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Before the blockbuster films, the alien robots originated in toy form to cartoon series

Written by Sara Pintilie, Contributor to The Shorthorn

Tuesday, 23 June 2009 02:35 PM

Autobots, Decepticons and Megan Fox, oh my! Transformers return to the big screen this summer with new, versatile robots in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But forget the movie, the toy aisle at Target contains throwbacks to 1980s childhood.

The good and evil Autobots and Decepticons, respectively, line the pegged walls between X-Men and Star Trek figurines, reminding students of the dubbed cartoon from their youth. Before Michael Bay’s movies, the original Hasbro toys inspired the 1980s cartoon. It lasted for four years, but in the 1990s, a revamped Transformers starred in “Beast Wars: Transformers.” The newest version came out in 2007, after the popularity of the first live-action movie.

When asked about Transformers, most fans leap straight to the original recalling their favorite robots and the rivalry between the two clans.

“Optimus Prime was my favorite,” Scott McPherson said. “His voice was cool. And I had the toy and he came with a trailer, which was like a battleship. It was like two toys when you got one.”

McPherson, currently working on prerequisites for science and has degrees in English and history from Texas State, said he enjoyed the first Michael Bay film, but thinks the sequel looks like more of the same.

The main story line has changed from one iteration to another but the general idea stayed intact. Transformers hail from a planet called Cybertron and brought their all-out war to Earth. Autobots protect humanity from the villainous Decepticons. While on Earth, the Autobots become friends with Sparkplug Witwicky and his son, Sam.

“[The cartoon] was interesting because of the robots,” economics senior Manuel Torres said. “The story line wasn’t that bad and the characters themselves are interesting in the way they acted, talked and the roles they played.”

The movie followed the same vein, but with more explosions and less kid-friendly morals that McPherson said he vaguely remembers.

The movie has the same ideas but deals with them differently, Torres said about 2007’s Transformers. He couldn’t compare the cartoon with the movie because he saw them as two different entities.

A few things changed from the cartoons, like Bumblebee’s alternate mode. Originally he was a Volkswagen Beetle in the ’80s but became a 1976 and 2009 Chevy Camaro in the 2007 film. But a major change was Decepticon leader Megatron’s alter-ego.

“I remembered in the cartoon [Megatron] turned into a gun, which was pretty lame,” McPherson said.

The movie never showed Megatron’s alternate mode, citing the Decepticon chose not to disguise himself on Earth out of arrogance. He instead maintains his alien-jet mode, according to www.imdb.com.

As kids get excited with their toy robots in hand for the sequel in theaters June 24, some wonder if the old cartoon has any lasting power.

“I was watching Transformers with my nephew and it doesn’t stand the test of time,” McPherson said jokingly.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 August 2009 01:48 PM )

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