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We've shown you the plaques and trophies for the Transformers Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for Susan Blu and Lorenzo di Bonaventura (see it here!) which took place at Hascon 2017 last night during the VIP dinner panel with Frank Welker and Peter Cullen - but why not pretend you were there in person, by taking a look at a video recording of the whole thing? Check it out below!
It's that time again to make your voice heard in the Transformers Hall of Fame vote for 2017! Hasbro is asking fans to help nominate inductees into the Transformers Hall of Fame within three categories. The categories are:
Click on each of the three links above to cast your nominations from our lists.
As you know, no characters who have already been inducted within the 'Favorite Character' category will be considered for nomination. In a fun twist this year, in celebration of the release of Transformers: The Last Knight and the 10 year anniversary of the film franchise, any character that appears in the films is eligible for nomination in the 'Favorite Movie Character' category regardless of their nomination or induction previously (if Megatron can win for G1 and Beast Wars, it is only fair!). A list of inducted characters can be found at the bottom of this post.
The new category '2017 Transformers Toy of the Year' is being introduced to provide fans an opportunity to share their passion for the figures that have been the heartbeat of the brand for over 30 years. This new category is meant to celebrate the new product within the calendar year and the ongoing efforts of the Hasbro Transformers team to fulfill the desires of our many fans around the world with innovative and exciting toys. All nominations for this category must be toys newly released by Hasbro in 2017 and can include figures that are yet to hit shelves in the calendar year, but have been announced.
Participate in EACH poll so that we can determine the characters Seibertron.com's citizens wants considered for each category of the Transformers Hall of Fame. We'll share the Top 3 nominees for each category (nine nominees total) including the number of votes with Hasbro by 5pm on Sunday July 16th.
We will rank all of your polling results list in order of who received the most votes for each category. All polling result lists will be combined together, each Transformers fansite outlet getting an equal voice. Hasbro will use the combined values to generate the final ballot of three choices for each category. Details will follow regarding the official voting process in the coming weeks.
Winners of the final polling will be announced at HASCON, the official Hasbro Fanmily Event (September 8-10th in Providence, RI), during the Transformers Hall of Fame Dinner Event on Friday the 8th!
As a reminder, below are the characters and people who have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. If you see a notable character missing from one of our lists, please let us know so that we might consider adding it.
Thanks to our friends at Paramount, Seibertron.com was allowed press access to the US Premiere of the Transformers The Last Knight. The red carpet event took place alongside the Chicago Riverfront alongside the famed Civic Opera House in downtown Chicago, IL. My wife and I were there alongside the rest of the press covering the event. We had two cameras and a couple of cell phones to help us provide as much exclusive content for Seibertron.com as we possibly could. One of our cameras was setup for video and the other for photos. For now, we just have the photos posted of the event and are currently editing the video footage to share with all of you later.
Civic Opera House Building in Chicago, IL
Our press badge
Tickets to the US premiere screening and to the Post Party
Ryan Yzquierdo on the red carpet between MTV Snapchat and Univision's Hoy. We are in front of the Barricade blow-up car.
Hasbro's Transformers Brand Team
Producer Tom DeSanto talking to Seibertron.com
Producer Don Murphy (center) and Executive Producer Mark Vahradian (far left)
Peter Cullen and Frank Welker (voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively)
Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura
Remi Adeleke (TRF Lieutenant)
Sir Anthony Hopkins signing autographs for fans, alongside Seibertron.com's Ryan Yzquierdo
Sir Anthony Hopkins talking to Seibertron.com's Ryan Yzquierdo
Jerrod Carmichael (Jimmy) talking to Seibertron.com
Santiago_Cabrera (Santos from TRF) talking to Seibertron.com
Laura Haddock (Vivian) and Josh Duhamel (Lennox) having fun with fans on the red carpet!
Josh Duhamel (Lennox) talking to Hoy Univision
Isabela Moner (Izabella) strikes a pose for Seibertron.com
Laura Haddock (Vivian) talking to other press.
The stars gathered at the end of the red carpet
Director Michael Bay talks to Seibertron.com for a moment!
Mark Wahlberg (Cade Yaeger) talks to Hoy, checking out Seibertron.com!
Ryan and Lori Yzquierdo inside the Civic Opera House
The cast of Transformers The Last Knight prior to the screening
Ryan Yzquierdo with Producer Tom DeSanto at the Last Knight's after party event. He and I had a great conversation and he completely won me over after he talked to me about Professor X, Magneto, Optimus, Megatron, being a fan in the 80s, the Marvel TF comics, and so on. Even got to talk to him about Jon Bailey's amazing Optimus Prime voice! Tom completely convinced me that he truly is a fan of these properties after talking X-Men and Transformers with me for about 10 minutes.
Ryan Yzquierdo with Ben Montano and John Warden from Hasbro's Transformers Brand Team.
The US Premiere was an absolutely amazing experience, especially for a long time Transformers fan like myself. It was very cool that Paramount let Seibertron.com onto the red carpet alongside regular press such as WGN, ABC, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, MTV and Univision (to name a few). I wasn't quite prepared to be given access to all of the stars like that, nor had I been on the red carpet of a movie premiere before. It was a massive learning experience and we were figuring things out on the fly!
We got to have some brief one-on-one time with Michael Bay, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Jerrod Carmichael, Isabela Moner, Santiago Cabrera, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Remi Adeleke, Juliocesar Chavez, and Tom DeSanto. Unfortunately, due to time constraints at the rushed end of the event, we didn't get to talk to Mark Wahlberg or Laura Haddock but we still managed to get some great pics to share with all of you! All of the stars were very nice and happy to talk to everyone. I was very surprised that they had all of the stars talk to any of the press that wanted to talk to them. I figured we would only be allowed to speak to select stars and didn't think that I'd be getting to shake hands with the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins!
After the screening of the film, which most of the press did not attend, we headed over to the after party at the Prysm Nightclub. We arrived a little late to the party, which was in full swing, due to seeing the movie. I think Josh Duhamel was one of the few stars that stayed for the film, who was saw briefly the film's showing prior to us leaving for the after party. We only saw Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto, Michael Bay, Juliocesar Chavez, Isabela Moner, and the Hasbro Transformers Brand Team at the event though there seemed to be a lot of "big wigs", or something to that effect, along with other Hollywood like people in the packed nightclub, which was closed to the public for the private event (though the club is actually closed on Tuesdays anyway, which I'm assuming is part of the reason why they would choose this club for the evenet). I'm also assuming that a lot of the people that were at the after party were a lot of the "behind-the-scenes" folks that do not get enough recognition for their hard work on these films, such as the writers, artists, costume people, prop people, set designers, etc. It was a lot of fun and the party wrapped up around 2:30am.
I'll share some more thoughts in the topic on our forums. We are still working on putting together a video to share with all of you from our footage of the event.
Thank you again to Paramount for this amazing opportunity. We had a spectacular time! It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime day-to-remember event.
In 2010, Hasbro founded its Transformers Hall of Fame, honoring both robotic characters and some of the humans responsible for their creation that have left an everlasting mark on the world of our favorite Robots in Disguise. Now in its seventh year, Hasbro is once again turning to fans to help select three Fans’ Choice inductees for the class of 2016!
That's right, this year there are three Fans' Choice categories, and these are:
FAVORITE TRANSFORMERS CHARACTER (Fictional Robot Character)
All polling result lists from the various Transformers fansites will be combined together (each outlet getting an equal voice) to generate the final ballot of three choices for each category. Details for the final ballot's voting process are forthcoming.
Winners of the final polling will be announced at BotCon 2016, the official Transformers Convention, in Louisville, KY, April 7 - 10!
