Transformers: Rescue Bots

Rescue Bots
Genre	Children's television Comedy
Format	Animated series
Developed by	Nicole Dubuc Brian Hohlfeld Jeff Kline
Voices of	Jeff Bennett Steven Blum LeVar Burton Lacey Chabert D.C. Douglas Maurice LaMarche Jason Marsden
Opening theme	"Rescue Bots theme" Music written and performed by Starr Parodi and Jeff Eden Fair, Lyrics written by Nicole Dubuc and sung by Josh Ramsay
Composer(s)	Starr Parodi Jeff Eden Fair
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jeff Kline
Running time	approx. 22 minutes
Production company(s)	Hasbro Studios Atomic Cartoons Darby Pop Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	The Hub, Univision (USA) Cartoon Network (UK) Televisa (Mexico) Canal J (France) Italia 1 (Italy) Teletoon+ (Poland)
Original run	February 18, 2012 (2012-02-18) – present
External links
Website

Transformers: Rescue Bots, or simply Rescue Bots, is a toyline and television series based on toy manufacturer Hasbro's Transformers. Rescue Bots is the successor of Transformers: Robot Heroes and is based on the same concept as the Marvel Super Hero Squad franchise and Hero On-The-Go. Rescue Bots mainly focuses on educating children regarding hazards and safety.

The group of Autobots who take part in Rescue Bots are Chase, Heatwave, Blades and Boulder, with the exception of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in the TV series.

Relating to other Transformers series/continuities Rescue Bots features human Autobot allies. The toy line's roster of allies differs from the TV series containing: Chief Charlie Burns (Optimus Prime's partner), Cody Burns (Heatwave's partner), Axel Frazier (Bumblebee's partner), Billy Blastoff (Chase's partner), Sawyer Storm (Blades's partner), and Walker Cleveland (Boulder's partner). A dog named Sparkplug (a homage to both Transformers: Generation 1 and Transformers: Animated) is also featured as a member of the team.

The TV series features Chief Charlie Burns (Chase's partner), Cody Burns, Dani Burns (Blades's partner), Kade Burns (Heatwave's partner), and Graham Burns (Boulder's partner), as well as Doc Greene and Francine Greene as supporting characters. Season 1 is available for streaming via Netflix as of November 5, 2012.

A second season has been announced.

Television series

A television series has been confirmed and will air on Hasbro's and Discovery's television network, The Hub. Rescue Bots is developed for television by Nicole Dubuc, Brian Hohlfeld, and Jeff Kline. The series aired as a sneak peek on December 17, 2011, and officially premiered on February 18, 2012.

Synopsis

Set in the town of Griffin Rock, Maine, a group of Autobots named Heatwave, Boulder, Blades and Chase respond to Optimus Prime's message for any active Autobots in space to arrive to Earth. Coming out of a long stasis, learning what became of Cybertron and that they are the only Rescue-Bot team remaining, they are partnered with the Burns family composed of first response rescuers. Together, they learn teamwork and heroism alongside their human friends as they deal with various disasters.

Characters

Rescue-Bots

• Chase (voiced by D.C. Douglas) - A Rescue-Bot that transforms into a police car and is partnered with Chief Charlie Burns. Chase has a "by-the-book" personality and tends to fuss over any new concept that violates any law he is familiar with, though at times his sense of humor and understanding emerges. He gets along well with his human partner Charlie.

• Heatwave (voiced by Steven Blum) - A Rescue-Bot that transforms into a fire engine and is partnered with Kade Burns (he is also the leader of the Rescue Bots). He dislikes the fact the Rescue Bots have to pretend they are mindless robots. In "Bumblebee to the Rescue," it is revealed that Heatwave desires to join Optimus Prime's team. He has a temper at times, but understands the need to place saving lives above all else.

• Boulder (voiced by Imari Williams) - A Rescue-Bot that transforms into a bulldozer and is partnered with Graham Burns. Boulder is fascinated with Earth culture and is always eager to learn more from books and other sources. He has a very kind and friendly demeanor.

• Blades (voiced by Parvesh Cheena) - A Rescue-Bot that transforms into a rescue helicopter and is partnered with Dani Burns. Back on Cybertron, Blades had a land-based vehicle mode and is not used to flying, thus culminating in a slight fear of heights. In "Bumblebee to the Rescue", Blades meets the legendary Autobot scout Bumblebee, whom he greatly admires. Out of the Rescue Bots, he is the most expressive emotionally.

Burns Family

• Chief Charlie Burns (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - Griffin Rock's chief of police and leader of its Rescue Team. He is also the father of Cody, Kade, Dani, and Graham. He gets along well with his partner Chase and is a very levelheaded man.

• Cody Burns (voiced by Élan Garfias) - The youngest member of the Burns family. Despite his age, he acts as the team's communications officer. He also acts to help the bots become accustomed to life on Earth and guide them. He acts as a mediator between them and his older siblings. Occasionally, he helps out in the field (such as riding in Blades with Dani). In the episode "Bumblebee to the Rescue," he meets Bumblebee and like the rest of his family is unable to understand the Autobot's speech. However, over the course of the episode, Cody learns how to understand him, making him the only human character able to do so (much like Rafael Esquivel does in Transformers: Prime.)

