Transformers: Animated

Transformers: Animated
File:Transformersanimated.jpg The Autobots
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	29
Production
Camera setup	Animation
Original release
Network	Cartoon Network
Release	December 26, 2007 – present

Transformers: Animated is an American animated television series based on the Transformers toy line. The series is being produced at Cartoon Network Studios with animation being done at Japanese animation studios MOOK DLE, The Answer Studio (the Japanese studio who animated Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!), and Studio 4°C. Formerly known by the working title, Transformers: Heroes, its simplified new title was designed to specifically distinguish it from the live-action film released in July 2007.

The series made its debut on Cartoon Network on December 26, 2007. Thus far, one 90-minute movie and 26 further episodes (to be broadcast in two 13-episode seasons). The first episode was due to be screened in full at the ‘’NTFA Mini-Con’’ in Arlöv, Sweden, on November 3rd and 4th, but Hasbro Inc (US) pulled out their approval of the screening of the full episode. The episode had to be cut down to the first 11 minutes.

Storyline

Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and the rest of the Autobots battle Megatron and the Decepticons in the near future Detroit. Megatron crash-lands on Earth along with the Autobots in his failed attempt to retrieve the Allspark from The Ark.

Cast and characters

Transformers featured in the show include Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Ultra Magnus, Prowl, Bulkhead, Ratchet and Starscream. It appears that the Optimus Prime of this series is much younger than previous incarnations. It was announced that David Kaye (best known for voicing the Megatrons of the Beast Era and the Unicron Trilogy) will provide his voice. Meanwhile, statements from Frank Welker suggest that voice actor, Corey Burton (Shockwave, Spike Witwicky, and Brawn from the original series) will provide the voice of Megatron in the show. Tom Kenny confirmed during an interview on IESB.net that he would be voicing Starscream. and Tara Strong will be voicing a girl named Sari, one of the supporting human characters. Most of the Transformers will be seen in their Cybertronian (pre-Earth) modes at the beginning of the series. Kaye said that most of the characters outside the core cast (Prime, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Prowl, Ratchet) will be single-episode cameo appearances. He also strongly hinted that Waspinator might make an appearance. At BotCon 2007, David Kaye revealed the voice actors and announced that he would play Optimus Prime, Grimlock and Lugnut. In this series, the Autobots are mostly ground vehicles, except for military vehicles, with the exception of Ultra Magnus, nor will they be anything that can fly, besides Swoop, whose alt. mode is that of a pteranodon. As for the Decepticons, most of them can fly, except for Lockdown, Soundwave, Blackarachnia, Oilslick, Blitzwing in tank mode, possibly Swindle, and the Constructicons.

Confirmed characters are:

Autobots

• Optimus Prime (David Kaye): The rookie de-facto leader of the Autobots on Earth, transforms into a futuristic fire truck, and wields a rocket-powered axe, as well as grappling hooks and a fire-dousing foam. Though he washed out of Autobot Academy and is a little green, he has the qualities of a born leader.
• Bumblebee (Bumper Robinson) : The youngest member of the group, ever eager and enthusiastic, occasionally to the point of overconfidence. He has a retractable battle mask and transforms into a yellow car similar to his Transformers Classics version. His best friends are Bulkhead and the human Sari, having been the first Autobot to meet her after saving her upon being reawakened, , continuing the tradition of Bumblebee being the designated human "guardian" figure. Priding himself on his speed, he occasionally sports turbo boosters, and produces electric stingers from his hands. He also proved to be too much of a big city bot as shown in "Nature Calls".
• Ratchet (Corey Burton): A seasoned Autobot medic and veteran of the war against the Decepticons. Gruff, protective and occasionally weary of the relative youngsters he is stationed with, his personality is very similar to that of G1 Kup. As usual, he transforms into an Ambulance, , and fights using a multi-purpose electro-magnetic field generator.
• Bulkhead (Bill Fagerbakke): Bulkhead is a gentle giant of an Autobot who transforms into a Green SWAT truck. Despite his size and intimidating appearance, he is the most laid-back and unassuming Autobot in personality and demeanor. Wielding two wrecking balls, concealed in his hands, he is also the team's demolition specialist, a job to which he is somewhat suited due to his natural clumsiness.
• Prowl (Jeff Bennett): A lone wolf ninja-style Autobot who initially rejects teamwork and prefers to act on his own. However, he gradually learns to co-operate with and respect his Autobot teammates, his individualist approach to both combat and life in general remains a slight source of friction between himself and his more outgoing comrades. His alt-mode is a futuristic Motorcycle , and in battle he relies on gold shurikens that double up as stabbing weapons, as well as a diversionary hologram generator.
• Ultra Magnus (Jeff Bennett): Autobot Supreme Commander and member of the Cybertron Elite Guard. His alt-mode resembles a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck
• Sentinel Prime (Townsend Coleman): A hot-headed and swaggering Autobot Officer and member of the Cybertron Elite Guard, who shares a mutual enmity with Optimus Prime, stemming from a botched joint expedition in the past. He has the power to create Energon shields. His protoform alt-mode is a truck and his Earth alt-mode is a snow plow truck.
• Jazz - (Phil LaMarr): One of the Autobots with a sports car alt-mode. He is a member of the Cybertron Elite Guard as well. He wields a pair of nunchaku.
• Ironhide: The weapons specialist of the Cybertron Elite Guard. His robot mode is similar to Ratchet's Protoform on Cybertron.
• Blurr (John Moschitta Jr.): The Autobot that will most likely be similar to his G1 incarnation. A UPC code with his name on it was found on Seibertron.com, indicating his existance in the toyline and possibly the show.
• Wreck-Gar (Weird Al Yankovic): A Transformer created by the Allspark from a pile of junk. On Seibertron.com, a list of UPC codes showed that Wreck-Gar will have a voyager class toy.
• Arcee (Susan Blu): Her robot mode is very similar in design to her G1 counterpart. In Ratchet's flashback, an E.M.P. conflict between him and Lockdown caused her to lose all of her memory. Her current status is unknown.
• Elita One: See Blackarachnia

Dinobots

Originally animatronic dinosaurs from a local Dino-Drive theme park, they were repaired by Professor Sumdac, with Megatron offering aid in an attempt to create a drone army via reverse technology, able to breathe fire. However, Sari's key affected the Dinobots during their initial rampage, making them actual Transformers with developing minds of their own. However, though beyond his control, Megatron did manage to have them bent on destroying the Autobots. They have reappeared in "Survival of the Fittest" where Prometheus Black manipulated them into capturing Sari for his experiments. Grimlock is set to reappear in "Black Friday" where he teams up with Optimus Prime to take on the dastardedly duo Meltdown and Blackarachnia. Among the featured Dinobots are:

• Grimlock (David Kaye) : Leader of the Dinobots, transforms into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and wields a sword engulfed in flames. He can also fire flames from his mouth.
• Snarl: Member of the Dinobots. Transforms into a Triceratops; wields a club. Like Grimlock, he has fire breath and his horns can fire a tri-laser.
• Swoop: Member of the Dinobots. Transforms into a Pteranodon, wields a flail and has a sonic scream that can short out audio sensors.

