Chapter 3: Review of Transformers Animated

Transformers Animated
I watched this not too long after the first live-action Transformers movie came out. I chose to watch it because it was coming on Cartoon Network and that was my favorite channel at the time. Plus I figured it could be as good as the first movie without the sexual moments of course.

So I saw the whole series (Season 1 & 2 on TV and Season 3 on YouTube) and noticed that there are similarities with this show and the movie. One of the similarities is that the Autobots and Decepticons were battling each other over the All-Spark. This issue didn't become a big deal after the first season and it was kind of the same way after the first movie. There is another similarity where Optimus Prime was flying in the second movie while in the "Animated" series he doesn't fly until the end of season 3. Another similarity from the movie is when Megatron landed on Earth before the Autobots did and his body was used to help improve human technology. In the "Animated" series, the same thing did happen except Megatron's head was used to help improve human life (because his head was separated from his body) and the Autobots landed on Earth not long after Megatron did. The movie had the humans more involved, especially when the Autobots help the government solve their problems while searching for remaining Decepticons. The Autobots in the "Animated" series were involved with human issues but what threw me off is that they were repair bots instead of kick-ass warriors and all they did was repair highways and bridges (and there was an episode where they literally had to help Detroit clean up their trash….) I'm happy they kept the Decepticons as intimidating rivals but I'm not sure why this version has the main Autobots have them assigned to somewhat pointless jobs. I understand the Autobots were repair-bots before the war and they weren't meant to be warriors. This just seems out of place to me for some reason. In the movie, all of the Autobots were involved in the war for Cybertron; the "Animated" series only had Ratchet involved in the war and judging by their conversations, it sounds like none of the other main Autobots existed when the war was happening. I wished that was fixed so the Autobots would seem more badass when they're warriors. I am not sure why the Autobots are so smaller than the Decepticons. I understand that it makes the Decepticons more frightening but I thought making the Autobots so small was unnecessary.

What I noticed that was different about this show compared to the other versions is the human characters. For starters, the main human character is a girl, not that there's anything wrong with it. I'm saying that she's younger than the previous human characters that help the Autobots. She and her father are the main human characters in the show and it seems as though they are more involved with them compared to Spike and his father, Sparkplug, in the G1 version. The Autobots become the only friends the girl, Sari, has and she does help them out. She also has a key that helps them heal the Autobots when they're injured. I wasn't too fond of the key and I'm glad the show got rid of it in season 3. Because of that, Sari has upgraded herself into a cyborg (sort of) and it makes her look like a teenager. This upgrade also makes her a more capable fighter. This is also the first time where I see more character development in the humans than usual. It turns out Sari is originally Cybertronian and started off as a protoform. She only looks human because Issac Sumdac's DNA accidentally merged with the protoform. So, in a way, Issac Sumdac is Sari's father. The show never explained how the protoform ended up in Sumdac's lab. I did hear from others that Megatron was the one who might have brought it and in a way, he could be Sari's father…I am just going to leave it at that.

Speaking of Megatron, it turns out Sumdac was the one who found him and used his head to improve human technology. Megatron doesn't find that out until he wakes up from Sari's key which was charged by the All-Spark. He doesn't reveal right away to Sumdac that he's the bad guy. In fact, he lied to him and said that he was another member of the Autobots and told Sumdac not to reveal that he's still alive until he head was attached to his body. Megatron is also very willful. Even when decapitated, he was still able to come up with ways to defeat the Autobots. This reminds me of Hannibal Lecter in the movie Manhunter and the remake Red Dragon. Lecter was able to find ways to attack the main character and his family while still being held in jail. After seeing this, Megatron is actually more frightening as a villain. Another thing that makes him scary is that he's also able to manipulate others into getting what he wants. He's already done that with Sumdac and the Constructicons and tried it with the Dinobots and Omega Supreme. I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to manipulate his own Decepticon servants. He also felt like he was held captive in Sumdac's lab and when he got his body back, he kidnapped Sumdac. This was not only to help him build the space bridge; he also wanted Sumdac to feel what is like to be held captive as well. He's also more level-headed than his other counterparts. I mean, he does have a temper, but it's not as obvious as his G1, live-action and definitely not Prime counterpart's temper. This is also the only version of Megatron I've seen that uses his head more than his fists (literally and figuratively). He didn't have many options on how to destroy the Autobots while he was only a head. After he regains his body, there is proof that he's wiser than most of this counterparts. He does have plenty of strength just like his other counterparts, but TFA Megatron thinks first, then uses his strength when necessary. He doesn't rely on that alone or brags that it's his best asset. Because of this, he's likely to accomplish his goals quicker and more efficiently.

Another thing I want to mention about Megatron is his relationship with Starscream. He started off as Megatron's second-in-command and his relationship with him is similar to the one in the G1 series, except instead of arguing like a married couple (except at the end of episode 29 and the beginning of episode 30), Starscream acted like a loyal servant. Unlike G1 Starscream, this version of him did attempt to kill Megatron without clearly saying that he was going to betray him. Of course, Megatron is no dummy; he did find out Starscream tried to kill him. If you've seen the G1 series, Megatron would let Starscream stay by his side after his failed attempts to kill him. Once he was able to move around, TFA Megatron actually killed him with Sari's key, eliminating his spark. Little did both of them know, Starscream was still being kept alive with an All-Spark fragment. They did attempt to kill each other many times (direct attacks & clones) and near the end of the third season, Starscream did serve Megatron for a bit while reattaching his head to his body. Starscream returned to his old ways by trying to overthrow Megatron which, of course, didn't work. In the end, Megatron did try to kill him again but Starscream did not die until the fragment in his head was removed. After seeing this version of their relationship, I see the similarities, and it is an improvement compared to the G1 version. This show actually made Starscream a worthy opponent for Megatron. Not only did he plant the bomb on Megatron's back that injured him, Starscream was also able to control Omega Supreme (twice) while he was only a head and he was able to take control of the two Lugnut Supremes and make them into giant bombs. Not to mention, his arguments with Megatron is just as funny too.