As a reminder, below are the characters and people who have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame and are not eligible to be inducted this year:
TRANSFORMERS CURRENTLY IN THE HALL OF FAME:
Arcee* (Class of 2014)
Bumblebee (Class of 2010)
Dinobot* (Class of 2010)
Grimlock (Class of 2012)
Ironhide (Class of 2011)
Jazz (Class of 2012)
Megatron (Class of 2010)
Megatron – Beast Wars* (Class of 2013)
Optimus Prime (Class of 2010)
Predaking (Class of 2015)
Prowl (Class of 2015)
Ratchet (Class of 2011)
Rodimus* (Class of 2014)
Shockwave (Class of 2012)
Soundwave (Class of 2011)
Starscream (Class of 2010)
Ultra Magnus* (Class of 2013)
Waspinator* (Class of 2011)
Wheeljack* (Class of 2012)
*indicates fan-voted inductee
Human Inductees:
Michael Bay (Class of 2011)
Bob Budiansky (Class of 2010)
Stan Bush (Class of 2014)
Vince DiCola (Class of 2015)
Simon Furman (Class of 2012)
Yoke Hideaki (Class of 2010)
Chris Latta (Class of 2012)
Kojin Ohno (Class of 2010)
Steven Spielberg (Class of 2011)
Frank Welker (Class of 2015)
To recap, here's how the process will work:
Phase 1: Using our results from previous years, combined with staff input, we've created polls which will allow you to select which 3 characters you'd like to see selected. Due to the small time window for collection of votes, the options on these polls have been pre-selected by the site staff, which is a departure from the open nomination structure that we've used in past years. We'll tally those poll results together on the morning (in the US) of Wednesday, March 9, 2016 to determine which Transformers characters the fans on Seibertron.com think should be considered, and the results will then be sent to Hasbro.
Nominees for the "Favorite Underrated Transformers Character" category, based somewhat on data from previous years as well as a heavy dose of staff input, include: Cosmos, First Aid, Heatwave the Fire-Bot, Hot Shot, Lockdown, Lugnut, Noble, Punch/Counterpunch, Rhinox, Rung, Scrounge, Sideways, Sky-Byte, Transmutate, and Whirl. You may vote for the "Favorite Underrated Transformers Character" category on our forums by clicking here.
Phase 2: Hasbro will then tally the results together from all of the Transformers fan sites to create the final ballot. Details on this voting process will follow in the coming weeks.
Phase 3: The winning Transformers characters and Musical Act will be announced at BotCon 2016 in Louisville, KY.
More coverage from the Grand Opening Event at Universal Orlando for Transformers: The Ride 3D! Seibertron was on hand at the Red Carpet event to capture all the action, which included a rare appearance by both Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, the iconic voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron! You don't get a lot of opportunities to catch them both at the same event. Click here to view the gallery of almost 900 images!
Universal held a special grand opening event that started with an incredible red carpet walk followed by the official opening of this "NEST" branch by none other than General Morshower, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime! Walking down the red carpet was Mark Woodbury (president of Universal Creative), Peter Cullen (voice of Optimus Prime), Frank Welker (voice of Megatron), Bryony Bouyer (Hasbro Senior Vice President Global Promotions and Marketing Partnerships), Tom Williams (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Parks and Resorts), Bill Davis (President and Chief Operating Officer of Universal Orlando Resort), and Steven Spielberg (Executive Producer of the Transformers films).
Seibertron.com's review of Transformers Dark of the Moon: A Fan Perspective
Dark Side of the Moon
I saw Transformers Dark of the Moon tonight. I am not a professional reviewer. In fact, I strongly dislike writing reviews of any sort. Yet from time-to-time I am strongly inclined to share my thoughts in hopes that some of you might want to hear what the owner of one of the largest Transformers fansites has to say. So without further ado, here's what I've been writing for the past 5 hours.
First and foremost, if you don't want to read any spoilers, just stop reading this review. I don't hold back anything in my reviews. It's all here that I was able to jot down since midnight. If you want to be spoiled, please be my guest and read on ...
I'll cut to the chase right off the bat before I go into comments that only us Seibertronians will enjoy reading. If you're looking for the next Academy Award winner or Oscar winner for best picture, go see something else so we don't have to hear you complain about Transformers Dark of the Moon. If you are just looking for a great, fun summer blockbuster with TONS of action, lots of special effects, a pretty girl, some very cool cars (and robots too), and destruction galore -- you should, without a doubt, see this film. If you're a Transformers fan, then this is 100% required watching in my book.
Is this the best film in the world? No. Is it another very enjoyable summer blockbuster? Of course it is. Are there some problems with the storytelling? Yep. But hey … it's Transformers, it's not Revenge of the Fallen, and it was a fun couple of hours watching exciting craziness unfold before my very 3d weary eyes. While Transformers Dark of the Moon didn't surpass the first Transformers film from Michael Bay, it was better than Revenge of the Fallen. However, it shared some of the same flaws from which the previous movie suffered.
As I have said for the past four or five years, I think Michael Bay was the perfect person to be the director of the first Transformers live action film franchise. I liked some of his previous movies such as Bad Boys and Armageddon. Michael Bay is well known for delivering what he promises. He makes larger than life fun movies that appeal to a very large audience. I truly believe that it was his vision that helped introduce our beloved Transformers to people not as passionate about them as are we. The Transformers are a toy line that have overcome many obstacles over the years and have reached the point of becoming a household name and a billion dollar film franchise.
The special effects were absolutely truly amazing. I hope nothing I say in this fanboy "review" plays down the fact that this movie is an amazing feat of technology. The destruction of Chicago is an incredible technological achievement. It looked like they destroyed the city. And it wasn't far away or brief shots like Battle: Los Angeles. It was complex digitally animated (?) extremely detailed and extremely believable mass destruction bestowed upon the city I've called home for the past 9 years. It was truly amazing to see what they did to this city. The Transformers themselves seemed to be more detailed, but in a good way. I didn't have much difficulty telling who was who, even when they were fighting. There even seemed to be some improvements to the facial expressions on some of the robots. There was a moment with Optimus Prime's face that I remember seeing that I thought, hey that's cool that they got him to make that face, and the same with Ratchet in another scene. Academy Award winning movie or not, I think the special effects teams on this movie should get all sorts of awards. Kudos to all of the people who worked on special effects for this film.
If you wish to read the rest of my thoughts, simply highlight all of the text below by using your mouse, touchpad or by clicking "ctrl" + "a" on your keyboard to highlight all of the text.
Houston, we have a problem
A lot of the problems I had with this film was the fact that there was just too much going on. You shouldn't have to read the novel adaptation to understand what exactly was happening during the film. I think the overall story was good. It just needed to be tightened up, and some time that was given to other scenes could have been used to develop some of the characters.
Speaking of characterization, the Transformers continue to serve more as plot devices than actual characters that you know and love. There are few scenes which show the Transformers interacting on their own without humans and many of them get little character development. I love the Transformers characters, I've grown up with them, but without the bond that I have with these characters through three decades of reading the comics, watching the cartoons, and collecting the toys, I don't understand how the general movie going audience is supposed to have a bond with these characters (aside from Optimus Prime and maybe Bumblebee). It is my hope that now that the general world wide audience has been well introduced to the concept of the Transformers brand, that we can movie into a film franchise where the story can be told more from the Transformers' perspective(s) and less from the humans'.
The Chernobyl scene seemed like the they went through a lot of trouble for us, and the Autobots, to find out that the humans had a piece, or pieces, from the Ark on the moon. I get that they were trying to show us that the Russians had tried to harness the power, which caused the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, but it just came across as really forced to me and a very unnecessary scene.
Human Characters and Actors
Overall, the acting was pretty good. I don't recall thinking that anyone had any overly cheesy lines, or poor acting. The only one that really stood out to me was John Duhamel's Lennox. I wasn't a big fan of him in ROTF and I had much the same feeling about him in DOTM. It might have nothing to do with his character and is just how the writers are depicting him. I liked him in the first movie, and I've liked him in other movies that I've seen him in. Tyrese Gibson's Epps was better portrayed in DOTM than ROTF. Shia was much the same … I liked him in all three movies. I think he's a good actor. As much as I love John Turturro's "Agent" Simmons, I just felt his involvement was either too forced or unnecessary. I felt like he didn't really bring anything to the story. Yeah, he wrote a book, yeah, Bill O'Reilly interviewing Simmons because of his new book was entertaining, but not needed. If you felt his involvement was forced in ROTF, you'll definitely feel that way here.
The ever so beautiful Rosie Huntington-Whitely filled her role, and her tight dresses, perfectly. The Transformers film franchise triumphantly shows the world that all you need is some pretty t-and-a to play the out-of-his-league love interest for Sam Witwicky which could've continued to have been played by Megan Fox had she been able to keep her mouth shut. As a fan, I was happy to have Rosie onboard as Carly, who was the love interest of Spike Witwicky in the original 1980s animated cartoon series. I could've done without the gratuitous underwear/butt shot as she was walking up the stairs. Nice to look at in a men's magazine, just 100% unnecessary in a Transformers flick especially in the first ten minutes or so (though I'm sure many would argue that it's the same demographic).