• Kade Burns (voiced by Jason Marsden) - Cody's older brother and Griffin Rock firefighter. He is somewhat of a glory-hog and isn't too keen on working with Heatwave at first, though they eventually come to respect each other (though neither would admit it).

• Dani Burns (voiced by Lacey Chabert) - Cody's older sister and Griffin Rock rescue helicopter pilot. Unlike her partner Blades, Dani loves flying and has trouble getting along with Blades due to his fear of heights, but eventually learns how to work with him.

• Graham Burns (voiced by Shannon McKain) - Cody's older brother and Griffin Rock construction engineer. At first he has trouble working Boulder due in part to his own misconceptions. Though he is fascinated by Boulder and wishes to learn about Cybertron, he mistakenly believes that because Boulder is from an advanced alien civilization, there is little he (someone from a more primitive civilization like Earth's) could possibly teach him.

Autobots

It has been revealed that Rescue Bots is part of the Transformers: Prime universe. This could also mean that the Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are actually the ones from Prime.

• Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) - Leader of the Autobots, who gave the Rescue Bots their mission. He appears mainly via view-screen. In "Bumblebee to the Rescue", he briefly assigns Bumblebee to observe the Rescue Bots and their human allies in action.

• Bumblebee - Legendary Autobot Scout, war hero, and member of Optimus Prime's team of Autobots. As seen in Transformers: Prime, Bumblebee lost his voice box in the line of duty and possesses a unique form of speech. In "Bumblebee to the Rescue", he pays a visit to Griffin Rock while tracking a meteor that lands on a nearby uninhabited island and meets the Rescue Bots and the Burns family (who were also investigating the meteor). He is later briefly assigned by Optimus Prime to observe the Rescue Bots and Burns family working together. Later on, he teams up with Blades and the Burns family to destroy the meteor after the other Rescue Bots are infected by a mysterious substance contained within the fallen meteor.

Other characters

• Mayor Lusky (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - The Mayor of Griffin Rock who wears a toupee.

• Doc Greene (voiced by LeVar Burton) - Griffin Rock's inventor, scientist, and father of Francine Greene. Though many of his inventions he creates are meant to be helpful or with good intention, they have a tendency to go haywire or cause trouble in Griffin Rock, which the Rescue Bots and the Burns Family are forced to deal with. As a result, Doc Greene often finds himself being rescued from various mishaps caused by his inventions. His inventions include a solar-powered car, Floatium (a substitute for helium) and a high-powered communications dish.
  • Francine "Frankie" Elma Greene (voiced by Diamond White) - Doc Greene's daughter and friend of Cody's. She is somewhat suspicious of the Rescue Bots. In "Countdown," it is revealed that Francine is afraid of the dark. In "The Haunting of Griffin Rock," it is revealed that Francine's middle name is Elma named after Griffin Rock's first scientist Elma Hendrickson.
  • Dither (voiced by LeVar Burton) - A robot that is an assistant of Doc Greene.
  • Aristotle and Edison - Doc Greene's pet Doberman Pinschers.

• Huxley Prescott (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - Griffin Rock local TV reporter. He doesn't believe the Rescue-Bots are simply robots. Though he correctly believes they are aliens in disguise, he mistakenly believes they are alien spies sent to Griffin Rock as part of a mission to takeover the Earth (unaware of their peaceful intentions). In "The Alien Invasion of Griffin Rock," he creates mass panic on the island when he broadcasts a message that he believes proves he is right (unaware the message was from a documentary the Rescue Bots and Cody were watching via satellite).

• Mrs. Neederlander (voiced by Billie Hayes) - Mrs. Neederlander is an elderly resident of Griffin Rock. She has a cat named Mr. Pettypaws and runs a quiet bed and breakfast.

• Myles and Evan (both voiced by Robbie Daymond) - Two local troublemakers who reside in Griffin Rock. Myles is adept with hacking into computers while Evan just does grunt sounds where he lacks the power of speech. They first appeared in "Small Blessing" where they used Doc Greene's Minimizer to shrink Heatwave, Blades, and Boulder. They were caught by Chase and arrested by Chief Charlie Burns without telling them what happened to the other Rescue Bots. In "The Haunting of Griffin Rock," Myles tricked Deputy Barney into letting him "check his E-Mail" where Myles accessed Griffin Rock's hologram systems. They created holograms of themselves which fooled Deputy Barney as they escape from jail. The pair later used the holographic system to produce a plague of "ghosts", enabling them to scare people away from buildings so they could then go in and steal things. They managed to clean out the bank vault and the till of a restaurant before Cody, Frankie and the Doc worked out was going on. Using more holograms, the Rescue Bots caught the pair in the act of robbing a jewelery store and are recaptured.

