TF – A Global Phenomenon Once Again
For millions of children of the 80’s there are few more memorable television icons than Optimus Prime and his band of Autobots, battling the evil Decepticons in the original Transformers series. The novel gimmick of giant robots who could transform into various modes of transport and weaponry was a hit on both the television and in the toy shops, and spawned a legion of fans who have remained loyal to the series into their adulthood. Several television spin-offs have been created in the quarter-decade since the original show’s transmission, including the popular Beast Wars saga, and the not-as-popular “Unicron Trilogy”, but they have struggled to capture the imagination of more recent generations of children in quite the same way as the original.
In 2007, however, the release of Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers movie sparked Transformers mania for a new generation, as well as giving older fans the movie that they had been waiting for for years. While controversial amongst some of the “hardcore” fanbase, the realistic design and engineering of the new Transformers combined with incredible CGI brought the robotic giants to life like never before.
The resulting hype has made millions for the various companies involved, including Paramount and Hasbro, and reintroduced Transformers as a major entertainment brand. To tie in with the movie release, Cartoon Network began working on a new animated series based on the Transformers line, originally labelled Transformers: Heroes.
Following the release of the film , however, the decision was made to rename the show Transformers: Animated to differentiate between the series and the movie, since they are set in alternate “universes”. Transformers: Animated panders to both new and old fans alike by including several elements from the original series and the movie, with references to the other spin offs thrown in the good meansure.
The popularity of the film guaranteed high initial viewing figures for Transformers: Animated, but it is the quality writing and voice acting that has kept fans hooked, providing them with action, humour and the Transforming action they're after in a fun half hour cartoon. Combined with a new range of innovative and show-accurate Transformers: Animated action figures, the show is serving to stave off fan’s hunger for Transformers, while keeping the buzz alive while the movie sequel is in preparation (due summer 2009), but it is also quickly becoming recognised as one of the better contributions to the Transformers franchise, and a high earning one at that.
Source: Movieland Pro
{mosgoogle}
