Transformers Animated (franchise)
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Transformers Animatedis a television-supportedTransformersfranchisethat began in December 2007. This iteration of theTransformers brandbrings a highly dynamic and stylized look to the toys and fiction.
The franchise consists of the following components:
- A cartoon series
- Three comic book series
- A toyline
- Several books
- A Nintendo DS game
- A manga
- Two arcade games
The cartoon began with a 3-episode mini-movie, first aired onCartoon Networkon December 26, 2007, and followed by a full 13-episode season, which started airing in January. The toyline, however, did not hit stores till the late spring of 2008, due to the ongoing popularity of the2007 movie toys.
The series adopted a new visual art style and form of storytelling which has not been used before inTransformers.The changes in design were created in an attempt to attract the modern youth viewer. The new art style incorporates a more "organic" feel to the Transformer characters. This style of art and character movement was introduced to emphasize dramatic movements and to allow the animator to express more emotion than in previous series.
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Reception
OnJanuary 25,2008the first regular episode of theTransformers Animatedcartoon premiered as the #1 boys show in its time slot,significantlybetter ratings than the previousCNprogramming.[1]
OnFebruary 24,2009the seventh wave ofAnimatedVoyager-class toys was canceled for unknown reasons.[2]All other size classes aside from Activators followed soon after, leaving a large number of figures unreleased.
Homages
Even more so thanEnergon,Animatedis saturated with frequent and obvious references andhomagestoGeneration 1and other lines, possibly intended as a celebration of the Transformers' 25th anniversary year. It would, in all seriousness, take less time to list the characters who arenothomages to past series:Bulkhead,Lugnut,Sentinel Prime,Lockdown,Dirt Boss,Jetfire,Yoketron,Lightbright,andLickety-Split.Out ofthatlist, the last two (both girls) deliberately borrow their names from other, girlier Hasbro products, Dirt Boss is a visual homage toTengen Toppa Gurren Lagann,Sentinel paid homage toThe Tick(Townsend Colemanvoiced the Tick previously), Lockdown's designhomages rubsigns,Yoketron is named afterHideaki Yoke,and Jetfire's transformation may be a homage toKing ofBravesGaoGaiGar!
The vast bulk of homages are to Generation 1,thoughsomeotherfranchisesarealsorepresented. See individual character pages for specific details. Most of the humans are original, though theWitwickyfamilyareexceptions.
Of course, there's also thetheme songand every given page ofThe AllSparkAlmanacs, where some homages are turned into double-homages (HufferhomagesHufferand Nintendo'sMario,SearchlighthomagesSearchlightandBatman).
Japanese release
In 2010,TakaraTomyreleased both theTransformers Animated(トランスフォーマー アニメイテッド) toyline and theAnimatedcartoon series inJapan.The series retains its English title and, as with theMovie franchise,retainsmostof the Western names ( "Optimus Prime" rather than "Convoy","Decepticon "rather than" Destron ", etc.), thoughBulkheadhas been renamed "Ironhide".
According to a preview articleinFigure Ōmagazine,and one inTV Magazine,Animatedwas to be heavily altered in order to make it take place within the continuity of the 2007Transformersfeature film. According toTakaraTomymarketing directorMasahiko Yamazaki,it takes place chronologically before the movie. However, content within the actual dub of the show contradicts some of Yamazaki's statements (such as Bulkhead having his "world view" modified to be inline with MovieIronhide's), so the extent of this alteration is contestable.
The cartoon's Japanese version is directed byYoshikazu Iwanami,who previously directed the Japanese versions ofBeast Wars,Beast Wars Metals,andBeast Wars Returns.
The cartoon beganApril 3at 8am on theTV Tokyoaffiliate,TV Aichi,with a regular Saturday morning timeslot.TV Aichihave set up awebsitefor the series with the not-at-all melodramatic tagline: "The world will change. A future will be born..."
Additionally, amangaseries byNaoto Tsushima,Transformers Animated: The Cool,was serialized in the pages ofKerokero Acefrom May 2010 to May 2011.
Notes
- This is the second Transformers series (the first beingBeast Machines) wherein a strict separation is made in the type of weaponry used by either side. According toDerrick J. Wyatt,"To me the Autobots were built as a labor force, and the Decepticons were created as the Military. This is one reason that the Decepticons use military weapons, while the Autobots use 'tools' to fight with."[3]
- An early working title for this incarnation wasTransformers: Heroes.[4]
- The series features a similar animation style toBen 10,a brand Wyatt also contributed to.
- An edited 10-minute preview of the first episode was shown at the NTFA Mini-Con fan convention held in Arlöv, Sweden, on November 3 and 4, 2007. The full episode had been promised and secured by Hasbro Nordic for the event, but Hasbro US overruled them at the last second, allowing only an abbreviated edit created specifically for the event to be shown.[5]
References
- ↑"[...] the half-hour original series premiere of Transformers Animated (Saturday, Jan. 5, 10:30 a.m.), charting impressive double-digit delivery and ratings gains among key kid demos and ranking #1 in its time period versus all broadcast and cable competition with boys 6-11 and boys 2-11, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research.",TimeWarner press release about the premiere of the first regular episode ofTransformers Animated,"Home Is Where the Spark Is"— "Transformers Animated Premieres #1 on All Television Among Boys and Boosts Kids 6-11 and 2-11 Delivery by Powerful Double-Digits" (January 8,2008.)TimeWarner newsroom - TimeWarner.Retrieved onFebruary 24,2009.[1]
- ↑"TFormers sponsorBigBadToyStorehas just informed us that Hasbro has cancelled [sic] their Transformers Animated Wave 7 Voyager Golfire Grimlock and Hydro Bumblebee figures. ""Animated Wave 7 Voyager Golfire Grimlock and Hydro Bumblebee Cancelled!",bwbm (TFormers staffer)(February 24,2009.)TFormers.com.Retrieved onFebruary 24,2009.[2]
- ↑Comments section of "Back from BotCon" in Derrick Wyatt's blog
- ↑Next TF Cartoon Series: "Transformers Heroes"?
- ↑http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/156331-new-transformers-animated-series-details-revealed-ntfa-mini-con.html
External links
- Transformers animated press release
- Exclusive Transformers Animated Executive Producer Interview
- Exclusive Transformers Animated Director Interview
- Cartoon Network Transformers Animated site
- Hasbro's officialTransformersAnimated homepage
- TakaraTomy's officialTransformersAnimated homepage (site is in Japanese)
