot. Nothing could be worse than the anime bullsh*t they've been producing for years.

[Time Mistress]

My first reaction is "Hey look, it's Knock-Off Prime!" But I'll wait and judge the thing once I've actually seen the the first few episodes. Not to mention no Prowl = Michael Bell anymore.

[ZariusTwo]

I don't see how Spengler can remain optimistic, the show does'nt have the same concepts that make the premise so appealing (fighting other threats beyond their sworn enemies in a cival war, comedy characters? Please) the animation is by a guy who emulates anime, something I want to see LESS of, Sam Register is a c*ck who has served to undermine great shows like Titans, cancel shows like Samurai Jack, and responsible for enforcing more anime styles. Isenberg's a good writer, but not as good as other TMNT vets like Yost or Ryan, and he has this pesky habit of being a "safe" writer more times than a risky one.

The ironic thing is that Marty wrote the best scripts of Beast Machines, the premieres of seasons one and two, which at least had plenty of BW nods

[Spike Spiegel]

That looks really dumb. The designs are terrible....and now the Autobots are supposed to be "superheroes"?!


Cartoon Network and that idiot Sam Register lose more of my respect with each passing day.

[DrSpengler]

Cast news!

Say what you will about the animation, but the show looks to have a very talented cast with lots of familiar faces and new talent.

Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Lugnut - David Kaye
Bumblebee - Bumper Robinson (apparently in a Chris Rock-esque performance)
Bulkhead - Bill Fagerbakke
Prowl, Ultra Magnus - Jeff Bennett
Arcee - Susan Blu (also the voice director)
Blackarachnia - Cree Summer
Jazz - Phil Lamarr
Megatron, Shockwave, Ratchet - Corey Burton
Starscream, a Constructicon - Tom Kenny
A garbage truck Transformer - "Weird Al" Yankovic
Sari (human friend) - Tara Strong
Blurr - John Moschitta Jr.

Got a few reprisals in there. Corey Burton voiced Shockwave in the G1 cartoon, as well as Spike and Sunstreaker. David Kaye, as I'm sure you know, was Megatron in Beast Wars and the Unicron Trilogy, so hearing him as Prime should be wacky. Weird Al being a Transformers is a nice touch, considering he provided "Dare to be Stupid" for the 86 movie's soundtrack. Joh Moschitta voiced Blurr back in the G1 series and makes a return here. And Susan Blu voiced Arcee in G1 and did the direction for Beast Wars and Beast Machines (she's a FANTASTIC voice director, as I'm sure all us TMNT fans are well aware ).

And even the actors that are new to Transformers are fantastic in their own right. Fagerbakke is better known as Patrick on Spongebob and Broadway on Gargoyles. Jeff Bennet is one of my favorites, having been Brooklyn and Owen on Gargoyles and Dexter's dad on Dexter's Laboratory. Phil Lamarr is another great one, having been Green Lantern on JLU and Static on Static Shock. And I'm sure we all recognize Tom Kenny; he's in EVERYTHING these days. I bet he'll make a great Starscream.

Really looking forward to this show. If anything, it should be FUN. And we haven't had a FUN Transformers cartoon since Beast Wars.

[Brodie]

Why is Blackarachnia in there?

[Cure]

Originally Posted by Brodie

Why is Blackarachnia in there?

Same reason Scorponok is in the movie.......

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by Brodie

Why is Blackarachnia in there?

They're just recycling names, as is standard Transformer franchise protocol.

Supposedly Waspinator is going to be in the show, too. Word is that Kaye mentioned at Botcon that Blu tried desperately to get Scott McNeil back for the character, but since he doesn't have some kind of union permit to work in America, they couldn't get him.

[DrSpengler]

Tons of tidbits from the Botcon Hasbro Q&A panel:

http://www.allspark.com/forums/index...howtopic=32619

In regards to Animated:

Next up: Transformers: Animated.
"The last time we had a really good time slot was Armada." Time for a fresh approach, to get into a better time-slot, to bring in more kids. (And us too).
Eric has pretty much run the show. They've been working on it a long time. There'll be lots of surprises, and we'll like them. Yessir!

What's it all about?
3 episode mini-movie in January. Relateable stories and characters. New possibilities with the toys. Produced in the US, partnered with Cartoon Network. "Don't Lose Tradition, But Move With The Times." Trying to do something new, not just make a better G1.
More everyday stories, simpler story, not just a massive space opera.
"We are not dumbing down the Transformers franchise at all." Kid-relateable means more humor, more focus on the characters, but great action too. More interaction with people in cities, not just battling out in deserts somewhere.
"A bit less Robots In Disguise," but "more fish-out-of-water."

From a bullet-point slide:
Episodic, but ties into an overall seasonal arc.
Smaller cast of bots, with more character develpment. Return to Beast Wars in that sense!
Action driven, with a dose of humor.
Major focus on personality and abilities. Super-powered Autobots, like Hound and Mirage from G1.
Rich action sequences.
Familiar and new characters. G1 reappearances, and of course new characters.
Human super-villains and Decepticon villains. Hasbro and Cartoon Network wanted the Decepticons to be more of a menace - "OMG A DECEPTICON." Decepticons are a much bigger threat than the humans. "When Megatron's gonna show up, it's gonna be a big deal." Not a Con/Bot battle every day. But, there's often a Con influence on what the human villains do.