I was both surprised and disappointed at how small John Malkovich's "Bruce Brazos" role was. His eccentric character went unused through the second half of the film. I thought that he and Patrick Dempsey were miscast and should have had the other's role. Malkovich could've played a perfect live action Dr. Arkeville, which would have been a very nice nod to the Transformers mythos. He even looked the part in my book. It would've even fit in perfectly with the whole "humans working for the Decepticons" plot. Patrick Dempsey's "Dylan Gould" was quite the villain surprisingly. Dempsey was definitely "McBadAss" in this film, and not so "McDreamy".
While I always enjoy the onscreen presence of Sam's parents (played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White), I felt the inclusion of Ron and Judy Witwicky was completely unnecessary for the story. Their roles were merely there for the comedic inconvenience and embarrassment that they cause their son.
Pleasant surprise "cameos": real-life Buzz Aldrin, Nixon, JFK, President Obama, and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.
Toned Down Humor – Smaller Funny Bits
The sexual humor that many found offensive in the previous two films was significantly reduced in this movie. No more lubricating jokes, no more masturbation jokes, no more boxer jokes, no dog humping, no robot humping, no racially degrading comments. There was an oral sex innuendo from Carly to Sam, and a comment from Sam's mom about him being well-endowed, and a brief comment from Brains about Carly's panties or underwear drawer or something, but all of those comments were fairly brief and didn't seem to distract from what else was happening in the scene.
There were no words like "pussy" or "bitch" in this movie, which made me feel a little squeamish in ROTF. Either Wheelie or Brains says "dickhead" if I recall correctly, but it seemed rather appropriate.
The Sound of Music and the Music of Sound
Steve Jablonsky's music score for DOTM continued to please me. Nothing struck me as out-of-place, but at the same time nothing caught my attention emotionally like "The Arrival" from the first film's score. I was glad the "corny" music from the first and second film (cue the music from when Sam arrived at the lake in the first movie) was absent from the third. I'm looking forward to purchasing Jablonsky's score when it becomes available on CD. Linkin Park's "Iridescent" was present in the film if I recall correctly, and I think the Goo Goo Dolls "All That You Are" is as well.
The sound quality of the film seemed great. I don't recall my ears hurting nor do I feel like I was ever having difficulty understanding anything. I don't recall a G1 transformation sound, hopefully someone catches one and can point it out. No complaints here from me about the audio.
Cartoon References or Coincidence
Several elements of Dark of the Moon reminded me of the fan-favorite three part cartoon "The Ultimate Doom". In that story, the Decepticons enslave mind-controlled humans and bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit via a space bridge. In Dark of the Moon, fearful or deceived humans are working for the Decepticons who want to bring Cybertron to Earth in order to use our planet's resources to repower their homeplanet. Very similar concepts.
One other similar concept that seemed pulled from the cartoons, was the Autobots' exile from Earth. While this scene seemed huge, and the Autobot shuttle looked magnificent, I couldn't help but feel that Megatron's Master Plan pulled this exile concept off better somehow … or at least with more emotional attachment. The whole scene should've felt more powerful in my opinion.
Transformers Characters
My personal favorite character, Soundwave, is still Frank Welker's Dr Claw voice minus the voice processing we all know and love from the original cartoon. Soundwave was one of Megatron's right hand "bots", standing by his side during what will be a very memorable on screen moment that had all three big time Decepticons in the same scene standing side-by-side (Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave). While I was initially disappointed to hear that he transformed into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in DOTM, his role as Decepticon spy was served just as well by going undercover posing as Carly's car, which her Decepticon loving boss gave her as a "gift". His robot mode looked awesome and he has an awesome moment battling the Autobots before he gets slagged.
Laserbeak speaks, to which I feel indifferent about it. I kept having moments of nostalgia from the Japanese version of the original Transformers cartoons when Laserbeak and Ravage would speak. He's a cool little character that really kicks some butt in this film (albeit mostly humans, more about that later). He transforms into a multitude of objects in the movie. It'd be neat to see Hasbro come up with some other toy versions of Laserbeak. He even transformed into a small human sized red Bumblebee-looking robot to pose as a playmate to a daughter of one of his victims. There was an awesome nostalgic moment when Laserbeak rested/landed upon Soundwave's right arm. While he doesn't look exactly like the Laserbeak of old, I think this is a great representation of this character in live action form.
Mirage was named Dino (pronounced "dee-no"), who looked very awesome. I mean, what Transformers fan doesn't love having an Autobot that transforms into a sexy, red Ferrari 458 Italia? Sucked seeing him share onscreen time with Sideswipe, who's basically the same character, when a red sports car should have been Sideswipe all along.
Wheeljack was named Q (Cue? Que?), who was a very disappointing addition to the Autobot roster. It wasn't so much the characterization (or lack thereof; who's onscreen role could've easily been given to the Autobot weapons specialist Ironhide), but the head design basically looked like a robotic skull with Albert Einstein's facial features and hair. I'm assuming they were trying to convey that this is an Autobot scientist or a really smart Transformer, but I'd like to think that most of the movie going audience is above having things shoved in their faces like that. The original Wheeljack has such a unique head design that it was a shame to not see that translate to the big screen. If you didn't like him either, don't worry, Soundwave executes him later in the film during a rather tense moment when it seems like all is lost to the Autobots.
For as big of a deal as it seems everyone has made about the Autobot subgroup known as the "Wreckers" (Leadfoot, Roadbuster, and Topspin), they really had minor roles for the most part. They were part of the crew working alongside the humans on the Autobots ship which they were exiled in, and the other major part they had was going with Bumblebee into the city when they ripped apart a Decepticon pilot who had crashed, and saving Optimus Prime when he got tangled in some wires after battling the Driller that was attacking the falling skyscraper Sam and the other humans were trapped in. I didn't think I'd like how Leadfoot looked onscreen, but he was easily one of my favorite product placements in the film. While I couldn't pinpoint any connection with the Wreckers voices, I can assure all of you that they did NOT have redneck voices which was a huge relief to me.
Ratchet was in it considerably more than ROTF, however he still had few lines. Same voice actor as far as I could tell from the first film. He also seemed to have a modified face, but I'd have to get another look at it. He was with Optimus when they went to the Ark.
Sideswipe had at least one line, perhaps more. I felt like his onscreen time was replaced with that of Mirage Dino.
Sentinel Prime, voiced by Star Trek's Leonary Nimoy (who also voice Galvatron in the 1986 animated Transformers film), was one of the few Transformers to receive some characterization. His character underwent a harsh transformation from being Optimus Prime's predecessor and hero to being one of the major antagonists in the film. His ideals seemed to align more with that of Megatron and his Decepticons than with the heroic Autobots. He seemed far more concerned with saving the Cybertronian race and planet, which seems like all movie Megatron has wanted. There was no foreshadowing of Sentinel's betrayal. After bringing Sentinel back online, there was a nice moment where Optimus tried to give the Matrix to Sentinel, but oddly Sentinel declined. It seems like if he was inevitably going to betray the Autobots, that he should have taken the Matrix. His death at the end of the movie was very fitting, though I think it sucked seeing the heroic Optimus Prime killing his Autobot mentor.
Sentinel's betrayal wasn't the moment that I wasn't expecting. It was how Sentinel viciously attacked the Autobots, and killed Ironhide! I didn't see that coming. I hadn't even heard any rumors of that happening. It was the only moment during the film that I was shocked at. I was especially shocked since Hasbro has heavily promoted Ironhide by having at least five toys of this character available at retail by the release date of the film.
Still no voice for Bumblebee! If you're wondering why he's holding his hands up to his head in the trailer, it's not because the sound is too loud … it's because his holding his hands up before he's almost executed by Soundwave and the Decepticons. Very tense, cool scene.
Shockwave's character was a waste to me. He looked awesome. He looked evil. But without even a full line (he said something at the Chernobyl scene but I think it was just "Optimus Prime" or something very basic), there was zero characterization. He could've just been another drone for all we know, well, a drone leading other drones. I was hoping for just a couple of lines to Megatron about something being logical or illogical, something that says that this is the character we've known and loved over the past 27 years. He was killed during the Chicago battle.
