TF Animated General Discussion

[griffin]

Posted by Kup:
I have just finished watching Animated. Its okay but that is all, don't expect anything epic or truly exciting about it because it doesn't offer it, at least in this first 'movie length' episode.

The biggest flaw is the animation, particularly when it comes to the Humans and Earth in General. There is no doubt about it, the reason for this animation style is because its cheap. There is nothing artistic about it, just cheap. The human character designs are exceptionally bad and have a 'Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy' feel to them. Overall the episode was okay but fails to produce any sort of geek fan boy reaction.


XXX SPOILERS XXX




The plot starts off reasonably well but moving too fast for you to get a sense of the Universe this series takes place in. However after they reach Earth things begin to get boring real quick with their first confrontation with this nanotech monster thing which frankly lasted way too long. Although the Humans were not initially annoying, its very difficult to 'accept' the poor character and animation style, If you can't stomach the Transformer designs you will definitely not stomach the Human's. Only at the end with Starscream's involvement do thing pick up again but its nothing too fulfilling. Sari, the girl looks to be the new Kicker with her Allspark channeling power and although she has not reached Kicker's level of annoyance yet she looks to have the bad potential to do so.

This first episode very clearly sets what the tone of the series will be which is not so much about Autobots and Decepticons on Earth but mainly about a Super hero team saving the City of Detroit with the odd Decepticon showing up every now and then. It is made clear that they will be fulfilling a similar role to a robotic Justice League or something of the sort. Also the whole concept of 'Robots in Disguise' was ditched within the first 4 minutes of them acquiring Earth Alt modes as They were made Public Heroes with ceremonies and all very early on.

This premiere was a bit Mediocre and don't expect much from it based on the limitations that they have already imposed on themselves and since 2 Seasons have already been produced, it is very doubtful that the tone of the series will change since they never allowed for them to study fan reaction to the initial few episodes before working on the next.

Overall, I am neither disappointed nor excited. It is very unlikely that I will be collecting any toys from this series.

Rest of topic discussion can be found here:
http://otca.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=3448

[Robzy]

Well, I don't mind it! I'm definitely hooked - and I'll be getting the figures too!

[Thanatos]

I definately want to get myself a lumberjack prime!

[Paulbot]

I have just seen it so need some more time to consider my opinion before doing a mini-review. It's not better than Beast Wars but is better than the Unicron Trilogy shows.

It's certainly done it's job as a toy commerical - I want the toys of the characters right now too!

[kup]

I am sorry but I find G1/typical 80s & 90s animation much more pleasing to the eye and detailed than Animated despite the regular animation errors.
________
Pissing fetish

[iceburn]

where can i get a copy of the animated ep1 and 2???

[Gutsman Heavy]

I watched it on youtube (don't laugh, bittorrent never works for me)

I thought it was pretty good, much better than A/E/C or RID, got nothing on Beast Wars but over time who knows, ALL HAIL THE TRETCHEROUS CHIN OF STARSCREAM!

[Robzy]

I really enjoyed it. Prime was excellent! Starscream was the show-stealer! I thought Bumblebee and Ratchet were great too, but Prowl kinda annoyed me a bit! I actually also enjoyed the new take on Blitzwing as well!

Anyone know when it's coming on TV in Oz? Or when it's coming out on DVD?

[roller]

"The looks all wrong but at least you got the name right, you treat her like a lady and she'll always bring you home"


it sucks

the animation

but

from the perspective of someone born in the 21st century or late 20th, this was probably the best thing ever, anyone born after'89 was sadly infected.

i liked the spike, carly, daniel cameo

The designs are way too stupid, the faces are hideous chuds. Saris dad looks like a skunk.

i find it a bit hard to believe their ship was right next to a wharf and never found

i hope this means that from now on most series wont have the whole allspark theme, like armada stole and overused Unicron


i luv Nazi Blitzwing shouda called him blietzkrieg

[griffin]

Finally got to watch the whole thing from Youtube and save it for future reference.

Missed the Spike Carly Daniel cameo. I'll have to go back and find it.

The humour was well placed (it wasn't forced or imature), and as much as I'd like to see more included, it would probably ruin the more serious nature of the dark threat faced by the Autobots.

Speaking of which, I think the Autobots are probably a little too weak. A time will come when more Decepticons arrive, and these five Autobots aren't able to defeat a single Decepticon with their lack of effective weaponry. I think it is strange to have Bumblebee, the weakest, having the only laser weaponry (that I can recall).

Sari, is a necessary evil for the cartoon to relate to their target audience - 5 to 10 year olds. The Classics will be produced to keep us happy, so that Hasbro can focus a lot younger than usual with their core TF line.