Artistic Style
Highly styized and fluid animation.
More energetic and expressive Bots. Almost humanistic expressions--you'll see what they're feeling.
Major focus on personality and abilities.
Grow from mechanical to emotive designs.
Familiar and New Characters
Realistic and stylized Transformations. "While there is one 'Tasmanian Devil' transformation, it's not going to be constant." Not just stock-animation transformations, not just whirlwinds--they'll transform in different interesting ways in the scenes.

Model Sheets
Cybertronian Mode Optimus - recognizeable, but different. He's got a visor that comes down like a surgical mask.
Earth Mode Prime - sometimes he'll have a trailer, sometimes not--like G1.
Bumblebee - alt-mode looks a lot like Classics Bee. Yellow and stubby with a stripe.
Bulkhead - OMG BIG FAT GUY. ig and strong. "Kinda like the Thing from Fantastic 4." Big wrecking ball flail from his fist. Big tanky trucky alt-mode.
Prowl - "The resident ninja." Motorcycle.
Ratchet - "he's been packing away too many doughnuts." The most seasoned one, the only one who's been in many wars. "Like R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket."
OMG GRIMLOCK. Very like Classics. "You thought there'd really only be 5 Autobots?" There will be 2 more Dinobots too. "They're three crazy dudes."

Decepticons
Cybertronian Megatron - wowowow. Big fusion cannon. Grey. Dunno alt-mode.
Starscream - Character is the same as always. Latta-style voice from Tom Kenny. Dark colors. Jet wings point forward like Cyclonus.
Blitzwing! Jet/tank/robot! "Eric finally found a way to get him into a line." He'll have different faces, spin to switch.
Lugnut - OMG BIG FAT GUY. Purple huge cargo jet. Loyal, unquestioning servant. Over the top and funny. "If Bulkhead is the Thing, he's the Hulk."
Black Arachnia - Pointy! Purple, black, and yellow spider. Very spindly in spider mode. Different origin story than BW. She starts off as a different character, then you learn more about her through flashbacks. A villain you'll really care for.

Human characters
Cpt. Fanzone - olice chief in Detroit
Sari and her father Isaac Sumdac - the most interactive human characters. They can't tell us how, but NOT the "annoying human sidekick telling the big robot from outer space what to do." Sari's an outcast, she looks to them for friendship. They look to her to fit in.
Human villains - "The Angry Archer" *snerk!* Looks like a dopey evil Robin Hood. "Super-powered dudes. Some can run fast, some are super strong, some spew acid, some look good in a pimp suit."

The Ark! Looks like G1, with more colors - gold, with red and grey accents. Inside, CR chambers, BW style. Will there be a playset? "Next slide."
Nemesis is massive. Purple and pointy and huge. The Ark is the size of one of its spikes.
Detroit - Designers flew out there to draw some familiar buildings, but it looks really futury. Centerpiece is the Sumdac Tower, owned by Sari's dad-the Bill Gates of the city. It looks like a sparkplug. Detroit now builds robots instead of cars.

What will the toys look like?
Toys developed at the sme time as animaion designs. All the designers got together to work the toys and animated designs out all at once.
Animation style allows us to show more personality with each character.
90% animation/toy accuracy.
New sculpting style.
NO MORE FULL LINE GIMMICKS.
Transformation IS the feature!
Signature weapons and poses - Attitude and stance. Weapons may transform as well.
Range of motion is great!

Toy photos!
Prime - Deluxe=Cybertronian
Voyager=Earth mode. Look perfect!
BB and Bulkhead - it's amazing how much these look like the animated designs. Amazing stylization. BB has rockets on the sides of his car. They have a look almost like vinyl toys. It's unbelievable they can transform - but they do, and they look just like the cartoons in both modes.
Prowl and Ratchet - Ratchet doesn't look too fat. Prowl is scrawny, seems to come with a stoplight.
Grimlock (Voyager) - no toy photo, but an AutoCad model. Man, that looks like Classics.
Voyager Megtron - alien vehicle. Still has the big fusion cannon. Legs look like Movie Prime's, actually.
Voyager Lugnut and Voyager Blitzwing.
Deluxe Black Arachnia - spider definitely bulkier than the animation bodel, but robot mode looks lithe and agile.
These are going by very, very fast. Suffice it to say, they look GOOD.

Toys will have a matte finish, not glossy. More like Batman toy paints.
Working on season 2 of another 13 episodes. Possibility of season 3 and 4.
More familiar and new characters in S2. Desire to create new characters, with cameos by G1 favorites.

"Roll the sizzle!"
Animation clips. 22nd century Detroit. Into this land, crashed a small group of Autobots, stumbled upon the Allspark artifact.
Prime and Megatron show with axe and swords.
Lots of shots of Prime with mouth. Transformations simple and stylized. Clearly some stock animations. Autobots fighting giant monster, like Thrakkorzogg from the Tick. "I'm Bumblebee!" "I'm Sari." "Don't be!" Silly, fast, fun. Prime's face looks VERY human.

Sounds good so far.

So they'll be fighting human villains, but not ALL the time and many of the human villains will be influenced by the Decepticons, who will be much more menacing and special than before. And a smaller cast of characters means more personality and developement for each, though others will be recurring characters who'll show up every now and again.

I'm especially looking forward to this so called "Boba Fett" character they're talking about.

[Brodie]

I hope they make some weird neat Beast Wars bots too, like itd be neat to see an animated Cheetor or Primal that wasn't CGI, yanno?