I wasn't sure what to make of Starscream in this film. His character had been reduced to the worst traits of Starscream. Cowardly, whiny (?). He had two moments in the film that should have been more monumental and awe-inspiring … when he single handedly takes out the exiled Autobots' shuttle and when he takes on the sky divers by the Willis tower in the skies over Chicago. One of my favorite scenes in the Transformers film franchise is in the first movie during the final battle when Starscream takes on the other F-22 Raptors going back and forth between his robot mode and jet mode. That scene is one of the best uses of their ability to transform in the film. I was waiting for that "wow, that's so cool" moment to hit me with either of those scenes but that moment never happened.
The rumors about the cowardly villain Starscream meeting his maker were unfortunately true. Thankfully, he didn't get taken down singlehandedly by one of Epps buddies, which was the rumor we heard last summer. Disappointingly, he was taken down by Sam, who used a grappling hook device given to him by Q. Sam used the weapon to attach the hook to one of Starscream's eyes, which damages it. Starscream is ranting about his eyes and not being able to see. All I kept thinking during this scene is … can't Transformers "see" without their eyes. Seriously … how else would they "see" when they're in their vehicle modes if they didn't have alternative methods to see? If Starscream had just transformed into jet mode, would he have been able to "see" again? Starscream deserves a much better death scene than this. Fortunately, we have his far superior death courtesy of Galvatron in the 1986 film.
Ever wonder what happened to my favorite police car Decepticon Barricade? He went M.I.A., literally, during the final quarter of the first film, was M.I.A. for the entirety of ROTF, but finally makes a miraculous return during the Chicago battle scene. I was very happy to see him return. If I saw correctly, it looks like he received an update or two to his character model. It'd be nice to see some comparison shots of this. My happiness at Barricade's return lasted only momentarily as he was destroyed shortly thereafter.
Skids and Mudflap were indeed missing from the film. I didn't even see them as additional robots during the scene where the Autobots were exiled from Earth. I didn't miss them though I do think they would have served as great cannon fodder.
Optimus Prime gets the movie version of his battle axe that reminded me of the axe he had during the Hoover dam battle against Megatron in a G1 "More Than Meets The Eye" cartoon episode.
Megatron says something to the affect of "what would you be without me" to which Optimus replies "Let's find out." and he proceeds to kill Megatron.
Random Scenes and Thoughts
The scene on the highway en route to Chicago turned out very cool. You might remember this as the scene where the infamous accident happened last summer in Hammond, Indiana that left Gabriela Cedillo, an extra in the film, permanently brain damaged and paralyzed. I meant to see if there was any mention of her in the credits, I'll have to look again tomorrow night. The "Dreads" were a very cool group of Decepticons. I really like their overall look, which is odd because I'm not a big fan of dreadlocks. Their unified and unique look just really stands out to me. I wasn't sure what to make of their "Mexican stand-off" with Ironhide and Sideswipe, but they seemed pretty cool in my book.
I felt confused as to why the Decepticons space bridged to Washington, D.C. then proceed to travel to invade Chicago. Why not either space bridge directly to Chicago or invade D.C. instead? The D.C. scene did give us a nice moment at the Lincoln Memorial where Megatron blows off President Lincoln's head, and the proceeds to remove Lincoln's statue so that Megatron could sit in his chair. One of the Decepticons scans a WM garbage truck after arriving in DC (I want this Transformer!).
Lots of humans get killed in this film. The Decepticons have a weapon that just kind of vaporizes a human after it blasts apart. In one scene, we see a human skull roll toward someone's foot after they were killed. Pretty graphic and intense. Not something I'd recommend for the kiddies to see.
I felt very uncomfortable when the Wreckers tore apart a Decepticon pilot. I just kept thinking "Autobots wouldn't do that!" Kind of reminded me of some of the Abu Ghraib situation a few years back.
The Autobot ship did indeed look awesome. Massive. They missed the opportunity to call the ship something like "Omega Supreme", maybe Hasbro will give us an Omega Supreme toy out of it just yet, but I wouldn't count on it. Someone in the film mentions that there are 9 Autobots, but I can't 11 if you count Wheelie and Brains (Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Topspin, Roadbuster, Leadfoot, Dino, and Que) who were aboard the ship if I recall correctly. The shuttle scene was a good scene, it just seemed to lack the emotion that such an important scene should have … especially when Starscream takes out the ship after it launches and apparently kills all of the Autobots aboard.
The whole Cybertron coming to Earth plot seemed a little much to me for the general movie going audience to understand. Without showing the full planet of Cybertron in DOTM, it seemed like it was a lot to ask people to understand that "Cybertron", the Transformers planet which much of the audience has never seen before, was being transported to our orbit. As a fan, I had a very difficult time seeing the large object that was coming through the space bridge portal as Cybertron. It seemed so unmonumental and so unnecessary to a Decepticon invasion of Earth that I felt distracted by that entire plot element (though it's what united Sentinel with Megatron). In addition, I couldn't tell what Cybertron's fate was. It looked as if Cybertron had imploded upon itself when the space bridge was destroyed yet without any dialogue in the film or concern from any of the Transformers, it's fate was left uncertain to me.
After seeing more of the same storytelling problems from ROTF creep into DOTM, I can't help but feel that it's time for Michael Bay, Shia, and the rest of the crew to move onto other projects and make way for some new, fresh ideas to brought into the life of the Transformers films. I'd like to see what someone else can do with the Transformers now that they have proven that it's a successful toy-to-film franchise. I'd also like to see what other types of films Michael Bay wants to make as I can't believe that he would want to be best known for making the Transformers films. I think the movies are very entertaining films for what they are. No one claimed these would, or should, be Oscar award winning movies. The people who have worked on these films have done an amazing job, considering the source material started out as a toy line so many years ago.
No need to stay until the very end of the credits.
Honorable 3D Mention
Why no mention from me about 3D yet? To be blunt: I'm not a fan of 3D. Not at all. I see it for what it is … a ploy to give people something special at the theater that they can't get elsewhere and to make it more difficult for the bootleg "market". I'm looking forward to seeing DOTM in good ol' fashioned 2D. When I watch a 3D movie, I feel like I'm staring at those posters that doctor offices had back in the early 90s where you have to cross your eyes to see the hidden image in the picture. I also can't stand wearing glasses in the theater. It's just not my thing. Did this movie seem like a technical achievement in the 3D field? I can't judge that as I haven't seen any other movie in 3D except for James Cameron's Avatar.
3D doesn't make me feel like I'm part of the movie at all, if anything, it makes me feel disjointed from the film because of how many times I notice the "3D" layers. It's extremely distracting and I don't recall ever thinking when viewing a 2D movie that I wished it had been in 3D. I keep thinking of that Best Buy "buy back" commercial where the girl is calling the guy a "silly head" because he bought a 3D TV instead of a 4D TV. I'm hoping 4D gets here soon because I can't stand this very "forced" 3D craze.
I hope someone important in the movie industry read my thoughts about 3D.
Meet The Press
I wanted to take a moment to personally thank Paramount for hooking me up with a Press pass for tonight's show at the AMC River East in downtown Chicago. I had the pleasure of meeting famed movie critic Roger Ebert this evening, who sat directly behind my wife at tonight's showing. It was a great experience and quite an honor. It was also a very fitting moment since Roger Ebert had mentioned Seibertron.com in his explanation about his review of Revenge of the Fallen.
On a personal note, I think I'd prefer seeing a movie like DOTM with a regular audience any day. The press guys didn't laugh or gasp or anything during the movie. Either they thought DOTM sucked or they were all way too busy writing down notes on their pads of paper. To me, a big part of going opening night for a movie, or even some time during the opening week, is to catch the buzz that radiates through a movie theater that is excited about a film. I think it's unfortunate that the press people didn't get to experience this movie with the regular movie going audience. I'm looking forward to seeing DOTM on Tuesday night with family and friends and people from Seibertron.com who I know will be geeked and excited about seeing this film ... and are there to have fun and have a great time.
Wrap-Up
So you might be wondering exactly what I thought of this movie and what my recommendations are. I know I picked apart a lot of the movie above. I'm very, very passionate about Transformers. I'm also very protective of how we, the fans, see our Transformers. I just want our experience to be shared by everyone else. I want people to know why we like and love these Transformers characters. I gave it a 4 out of 5 on my Netflix account just now. If it wasn't a Transformers flick, I'd give it a 3 out of 5 mainly due to feeling that the story was confusing at times or incoherent. The special effects and technical achievements in this film were simply amazing … stunning even! They should win awards left and right for what pulled off with Chicago and for making huge leaps with the computer animation for the robots which continue to look better and better.