I'm hoping that the key Sari has isn't a gimmick for the toys or some of them, in that it unlock or awakens them in some way. It might be an old gimmick, but it works with kiddies who want some power/control over their toys.

The Decepticons were a tease, with their short appearance, but unfortunately is necessary for the purpose of not overwhelming the much weaker Autobots, by having them all arrive at once and fight as a team.
Blitzwing looks to be the most interesting to look out for, with his multiple personality and revolving heads (like Man-E-Faces from MOTU). Blackarachnia's very calm and her beast mode is hinted at. Lockdown looks to rival Starscream and Megatron in terms of pure evil, and is apparently being voiced by Lance Henricson. Lugnutz is so far the least known, being a quiet, dumb brute.

Starscream and Megatron seem to act according to previous existing traits, so is a little boring. Megatron's head appears to be drawn to match the Movie Head, perhaps for familiarity with the current generation.

I noticed that Ultra Magnus is the supreme commander of the Autobots, while Optimus Prime is a lowly Autobot who appears to have been kicked out of the Autobot army.

Ratchet is a bit like Rhinox, old and wise, and picking up on Optimus when he makes the wrong decision.
Prowl starts off as an insubordinate Autobot, a bit like Rattrap, but looks to see the value of teamwork and working in the chain of command.
Bulkhead is a basic army grunt. Point him in the right direction and tell him what to do.
Bumblebee, maybe young and impulsive, or just a bit carefree, as one who has not been exposed to conflict before.

The Humans. Well, there's Sari, the 8ish year old girl who will be the Autobot's companion, and link to the audience. Her father, (mr) Sumdac is a rich (but surprisingly doesn't exert his wealth or power over others) manufacturer of robotics in Detroit, probably around 2050. It's explained that the massive advance in robotics and their distribution into all parts of society within only 50 years is due to Sumdac reverse engineering the salvaged parts of Megatron (who crashed to earth 50 years earlier).
Okay, similar idea to the movie, but I guess it's another familiarity concept for the current generation.
The other main human so far introduced is Captain Fanzone. Okay, I thought at first when I heard a character had that name, that he was some sort of superhero, but it is just the name of the police Captain of the Detroit Police.

Then there's the Allspark. It's basically the Matrix in its description by the characters and by what it does, however, the writers have decided to confuse the kiddies by calling it by the same name as the object in the movie, which was something totally different and had a different purpose.

And now, a quick rundown of the plot:
Optimus's team of Autobots are team of repairers of the Spacebridge network, and it is while they are clearing one access point of debris, that they find the lost ancient device known as the Allspark. It's power atracks the attention of the Decepticons, who are also considered lost and ancient, because they were chased off so long ago, they are almost considered a myth.
In the process of attacking the Autobots, Megatron is severly damaged by Starscream's treachery, and the Allspark uses the Spacebridge to transport the Autobots vessel to Earth's orbit. The Spacebridge explodes, causing the Decepticons to scatter, leaving Starscream alone on the Deceopticon ship.
The Autobot ship crashes to Earth, destroying Megatron in the process, who was kicked out of the ship while it was entering the atmosphere. The Autobots enter their stasis pods just moments before they splash into Lake Erie (off Detroit), and a boy on a farm goes out to investigate. He finds Megatron's Head in a crater.
Fifty years later, that boy has built up a business manufacturing robots for all of mankind, and one day in the labs, one of the robotic experiments gets out of control and threatens the city.
The Autobots are awakend, and defeat the threat, and in the process are labelled superheroes by the Humans.
Meanwhile, Starscream on the Decepticon ship, picks up an energy signal (probably from the Allspark), and goes to Earth.
He attacks the Autobots, demanding the Allspark, but they manage to eventually defeat him with the help of the Allspark. Half the city is destroyed, and Optimus is killed. Sari, who has a special key that absorbed some of the Allspark power (which no one seems to have figured out yet, because they think it is just something she already owned), brings Optimus back to life, and the Autobots go to repairing the city.
The 3-part episode ends revealing that Sumdac has the wrecked peices of Megatron in his tower, and feels guilt about having them (maybe he thinks he is responsible for the arrival of the others and the resulting chaos).

Overall, I wasn't overly impressed, but didn't think it sucked either. I got a few good laughs from it, so it rates better than Armada or Energon (which isn't difficult), but not as good as Beast Wars or Gen1.
I'm hoping that other characters are introduced regularly, even if it is just for an episode at a time. As interesting as this first story was, it will get boring real fast if we have just five weakling Autobots fighting crime and the occasional Decepticon for too long.
I recommend people at least watch this opening story.