Well Hasbro Australia must have been watching because they were kind enough to send Orion and I a surprise gift for our continuing support of the brand! Check out the video below:
Massive thanks to Hasbro Australia for their generosity! Our Bumblebee, signed by Keegan Michael-Key, will sit MISB in pride of place in The Transformatorium for many years to come!
And thus the great cataloguing of my collection continues.
Generations is now used as a general umberella term for the majority of Transformers toylines that aren’t specifically based on a movie or cartoon, despite those toylines having their own names such as Power of the Primesor Legacy. However back in 2010 & 2011 the term first originated with its own Generations toyline. The toyline continued what many lines by this stage, such as Classics and Universe had done before, give fans new takes on classic characters, primarily from G1. It’s international offshoot GDO, had more characters based on G1, however for some reused moulds from the Movieverse line. Generations also introduced action figures based directly on the video game War for Cybertron.
In 2013 & 2014 it received it’s sequel toyline, Generations: Fall of Cybertron. This line consisted exclusively of figures based around the Fall of Cybertron video game, including many characters who did not appear in game but were designed in a similar style. FOC was supposed to fall into the ‘Aligned’ continuity, but given how G1 the characters were, most consider it much more of the G1 universe than that of Prime.
My Transformers Generations Collection
Transformers Generations Autobots
*Item #GENA001: Transformers Generations Autobot Red Alert
I was recently approachedby ABC Radio National and asked if I would be a guest on the show Life Matters, hosted by Jacinta Parsons. They were doing a story on Kidults – adults who still enjoy the passions they had as a child. They were familiar with the extent of my Transformers Collection and the Transformatorium from my appearance earlier this year on Channel 10’s The Project and thought I would be perfect for their show.
The other guest on the show was to be Dr Katriina Heljakka, a researcher in the toyification of culture, toy design and the hybrid and transgenerational dimensions of ludic practices.
Despite being on the radio weekly on The Big DJ Trev Show, I was a little nervous about going on National Radio live on air across the country, especially since I was battling a headcold and didn’t want to sound sick. However my family assures me I did ok 😉
Click on the link or the image below to visit the ABC Radio National Website to listen and enjoy!
Hope you enjoyed my latest interview about my collecting. Are you an adult who collects something from childhood? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
Since my son and I bond every Sunday afternoon over our shared love of Transformers, I’m always on the lookout for activities for my daughter and I to share.
Recently my daughter discussed how she would love a canopy bed like she had seen in various TV shows. Looking online, I could find nothing that would really suit her particular bed and bedroom set up.
So the thought occurred – lets make one together!
This design is super easy and pretty cheap to do. Even with all the materials it came to well under $100 (aud), purchasing most at Bunnings and the rest online and at a local Habberdasher. But the best part was it was something for us to do together.
The height, width & length can all be adjusted according to the size bed your canopy frame is y to go over. And if you wish to go basic you can certainly make do with 4 upright pipes, two for length and two for width. To add a little extra structural stability for the one my daughter and I made, I actually did 3 widths, cut the two lengths in half, thus making 4, and added a ribbon lengthways as well.
Who needs 3D computer modelling when one has a pencil & paper?
Because it’s so simple to make, and the materials are relatively inexpensive, you can really chop and change how you see fit.
For our design to cover a child’s tall single bed we did the following:
Materials
6 x 20mm PVC 3 Meter Pressure Pipes
2 x 20mm PVC Plain Tee
4 x 20mm EzyFit 3 Way PVC Joint
4x 20mm PVC End Caps
2 x Spray Paint Cans
1 x Canopy Cover
Method
1. Cut the piping into the following:
7 lengths of 1.05 Meters
4 lengths of 1.95 Meters
2. Spray paint the piping in the colour of your choice
(my daughter chose gloss pink)
3. Attach the End Caps to one end of the 1.95m lengths, attach the 3 Way Joints to the other end.
4. Attach two of the 1.05m lengths end to end with a Plain Tee. Do this again with two more.
5. With a helper, stand up the 1.95m lengths at each corner of the bed. Use the 1.05m pieces to span the width at the head and foot of the bed by inserting into the 3 Way Joints. Use the already joined other 1.05m lengths to span the width and insert into the Joints. Use the remaining 1.05m piece to connect the two Plain Tee’s across the middle of the bed.
6. Use 3m ribbon to tie from the centre of the bed foot frame to the centre of the head frame, wrapping around the middle pipe as you do.
7. Put canopy cover on top and drape over your frame.
And that’s it! Really simple and easy to do and a fun father-daughter activity to help fill in a weekend.
It’s time for another Transformer Fan Interview, and once again this one comes from overseas, the good ol’ US of A. Bobby has some of the most awesome looking Transformers displays I have seen, and he’s sharing photos of it, as well sharing the history of his hobby, with us today.
Name and/or nicknames:
Hi everyone, my name is Bobby and I’m a Transformers addict
***waits for the applause to stop at the TFs Anonymous meeting***
I’m Bobby Allen on Facebook and Turbine027 on TFW2005.com … those are the main places I interact with other nerds 🙂
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Family?
Married, 2 dogs, and some awesome nephews! Took them both to see the new Transformers One movie the other day! Recently, one of them has been showing particular interest in Transformers and has been asking lots of questions every time he comes over… He was quizzing me to see if I “actually” had every vintage figure! Maybe if he learns all their names he can be put in the will!
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Career?
High school mathematics teacher.
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Website/Fan-pages?