As I said at the beginning of this review, if you're a Transformers fan, you've got to go see this film so that you can tell the rest of us what you think about it. Don't base whether or not you see this movie based on my review. It's a fun movie. Go see it. You be the judge and tell us what you think after you see it.
So where to begin telling you about Transformers Prime? In less than two short days, many of you will get to experience what I've already watched about a half dozen times. Earlier this week on Monday morning, an unexpected package arrived from The Hub via UPS. I quickly opened up the package and was surprised to see that they had sent me an advance copy of the first two episodes of Transformers Prime.
I quickly got to work writing extremely lengthy and detailed summaries of the first two episodes. I wasn't sure who my review would be competing against so I decided to do summaries instead of a review first in case everyone and their robo-brother did reviews. I figured detailed summaries would be least likely by everyone. My instinct was correct. If you missed the spoilerific summaries I posted earlier this week, you can check them out by clicking on the following links.
Much to my surprise, I really liked the show. I'm not sure what I was expecting. To be honest, I've had Transformers Prime on my mind's back burner. I've been so busy with keeping up with galleries on Seibertron.com that I hadn't really given "Prime" much thought other than making sure news was getting posted about it when necessary. Prior to seeing the show, I would never have believed what my reaction would have been. To sum up my thoughts about Transformers Prime, let me put it like this in terms that Seibertronians will understand loud and clear -- "Prime is like the love child of Beast Wars and the Live Action Films". Basically everything I like about both of those series seems to be here, except without the senseless and cheesy humor.
On November 24th, weekly entertainment trade magazine Variety posted a review of "Transformers Prime". I was hesitant to read what they wrote initially, but after getting through the first paragraph or two I realized that they liked it as well. Their review wasn't quite what I was expecting from a mainstream magazine. I thought for sure that my Transformers warped mind was making me watch the show through rose-colored glasses. Nope -- they liked it and even summed up several of my thoughts.
Variety wrote:As no-brainers go, a Transformers TV show on the Hub -- welding Hasbro's popular toy line into its cable co-venture with Discovery -- ranks down there with making a sequel to the first movie. Yet the product of that assembly line, "Transformers Prime," proves unexpectedly sharp -- better than the movies (admittedly damnation with faint praise), thanks to the arresting CGI animation, which proves especially well-suited to rendering shiny robots and their vehicular alter egos. There's nothing more than meets the eye here, but what does appear is a plenty entertaining addition to this well-oiled moneymaking machine.
Having read such a positive review from Variety, I felt more encouraged to state how much I liked Transformers Prime. The voice acting is superb, the animation looks incredible and uniquely stylized (even if the human animation models are lacking something), the musical score was beautiful, and the aggressive story below me away.
The first two episodes were serious, sophisticated, rather dark and contained various mature themes -- something I was not expecting at all, especially after the somewhat misleading character trailers that The Hub recently rolled out. This show is definitely not geared toward the younger kids like Transformers Animated was. I don't even know what previous series Transformers Prime is most like. I think I'll need to view a few more episodes to decide. I'll tell you what it's not like ... it doesn't have the kiddie feel to it like Animated, it's extremely coherent and not dumbed-down or poorly dubbed like the Unicron Trilogy, it's not simplified or hyperactive like RID, it's not a whiny complaining misguided hippie like Beast Machines, it's not like Beast Wars despite being the closest thing I could compare Prime to, and it doesn't come across like a toy commercial like G1 does at times (sacrilegious, I know).
Transformers Prime doesn't waste any time. Something major happens in the first third of the first episode that I don't think anyone was expecting. I can't wait to see if the second episode truly ended what happened or if there's more than meets the eye awaiting us. I'm still shocked at what happened, especially in the second episode. Crazy!
Knowing that an army of you Seibertronians will be here on Friday evening posting your reviews in this topic, I'll keep the rest of this review to a minimum. Here are some of my final thoughts that I want to share with you to tide all of you over until Friday afternoon when Transformers Prime debuts.
It's in widescreen, though (unfortunately) most of us won't get to watch it in widescreen because most of our Cable companies haven't started airing The Hub in HD yet. Here's hoping for a quick release of this show on DVD, or at least when the toys inevitably come out.
This show has an actual musical score along the lines of the music from the live action Transformers films. It's complex, not repetitive, and it always seems completely appropriate for the scene. Beast Wars suffered greatly in this department whereas it seems to be one of Prime's greatest strengths.
The voice acting is superb in my book. I was pretty geeked about Peter Cullen and Frank Welker reprising their rightful roles as Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively. The rest of the voices seemed appropriately cast. None of the voices seem out-of-place. Everything seems natural. It definitely feels like the animation was done to the voice acting instead of the other way around, which was one of Beast Wars greatest strengths.
The kids weren't as annoying as I had expected. I'm one of those fans that understands the purpose of having humans in the Transformers cartoons. Without humans, there'd be little point to Transformers being "robots in disguise". They're a necessary evil and, in this case, they're handled fairly well. The show is about the Transformers and not the kids -- there seems to be little confusion about that.
"Prime" is dark at times -- some themes that might not be appropriate or suitable for young children. They might even be getting away with some of what happened in the first two episodes because what occurred happened to "robots" and not humans and because it's airing on a cable channel half-owned by the same people who own the Transformers (*ahem* that'd be Hasbro folks). If you question whether or not the show is dark, just ask yourself this ... has the word "cadaver" ever been used in an episode of Transformers before?
The overall mood of the show, or at the very least the first two episodes, is far more serious than we've seen in a long time. I guess this is what makes me keep thinking of Beast Wars. But not all of Beast Wars. Think "The Trigger", "Dark Voyage", "Law of the Jungle", "Other Voices", "Other Visits", and "Code of Hero". Not on an epic scale like Other Voices or a heart-wrenching scale like Code of Hero, but in its own unique way.
The animation has grown on me. There are some things that I don't like. This might be the show's weakest link and one of its greatest strengths. The backgrounds, the complexity of each scene, the transformations, the alternate modes, and the Transformers robots themselves all look incredible. Yet at the same time, I get this feeling like I'm watching the cut scenes in a video game. Something's not quite right and I can't pinpoint it. For the most part though, the show looks incredible. I really like the overall style of the animation even though I have a few issues with it. It is definitely unique, as unique as the style of Transformers Animated is and the style of the live action Transformers films.
Speaking of transformations, they're very fluid -- more along the lines of the live action films. To be honest, I really had to think about this because none of the transformations really stood out to me -- but that's actually a good thing because it means they didn't waste a lot of time forcing the transformations upon you. It just happened and the show went on.
As I've said before, War For Cybertron/Exodus and Transformers Prime are a "forced" continuity meaning that they weren't originally intended to be the same continuity despite what Hasbro tells us. There are a few things that contradict what's already been established in the WFC universe, not to mention a flash back scene in Transformers Prime that uses the Prime animation models and not anything that looks like the WFC designs. I'll consider them the same continuity to humor everyone but they're as forced together as Transformers Cybertron was forced into the Unicron Trilogy.
And now for my thoughts on the characters ...
Optimus Prime - he's basically the same as his movie counterpart. As much as I love Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, I sometimes feel that he takes the role a little too serious. Everything always seems so epic and heavy with him voicing Optimus. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just looking for something to complain about like a typical fan boy. Or maybe he does need to loosen up a little bit.
Megatron - I'm not usually on the Frank Welker-voicing-Megatron bandwagon like many fans are. Every time I've heard him do his "Megatron" voice in recent years, I kind of cringe. His recent Megatron voice is definitely not his G1 Megatron voice, whether it's him or how it's vocoded I don't know. So I was a little reluctant about him reprising the role of Megatron. His voice at the end of the first episode is like his recent Megatron voice that I don't particularly like. However, his voice in the 2nd episode is unlike any other Welker/Megatron voice I've heard before. It's unique to this character and very appropriate. This Megatron is EVIL, a true villain, something that has been missing from Megatron for a very long time. Sometimes I wonder what the difference is between Megatron and Optimus because we rarely get to see Megatron be evil. You do in Transformers Prime and that's why this Megatron has got me wondering if this could be my favorite Megatron since the Beast Wars Megatron.