There are a couple of things that made me confused about this version of Megatron. When I first saw him, he looked similar to his live-action counterpart but in the rest of the series, he looked mostly like his G1 counterpart. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just something I wanted to point out. I had also expected the original voice actor, Frank Welker, to play this version of Megatron. Instead he was voiced by Corey Burton, the same guy who voiced G1 and TFA Shockwave, and TFA Ratchet. I'm not saying this is a bad thing either. I just thought it was different from the G1 series. After watching the "Animated" series, I guess Frank Welker's voice wouldn't fit this version of Megatron. There is another thing I noticed a few months ago. If you listen to the way Megatron speaks, it sounds like he has an accent, and it sounds somewhat British. I definitely don't see this as a bad thing (and in my opinion, it's really attractive) but I just find it different (mostly because of the voice actor playing him). This made me think Corey Burton could be from the United Kingdom, but I couldn't find any proof. Instead, it's said that Burton is from the United States.

Even though I believe there are some improvements with this version of the show, there are other things I didn't like. Ultra Magnus was the leader of the Autobots instead of Optimus Prime. In the first Transformers movie, Ultra Magnus was a regular soldier who took Optimus's role of guarding the Matrix after he died. In this version, he and Optimus switched positions. I'm a little irritated that this happened. This was until I found out there was a season 4 of Transformers Animated (which was never released) where Ultra Magnus had died from his injuries after fighting Shockwave. This made me wonder if their roles were switched on purpose and Optimus Prime would slowly reach his original role. If this was the case, I would be okay with the roles they were given. It is also weird that Ultra Magnus was Megatron's main rival instead of Optimus. The rivalry between Megatron and Optimus Prime did show up later but it was different. For starters, Optimus knew Megatron but Megatron did not know who Optimus was until the end of season 3. You could argue that Megatron not knowing who Optimus is would make it easier for him to kill him, or it could make him scarier, but it just frustrates me. I know others who didn't get irritated like I did, but it just wasn't the same. I am also wondering why there was a giant hammer created for Ultra Magnus? Everytime I see it, I think about Thor and I end up making Thor jokes. That needs an explanation as well. I also didn't like how Soundwave had a small role in the show. He's just as badass as his other counterparts, so I figured he'd be with the other Decepticons too.

Even with the things I didn't like about this version of Megatron, I think he's more developed and more interesting than his G1 counterpart. With his G1 counterpart, all I expected him to do was make speeches, fight Optimus and bitch at Starscream. TFA Megatron is more fun to look at and I always look forward to his devious tricks. Megatron is not the only character that has plenty of development. We learn about the lives of the main Autobots before they meet the Cons. Optimus was a promising warrior who ended up getting kicked out of the Academy thanks to Sentinal. I do like the fact that Optimus is still selfless like his G1 counterpart even though his job is pretty inferior for him. I am surprised that TFA Optimus is capable of getting angry. I know G1 and his movie counterpart do too, but this is first time where his fuse is a little shorter than usual. Other than that, Optimus Prime is well developed and I enjoy watching him. Bumblebee, who becomes Sari's closest friend, also has a past. He spent a little bit of time in the Academy until he got kicked out and became a repair bot. He's also stubborn, a bigmouth, he's full of pride and a troublemaker, but overall, he's a good kid. This show is the first time I got to see Bulkhead. He's seen as an Autobot known for breaking everything in his path. This does bother him and is convinced he should make things instead of breaking them. He decides to take up art and is actually, really good at it. He does struggle with it and tries to find ways to improve, and as an artist I sympathize with him. Once we find out his true talent was space bridge engineering, he quit art overall. We also get a good look at his friendship between him, Sari, and Bumblebee. We get to see a little bit of Prowl's past before he became a ninja bot and we get to see flashbacks of Ratchet's encounter with Arcee during the war which became an important part of the series too.

Some of the other Autobots have development to them and even one of the villains, Blackarachnia, has a past too. It explains how she went from Elita-1 to what she is now. I find her a very tragic character and I see her as more of a tortured soul instead of an evil villain. She was able to use her new form to somehow seduce others, mostly the Dinobots and Wasp. We don't see her again after the lab on Dinobot Island exploded and she was still alive. Since the episode is called "Predacons Rising," I had a feeling Blackarachnia was going to be more deadly in season 4. This could have happened if season 4 was released.

Overall, this is one of my favorite remakes of the show. I mean, sure it has flaws and it doesn't completely stick to the G1 cartoon but it did a good job at giving the Autobots and Decepticons more character development. I did see some animation errors that should be fixed and I feel like the way Cybertronians transform should have more effort put into them as well. There are some characters I wish weren't put in the show like Sentinal Prime and the human villains [except Henry Masterson (Headmaster) and Prometheus Black (Meltdown)]. Other than that, I enjoyed looking at all the designs of each character, the action scenes, and the comedy that went with it too. I enjoy watching the "Animated" series and I still continue to watch it.

My Top 10 Favorite Episodes
1. "A Fist Full of Energon."
2. "Rise of the Constructicons."
3. "Blast From the Past."
4. "Garbage In, Garbage Out."
5. "Transwarped(1-3)."
6. "Mission Accomplished."
7. "Megatron Rising (Pt. 1-2)."
8. "Nature Calls."
9. "Along Came A Spider."
10. "Total Meltdown."