• Professor Anna Baranova (voiced by Kath Soucie) - A scientist who lives on Griffin Rock and is a colleague of Doc Greene. She had resided in the underwater laboratory called Midgard which had since been trapped near an ocean trench following a methane explosion. Although Anna was reluctant to leave Midgard, Cody convinced her to leave Midgard as she blows it up. Afterwards, Anna moves back to Griffin Rock. In "Countdown," it is revealed that she had a part in "Project Sanctuary" where the insect-like Tracers would place the humans in the largest underground cavern of Griffin Rock in the event of a cataclysm that hits Griffin Rock.

• Dr. Thaddeus Morocco (voiced by Tim Curry) - A mad scientist who invents things to cause damage. He is behind several of the incidents that occurred in Griffin Rock. He plotted revenge against Chief Charlie Burns, Mayor Luskey, and Doc Greene for making him an outcast. Even though the Rescue Bots managed to thwart him, Dr. Morocco managed to get away on Mayor Luskey's schooner.
  • MorBots - A bunch of robots that were created by Dr. Morocco. They are Morocco's version of the Rescue Bots.

Episodes

Main article: List of Transformers: Rescue Bots episodes

Cast

• Jeff Bennett - Huxley Prescott, Mayor Lusky, Computer Voice (ep. 10), President Chester Arthur (ep. 14, 21), Deputy Barney (ep. 21)
• Steven Blum - Heatwave, Large Man (ep. 4), Mr. Perkins (ep. 5), Mr. Alper (ep. 13), Captain Wild (ep. 15), Lighthouse Keeper (ep. 17), Inventor Ghost (ep. 21)
• LeVar Burton - Doc Greene, Helper Bot (ep. 10), Trex (ep. 11)
• Lacey Chabert - Dani Burns, Female Robotic Voice
• Parvesh Cheena - Blades, Driver (ep. 5), Mr. Sharma (ep. 24)
• Peter Cullen - Optimus Prime, Scientist (ep. 25)
• Tim Curry - Dr. Thaddeus Morocco
• Robbie Daymond - Evan (ep. 14, 21), Myles (ep. 14, 21)
• John DiMaggio
• D.C. Douglas - Chase, Ferry Rider (ep. 5), Mr. Harrison (ep. 6, 13, 20, 25)
• Élan Garfias - Cody Burns
• Mark Hamill
• Billie Hayes - Mrs. Neederlander (ep. 8, 22)
• Maurice LaMarche - Chief Charlie Burns, Transmitted Voice (ep. 5), Captain Shaw (ep. 10), Gangster Ghost (ep. 21), MorBot (ep. 25)
• Jason Marsden - Kade Burns, Milo (ep. 5)
• Shannon McKain - Graham Burns, Panicked Beachgoer (ep. 10), Jerry (ep. 21, 23)
• Kath Soucie - Professor Anna Baranova (ep. 15, 20), Ghost of Elma Hendrickson (ep. 21), Cook Ghost (ep. 21), Lady of Griffin Rock (ep. 21), Bratty Girl (ep. 25)
• Diamond White - Francine Greene
• Imari Williams - Boulder, Soldier Ghost (ep. 21)

Crew

• Justin Gladden - Line Producer
• Ginny McSwain - Voice Director
• Yoosik Oum - Animator
• Therese Trujillo - Animation Producer
• Carl Upsdell - Animation Director

Home Video Release

On October 2, 2012 Shout! Factory released a Rescue Bots DVD titled, "Roll To The Rescue".

Toy line

The "Transformers Rescue Bots Playskool Heroes" toy line consisting of human allies, playsets, and the Rescue Bots were released in August 2011.

The toyline deviates slightly from the cartoon series, in terms of the human-robot partnerships. While the series pairs members of a human family with the Rescue Bots, the toyline pairs the robots with characters who are not related and who have not been seen in the show. The six transforming toys with human allies consist of:

• Heatwave the Fire-Bot (pairs with Cody Burns and Rescue Hose)
• Chase the Police-bot (pairs with Billy Blastoff & Jet Pack)
• Boulder the Construction-Bot (pairs with Walker Cleveland and Rescue Saw)
• Blades the Copter-Bot (pairs with Sawyer Storm and Rescue Winch)
• Bumblebee (pairs with Axel Frazier & Microcopter)
• Optimus Prime (pairs with Chief Charlie Burns and Rescue Cutter)

Two additional Rescue Bots, which are not featured in the television series' first season are:

• Hoist the Tow-Truck-Bot
• Medix the Ambulance-Bot

The two playsets are:

• Heroes Fire Station Prime
• Bumblebee Rescue Garage

The line also includes electronic (non-transforming) versions of Chase and Heatwave with storybooks.

When asked about the lack of availability of the Chase and Boulder transforming bot figures, Hasbro Consumer Affairs issued the statement that "The Rescue Bots Boulder and Chase figures are not being discontinued. They are current items that ship based on retail orders."

External links

• Transformers: Rescue Bots at Hubworld.com
• Transformers: Rescue Bots at the Internet Movie Database
• Transformers: Rescue Bots at TV.com