Arcee - She's a pretty major character in the first two episodes that gets a lot of screen time. She's the bridge that basically brings the humans into the Transformers storyline. She's a very serious Arcee. This isn't your Headmasters "secretary" Arcee or Susan Blu's Animated Arcee. This is an Arcee with an attitude. Not IDW's Furmanized Arcee, but definitely more of a serious warrior Arcee
Starscream - not a wuss. Voice is different than previous incarnations. More like the first live action film than the second. It's unique and not the "screaming" high pitched voice either. I wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first. I liked it, but I just kept thinking that it's not a voice for Starscream. I was sold pretty quickly on it when I saw Starscream being a complete badass in the first episode when he does something we haven't seen in a Transformers cartoon in a really long time (if ever). Give this Starscream a chance. He might just give previous Starscream incarnations a run for their money.
Ratchet - Jeffrey Combs does an incredible job with this really fun character. This might be the best rendition of Ratchet to date. Picture a cross between G1 cartoon, comic, and Transformers Animated Ratchets -- and the best of each to boot. He's not fond of the human kids, has a sense of humor, grumbles, complains, and still gets the job done. I'm rooting for a Starscream versus Ratchet battle, they both might be worthy of revisiting Simon Furman's Marvel Comics battle between these two characters.
Soundwave - Megatron's here because of him basically, no thanks to Starscream, but we really don't find out too much about him. We don't even really hear him speak, he just plays back a recording of something Arcee said. Hopefully he's more than just a drone.
Bumblebee - more-or-less like his movie counterpart with some added bits from his Animated self. He can't talk, which is one of my few complaints about the show, especially with no explanation about why he can't speak other than via beeps and boops, which Raf can oddly understand. He surprisingly didn't get as much screen time as Arcee did, which I thought was a little odd. I'm sure he'll get his moment in the spotlight in the near future though.
Bulkhead - basically like his Animated character, but without the goofy clumsiness. All muscle it seems. Voice is similar but different. Lots of fun potential with him. Minimal screen time but enough to get a taste of him.
Cliffjumper - seems like a cool character. Not sure that they needed to bring in a Hollywood name to do his voice. His design is one of my favorites in this show. Definitely a risk taker. He was portrayed very well in IDW's Transformers Prime comic and his characterization carried over to the cartoon show.
"Transformers Prime" Production Credits:
Produced By Hasbro Studios
Executive Producers:
Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Kline are executive producers. Kurtzman and Orci served as co-writers of the feature films "Transformers," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Star Trek." Kline was also executive producer of the animated series "Jackie Chan Adventures."
Main cast:
Optimus Prime - Peter Cullen
Arcee - Sumalee Montano
Ratchet - Jeffrey Combs
Bulkhead - Kevin Michael Richardson
Megatron - Frank Welker
Jack - Josh Keaton
Miko - Tania Gunadi
Raf - Andy Pessoa
Starscream - Steve Blum
Agent Fowler - Ernie Hudson
June Darby - Markie Post
Well, that's it for me for tonight. Please make sure you stop by to share your thoughts after you watch Transformers Prime. I look forward to hearing what other Seibertronians think of this show.
Our very own Stormrider had the awesome opportunity to interview a very influential man in our fandom, this man is no other than the voice of evil himself Frank Welker!
Frank Welker has done so much in his life and has been called a "voice god". We all know him for his role as Megatron in the original Trasnformers, but he has literally done hundreds of different voices or appearances in various shows and cartoons like Fred of "Scooby Doo" to several different voices in Transformers. You can view his impressive resume on IMDB.com and read more about him on Wikipedia.
We are very proud to be able to share this interview with all of you.
Stormrider: Hail Mr. Welker (Leader of the Decepticons).
Welker:Greetings humanoid Stormrider!
Stormrider: I would like to thank you for this opportunity. It is truly an honor to chat with such a legendary voice artist. Your numerous voices have been a big influence on cartoons and movies, and have made millions of children and adults smile. Today, I have several questions to ask you (that your fans are dying to know).
Welker:Thank you for your kind words, I do appreciate it...now, off your knees lest your fellow humanoids see you,...ask Lord Megatron what you wish....
Stormrider: I would like start off by asking you some questions about your role with Transformers:
Welker:Absolutely, fire when ready.
Stormrider: Regarding your work with the Transformers cartoon, when did you first realize it had such a huge and lasting effect? And along that line - when did you realize that you had such a huge following of Transformer fans? Were you ever surprised?
Welker: I first got the feeling that something was going on a few years back. I kept getting these invites to Botcons, Transcons and other various cons. I had no idea what they were and was surprised to find out that these folks wanted me come out to their venues.
I remember calling Peter Cullen after one particular invite, an event being held in New York. I asked him if he would like to go. We agreed that if we both went it could be fun and I should go ahead and confirm the date. Something came up at the last minute and I wasn't able to make it. Peter ended up going without me. He told me later that he really enjoyed the experience. Of course he wouldn't speak to me for a month. He said the fans were great and that there was an incredible interest and following in all things "Transformer." I think I can speak for both Peter and myself in saying that we had no idea of the huge "Transformer" fan base. It was a big surprise.
Stormrider: What is it like to look back at your work from the Transformers series 20 years ago? Are there any special memories you would like to share?
Welker: Again, I had no idea about the popularity of the franchise. I received a box set of the television series from an Australian fellow who wanted to do an interview to go along with the impending release of this set. So, I watched some of the shows and was very much surprised how much I had forgotten. I really got a kick out of seeing the old shows and hearing our G1 voices.
I remember at the time of the recordings we were allowed by the Screen Actors Guild contract to do 8 hour sessions and for "Transformers" most of those sessions ran the full 8 hours. Today, you can only record four hours. Anyway, eight hours with a bunch of crazy, talented, fun, actors is like being at scout camp with crazy glue and spray string. We were kids having fun...Oh, there was much work (and often times hard work) but the people made it fun. Mike Bell, Jack Angel, Scatman Cruthers, Chris Latta, Greg Berger, Casey Casem, Don Messick, Peter Cullen and on and on with all these folks; it was recipe for fun and folly.
Mike Bell was an instigator. He and I loved to see if we could make Cullen break up during sessions. Mike was a master of saying incredibly fun nasty things...let me explain. When our director, the hard working Wally Burr, would give us direction he would hold down the talk button and speak to the actors...we could hear him, but he could not hear us. While he was giving Peter direction, Bell would say the most god awful, demented, hysterical, things that Peter would hear while Wally was imparting acting plums on how Optimus must save the world. Peter would try to respond, but you know what he was picking up and it was not Wally's well thought out direction, but Mike's deranged diatribe. Peter would start laughing and when Wally lifted his finger off the talk button and looked up to see if Optimus was ready to save the world and get the Allspark...there was Peter snickering and laughing at him. Wally would ask him what part of the direction was so funny and we were all gone...childish, I know, but wonderful times and great memories of industry "giants gone wild."
Stormrider: It sounds like great fun. Do you consider that period of your life as your true heyday?
Welker: I think for a lot of us this was the Renaissance period for animation. It was such a great time. There was this desperate need for material because of television's classic Saturday morning shows and the new burgeoning syndicated market. There wasn't a lot of feature animation that was yet to come, but a whole new group of artists and actors were born.
Before this period, I was lucky to work with the greats who graced the hallways and studios before me. I was the new pimpled kid on the block. There was Mel Blanc, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Paul Winchell, Hal Smith, John Stephenson, Joanie Gerber, Mike Bell, June Foray, Bill Scott and others. There weren't a lot of young folks to speak of, but a few years later I began to work with the new wave; this surge of new people. These folks are now my contemporaries with a newer crowd pushing in as we speak. I can say there are more people now than there was ever before, plus a lot of on camera folks are also now in the mix.
Yes, it was a very happy time. I think I once did close to 12 shows in one day. Three with a full cast and the others shows with just pick ups. Gordon Hunt, a close friend and director of animation at Hanna/Barbera told me I must have set some kind of record. He then asked me if I had anything to eat that day...I hadn't.
Stormrider: Megatron is certainly one of the most well known Transformer characters. A lot of fans here would love to know what you feel is the driving force behind him.
