For the record, i'm a self proclaimed Trasnformers fan boy. Not a newbie, not a neophyte and not a poser. I have been a fan since I was a kid growing up watching the animated cartoon series in the 80's and early 90's. I owned an array of toys before i foolishly gave them away when i was a teen. I even have the book "Transformers Universe", which is considered the 'Bible' of Transformers where almost each and every character's profile, temperament, ability and weakness is canonized and listed. This is the book that the comic and cartoon animators turn to when they are scripting the storylines. With the introduction of broadband internet, I have managed to dowload the entire and complete four seasons of the Generation One Transformers animated series including the full length animated Transformers The Movie which was released in theaters in the US in 1986. Heck, I even memorized the script and dialogue of the characters in that movie...much to the annoyance of those who tried sitting down and watching it with me. hehehe. Yup, that's the fanboy in me...hehe...a Transformers geek. (I'm only a Transformers Generation 1 or G1 fan...none of those Beast Wars garbage for me)
The animated movie ranks as one of my top favourite cartoons for a variety of reason up till today. It's played to the soundtrack of a number of 80's metal bands with power guitar rifts and solos. One of the reasons it's a favourite is because of the emotional weight it carried for the many legions of fans who watched it. Let me explain.
Transformers is an animated series of robots who can transform into a variety of super cool vehicles and machinery ranging from slick Ferraris and Lamborghinis to sound barrier breaking fighter jets and giant space shuttles with a vast array of abilities and weaponary. Each of the characters possess a unique personality and charm that is relfected in the animation and in their dialogue. Unlike the cartoons of these days, the characters actually expressed feelings and individuality. Optimus Prime and Megatron are equal in brilliance and charisma...played brilliantly by voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker.
Wizard Magazine rated Megatron the 68th greatest villain of all time. Megatron is very powerful and utterly ruthless. His imposing robot form is dominated by his primary weapon - his arm-mounted fusion cannon, capable of leveling a city block in one blast. There have been several interpretations of his character; some see Megatron as a strategic leader who calls the shots from afar, whilst others see him as a tactical battlefield commander who leads by brutal example. Unlike many other villains in popular fiction, Megatron was not generally depicted as overly chaotic or insane. He was highly aggressive and a megalomaniac, but there was usually a consistent rationale behind his actions, albeit that Megatron was often the only one who could perceive this.
Optimus Prime is depicted as a compassionate character who puts all his talent to use to improve the world around him, and has dedicated himself to the protection of all life, particularly the inhabitants of Earth; he will battle his foes with unyielding resolve to uphold this belief.
As a kid (and as a grown up) you watch them and grow attached to them for two full seasons...
Then in the movie, the characters get slaughtered. They die...they get obliterated.
Usually cartoon characters don't die...they normally get disappointed or turned into a mermaid or something, but they don't get blown apart.
To understand my sentiments clearer, you have to take time to view the clips below. This are just bits and pieces of the Movie I sourced on Youtube so you've got to watch the whole movie to know the story. Allow me to share these snippets with you.
The clip below happens early in the Movie. Where a group of Autobots are travelling on board a space shuttle to earth from their base in space. They get ambushed by Megatron and the Decepticons and are completely laid to waste accompanied by an array of guitars solos in the background. How's that for a cartoon movie. The Autobots that perished are main characters in the series like Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl and Brawn. There goes your entire toy collection... I consider this quite a brutal scene for a cartoon. Check out the head shot at the end of the clip...Not your average animation for kids...
I like this clip below because it introduces the new character Hot Rod. It shows him running, transforming into a super hot flaming roadster and then running down a road block set up by some other dudes while telling the human kid,
"If you're gonna ride Daniel, ride in style"
The scene changes dramaticly from a peaceful and serene fishing trip to a massive warzone in a blink of an eye. The best part is how he starts shooting at that hijacked shuttle resulting in a massive Decepticon confrontation. It includes the famous scene where Autobot Kup tangles with the Decepticon tripple changer Blitzwing who was in tank mode. I also like the song played to the scene entitled, "Dare".
The clip below is the iconic scene in Transformers fandom.It's also early in the Movie where Optimus Prime responds to the SOS transmission from Autobot City on Earth and travels by shuttle. Upon arrival, Autobot City is already desolated. He appears calm and resolute, knowing that stopping Megatron was all that mattered, even if it cost him his life. This features Prime mowing down a group of running Decepticons, transforming in mid flight, pulls out his laser rifle and guns them down one by one. The following epic battle between Prime and Megatron is quite brutal for a cartoon since the wounds are very graphic. This is also the scene that spawned the popular phrases, "Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost" and "One shall stand, One shall fall"...in classic Peter Cullen voice. In my humble opinion, I think this final battle scene between Optimus Prime and Megatron is better than Michael Bay's movie version...
In this scene, back in Cybertron, Starscream appointes himself as leader of the Decepticons after he hurled Megatron's battered body into space. However, Megatron returned as the reformatted version called Galvatron and totally oblitirated Starscream with one shot, literally turning him into dust. Awesome...ruthless...badass...in addidtion to that, Starscream is drawn very Manga like...great animation...definitely not your average cartoon animation where characters you are fond of get themselves blown to pieces.
Besides, this is the only cartoon that I know of where Spike shouts, "Shit" when they failed to destroy Unicron. Hehe...
Well, sentiments aside...the real reason the characters got wiped out was because the dudes at Hasbro wanted to launch new Transformers toys. So poor kids like us were left with a heck of a movie..
I know most of my friends don't really understand why fans like me are so into the Transformers craze. Like I said, it wasn't Michael Bay's movie that begun our fandom. I think the animated series displayed some true ingenuity. I've chosen two Autobot characters as example. Seriously it took me an hour plus to get these screen shots and edit them. These guys transform in 1 second...so it was a lot of pause pause pause...huhu. But check out how they transform. If you like robots and cars, how can you not love them?
This is Autobot Wheeljack. He's basically a scientist/inventor. He transforms into a cool Lancia Stratos HF, which was basically used for rally driving in the real world. Enjoy...
You should know that wheeljack also dies in the movie... :(
The next autobot to be discussed is Sideswipe. He transforms into a red Lamborghini Countach just like his brother Sunstreaker which is yellow instead of red (which you can see beside him).
ciss...laura just had to come online in these screen shot...
This is definitely More than Meets the Eye. If you have good connection and patience...scroll down fast and u can watch the transformation albeit not so smooth since it's imperfect screen captures.
Wow, I never thought I'd get around to doing this fan boy post. I'm sure the other fanboys out there will agree with me that this Transformers craze really kicks ass big time :).
