ANIMATED SHORTS: TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED

[MattBrady]

THE GATHERING T-FAN STORM…
ANOTHER VERSION OF THE TRANSFORMERS DEBUTS DECEMBER 26 ON CN

by Steve Fritz

Among animation fans, probably some of the most rabid and unforgiving are Transformer fans.

When Beast Wars/Beast Machines came out, a number of the “G1” fans immediately shouted heresy, absolutely refusing to like it because it simply involved a new cast of Autobots, different powers and just about everything else. It didn’t matter that Mainframe Entertainment, the wonderful folks who had previously given us Reboot, were doing the Maximals and Predicons under direct orders from Hasbro, who hold the master license. It also didn’t matter that those episodes contained some of the best writing and animation the franchise ever had. G1 fans would below in disgust and sneer in contempt while the series moved along for five years, the first three in syndication, the last two on Fox Kids.

What’s funny is what happened next. When the next version of Transformers appeared, the Beasties fans joined the G1 crew in their contempt. It continues this year, with the live action, Michael Bay-directed feature film.

Seriously, wars have been fought with less passion and vigor than what Transformer fans exhibit in the defense of their favorite incarnations of the robots in disguise.

So, you think Marty Isenberg isn’t getting ready for this? Actually, as the former Story Editor of Beast Machines he’s more than aware of what’s to come.

“T-fans are clearly very passionate. I found that out the hard way,” says the current story editor of Transformers: Animated, which makes its debut on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, December 26 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. “While I don’t think we’ll make them all happy, I’m encouraged by the early largely positive response to the various clips that have gotten out there. I fully expect the inevitable backlash to come as the series progresses. While I’m happy when fans like my work, ultimately it’s
more important what kids 6-11 think of it.”

Produced by Sam Register, the former CN exec who helped create shows such as Teen Titans and Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi and, most recently, Ben 10: Race Against Time, the show bears many of Register’s trademarks. The animation mixes anime and domestic animation techniques quite familiar to Teen Titans fans.

“Well, Sam is our executive producer and handpicked me, Matt (Youngberg, Supervising Director) and Derrick (Wyatt, Art Director) to run the show, so on some level it’s going to reflect his taste,” Isenberg responded. “The character design is pretty much Derrick’s department and I think it’s fantastic! Derrick’s designs are what sold me on doing the show. The faces are expressive, you can tell who’s who, merely by the silhouettes, and most importantly, they’re fun!”

Then there’s the story. In T:A, Optimus Prime (voiced by David Kaye) isn’t the ultimate Autobot we first met back in 1984. He’s actually a lot younger, greener and leading a repair team that includes Bumblebee (Bumper Robinson), Prowl (Jeff Glen Bennett), Ratchet (Cory Burton) and Bulkhead (Bill Fagerbakke). The leaders of the Autobots are named Ultra Magnus (Bennett) and Sentinel Prime (Townsend Coleman) and he’s busy ruling on a Decepticon-free Cyberton.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Decepticon’s are anything but gone. This time they were just defeated in the “Great War.”

Just when Prime and crew discover the hiding place of the AllSpark; Megatron (Burton), Starscream (Tom Kenny) and a war cruiser of bad ‘bots appear. Thanks to some of the expected inept sabotage of Starscream, everyone ends up going in three directions. Megatron and the Autobots go through a gate and crash land on Earth; Megatron on a farm where a young boy named Sumdac (Kenny) finds his wrecked parts, the Autobots on the bottom of Lake Erie, just outside of Detroit. Starscream and the war cruiser find themselves falling into a local sun. The rest of the Decepticons, among them a certain Black Arachnia (Cree Summer) leave their self-declared new leader for points unknown in escape pods.

A half-century later Sumdac has rebuilt Detroit into the robot manufacturing capital of the world. It shouldn’t take much to figure out how the now mustachioed, befuddled inventor had become the “Bill Gates of robotics.” Heck, he keeps Megatron’s giant head in a secret room. This now introduces us to one last key character, Sari (the apparently tireless Tara Strong), Sumdac’s daughter and soon-to-be, well, you know…

As one might guess, Isenberg took some liberties with the series. Anyone who’s followed the tales of the Prime and pals will see bits and pieces from just about every other series and movie referenced in this pilot.

“Some of this was already part of the development that I was handed before I started on the series,” he explains. “The live action movie references were largely coincidence, since I never saw a script or knew anything about the movie until I saw it a week before it opened. The only thing that I knew for sure about the movie was that the AllSpark was going to be really important. Some of it was merely taking things that work well, story-wise, that have worked well in previous incarnations of Transformers. Having a small crew allows us to focus on individual characters and develop them and let the audience really get to know them. Of course, we like to throw in lots of nods to G1 for the fans, but mostly for ourselves.”