I’m really active on TFW2005 and I’m an admin for the Facebook group “Transformers Displays.” Back in the early days of the internet I had a website called “Make Your Own Transformers” … as a kid I had no budget for toys so I used to make Transformers out of paper… and not just drawing them on a sheet and cutting them out, like full on (designed in MS Paint) pieces that were folded and strategically put together so that they could transform! Based on how young I was, they objectively started out pretty awful… but over time I got really good and would have people emailing me their requests. I remember staring at the catalogs for hours and admiring figures I didn’t own and trying to figure out how they would have transformed so I could design them.
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How would you rate yourself on a C scale, C10 being MISB Mint perfection, to the lowest C1 ‘junker not worth it even for parts’?
Compared to /most/ other collectors I see out in the wild? Lol I don’t think people would automatically assume I live in a basement and collect toys or anything haha so I’d say maybe a C7.5 All my parts are there, a few joints are a little loose or stiff, and I’ve had some of my stickers replaced with Reprolabels! Thankfully no GPS!
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Fan/Collector since (year)?
My very first toys (the Technobots) were gifted to me back in November of 1988 and I haven’t stopped since! In fact, I recently built a shadowbox to showcase the ones that started it all and commissioned Dan Khanna to create a HUGE piece featuring the Technobots for over the couch in my display room.
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Transformers Allegiance, if you had one?
I feel like the Decepticons are cooler overall, but I think I would have been an Autobot.
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Your Techspec motto if you had one?
“YAAAAAAAS” or anything else with a gay undertone that could be shouted while playing loud music with the convertible top down.
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What existing, official Transformers character best describes you?
Probably Tracks or Sunstreaker. A cool sporty car that’s a little obsessed with being pretty sounds about right 😉
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Which special ability of any Transformers character would you want to have for yourself?
Hmmm, can’t say that I’ve ever thought about this … The ability to fly seems pretty cool but honestly I’d have to say the ability to combine! Maybe that’s something subconscious from my very first figure being Computron, but either way I imagine being bullied by a bigger robot then all of a sudden “my friends show up” lol
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What drew you to Transformers, making you become a fan/collector?
I was born in 1984, so I grew up mostly with G2 and Beast Wars, living my G1 dreams through 1987-90 catalogs and syndicated reruns. I’ve always been a huge fan of puzzles, everything from jigsaw to Rubik’s cubes, so my affinity for Transformers has always stemmed from the engineering and transformations. I think that’s why they survived all my other interests (GI Joe, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, girls … wait, what?).
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Do you think you will collect Transformers until you die?
At this point I’ve got a very specific vision for when I’ll consider my collection “done” but I think I’ll always be present in the community. I’m a vintage collector at heart, and I display MPs and 3PMPs side by side the vintage toys, so there’s only so many more I need to be considered finished. I’m a few accessories away from a complete vintage collection (I won’t lie though, many figures are reissues and a few of them are actually customs (like my Artfire) or high quality KOs (the 6 headmaster heads, the dino cassettes etc) and I don’t plan on swapping them out). So “complete” is kinda relative here… but complete for me!
As far as MPs, I’m looking for the rest of the Head/Targetmasters and main combiners to be made so I still have several more years to go! When I did my room overhaul last year, I made sure to plan and create space for all the future MP figures I want to exist, so it’s both cool and frustrating to see the obvious gaps on the shelves. It does help me stay focused and not just buy stuff to buy it and it helps my husband and friends who see the room understand my end game. Being asked “are you done” is pretty common when someone comes over and being able to point to the obvious gaps helps them see what’s missing!
During “The Great Purge of November 2023” I completely redesigned my room layout from scratch and forced myself to admit that I would never be able to properly display all the lines I had collected over the years. I streamlined my focus to G1 Vintage and MPs, but I still wanted to honor my personal journey with the other lines I used to collect. I sold my entire CHUG collection, all my Alternators, and paired down everything from the Beast Era, AEC, Animated, Prime, 2007 movie, etc down to about 5-6 figures per faction.
I found that being able to display a curated sample of the lines gave me enough nostalgia to work with. I don’t regret buying all the figures originally… even though they’re sold now for a loss (mostly) I certainly enjoyed the ride. I remember the watch parties for new episodes and all the discussions surrounding the figure reveals so seeing a mini display still brings back those memories and for me that makes it all worth it!
So will I be collecting new toy lines until I die? Probably not, but I’m gonna finish out my personal goal and then admire from the sidelines!
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Do people outside of the hobby know you collect TFs (like at work/school)?
I feel like everyone knows hahaha My students and coworkers know, and every friend (online or in person) has seen photos or physically visited the space at some point. It also means that every time a TF meme makes the rounds in the “regular part of the internet” that I get tagged in it by people lol
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Were your family/parents supportive of collecting toys or did you have to hide your passion from them and friends?
Always supportive. Even as a kid I was obsessed with G1 figures that were clearly long out of print. My parents would help me hunt down figures for my birthdays, xmas etc. I remember when eBay first started and you could search “Transformers” and find 253 results. The forums were predated by alt.toys.transformers newsgroups that you had to access through your email. I was too young to buy/sell at that time with “mysterious strangers on the internet” but I remember finding websites like Snarl’s Homepage (Todd) and Robozone (Gerry Bunker) to give my parents places to shop!
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What does your partner think of your hobby?
My husband will also always ask me for a preorder link for the holidays so he can support my addiction haha He’s not specifically into Transformers the way I am, but he does appreciate the way I have curated my display over the years and how passionate I am toward the hobby. He’s also super into cars so for a brief while there we had a shared interest in the Binaltech/Alternators line! The great compromise when we built our home was that I got the windowless media room for my display and he got to take over the garage as his chill spot.
