thehmphone wrote:So it's alright for Optimus to have a mouth in Beast Wars but not alright for him to have one in the movie?
Optimus Primal was a different character. He wasn't
the Optimus Prime - so Primal's mouth never bothered me.
However, all the newer Primes-with-mouthes like in Energon and Cybertron always bugged the hell out of me. Contrary to what the movie makers believe, having the faceplate over his mouth doesn't
detract from his emotions, it
adds to them, since emotions are projected on the character by the audience, given the context. In short, the audience is forced to read much deeper into the character's mind, instead of just looking at his face, which builds a better mental understanding of the character.
For example, does everyone remember how Darth Vader looked in Return of the Jedi when the emperor was shocking Luke? There is a cut where we see Vader's face as he turns from the Emperor to his son, with the lightning shining off his helmet. No facial expression, no frowns, no tears, nothing. Yet the audience gets more emotion in that one faceless expression than they could possibly get if Vader had a mouth.