Not that Isenberg didn’t make some changes.

“Bumblebee was originally Hotshot in the development,” he admits, but we were told that Bumblebee was going to be a breakout character in the live action movie, so we happily swapped that one out. Ratchet was originally Red Alert, and believe it or not, was female! Bulkhead at one point was going to be the crusty veteran, but we shifted his role when we changed Red Alert to Ratchet.”

The biggest difference among the robots though is Optimus, who as noted is voiced by David Kaye. Those with memories might remember an interesting fact, too. Kaye voiced Megatron in past shows.

“Prime was the hardest voice to cast,” says Isenberg. “We kept describing him as more Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan than John Wayne, but nobody was quite bringing the heroic quality the character needed as well. Our art director Derrick Wyatt had suggested bringing David in to audition for Megatron, since we heard that he was working in LA as well as Vancouver nowadays. Every audition tape has an introduction by the actor in their natural voice. Something about David’s core voice sounded right for Optimus, so when he came in for his Megatron callback and we still hadn’t found our Optimus, I suggested having David read for the part. Initially, some people thought his voice sounded too deep and old for the character, so we had him pitch it up a bit to sound younger, but we gradually worked him back to his regular voice. It took him by surprise, but as soon as we heard it we knew: ‘That’s our Prime!’”

The other major change is Prowl. He’s not the character or yore.

“Prowl is our Ninja-bot,” says Isenberg. “He’s a bit mysterious, very precise, and really understated cool, kinda like if Mr. Spock was a butt-kicking Ninja. He has a deep fascination with and respect for Earth’s organic life and not a lot of patience for some of the other Autobots, namely Bulkhead and
Bumblebee. Other than the name, there’s not a lot of connection with the G1 Prowl.”

And don’t knock Sari out of the loop. She’s integral to the entire series, due in part to the AllSpark. When we first meet her she runs around with a toy robotic dog and an electronic security key that lets her into any part of her father’s factory. When she meets the AllSpark, the machine turns the key into The Key, making it almost a deux ex machina for saving robotic lives and doing all kinds of other, well, neat things to move the plot along.

“The Key has its limits, and Sari is definitely going to test them,” says Isenberg. “But don’t forget, this thing is powered by the AllSpark, so it’s pretty darn powerful, and potentially useful to a certain Decepticon leader.”

As for what I think of the show? Based on the pilot movie and first true episode, I liked what I saw. Fans of Isenberg’s work should remember the man can put together intricate and well-conceived story arcs. Yes, I don’t truly cotton to Wyatt’s character design, it’s too round and loose for me, but it doesn’t offend me either. The voice cast is truly up to the job though, and I can’t wait to see what characters are introduced as the show moves through its first 26 episodes.

So let the old timers wail, drape themselves in ash and sackcloth. This Transformers, as Isenberg noted, is not for them. And I get the feeling it will do quite well with its own generation of fans.

KAPPA MIKEY ON iTunes

The first season of Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Networks' series Kappa Mikey is now available for purchase and download on iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com). Fans can access 26 full-length episodes.

Created by Larry Schwarz, CEO of Animation Collective (www.animationcollective.com), Kappa Mikey follows the adventures of an unknown American actor Mikey Simon who stars on LilyMu, a fictional Japanese TV series. The show combines American and Japanese animation styles and contains many pop-culture references and jokes for kids and adults alike. Mikey, drawn in thick-lined Pop Graphic style, is the only character on the show not depicted in animé.

It premiered on Nicktoons Network (www.nicktoonsnetwork.com) in February 2006 and currently airs Sundays at 10:00 p.m. and weekdays at 8:30 p.m. (ET). Nicktoons Network's first TV movie Kappa Mikey's "The Karaoke Episode" will premier Saturday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET.

EYESHIELD 21 COMING TO TOONAMI JETSTREAM

VIZ Media, announced the launch of Eyeshield 21 animated series on Toonami Jetstream. The first episode debuts on December 17th and will be available at http://ToonamiJetstream.com.

Eyeshield 21 was adapted from the popular manga graphic novel series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yasuke Murata. The story is about teenager, Sena Kobayakawa, who has been picked on all of his life and decides to join the high school varsity football team as a team manager in hopes of reinventing himself. Then the cruel team captain Yoichi Hiruma discovers Sena's lightning-fast running ability and forces him to play as a running back with a secret identity as “Eyeshield 21.” From that point on, Sena’s life changes completely.