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Have you attended any fan-meets, Fairs, Conventions, Special Events?
Not as often as you would think for someone as active in the collecting world as I am and with a collection my size… but I’ve been to a few. I remember going to OTFCC the first year the name changed. It was the very first time being in a place specifically for Transformers and I remember being in total awe of the dealer room area. This January I went to a Fans Expo convention and splurged on a private Meet and Greet with both Peter Cullen and Frank Welker! We each got about 5 minutes alone with them (and their handlers) to just talk, ask questions etc. I was able to briefly show them my display, get a few autographs, photos … and then they each did a voice recording for me as Prime and Megatron. It was truly an amazing experience and the items I got signed will be cherished forever!
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Any creative endeavours with Transformers (drawing, writing, customising, etc)?
I would say the Make Your Own Transformers website was my main creative outlet as a teenager, but I’ve done a few customs like my Artfire over the years. Most I’ve slowly replaced with vintage pieces though.
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Favourite series/era/year, and why?
Gosh, that has to be vintage… it’s the one thing that always feels special to me. Even the parts of the line that don’t get a lot of love like the Pretenders, Action Masters, etc all have a certain charm to them. I have to say that the catalogs from G1 have the biggest nostalgic pull for me, and it’s the reason I display the way that I do… There’s just something about seeing the best representation of the robot form I fell in love with from the cartoon (MP) side by side with the alt mode (vintage) that just reminds me of those old catalogs and it makes my inner child smile!
Even though I don’t collect modern lines (by my own restrictions) there is still a lot of cool stuff out there for fans! I love the Studio Series 86 line even if I don’t own many and I will say I’ve been breaking my own rules with Missing Link 🙂
I gave Prime and Megatron their own specific G1 shelves so it’s also been a place for me to dabble in Blokees, Legends scale, etc!
Up until very recently, no not really. I had a few random Marvel TF comics that I came across at a young age… As far as modern comics I always felt like I became aware of them too far in and I was too lazy to go back and try to catch up. I always enjoy the discussions that go along with new episodes and new issues, so when SkyBound started the Energon Universe I finally jumped at the chance to actually follow along from issue #1. I’ve fallen in love with the series and even made little setups to represent the first 6 titles.
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Favourite Comic issue/story, and why?
Can’t say that I have an absolute favorite yet. I feel like I would just pick something cliché… I did very much enjoy the end of the first arc of the Energon Universe when Prime starts kicking butt with the whole “You Know The Song” in the background!
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Favourite Cartoon episode/story, and why?
I always enjoyed the episodes that dove into the origins of the characters like War Dawn and the flashbacks in Five Faces of Darkness.
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Favourite Character, and why?
As a kid, I was OBSESSED with Hot Rodlol Such a cool car mode and the main character in that VHS movie I kept renting! So when asked, that’s still probably my instinctual “go to.” Soundwave is also a personal favorite.
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Sexiest Transformers (robot) Character?
I can’t say that I’ve ever actually thought about this… but I guess I’ll say Springer lol But if he and Hotrod want to fight over me, I’ll be glad to marry one and see the other on the side!
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Which Transformers character would you want to exist for real?
If it was like a personal best friend and side kick, then Hot Rod all the way! Sexy ride and seemed to enjoy hanging out with humans.
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Approx TFs toy collection count (or give a range like 200s, 300s, 2000s etc):
After MASSIVELY downsizing last year during the room refresh, I still have over 1,000 but I want to say I sold off 600 or so to make the display exactly how I wanted… Part of it was admitting that I would never have the space to properly showcase them all so I went with a “less is more” approach if you can call 1000+ toys “less” lol
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Sealed collector or out-of-packaging collector?
Out of box for sure! If I were to ever run into a vintage figure, I wouldn’t open it… but I collected loose complete since the boxes had no value for me. I am often impressed with vintage boxed collections but modern stuff… meh … recycle that! I think Transformers are one of the few collectables where having access to fiddling with them makes the most sense. I do have sealed reissue Megatron and Optimus Prime figures but that’s just because I go a little more crazy with those two! I personally do not collect as an investment and I’d rather give it all away when I’m older.
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How much do you think you’ve spent on your collecting habit?
We do NOT ask this question lol
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Any rare/expensive figures in your collection?
Probably all my vintage Japanese G1. Things like Grandus, Battle Gaia,Grand Maximus etc would be considered grails for a lot of vintage collectors. Haslab Unicron is probably one of the most impressive pieces just for its sheer size! I love having him as a centerpiece in the room and having a little Skywarp is Cyclonus controversy front and center makes me happy!
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What interesting Licensed Merchandise items do you have?
I mostly just collect figures, but I did grab the Prime and Megatron helmets to be signed and think that those make really cool display pieces.
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First Transformers toy?
The Technobots.
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One toy you most want?
Unicron Prototype (come on Missing Link, I’m counting on you!).
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The centrepiece/favourite toy in your collection at the moment (and why)?
Favorite toy is hard to say, but I’ve always been a huge fan of Powermaster Optimus Prime! The 2 visual centerpieces of the room though are the Unicron coffee table and Skybound Comics display over the couch.
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Favourite toy in your early years of collecting?
Astrotrain! I picked up a junker at a garage sale and always thought it was so cool to show off. “Look at this robot… you can clearly tell he turns into a space shuttle ChhhChrrrgChrrrChrrrChhh … which he does! But then ChhhChrrrgChrrrChrrrChhh … this train just comes out of nowhere!”
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Worst toy(s) ever in your opinion?
