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We have something quite interesting for Transformers Animates fans. Two Transformers Animated shorts, which were considered lost media, have finally been released online for our viewing pleasure.

The two clips were written by Transformers Animated writer Marty Isenberg and animated by Studio 4C and they have been shared via Twitter courtesy of user @KeyanCarlile.

Watch “Starscream’s Fantasy” and “Transformers Animated Logo” after the jump and then let us know your impressions on the 2005 Boards! [Read more…]

under Animated

TFW2005 unfortunately has some very sad news to share today.

Transformers artist Josh Perez has posted on his Twitter that fan-favorite Transformers creative, Derrick J. Wyatt, unexpectedly passed away earlier this month. He was informed by Derrick’s sister and says that there will be more information from his family in the future.

Amongst many things in his cartoon career he was one of the main minds behind Transformers Animated, a show that has become a favorite in the Transformers fandom. Derrick was a longtime fan and he became very well-liked over the years for his work – chiefly, he served as the show’s art director, lead character designer, and color stylist.

TFW2005 had the honor of interviewing Mr. Wyatt back in 2008 where he offered a lot of insight into his life and his love for the brand. You can read it here.

We would like to offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

under Animated

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of legendary actor and voice actor Fred Willard, who was 86. Willard was known to many as a comic actor, appearing in countless films and television shows over the course of over six decades. Some of his more notable work includes This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and the Anchorman films, but to us Transformers fans, he will always be known as the chrasimatic, conniving con-artist, Swindle in Transformers Animated. While his Transformers career is extremely limited, he brought a wealth of personality to the character and played a major part in popularizing the Combaticon arms dealer for newer fans at the time, ultimately leading to an attention snowball for the five-man militia.

The TFW team sends its condolences to Mr. Willard’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time of mourning, and wish them strength.

under Animated, Beast Wars, Transformers Prime

We’re sad to report that notable voice actor Keiji Fujiwara has passed away at the age of 55. According to Crunchyroll’s article, he passed due to cancer on April 12th and his agency made the announcement today. The article also states that he’s been fighting it off for some time.

For those unfamiliar with his work, he is known to many as the voice of Maes Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist [Brotherhood], Captain Hannes from Attack on Titan, Hiroshi Nohara from Crayon Shin-Chan, and the Japanese dub voice of Robert Downey Jr./Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To the Transformers fandom however, he is known as Transformers Prime Megatron, Transformers Animated Grimlock, Beast Wars Dinobot, Micron Legend Devastator, and others. His career was vast with three decades of voice over work and countless lives enriched by the characters he portrayed, and he will be deeply missed.

The TFW2005 team offer Mr. Fujiwara’s family, friends, and colleagues our deepest condolences and wish them all peace and strength during this time of mourning.

under Animated

Transformers Animated never got a proper ending, but TFNation joined with Transformers historian Chris McFeely and AllSpark Almanac author Jim Sorenson to bring a 60-page fan-fiction of the highest order: The Transformers Animated: Trial And Error Graphic Novel. It also featured incredible art by Ed Pirrie, Herzs Palter and Gavin Spence with luscious lettering by Andrew Turnbull with an amazing cover and character design by Josh Perez. This great fan effort was available only as a limited print run for lucky TFNation 2017 attendees.

With just a few hours left for Christmas to end, TFNation is giving all Transformers Animated fans a great final Christmas gift. Check out TFNation blog for a free download of this comic in two formats: A low-res web friendly pdf file or a high-res printable pdf.

Merry Christmas one and all! We are sure many fans would be more than happy to access to this material. Once you download and read your comic, don’t forget to share your impressions on the 2005 Boards!

under Animated, Conventions

At his panel on Sunday 18 August 2019, Marty Isenberg shared some additional details on Transformers Animated, including a few more things we might have seen in a possible Season 4.

Some key points included how Hasbro wanted to do some toys (Powermaster Optimus Prime and Marauder Megatron) and how this would have influenced the show. There was also reference to how Optimus Prime would have got his Movie flames (another toyline influence, intended to sell a redecoed Optimus). Spare a thought also for Beachcomber – the team wanted to have him killed off in Season 3, in a cut scene. He’d have died in Season 4 instead, and if that got cut, he’d have died in Season 5.

Lastly, they never fully figured out Sari’s story. But Sari’s true purpose would have figured into the series finale.

Read on for all the details from the panel.

[Read more…]

under Animated, Conventions

We’re at TFNation 2019 and the presentation of Transformers Animated Season 4 has just concluded.

To recap, in lieu of a script reading at this year’s TFNation, Marty Isenberg took to the stage with the outline for what would have been the premier of Transformers Animated Season 4: The Trial of Megatron. This was presented by the entire original voice cast reading their parts of the outline.