“Eyeshield 21 is an action-packed drama with a positive message, teaching the importance of teamwork, overcoming obstacles and having goals,” says Daniel Marks, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “The additional of the series to the diverse offerings on Toonami Jetstream exemplifies our commitment to bring the best action and adventure series to the Toonami audience.”

“We are very pleased to expand our offerings on Toonami Jetstream with the addition of Eyeshield 21,” says Paul Condolora, senior VP and general manager, Cartoon Network New Media. “Eyeshiled 21 puts an interesting twist on this American sport and we look forward to fans of all stripes checking out this captivating series.”

BANDAI TO BRING GIRL WHO WALKED THROUGH TIME TO US THEATERS

Bandai Entertainment Inc. and Kadokawa Pictures USA announced it will be release the anime feature film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in North America in 2008.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (also known as TokiKake) was directed by Mamoru Hosoda (The One Piece movie) with original character designs by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and features animation from Studio Madhouse. A continuation of the novel The Little Girl Who Conquered Time by Tsutsui Yasutaka (Paprika, the film centers on a high school girl, Makoto, who gains the power to go backward in time after a near-death accident at a train crossing.

Since its release, the film has received great critical accolades and international awards including the Best Animated Film at the 39th Sitges International Film Festival, Animation Grand Award at the 61st Mainichi Film Awards, and many others
.
Bandai Entertainment Inc. and Kadokawa Pictures USA will present a limited theatrical run starting in Summer 2008 with DVD release to follow.

“The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an exceptional anime feature with a very moving story that we feel has great mass appeal for the U.S. audience,” said Bandai Entertainment Inc. President Ken Iyadomi. Details on the limited theatrical run and DVD release will be forthcoming in the near future.

For more information visit: www.bandai-ent.com

NEXT COLUMN: April Stewart. Promise.

[Godfather]

The line to whine about the animation style begins here:

[bluestar]

Originally Posted by Godfather

The line to whine about the animation style begins here:

My thoughts exactly!

[AbacusComics]

I like it.

[DarkSpeedy]

Hey, I'm in that line. I guess people (ie fans) just figure, if you are going to go through all the trouble to produce this, do it right.

[Zach Adams]

I'm very much looking forward to this. In the short clip that was up on the CN website (wherein Megatron attacks Prime's ship), I wasn't crazy about the art style but thought the writing was fun and interesting. It could be Beast Wars interesting, it could be less-than-that, but it looks like it's already going to be deeper and more interesting than the previous few iterations.

That said, I'm a really atypical TF fan in that I don't "get" the psychotic devotion to an imagined "spirit of the franchise" which usually boils down to "the emotional investment I made in the G1 cartoon." Hell, the original characters had drastically different personalities between the comics and cartoons based on what was 'appropriate' for the medium.

[M. Bloom]

As a card-carrying member of the Transformers fandom since 1985, I've always found it rather ironic how fans of a franchise based around things transforming are so resistant to change. I grew up with the original cartoon, I loved Beast Wars and the new movie, and I'm looking forward to the new cartoons take on the characters.

[TF_Loki]

I got no problem with changing the back story or the personalities or anything...

...but god, the designs look cack.

Still, like the guy said, I ain't the target audience. Go get 'em, tiger.

[Doc Nero]

Looks like they are going for a Ben 10 style of animation.

Sorry I don't like it.

It works for Ben 10, but not for Transformers.

[Clem]

Can't kids just watch the badass version we had when we were young? They have to go reinventing something that doesn't need it? This recycling of ideas just goes to show how creatively bankrupt we are today.

[Eldar]

Get your pitchforks and torches here. Buy one get one free. Don't forget to make the connection between Isenberg and Dan Didio.

[Eldar]

Originally Posted by Clem

Can't kids just watch the badass version we had when we were young? They have to go reinventing something that doesn't need it? This recycling of ideas just goes to show how creatively bankrupt we are today.

Let me guess, you think the last 20 years of Transformers story telling has been a dark age right?

[Zechs]

I can't wait for this. I'm actually enjoying what I've seen so far. Though it still is gonna take a bit to deal with David Kaye not being Megatron but Corey Burton is a fine replacement. So here's for the best hopes.

[Ragnarokker]

I went to a screening of the first episode/movie/thing and I have to say that it is better than the Michael Bay movie. It is a little different from the G1 Transformers of course but I find it superior to "Armada" and "Cybertron"

The action is well choreographed and the writers/directors did something that the old transformers could never do and that was make the Deceptacons a credible threat. Plus, throw in some other threats that go beyond the standard weekly intergalactic gang war and it makes for a good show that is better than a lot of cartoons on right now.