God, it has to be one of the firecons lol.
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Toy(s) that were most disappointing when you got them?
Probably all the foreign recolors of the firecons lol I already hated them, but then I had to spend like $100 a pop to finish the collection just to have the same terrible toys in green, red, and translucent haha.
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Thoughts on gimmick and non-convertible Transformers toys?
I thoroughly enjoyed the various “Master” gimmicks. Generally, I don’t think toys “need” them but when the play pattern feels intuitive then it works great! I mostly stay away from non-transforming figures, even when I hardly transform my MPs as it is … I still need to know that they CAN transform lol. But clearly I own a bunch of Action Masters and I did pick up the Yolopark G1 Prime and Megatron to add to my Skybound Display.
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Which single TFs toy should every fan own?
Vintage G1 Optimus mold… it can be a reissue or the amazing Missing Link figure… but I think everyone should own one!
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Which Transformers toy/product would you give as a wedding present?
Unless someone was a super fan, I don’t know why that would happen lol. However, as a kid my sister used to steal my G2 Beachcomber and hide it in her room. So at one point as an adult I found a MOSC G2 Beachcomber and bought it as part of her Christmas gift that year!
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Do you collect other toys?
Not really… but I did get into vintage Joes while curating the Skybound displays and it was fun messing with a franchise I had never collected before. It was also really interesting to experience how media (comics in this case) give figures life. Until this year I couldn’t tell you anything about a single Joe figure outside of Cobra Commander and now I’ve started wanting to add new characters as they show up in each series!
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What is your favourite TF themed post on this website?
Well now, I can’t lie! I found this website through interactions over at Transformers Displays and following your own interviewsand video showcases! But it seems like as a good a time as ever to dive into all the content! I also always enjoyed reading the Collector Interviews that Maz used to do, so going back and reading some of the other interviews here has been fun. Especially when I recognize a name!
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Thanks so much to Bobby for his in depth and thoughtful answers to our questions, and the photos are simply amazing! You can also see his collection in the following video:
Do you have any more questions for Bobby about his collection? Then pop them in the comments section below!
And thus the great cataloging of my collection continues.
The Transformers 2010 toyline is primarily made up of two sublines. The first of these was Hunt for the Decepticons, which was heavily infulenced by the Movieverse lines and indeed contained quite a few redeco’s of figures from the Revenge of the Fallen toyline. Reveal the Shield was its successor, harking back to the Classics line with new versions of classic G1 characters – even bringing back the beloved rubsigns!
Neither of these two sublines of Transformers 2010 were ever specifically classified as belonging to either the Movieverse or the Generations line, so fans were free to decide whether the individual characters belonged in one universe or the other. So if you think that HFTD Seaspray is a bitchin’ update to the G1 figure rather than an alternate Movieverse incarnation then you roll with it!
However my collections leap to the small screen has now officially been made! On Sunday night myself and my Transformatorium were featured on Channel 10’s The Project, a nationaly aired television program here in Australia.
They interviewed me about my years of collecting Transformers and some of my various figures. They also featured my wife who looked beautiful on camera and my son who was an absolute star!
As well as airing it on Television, The Project also uploaded the video to their YouTube Channel. So check out Trev & The Transformatorium below!
Shelf Lighting by Aguirre Electrical
Trev’s hair by Mick of Cutthroat Barbers
Makeup Mentoring by Sherie
Disappointingly all the footage with my daughter was cut, so I feel compelled to put a photo here of my darling daughter Acacia who deserved to be in the spotlight too, and who is more special to me than all the Transformers in the world.
Thank you so much to all the people on social media that gave a truly staggering amount of positive feedback after the show aired! If you would like to see more of The Transformatorium, head over to my personal YouTube Channel, or check out the link below.
I’ve actually been sitting on this review for months, but due to the non-disclosure agreement I signed at the Preview Screening, I have been unable to publish until now. But the embargo is officially lifted and off we go!
Transformers cartoons and comics get rebooted every few years, and now it seems the movie part of the franchise is following suit. After the stand alone 1986 movie we had what many people called the Bayverse, 5 live action movies over the course of a decade. Several years later we had the Bumblebee Moviefollowed by last years sequel Rise of The Beasts, a soft reboot of the Bayverse.
Now it appears we have yet another Transformers movieverse to explore. Whether it is a full reboot of the entire film franchise, or is going to run concurrent to the live action movies is at this time unknown, but it is the first time in 38 years a Transformers animated movie has hit the big screen – and so we have Transformers One.
Note: This is a movie review – so SPOILERS AHEAD!
Chronologically Transformers One is set before the great Cybertronian Civil War began, but after their war with the Quintessons. Cybertron is under the thrall of a cast system, with the Cogless (those without Transformation Cogs and thus no ability to transform) performing all the grunt work of society, everything from mining to waste reclamation. Those with Transformation Cogs live a more privileged life, however a life still constrained as Cybertron is no longer producing Liquid Energon, the lifeblood of the Transformers race, and the only Energon available is that mined from the depths of Cybertron by the aforementioned cogless miners.
We are quickly introduced to Orion Pax, the bot destined one day to become Optimus Prime. This is a version of Orion we have not seen before, even in the comics he was still very Optimus’esque with a strong sense of responsibility. This Orion is impetuous, adventurous and happy to break societies rules when it suits him. Though many fans have cried foul of the character not being voiced by Peter Cullen, it is easy to see why they went with the younger Chris Hemsworth, Cullens strong and older voice would not have suited such a youthful interpretation.