Welker: When I created the voice for Megs, I was just trying to come up with a sound, something different that would set me apart from my fellow actors. As I looked at the drawing and read the description of the character, the voice that you know as Megatron was what came to me. I played up the scratchy, edgy sound because I imagined Megatron as always on the edge. He trusted no one and was driven to stay one step ahead of not only the Autobots, but the Decepticons. I think it worked, it separated me from the other actors and it made the character very recognizable. When people hear that voice they know it's Megatron.
Stormrider: Regarding Megatron's voice - is it difficult for you to do? Does it strain your throat? Are any effects added to Megatron's voice in the studio to give it that unique raspy quality?
Welker: The voice is easy to do, but there was a lot of yelling and over the top performance. We were directed that way because of the constant action and effects. It could be painful. When we did the recent "Transformers the Game," I was hoarse at the end of the day. I did a lot of yelling and fighting sounds for that project too, but I enjoyed getting back on the horse and pumping electrodes again. When we did the more subtle lines it was joyous taking Megatron down deeper and slower and letting him have a vicious simmer or two. In the old shows, they did put just a hint of something like echo or harmonizing in our tracks which added a bit of "other worldly" quality, it was nice.
Stormrider: Peter Cullen based Optimus Prime's voice on his brother. Are there any Transformers characters that you created from people in your life, or have any interesting background stories with?
Welker: When I did the voice of Soundwave, I was doing a bad impression of Barry White, "Baby, baby, baby, I want to kiss your nose" etc. I also used that same voice for, Dr. Claw in "Inspector Gadget." In the final mix Soundwave was very processed...I was hoping they would use more Barry and less mix. Soundwave, the "Motown man."
Stormrider: Barry White, eh? Do you have any other Transformer voice secrets that you want to share? ... Rumble as "Vanilla Ice"?
Welker: Well, Rumble was kind of a bad impression of Leo Gorsey from the "Dead End Kids." But No Ice cream Vanilla or otherwise....
Stormrider: It was great to hear your voice as Megatron in the new video game. How did it feel to return in the role after so many years?
Welker: Thanks, I was very happy playing "Megs" again. There were a lot of lines to record, a lot more than we ever did in the television show but I really enjoyed it. By the way, I was very pleased to see the reviews of the game's "sound and voices" were so positive; it was a nice thank you to the folks at Activision.
Stormrider: What was it like working with Peter Cullen again?
Welker: It was fantastic. Peter and I did not get to work together directly in the game, but we did the promotional video and just when in to orbit. We feed off each others' energy. We worked together a lot in the old days. I remember a show called, "Mighty man and Yuk" (I was Yuk to Pete's Mighty Man) we mostly recorded just the two of us and we did almost the entire show by ourselves. We entertained each other with impressions and sound effects trying to top one another. A lot of people don't know this, but Peter does some great impersonations and sounds. He is an all around performer. By the way, when two actors do the entire show, there may be a lot more lines but there's also a lot more donuts!
Stormrider: What was it like when you auditioned for Megatron in the recent Transformers movie? The selection process between you and Hugo Weaving seemed to have been very close, and fans were surprised that you did not get the part.
Welker:Yes, apparently there were differences of opinion among the producers but the ultimate decision was Mike Bay's. He felt my voice didn't fit his idea of what the new Megatron should sound like. Hugo Weaving is a terrific actor; he is a creative and inventive. I was surprised that they would use him then process his voice to the point of being unrecognizable.
Stormrider: Have you seen the new Movie yet? What's your impression of it?
Welker: No, I have not seen it. But from what I hear, it is a lot of fun. I know the purists were a bit disappointed. I have seen some trailers and scenes via "YouTube" and I will say I really liked Optimus Prime, but Megatron's mouth bothered me- too much in the world of large insects. Also, I got a kick out of the clips that some bright "YouTuber" put together of Peter and me doing the G1 voices to the trailer. It sounded great, and it fit beautifully.
Stormrider: If you were asked to dub Hugo Weaving's lines as a special feature for a future DVD release of the Movie. Would you do it?
Welker: Sure, if they wanted Megatron to sound like Megatron I would be happy to...of course now I would want a bigger trailer with a refrigerator and an iPod.
Stormrider: Are you interested in auditioning for any parts in the sequel? Would you want to do Megatron in Transformers 2 and Transformers 3? Or, maybe Soundwave?
Welker: I would consider it, but I would insist auditioning to picture. In dealing with a major project or motion picture that is the way it should be done. It is professional and nothing gets lost in translation.
Stormrider: Hypothetically speaking- if Hasbro and a production studio were to develop a new Transformers series that retold the entire Generation One Saga - with quality animation, great writing, and superior production standards would you be interested in reprising your role as Megatron?
Welker: Yes, and since we are in the land of hypo, how about Robert Zemeckis and in 3D?
Stormrider: Let's talk about some of your other roles. What are some of your favorite characters other than Transformers?
Welker: Dynomutt, Jabberjaw, Baby Kermit, Slimer, Dr. Claw, Fred Jones (sentimental favorite), the Gopher in "Caddyshack!". This is too difficult of a question; it's like asking a cannibal if he has ever met a person he didn't like?!?
Stormrider: Interesting, Fred Jones? Didn't you originally audition for Scooby Doo and not for Freddie?
Welker: Freddie was the first voice I did, that's why I say he is a sentimental favorite but yes, I was originally auditioning for Scooby. When it became apparent that Scooby was going to be voiced by the wonderful Don Messick, they asked me to read for Freddie. My next choice of course was Shaggy, it was a comedy role. Casey Casem wanted to read for Freddie. We both ended up getting opposite roles from what we thought. You know what? It worked out great and we are still doing those rolls 35 years later...go figure.
Stormrider: Which do you enjoy doing more - good characters or bad characters? Why?
Welker: As an actor, I think you always enjoy going out on the limb and pushing into new territory. I think that is why I liked playing Megatron, a villain. I have played so many good guys and little fluffy characters that he was a wonderful departure. I remember doing Magua the villain in the, "Last of the Mohicans" for Hanna/Barbera. He was one of the most despicable fellows I remember from my youthful literature. What a thrill it was to play him, although for Hanna/Barbera the character was quite different - he was still a villain but a straight acting part. Then the next day...there I was doing Bunji a very cartoony voice and the Shmoo totally lovable innocents. That is what I think actors respond to, the chance to play outside. That is why type casting and line readings are the demon nemesis for actors.
Stormrider: What was it like to work for Hanna/Barbera? They pumped out a tremendous amount of cartoons and characters from the 1960's - 80's. You did a lot of voices for them. Was it difficult work?
Welker: It was on the job training. Joe Barbera directed a lot of the shows that I worked in and I really liked working with him. We became friends and I miss him. He was such a funny guy, always had a joke at the ready. H/B was an incredible production entity and they produced a huge amount of product. I managed to squeak into a lot of those shows, and I learned a tremendous amount during that period.
Stormrider: What was it like when you started off as a voice actor? Please describe for us your first voice acting role. Were you nervous? How old were you? How were you inspired to get into voice acting?
Welker: Well, I was doing stand up comedy at "Ledbetters" a folk house here in L.A. in the early seventies. In my act, I did a cat and dog fight. After my show this fellow from, Irwin Wasey, an advertisement agency, asked me if I would like to do a voice over for a Friskies dog food television commercial he was producing. This was cataclysmic for me in many ways. Steve Martin, the comedian, who was working on opposite nights of the week at this club, would miss out on this opportunity because this producer just happened to pick my night to come into the club... and of course Steve wasn't doing any dogs in his act. I have often thought this probably adversely affected poor Steve's career...I'll let you be the judge. Anyway, I was to meet and work with one of our great funny men, Ted Knight, who was the announcer for this spot and had not yet become a super star on the Mary Tyler Moore show. One more thing about this bizarre start in the voice world, the producer's girl friend just happened to be working for ABC and was casting a show called "Scooby Doo." She had me come in to read for the show, and that led to my first voice over animated series which I am still doing to this day. Call it what you will...synergy, serendipity, fate, Allspark or just plain luck but you have to admit; it has kind of an "Outer Limits" quality to it.
Stormrider: It sounds like fate had your calling card. Though, I am now trying to imagine Steve Martin as Megatron and you starring in the movie "The Man With Two Brains".
Welker: Hmmm, Megatron with silver hair and a fake arrow through his head....I like it!