Originally posted by Clem:Can't kids just watch the badass version we had when we were young? They have to go reinventing something that doesn't need it? This recycling of ideas just goes to show how creatively bankrupt we are today.

I'm sorry but your memories of the original show are slightly skewed. Badass is not the adjective I'd use to describe "G1" Transformers. Need refreshers?





And how about the dance scene on the junk planet with Eric Idle-bot and Rodimus Prime to Weird Al' "Dare to be Stupid" in Transformers: The Movie?

It was good. But it wasn't as great as you remember.

And I'm not saying that this show is better than G1. But, I am saying that it is worth watching. And it is better than the movie from this summer.

[Evilomar]

Originally Posted by Clem

Can't kids just watch the badass version we had when we were young? They have to go reinventing something that doesn't need it? This recycling of ideas just goes to show how creatively bankrupt we are today.

Hellz yeah! Let's show those kids those fantastic episodes like Autobot Spike, Changing Gears, Auto Bop and BOT!

I'm as old school as it comes with Transformers, hell I've interviewed Peter Cullen on my site twice, but man there comes a time for change and updates.

The designs remind me of Scottie Young's work with some Jeff Matsuda and Teen Titans animeted.

[dorknerdgeek]

I grew up on the original series and loved Beast Wars, but I've been burned on "new" incarnations more than a few times since then.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Anime crap.
Transformers: Armada - Anime crap Lite.
Transformers: Energon - Anime crap Liter.
Transformers: Cybertron - So very, very bad.
The new Transformers movie: An hour-and-a-half of crap for a pretty good payoff, but the Three Transforming Stooges segment with the Autobots stumbling around the back yard was heinous.

I'll watch this, but I'm going in very guarded.

[Cheech-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Clem

Can't kids just watch the badass version we had when we were young? They have to go reinventing something that doesn't need it? This recycling of ideas just goes to show how creatively bankrupt we are today.

I loved G1 as a kid. And I just watched the entire G1 continuity from the original Transformers series through Beast Machines about 2 months ago. Let me say that now, as an adult, the original G1 show has got some downright unwatchable episodes in it and is pretty damned goofy at times. Kids today would likely be unreceptive to it. It appeaks to me from a nostalgic standpoint, but I'm sure the new show will be leaps and bounds beyond anything we've ever seen in terms of storytelling much how Beast Wars blew anything prior to that out of the water.

[Switch625]

While I won't comment on the designs, I will say that I've enjoyed the tone of the clips I've seen. I can forgive the awful animation if the story's good. We'll see.

[David Willis]

This will be the best Transformers ever.

[Cheech-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Evilomar

Hellz yeah! Let's show those kids those fantastic episodes like Autobot Spike, Changing Gears, Auto Bop and BOT!

Exactly my point.

[magnificent8]

Man, its great to have some version of the transformers on tv right now. I've seen more than my share of the series and I can i've loved em all (not equally, Beast Wars and G1 always take the cake) but i cant wait to see whats different and unique about this series.

[Clem]

Originally Posted by Eldar

Let me guess, you think the last 20 years of Transformers story telling has been a dark age right?

Can't say i've given it much thought.

The movie was terrible though. You'd think you were watching Superbad the amount of time Shia spent pining for Megan Fox. And what was with all those Pentagon scenes with characters who barely even factored into the story. Could have done with more actual Transformers.

[WiiGii]

AVOID AVOID AVOID!

This series is by the guy who made Beast Mistakes, where Transformers were originally organic and being purely robotic was "a sin." Optimus was a mongrel and it paid ZERO respect to G1.

The only good thing to come from Hasbro since G1 was the Michael Bay movie. It had the heart and soul of the original series and it had Peter Cullen. Nothing else compares.
Beast Wars = crap. Armada = crap. Cybertron = crap. This = crap.

Hasbro has a Classics and Alternators line. Support those. Support real TFers. Don't support faux-anime kiddie crap like this.

Bring back the REAL Transformers for REAL Transformers fans!

[WiiGii]

Originally Posted by Clem

Can't kids just watch the badass version we had when we were young? They have to go reinventing something that doesn't need it? This recycling of ideas just goes to show how creatively bankrupt we are today.

Agreed!

They should just re-air the original series since all the crap since 1987 is so creatively bankrupt and bland. No mongrels, Hasbro! No kiddie anime!

[MatthewSmith]

I'm very excited. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far and I'm anxiously awaiting the new direction.

And I hope the toys are cool too.