The only thing I am missing is Cyber-acne
After a chase between Orion and two security bots, where Orion so conveniently watches a holovid talking about the disappearance of The Matrix and its effect on Cybertron (and thus the main plot of the film), we are introduced to his best friend D-16, who will one day don his big bot pants and become the maniacal Megatron.
My eyes aren’t red, that means I’m not evil… yet.
Through the optics and treatment of Orion and D-16, we see how oppressed the mining-class are, though many of them don’t see it that way as they feel they are serving a useful function for their society. However unlike his comrades Orion is not content to merely mine for the greater good, he wants to find the Matrix and bring it to their societies leader, Sentinel Prime, who is a hero of D-16’s, second only in his optics to Megatronus who was one of the Original 13 Primes who disappeared at the end of the Quintesson War.
Through a series of misadventures Orion & D-16 end up on the surface of Cybertron, having picked up the unwilling Elita 1 and the very willing Bumblebee along the way, and off for the Matrix they search. Transformers movies always seem to resort to a ‘we have to find the….’ plotline. Whether it’s a Matrix, an Allspark, a Cyberforming Seed, a Spacebridge Pillar, a Transwarp Key or even the Staff or Merlin, the writers of Transformers movies sadly resort to the same old trope in order to move the plot along. Given what they have to work with – giant alien shapeshifting robots – you would think the script writers could come up with something a bit more creative than another round of ‘hunt the shiny’.
The characterization is at least somewhat more original than the plot, with new takes on decades old Transformers staples. As aforementioned, Orion is a far more youthful version of Optimus to what we are accustomed, Elita is pragmatic and in-charge rather than being simply Optimus’ love interest, D-16 is rough but willing to begrudgingly follow Orion along for the sake of friendship, and Bumblebee is almost manic in how much he blathers on, a nice change of pace from the Bumblebee who has to talk through a radio that has graced the big screen for the last 7 flicks.
“I can talk, I can talk, I can talk talk talk talk…’
Eventually our four heroes find the place the Matrix was last seen and discover Alpha Trion, one of the Original 13 Primes and the only one who is still functional. Through him they learn that Sentinel Prime has been lying to the populace – he betrayed the Primes and killed them, causing the Matrix to be lost, and he is having the Energon mined in order to pay off the Quintessons who helped him rise to power. It is the betrayal of his hero Sentinel, along with seeing the remains of his fallen idol Megatronus, that propels D-16 down the path of darkness (anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering – Yoda was right!). Before Sentinels goons find them, Alpha Trion informs the heroes that all Transformers naturally have (are born with? created with?) Transformation Cogs and that Sentinel must have stolen those of the lower caste. Thus Trion in turn bestows upon the quartet the cogs of four of the fallen Primes.
Much like the IDW comics, until this point there had been a disappointing lack of transformation in this Transformers movie. With no altmodes all the lower caste look like Action Masters (similar looking non-transforming blocky robots) and with the exception of a race, we haven’t seen enough of other characters to really get a feel for the shape-changing species. With their new cogs, the four heroes sprout new armour, new weapons, new kibble and increase in size considerably. The payoff for waiting so long is worth it story wise, but it is a long time coming and for the younger viewers the wait is perhaps too long.
Eventually we finally get what everyone wants to see from a Transfomers movie, a big battle! On their way back to confront Sentinel they enlist the help of a group of renegade bots being lead by Starscream, Soundwave & Shockwave, and Orion sneaks back into Iacon to inspire the miners to join the fight. Between the two groups they manage to route Sentinels forces and by capturing Sentinel’s 2IC Arachnid expose his duplicity to the public. Despite having won D-16 is still determined to kill Sentinel, yet Orion leaps in the way of the shot to try and stop him, the shot taking Orion out. D-16, angry at Orion’s interference, announces ‘I’m done saving you’ and drops Orion to his death. D-16 murders Sentinel, takes Sentinels cog (it itself stolen from the corpse of Megatronus) and proclaims himself ‘Megatron’, his new cog beefing him up even further in the process.
‘For a change of pace Megatron is going to usurp me’
Though entertaining, there are a few things that don’t sit quite right at this pivotal moment of the movie. We know Orion is a hero at heart, but why leap in front of the shot meant for Sentinel instead of simply trying to tackle his friend? Why did D-16 not agonize longer about what he had done to Orion, given their close friendship? Why after taking victory and then upgrading did Megatron and his troops subsequently begin to trash the city for no discernible reason? The changeover to old-school Decepticon shenanigans seems too down pat, like the struggle for freedom and the friendship we had watched for the past hour now meant nothing.
Much like in other continuities such as in the War for Cybertron video game and the Prime cartoon, we see Orion, who having fallen all the way to Cybertron’s core, get turned by Primus into Optimus Prime via the power of the Matrix, and then return to fight Megatron. This is actually one of their best fights over the whole 40 year franchise, both utilizing their various weapons and altmodes as they battle for supremacy. After taking victory, Optimus banishes Megatron and his army from the city, before using the power of the Matrix to finally give his cogless former coworkers the ability to transform and the Energon to flow through Cybertron once again. Throw in a post-credit scene of Megatron in the wastes giving his troops the Decepticon brand and that’s a wrap folks.
