Original Transformers animated show the best version of the characters

[Candlelight]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

The G1 comics and cartoon shaped my childhood. When they started going into G2, Beast Wars etc, I lost interest.

To some degree I like the movies. I like Michael Bay films so I can't complain about that. But the stupid childish humour (I still can't believe the word masterbating made it in) was unnecessary.

 

[NextGen123]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

i was wondering the other day, if Hasbro/Paramount would consider doing an all CGI movie of the Cybertronian Wars...

nothing but a war story on Cybertron with no fleshlings at all. but done in the awesome ILM fxness...

I too was wondering why they bothered to have any actors at all in the movie series. Fans are there to see the Transformers. They could have saved a lot of money if they went the total CGI route like The Incredibles. The universe those characters inhabit are made for animation instead of the dark and moody reality they portray in the Michael Bay movies.

 

[NextGen123]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

i was wondering the other day, if Hasbro/Paramount would consider doing an all CGI movie of the Cybertronian Wars...

nothing but a war story on Cybertron with no fleshlings at all. but done in the awesome ILM fxness...

I too was wondering why they bothered to have any actors at all in the movie series. Fans are there to see the Transformers. They could have saved a lot of money if they went the total CGI route like The Incredibles. The universe those characters inhabit are made for animation instead of the dark and moody reality they portray in the Michael Bay movies.

What I didn't understand about Hasbro; was the fact that some of the shows that followed were never as good as Genertion One. After seeing the quality of some of them; why didn't Hasbro and Marvel combine forces and create another Marvel animated series that actually follows the mythology established in G1?

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

largely because Marvel lost the rights to the comics and never showed any interest in getting them back (afaik)

 

[Jetfire]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

I enjoy Transformers Prime...enjoy it way more than the Bayformers movies.

 

[shivkala]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

I really liked the second Dreamwave mini-series, but the series that followed it lost some of that flair for me. Overall, Dreamwave did put out some decent to really good Transformers comics and I'm of the firm belief that they did a much better job with the plots of Armada and Energon than the tv shows (but, to be fair, I've never been much of a fan of Japanese Animation).

However, Beast Wars is my favorite tv version of the Transformers, it had great characterization, very little in the way of non-TF characters (a few proto-humans and, then, they were only directly involved in one episode), great plots, a strong tie to G1, and a great deal of humor. I still don't know how they got some of the lines through the censors ("Hey! You emasculating fembot!").

 

[Hound of UIster]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

The 2nd DW Mini was good. I really liked how they made Magnus and Prime brothers and their take on the relationship between Gnaw and Wheelie was like a TF version of the Jungle Book. The ongoing had its best moments in its development of Skyfire and Starscream and the introduction of Marissa Fairborne from the cartoon, but it was just too slow.

 

[shivkala]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

I also really liked how they worked in Hot Rod and the development of the Autobots on Cyberton (and also the characterization of Shockwave being more akin to the Marvel G1 than the cartoon). Which was a relief since the first mini-series was not that good (and I'm being kind).

Which is why I disagree with the OP. The characters on the TV show had pretty one-note characterization and Shockwave is a good example of that. He was told to hold Cyberton and that's exactly what he did for millions of years. He was pretty boring. But , in the comics, Shockwave was awesome.

Back when I was big into Transformers (my "Second Golden Age," as I was a fan as a kid), there was a website with some "Top 10" lists that discussed the comic versus the cartoon which said it best, but for the life of me, I can't find it (amazing how many pages back then were on GeoCities!).

 

[Meredith]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aXujOsWJkY[/yt]

 

[DeepSpaceWine]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

Saw the 1st movie (both the 1986 animated one with Orson Welles and the 1st Bey abeymination). I would rather watch the 4 worst episodes of the cartoon (which I guess would be Kremzeek, Carnage in C-Minor, and 2 others), hell, even Kremzeek 4 times in a row, than watch another Michael Bey movie.

The cartoon and the toyline have an amazing appeal, considering even with hindsight and distance, Transformers still has a lot of appeal. GI Joe was bigger in the 80s and still has a strong fanbase/collector base for something 20-30ish years old, but Transformers eclipses it now. And while it had animation errors, look at the 70s in animation. Look up limited animation. People loved He-Man, She-Ra, GI Joe, Transformers, Thundercats because all of a sudden, things were really cool, stylish, and there was actual action. The 70s, save for Scooby-Doo, was the epitome of lame cartoons. Lots of knockoffs of existing tv shows and lame-o series. Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound could make good with limited animation, but not dime a dozen 70s cartoons.