The highlights of this three-part story that wasn’t are:

  • The Protoforms are handed over to the Cyber Ninjas and their new sensei, Dai Atlas.
  • Sari is not one of the protoforms. She’s something else.
  • A wake is held for Prowl.
  • Ultra Magnus dies and names Optimus Prime as his sucessor.
  • Sentinel Prime bribes Bumblebee with a spot on the Elite Guard to endorse him as Ultra Magnus’ successor. This drives a wedge between him and the rest of the team. He later reconciles by refusing to follow along with Sentinel’s bribery.
  • Ratchet and the other science bots build Sentinel Prime a “Powermaster” armor suit.
  • Ironhide and Jazz become members of Team Prime.
  • Omega Supreme has a hard time fitting in on Cybertron as people view him as a weapon of mass destruction. Omega decides to dedicate himself to saving lives.
  • The Decepticons attack the Energon farm Bulkhead came from. Obsidian leads the attack. A later raid sees Team Prime sans Bumblebee fight Strika’s Team Charr.
  • Sentinel gets played by Megatron, first leading the Elite Guard on a wild goose chase then distracting everyone with a public trial.
  • Rattrap (here named Rattletrap) is Megatron’s defence attorny. He gets Megatron off all charges.
  • Megatron launches Trypticon Prison into space.
  • Optimus (using the Powermaster armour) leads his team on Omega Supreme in pursuit. Bulkhead stays behind on Cybertron to fix the damage Trypticon launching caused.
  • Omega VS Trypticon leads to Omega being damaged and remaining in ship mode.
  • Optimus and crew (minus Ratchet) break into Trypticon prison and knock the rocket city’s power offline by overloading the power grid.
  • Megatron throws his soldiers into the city’s reactor in a desperate bid to keep the prison powered (Lugnut jumps in willingly)
  • After a showdown with Optimus Prime, Trypticon prison crashes to Earth – landing on top of Dinobot Island.

A huge thanks to the TFNation crew for organising this event, Marty Isenberg for sharing this with those in attendance and the entire Transformers Animated voice cast for reuniting to reprise their roles.

The performance was presented in aid of Mary’s Meals. You can donate to this good cause at www.marysmeals.org.uk/donate

under Animated, Generations / Classics, Transformers Movie Toys & Products

Design Decode had the pleasure of interviewing Alexander Kubalsky, an Australian toy designer who worked with Takara Tomy to bring us many memorable Transformers toys.

As we edge closer to the release of Transformers: Bumblebee live action movie, we should not forget to thank Mr. Alex Kubalsky; for he is not only the main engineer of the Classics Bumblebee but also the co-engineer of Movie Bumblebee (2007) as well as Animated Bumblebee.

…I eventually realised that the transformation itself can have an art or meaning to it. It does have to just be a functional process to get it from form A to form B; it can also be about the journey. I call this Signature Transformation.

In this concept the transformation movement should either relate somehow to the character or creature that it becomes. For example, I once designed a Bumblebee Transformer that did the helicopter breakdance movement with his legs as he transformed so the end user gets to experience a sense of drama or character as they transform the toy. When I was at TakaraTomy in Japan I wrote a piece explaining this titled “We are not engineers, we are dance choreographers”

*****

I like how when you look at a Transformer in its initial state, its surface is riddled with cut lines, recessed sections for the clearance of moving parts, and recessed holes with exposed screws – the necessary sacrifice to the otherwise smooth surface of its form if it didn’t need to transform.

Instead of viewing these engineering constraints as a compromise to art we should see it as just another tool or medium in the art. I don’t think engineers can benefit too much from art. We need their stoic and objective resolve to pair with the artist, not compete.

*****

When I started at Takaratomy on the Transformers action figures I noticed that they had been designing their robot forms with very straight backs and legs like they were standing to attention. If you were to look directly at the side of one, the neck, shoulder, pelvis, knee, and ankle joints were all in a vertical line top to bottom. I suggested that we move the shoulder line back, make him seem more confident, move the pelvis line forward, make him seem more arrogant etc.

The result was that if you look at a lot of Transformer toys designed between 2005 and 2009 you see this stance start to move. There is a curve through the form. They used to call it the ‘Kubalsky S’. This small addition added more drama in the robot form and I think Takaratomy still use this idea in the Transformer toy line today.

You can check out the full interview at Design Decode. We also mirrored some of the cool engineering sketches and prototypes shared with the article.

[Read more…]

under Animated

Transformers Animated proved to be a very popular series and collection among fans. It’s good to ahve some news or extra information about it after a while. We can share some new Transformers Animated Concept Art by Japanese Designer Watanabe Yoshihiro for your viewing pleasure.

4 concept art images were uploaded via Yokishiro’s T weeter. We can clearly spot an early version of Optimus Prime in a very cartoonish-style. We have other three images for different characters. These images may go back to the early days of “Transformers Heroes”, the first early idea that then became Transformers Animated.

You can check out the mirrored images after the break, and then you can share your impressions on the 2005 Boards!

[Read more…]

under Animated, General Articles, History of Transformers

On 26 December 2007, a new Transformers show, Transformers Animated, made its debut with a three episode pilot which launched a new and different take on the Transformers mythos. Where Optimus Prime was once the supreme commander of the Autobot forces, now he was just a lowly starship captain of a spacebridge repair crew. The Decepticons were powerful and formidable, and the setting was an Earth 50 years into the future, where high technology made robots commonplace and technologically enhanced super villains a part of life.

This was Transformers Animated. We’ve chosen to mark its ten-year anniversary today, on the anniversary of its first non-pilot episode airing, to reflect how Transformers Animated was Transformers in the year 2008, sandwiched between two movie years. We’re also going to dive into how Transformers Animated was a show cut tragically short by a combination of circumstances, and what its lasting legacy has been.

Read the full discussion after the break!

[Read more…]