There is a lot to love in this movie, especially for a dedicated Transformers fan. Many of the background Autobot characters, even before getting their cogs, are recognisable, such as Jazz, Ironhide, Arcee and Wheeljack. Likewise on the Decepticon side we see many recognisable Seekers, the animators even putting in smaller details such as Thrust’s wing turbines. There are small Easter Eggs scattered throughout, Megatron being D-16 (the original Megatron toy’s designation in Japan), Blurr’s name being on the leaders board during the Iacon 5000 race (it itself a reference to the Speedia 5000 race from the Legacy toyline) and many others which will bypass the casual viewer but delight those in the know. The animation is top notch – Cybertron itself looks fantastic, with vibrant cities, dank pits, panoramic landscapes and a world that itself can change its shape, the only confusing thing being the appearance of organic matter on the planets surface. The Quintessons have always been the main off-world enemies of the Transformers, and although not multi-faced do bear their telltale colour schemes and tentacles and their ship looks suitably imposing floating over the abandoned surface.
“Are you guilty or innocent? Wait, thats the other animated movie’
The characterizations and voice acting are both worthy of note, displaying much of the various characters original traits, yet being fresh enough takes to keep things interesting. Perhaps it would have been good to see Welker & Cullen take on the voice acting once D-16 and Orion become Megatron and Optimus respectively, but given this film is likely to be the first of an animated trilogy, one can understand the studios wishing to stick to the younger actors who will be able to fulfill the roles for years to come. What fans will love is that the characters are actually recognizable as themselves; their general appearance, colour schemes, attitudes and altmodes all appropriate. After years of so many beloved characters being made unrecognizable in the live action movies (such as the Wheeljack controversy from ROTB) it was refreshing to see the writers and animators give proper weight to the source material. Speaking of source material, there is much Transformers lore to be found within the film, especially around their god Primus and the Original 13 Primes.
Of course, there are a few letdowns. The primary letdown is the lack of gravitas given to significant events within the film that should hold higher implications. How was Sentinel Prime able to kill the Original 13 Primes so easily in combat? Why would Optimus throw himself in front of a shot which would kill the despot, however after only one short battle permanently banish his best friend and his followers from Iacon to the wilds of Cybertron? Yeah, ok, Megs dropped him into a ravine, I’d be a bit salty about that too, but it would have been more in keeping with the character for him to offer Megatron another chance and for Megs to shun it, rather than so willingly banish so many bots, that had moments ago helped to liberate Iacon, from the city they just helped save. This and similar events make the characters seem more two-dimensional than is satisfactory, especially for a 3D film, though still miles ahead of the ‘murderbots’ of the Bayverse.
Minor quibbles aside this is a great movie, and it is fantastic to see Transformers return to its cinematic roots of animation. It is to be hoped that the movie does well enough at the box office to warrant a sequel. Is this movie for everyone? No. Your average adult viewer is not going to be overly entertained by this flick, however for younger viewers and Transformer fans they are in for a treat which will delight anyone remotely interested in the wonderful world of The Transformers.
Have you seen this movie and what did you think of it? Pop your thoughts in the comments section below!
The first Transformers continuity created by IDW comics is regarded by many as the best Transformer comics that have ever been made. Kicking off in 2005, it ran for an impressive 13 years with hundreds of issues and took the G1’esque universe to places it had never been before, culminating in a climatic battle against Unicron himself.
In 2019 IDW rebooted the Transformers comic universe and it was….. not well received. Many fans had become very attached to the universe of old, especially the adventures of the Lost Light which introduced genuine comedy into the franchise, something it was sorely lacking. One could argue that the first continuity had done so much there was nothing left to do so a reboot was required, but many fans still mourned it’s loss.
Sniff… you were taken from us too soon.
But can the fact that the 2019 reboot was not well loved be solely attributed to the affection fans felt for the old universe? Personally I didn’t know as at that stage I had ‘comic fatigue’ and was not up to investing myself into a new series, especially after I read the first few issues. The new series only lasted 3 years, as opposed to the 13 of its predecessor, and perhaps was a hundred issues give or take all together.
‘A Bold New World’ turned out to be ‘A Bored New World’
Over the past 3 weeks I have binge-read the entirety of the IDW 2019 Transformers continuity. Below are my thoughts on what was good, what was bad, and why ultimately it failed.
The Bad
First and foremost – it started too slooooow.
It’s just more of this for like 10 issues.
There is some good action to be found in the 2019 universe, but it takes so many issues to get to it. The majority of the first dozen issues are characters walking down hallways talking to one another. And the banter is boring. Yes, they were trying to establish that this was a pre-great war Cybertron, and show Orion Pax and Megatron travelling inevitably towards their fates, but Transformers fans don’t primarily read comics for the political discourse – they want to see giant, shape-changing alien robots fighting each other! There was so much blah-blah-blah that when they finally got to the good stuff a lot of fans had tuned out and were no longer interested.
Let us stand in completely neutral poses and talk a lot – the audience will love that.
The characters lack character
This is the exciting Sixshoot from the 2005 continuity…
Lets use Sixshot as a comparison. When introduced into the 2005 continuity it showed him destroying a whole civilisation single handed! And he showed all 6 of his modes in his very first issue! He has a rich backstory of being a one-percenter that gets augmented to become a phase-sixer and after arriving on Earth, it took the combined firepower of Optimus and a whole squad of Autobots to even slow him down. In the 2019 continuity, even after 3 years he still hasn’t used all of his modes, he spends more time talking that fighting, and the first battle between him and Windblade is frighteningly dull. That’s right, they managed to make a fight that involved Sixshot boring.
… and this is the Sixshot from the 2019 continuity. This Sixshot likes to use his words. This Sixshot sucks.