G1, the cartoon & the toyline & comics *are* classic Transformers. Beast Wars has its place (seriously, if people hate Beast Wars on one hand but love the Dinobots & Predacons on the other hand... they're crazy), the rest is just milking the franchise for a heap of profit.


And is FIRRIB/FIBRIR a controversial topic here?

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

FIBRIR!

 

[NextGen123]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

Saw the 1st movie (both the 1986 animated one with Orson Welles and the 1st Bey abeymination). I would rather watch the 4 worst episodes of the cartoon (which I guess would be Kremzeek, Carnage in C-Minor, and 2 others), hell, even Kremzeek 4 times in a row, than watch another Michael Bey movie.

The cartoon and the toyline have an amazing appeal, considering even with hindsight and distance, Transformers still has a lot of appeal. GI Joe was bigger in the 80s and still has a strong fanbase/collector base for something 20-30ish years old, but Transformers eclipses it now. And while it had animation errors, look at the 70s in animation. Look up limited animation. People loved He-Man, She-Ra, GI Joe, Transformers, Thundercats because all of a sudden, things were really cool, stylish, and there was actual action. The 70s, save for Scooby-Doo, was the epitome of lame cartoons. Lots of knockoffs of existing tv shows and lame-o series. Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound could make good with limited animation, but not dime a dozen 70s cartoons.


G1, the cartoon & the toyline & comics *are* classic Transformers. Beast Wars has its place (seriously, if people hate Beast Wars on one hand but love the Dinobots & Predacons on the other hand... they're crazy), the rest is just milking the franchise for a heap of profit.


And is FIRRIB/FIBRIR a controversial topic here?

What I couldn't understand was why Hasbro would lend it's name to some of the sequels that obviously didn't do the Transformers Generation One justice. I hope the new CGI one is in the spirit of Generation One. Is it on the cartoon network or G1?

I have seen samples of some of the other sequels and why didn't Hasbro just set up shop again and make these in the true spirit of G1? When I see some of them they don't even come close. The movies? I saw the first one and wasn't impressed. The second I heard to avoid altogeather, the third I read was much better.

It's hard to believe Hasbro couldn't pick up where G1 left off.

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

they did. it was called "Generation 2" funnily enough...

 

[shivkala]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

And why would they pick up right where it left-off? To appease fans of the original, which, arguably are all in their 30's? Transformers has and will always exist to make toys, which are primarily marketed towards children. The comics, being a bit more of a niche market, has the ability to appeal to the older fans, which is why we've seen "Generation 1" comic books (like the Dreamwave comics I talked about earlier and the IDW ones being published now). However, since Marvel holds the license to the older stuff, until/unless that changes (as was indicated might be happening now) you won't see a continuation of the comic.

As for the show, Hasbro has no incentive to simply pick up where the cartoon left off, over 20 years ago. Better to start fresh and attract a new audience, while throwing in some "fan-wank" to appease the older TF fans.

To paraphrase Captain Calhoun's signature: "G1 is not coming back to TV. Deal with it."

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

no, that should be "G1 is not coming back the way it was. deal with it"

even the stuff Dreamwave and IDW did isn't really G1. All Hail Megatron and it's follow ons for example is not the same as the old Marvel comics.

 

[Meredith]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq1_6D9QS9Y[/yt]
Warning mature Language

 

[That Weirdo In The Corner]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

the Marvel UK comics are the best Transformers fiction.

Got to agree. The UK got the best deal all the stories from the US comic and additional stories from the excellent Marvel UK, giving more development of characters and greater depth of Transformers history.

 

[jgalley]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

I agree with they are the best "looking"

I loved that as a kid...tried getting into the more recent versions at varying times over the years and never could.

never cared for any of the iterations of them past G1...I'm not saying the animation or even stories weren't better..just the characters and their look themselves.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

This last movie was MUCH better than the first two, but there are still problems - problems I could get past a lot easier if the characters could at least sound like themselves. Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, maybe even Shockwave - and for the love of Primus, fix Bumblebee's voice and get Casey Kasem in a recording booth.

The only other major problem I have is the way they appear to be handling the gestalts. Devastator was just plain stupid looking.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Re: Original Transformers animated show the best version of the charac

Bayformers doesn't work for me. The original movie... no studio would advertise that for children now. And Hasbro took no prisoners!