Stormrider: Are you working on any projects right now?
Welker: Yes, we are starting the third in a series of DVD's for "Garfield" the cat. Needless to say this is a great project and terrific people. I have worked for Jim Davis the creator many times and he "is" Garfield the cat which is great, you just supply him with kibbles and good readings and he will smile and then nap. I am doing the voice of Garfield and am trying to keep it close to Lorenzo Music. Lorenzo was another good friend and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed his company. I had a deep respect for him and his wonderfully distorted look at life. Our first DVD, "Garfield Gets Real," has just been released.
Stormrider: It is sad to see many great voice actors pass away. Do find that the voice acting industry is changing as a whole as new talent come on board?
Welker: It is the way of things. It is nice to know that their work will live on forever. I miss the greats, but there is always new talent and you can't keep them down, they will show us their stuff. It's like oil in water; no matter what it will rise to the surface. It is the immutable force of nature and change is part of that mandate.
Stormrider: You have performed in countless TV shows and movies. Is there a difference when performing for a movie as oppose to a TV show?
Welker: Yes, there is a difference, and most of the projects I work in are project driven. In other words you do what is needed for that specific project. In motion pictures, I do mostly looping, which is one of the truly enjoyable things I do.
I'm sure most of your readers know, but looping is when an actor goes into a dark room, usually a sound stage or studio, the editor rolls the film and the actor does the voices or sound effects for what is presented on screen. Often times you can add things that weren't in the script and it really helps make a character come a live. You can do this just by adding in breathing and subtle sounds. I did all the animals in Disney's, "Homeward Bound". Even though the live action animals had human voices, when they didn't have anything to say, I could breathe for them. It helps bring an element of belief in a very unreal situation. I like this process because you see what the director needs, it is already there on the screen you don't lose so much in the verbal exchange or explanation.
I have always had this weird ability to go with what I saw on screen. I could fit sound or dialog into the track and usually without rehearsing it. I can't explain it exactly, but it's kind of like flying. You are lost in what you are doing, in the zone...It may not be a talent, but more of a weird aberration; regardless sound editors love it. It cuts down on their editing time and the time they have to spend going through the sound library. In my old stage act, I would put a TV on stage and make up dialog and put it in people's mouths, just going with what was on screen. The audience got a kick out of it becaus they knew I was making it up as I went along and it was high risk.
Anyway, back to your question...when you record to script, you need to honor the writer, then of course the director, and then the producer has a vision. It can be confining unless you have a great team effort and mutual respect. In TV shows, we usually record to script and read it much as you would a play so it is quite different from looping. When you record for a movie (not looping) such as Aladdin, I did about three 2 to 3 hour sessions over a period of about three years, another totally different process.
Stormrider: Okay, now some lighter questions.
You played both Megatron and Galvatron. And as we all know, Galvatron was a reformatted version of Megatron. So when you voiced Galvatron, how did he differ in your mind? Are they two different robots or just one robot that became insane?
Welker: Forgive me, but I honestly don't remember. I was just given the script and told what they wanted...but if it leaned toward insane, I would go with that!!!
Stormrider: People tend to sing in the shower. Do you sing or do voices?
Welker: I do voices singing (off key) in the shower.
Stormrider: I have heard that you are quite the comedian. Have you ever pranked someone with one of your voices? Tell us the truth - are people an easy target?
Welker: Yes, and yes. I once called a studio owner at the request of his secretary and pretended to be Richard Nixon's public relations representative. When the gentleman came on the phone I told him I was calling for the president. Often times he made calls to small businessmen and wished to speak to this gentleman because of a letter he had written to the White House about just that very subject. All this information was supplied by his personal secretary so I had plenty of facts to set the stage for the conversation he was about to have with the president. Well, I did my job a little too well and he bought it hook line and sinker. We got too far along and when I hung up I got a bad feeling. I called his secretary and asked her to tell him it was her prank...She said she couldn't tell him because he had recorded the call and was now playing it for friends and clients up and down the hall. I begged her to tell him quickly....a couple of hours later, I got a call from this fellow and he was so down and sad that he had been fooled with this call from president Nixon. I felt terrible...To this day I am very leery of playing practical vocal pranks.
Stormrider: On which voice actor from the old Transformers cartoon can you spill some dirt on?
Welker: Uh, hmmmmm.
Stormrider: To make this interview fun and a bit interactive - a few fans have submitted questions. Are you ready? Here we go:
Stormrider: The first one is from Seibertron.com member, Skywarp-2
Dear Mr. Welker,
Most actors view their role as a success when a plastic toy is produced in their honor of that character. In many ways a toy of Megatron personifies your character and is a physical homage to you and your voice acting. Being that your role as Megatron was such a huge contribution to the American Pop Culture (and your voice and acting is forever linked to that iconic character) what are your thoughts on the greatest physical representation of that character -TakaraTomy's Masterpiece Megatron? Do you own one?
-Skywarp 2
Welker:First of all, thank you for your eloquent praise. It is a bit overwhelming to think I had a part in what you mention above. I do remember the Megatron toy that turned into a gun. It was fantastic. It took me a very long time to transform it. This kid of about nine did it in seconds and then years later I couldn't find the toy. I have since named that nine year old kid "Starscream" a master at the five finger discount and disappearing Megatron toy.
Stormrider: The next one is from Seibertron.com member, Counterpunch
Mr. Welker, thank you for your work on Transformers. I hope you realize just how far reaching your impact was on a generation of kids. I'd like to ask you, as an artist, what traits or elements of your own character influenced your portrayal of Megatron? In what ways was Megatron a reflection of your own personality?
-Counterpunch
Welker: Hi Counterpunch, thanks for the good words. I love that you feel that way about my work. Sometimes we forget there are fans who really appreciate what it is we are trying to do.
I really draw from my initial instincts and reactions to the art work and drawings, I am very visual when it comes to creating a character. I am afraid it is a bit prosaic but that is pretty much the way it works best for me, seeing the artwork. It is more difficult listening to someone describe or read what the character is like. Seeing it always brings an immediate response and I can build from there.
I remember reading an interview with Peter Sellers, one of my all time favorites, and he said he had to get the voice before he got the character. I always found that interesting. Anyway, I will tell you that playing a very evil character is great fun...I'm no angel, but Megs and I are quite different.
Stormrider: And the last one is from Seibertron.com member, Raymond T
Do you know that to most of us, YOU...ARE...GOD?!?!
-Raymond T
Welker: Uh, let's make that "a" god...remember the trouble the Beatles got into!?!?
Stormrider: In closing, is there anything that you would like to say or share with your fans?
Welker: I want to thank you all for being such great, loyal and discriminating fans and for keeping all of us in the "biz" honest and aware of what you think and what you want. Let's be clear, it is you "the audience" who is paramount for us...who try to bring life to the characters and artists visions. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don't succeed. With Megatron, I tried to separate him from other villains and was pleased with my decision and the results. Still, I had no idea that he would resonate with a hard core legion of fans and ultimately become an arrow of controversy. That alone has given me a taste of the, "Allspark."
As many of you may have read earlier, Seibertron.com announced that Frank Welker was cast as Megatron in the upcoming Transformers movie. We at Seibertron.com deeply apologize for this error. What happened is as follows:
In an effort to bring you the most up to date news from BotCon (and beyond) we, from time to time, create "potential stories" in advance of the actual release. This way, we're able to get our readers the news faster than we could hope to type it. Unfortunately the way the News system currently works meant that a forum post was created of this "potential story" despite our intention to keep the story hidden until such time as it were announced.
We at Seibertron.com deeply apologize for any inconvenienience or confusion this may have caused. We assure you, that the problem regarding News and forum posts has been fixed and such a problem will never happen again. We thank you all for your continued support and thank everyone who has made Seibertron.com not only the best "resource website," but also the best "overall designed website."
The home of all movie knowledge, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) have added a listing for the upcoming live-action Transformers movie. They give a release date of 2006, but more interestingly, list both Peter Cullen and Frank Welker as cast members! The listing gives Cullen as voicing Optimus Prime & Ironhide, and Welker as Megatron, Soundwave, Laserbeak & Mirage. Obviously this information can't be taken as confirmed quite yet, but it will be interesting to see if it's part of the big announcement due at this weekend's Comic-Con. To check out the listing for yourself, go here.
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