Sixshot is just one example. Megatron never does much except plot and has a total of one brief punch up with Optimus over the entire 3 years – he doesn’t even rant that well. Swindle is always grumpy and talking about percentages rather than being the cheery swindler we all love. The banter between Strongarm and Sideswipe is supposed to evoke their love-hate relationship from the RID2015 continuity but falls flat. None of the characters really evolve or change or grow and their personalities are the same from the first issue they show up in to the last. Very few characters ever display any real passion or panic about anything. I’ll have to note there are a few exceptions such as Flamewar, who is at least goofy enough to be mildly entertaining, as is Skywarp.
Cybertron is artistically dull
Cybertron is a robot alien world, full of wonders and marvels, created from the body of Primus himself. So why does it seem to consist of nothing but corridors and barren landscapes? The background always seems to be mutely coloured in shades of tan and bronze, the buildings are very basic rectangles and nothing pops. There are no interesting details to note, there is not a lot of anything really. Even when huge events happen like an orbital tether collapsing so that a giant cable cuts a swath of destruction across all of Iacon, its unimpressive. As is when the Titan’s fall from the sky. It’s Titan’s falling out of the sky and crashing into Cybertron, and it still looks boring, just rectangular brick looking things hitting empty ground. Given the rather less than awed response from the observing bots, they were not impressed either.
The robots also look dull
Bumblebee: ‘And I’m one of the most artistically detailed characters in the series!’
The artist Angel Hernandez was obviously not a fan of strong colours as even the bots look washed out. There is the occasional pop of colour such as at Swindle’s casino, but not much. The bots are often as blocky as the landscape, with detail only ever given to some of the more major characters such as Bumblebee’s face or Orion’s body. Not a lot of size difference either, everyone is roughly similar heights and shapes, even the Micromasters, with just the odd detail like wings and faces to differentiate them. If you don’t know the characters already, you are hard pressed to tell with many who is male and who is female. Yes, I know that we are all supposed to be ‘blind to gender’ now, but would it really be insulting to let the female characters look female? I had to look up if the character Glyph was male or female as I couldn’t tell from the art, and the likes of Road Rage are only able to be identified as female when you see they have slightly fuller lips. With blocky bodies and little to set them apart from muted colour schemes and a bit of altmode kibble, the alien mechanoid populace of Cybertron have rarely looked so boring. The Wreckers mini-series set on Velocitron is worthy of mention for being the exception to this.
If only the rest of the series could have popped like this.
Barely a Transformation
Lots of Bots standing round – get used to it.
To be fair this is an issue I had with the 2005 continuity as well. Transformers are supposed to, well, transform. But they hardly ever do it! The Seekers showcase the ability the most in order to go into battle, but most other characters, even major ones, either hardly ever transform or never transform at all!. And even when they do, most of the time its just to get from point A to point B, they don’t really use their altmodes for anything but transport. Way to remove a quintessential concept from a franchise. One must wonder if perhaps this is done on purpose as despite Earth never being visited, there are plenty of characters with Earth vehicle modes occasionally on show (based on the then current Siege toyline) – the artists obviously not bothering to come up with Cybertronian modes for them – so the less the audience saw of the altmodes the less they would say ‘Hang on a sec…’
Starscream: “Hey Nautica, we both have Cybertronian alt modes, are in lots of issues yet only ever each Transform once the whole comic run, why is that?” Nautica: “Ask the lazy-ass writers and artists”
The Good
(yes there is some!)
As mentioned, the 2019 continuity eventually does come into its own. Whilst many of the negatives above such as bland landscapes and characters that rarely show strong emotions persist, the storyline starts to move faster, disparate story arcs begin to overlap and intertwine, and we even get a few interesting battles. These are not the only positives:
Overlooked characters getting their shot.
Howlback, Squalktalk and Beastbox joining their more popular compatriots. A shame Howlback looks like a rat though.
The Lost Light comic series set a great precedent, elevating minor characters to places of prominence, and giving characters who have barely appeared over the last 30 years a chance to briefly shine. The 2019 continuity may not do it as well, but it does do it. Chainclaw works security, Howlback works infiltration, Hydrahead and Rage use their liquid weapons to try and assassinate the Insecticons, Redwing leads Seeker attacks. It’s always interesting to see someone different from the main cast get their turn upon the page.
Transformers have ‘Stormtroopers’ too, wonder if their aim is as bad.
Action Masters are cool!
If you didn’t own the toy from G1 I bet you want him now!
It’s nice to see the Action Masters done right! At the time the most reviled of the G1 toys – Transformers who couldn’t transform – Action Masters now experience the same love of much of the old toyline simply due to being G1. In this series they haven’t been retroactively been given altmodes like in others, they are all mode locked and yes, like the original storyline from the G1 toys its due to overuse of Nucleon. The best part is that many seem to come with their accessories: the likes of Axer and Circuit drive their vehicles, whilst characters like Treadshot and Charger have their animal sidekicks. And Charger with Fire Beast – talk about including obscure characters!
‘I bet most of you will have to google who I am’
Interesting-ish Subplots
Oh, if only the characters were given some more, er, character and the graphics a bit of oomph, these could have been great. We see interesting subplots explore the origins of the Constructicons and the Insecticons, how they came to be and where they are going. The Constructicons are, not officially, banished from Cybertron because the populace fears the power of Devastator, and the Insecticons go from walking garbage disposals to cannibals who feast on organics and fellow bots alike. Both these early story lines have a profound affect at the series conclusion, particularly the Insecticons.
Characters actually fulfilling their tech spec functions.
‘Look, we are actually doing computer stuff, not just shooting Autobots’
With so many characters, Transformers comic writers often ignore what they are supposed to do and simply make them one of a multitude of soldiers, especially on the Decepticon side. Not so with this continuity. Sparkstalker for the first time in his existence is actually functioning as a hacker instead of simply breathing fire. Bumblebee is working espionage instead of smiling and being the Transformers poster boy. For a Transformers geek like me, this was a level of detail greatly appreciated.
No Earth, No Humans!
Well, nearly. The only Humans that appear are in the King Grimlock miniseries, a shoutout to the G1 episode Madman’s Paradise. Even then it’s not on Earth so they get a pass.
Too little, too late
So yes, there were positives to be found in the IDW 2019 Transformers Continuity. Unfortunately for them, the first year was so lackluster that most fans (myself included) had tuned out and were no longer buying by the time it started to get halfway decent. Having binged the entire continuity over the last 3 weeks I can say it turned out not as bad as I thought, but it’s nothing I will revisit and am glad I saved my pennies by reading them online rather than purchasing the comics themselves. How did IDW go from making the best Transformers comics ever to the worst? Was it a case of the new writers and artists making bad decisions, them not caring, or did perhaps IDW feel it was done with the franchise and therefore organised a lackluster effort to get them out of their contract with Hasbro? Who knows. But like the cartoon series –Transformers Robots in Disguise 2015 – it seems destined to forever be referred to by fans in the tone of ‘meh, bits were ok, but it was never really that great’.
In 1988 Beetlejuice hit the movie screens and fast became a cult classic. Leading to a 3-season cartoon and live stage adaptions, Tim Burton’s horror-comedy told the story of the ghosts of a dead couple being trapped with the family who bought their home, inevitably involving the hijinks of Beetlejuice, the ghost-with-the-most anti-hero.
Well 36 years later we finally have the sequel. Say it once, say it twice – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Warning – this is a movie review so SPOILERS AHEAD.
The movie picks up 36 years after the original. Lydia hosts a reality TV show about ghosts that is produced by her exploitative boyfriend, whilst step-mother Delia has become a successful artist. Beetlejuice himself has taken his bio-exorcist business to the next level, even having offices where his shrunken-headed minions answer calls from the dead wishing to scare the living from their homes.
Straight off you notice that Michael Keaton who plays Beetlejuice does not have the same vigour he had in the first movie. And quite rightly so, he is literally twice the age he was when making the original film. At 73 he is not leaping about the screen as he once did, though he does an admirable job reprising the role and it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing the character – this is not Batman.
Winona Ryder is perfection in the role of Lydia. Lydia has been traumatized from a lifetime of being able to see the dead, and obviously suffers from PTSD from her first run in with Beetlejuice decades earlier. Ryder plays her perfectly, Lydia is determined to do right by her daughter, but is dominated by her boyfriend/producer and seems mentally and emotionally frail, not a character archetype one often sees in a comedy.
Catherine O’Hara also reprises the role of Delia splendidly, showing what the character has evolved into from years of success, throwing herself into any artistic whim that takes her, and using the death of her husband to explore new artistic (and narcissistic) challenges.
New to the cast is Jenna Ortega who plays Astrid, Delia’s daughter, and whom the storyline revolves around. Bitter at the death of her father, estranged from her mother whom she believes to be a fraud, Astrid is dragged from school to attend the funeral of her grandfather and clean out the family home, the very house where the first movie was set. While there she begins a tentative relationship with a boy in town, never suspecting that he himself is a ghost who plans to trick her into swapping places with him so that he can rejoin the living.
This plot twist will take many viewers by surprise, as until it is revealed that the boy is a ghost one assumes the main plot is the return of Beetlejuice’s first wife out for revenge, and that the budding teenage romance is merely a side plot to make the movie more amenable to a wider audience. Until it is revealed, only the most savvy would guess that there is anything untoward, and quite quickly the main story proceeds to be set primarily in the afterlife rather than Winter River.
The movie balances the old and the new quite well. Having 3 of the main cast of the first movie return creates an excellent level of continuity, and there are lots of call backs to the the original; Winter River, the house on the hill, the afterlife’s waiting room are all familiar locations, and there are Easter Eggs for fans such as the Delia thinking she spots Maxie Dean in a crowd and Day-O being sung at Charles’ funeral. There is plenty new here as well, introducing the concepts of heaven and hell to the afterlife, the afterlife having their own police department and of course the plots revolving around new characters. As stated, it’s very balanced movie, giving you equal helpings of new and familiar territory.
Is it the perfect successor to the first Beetlejuice movie? No. The visual gags have shifted in tone towards the more gross and graphic than the cartoony. Keaton plays Beetlejuice very well, but you can tell there’s a guy in his 70’s underneath that makeup. The two main villains of the film – the teenage love interest and Beetlejuice’s ex-wife – are both dispatched too easily. One of the great parts of the original was the build up and excitement of other characters trying to stop Beetlejuice from marrying Lydia, sadly no such build up happens here. In fact the ex-wife plot falls flat at the end; all that build up over the movie featuring her sucking souls, yet when she finally finds Beetlejuice she just stands there doing nothing until taken out by a Sandworm. Given she began dismembered at the start of the movie, I would have liked to see her try and reclaim the finger that Beetlejuice had in his pocket from the first film.
Overall however, this is a fun film and a worthy sequel to the original. I saw it with my family and they all said the same thing “I liked it, but I liked the first one better”. It’s possible that no matter what movie they made it would not illicit a better reaction from fans, the first movie being so beloved. This movie does stand on its own, with an interesting, well paced story acted by a superb cast that will keep the viewer entertained throughout.
So get out and see ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, a title that practically screams for there to be at least one further instalment.