Decepticons

• Megatron (Corey Burton): The cold, calculating, and manipulative leader of the Decepticons, who transforms into a Cybertronian Fusion Jet Fighter, and later a tiltrotor gunship similar to a V-22 Osprey. Megatron's presence in the show is, at least to begin with, relatively marginal, after a skirmish with the Autobots over the Allspark in the pilot episode leaves him all but destroyed. His disembodied head, however, is recovered and sustained by the inventor Isaac Sumdac in his private lab, where, through subtle manipulation of Sumdac and his technology, Megatron is able to persist covertly with his schemes, all the while working towards the creation of a new body of his own, until his old body was recovered and Sari's key allowed Megatron to be fully revived. In keeping with tradition, Megatron's primary weapon remains his iconic arm-mounted fusion cannon; however, he now also wields a samurai-esque blade, which in his Earth mode transforms from his rotors.
• Starscream (Tom Kenny): Much in the spirit of his G1 counterpart, Starscream is a sarcastic, treacherous and two-faced usurper, who desires to be the leader of the Decepticons by overthrowing Megatron. However, his attempt ultimately backfired. As with all previous incarnations of the character, he transforms into a fighter jet, armed with his signature laser null-rays.
• Blitzwing (Bumper Robinson): An unstable, Teutonically-accented Triple Changer (tank, jet, robot) with a new spin — a split personality and changing faces to match his personalities. His personalites define his powers, and includes a cool, sneering face with a dismissive, superior attitude and ice beams; a belligerent, aggressive face that deals in threats and flame-blasts, and finally, a crazed Jack-o-Lantern-esque face that is almost child-like in its psychotic exuberance, which utilizes laser pellet blasts. These personalities are represented by a spinning face gimmick on the toy as well as in the show, similar to past Transformers characters the Quintessons and Alpha Q, as well as the He-Man character Man-E-Faces.
• Lugnut (David Kaye): A hulking brute of a Decepticon whose immense physical strength is matched only by his near-fanatical devotion to Megatron and his cause. Lugnut has missiles for hands and alt-mode of a Bomber Jet. So far, he is the only Decepticon that Megatron has made contact with upon arrival.
• Blackarachnia (Cree Summer): Her alt-mode is a black-purple techno-organic spider . Once a promising young Autobot Academy recruit named Elita One, a former friend of Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime until a horrific event led to her becoming a techno-organic being with a hatred for Optimus and desire to return to normal by any means. In keeping with her hybrid nature, her arsenal combines organic venom-tipped paralyzing fangs with her in-built robotic ability to temporarily download and mimic the abilities of others. She attempted to use Sari's key to fix this, but this failed.
• Lockdown (Lance Henriksen): He may not be a Decepticon, but he is a deeply mercenary and cruelly sardonic rogue bounty hunter for hire who only aids the Decepticons in return for spare parts to upgrade himself. His alt-mode is a muscle-car combination of a 1980s style black Corvette and 1960s Cougar hybrid design with a Supercharger, and wields a vast arsenal of weapons and upgrades stolen from past victims.
• Soundwave (Jeff Bennett): A cold, emotionless Decepticon who desires the overthrow of all organic life at the hands of machines, who he holds as being logically superior. Though he eventually takes the alt-mode of a vehicle similar to a Scion xB, he was originally designed by Megatron to be disguised as a musical toy, and as such, his powers are based around sound and music generators, which enable him to control and manipulate other machines.
• Oil Slick: Little is known about this Decepticon at the moment, save for the fact that he transforms into a motorcycle, and is armed with a chain weapon. His existence first came to light when his toy was displayed at Toy Fair 2007.
• Skywarp: His name was mentioned in a UPC code list on Seibertron.com along with some other characters. It isn't known if he'll be in in the series or not, but he could exist in the toyline as a voyager.
• Waspinator: Despite the rumors, Waspinator might have a product, as discovered on seibertron.com, a UPC code was found with his name and the fact he is a deluxe size toy.
• Swindle: A UPC code with his name next to it was found on Seibertron.com, indicating he might exist in the toyline as a deluxe, and possibly the show.

Constructicons

In this show, the Constructicons are Transformers created by the Allspark. Tom Kenny will voice a Constructicon, confirming their existence within the show. So far, Scapper and Mixmaster are confirmed to appear.

Aliens

• Space Barnacles: Alien creatures that latch on machines and feed on energy. When Prowl, Bumblebee, and Sari investigate a Cybertronian energy signature, they encountered a mutated version of the Space Barnacles, later revealed to have taken control of Megatron's body (which the barnacles had attached with some construction vehicles onto) once the Barnacles were disposed of.

Humans

Allies

File:Sarisumdac.jpg

Sari Sumdac

• Sari Sumdac (Tara Strong): The 8-year old daughter of Dr. Sumdac, Sari lived a sheltered life until she befriends the Autobots after they saved her upon reawakening. She is the primary source of information regarding Earth and its culture(s) & customs. The security card she carries becomes a curative spark key after her encounter with the Allspark, allowing her to heal and/or revive Transformers. Her key sometimes shines and makes a wooshing when trouble is near. She is an intelligent girl, with a mischevious streak (once using her AllSpark-enhanced key card to frighten Bumblebee while telling a ghost story), but she also has a kind heart. She has a robot dog named Sparkplug, in homage to the human character in the original cartoon. Sari found an abandoned factory owned by her father as an inner-city shelter/base of operations for the Autobots so that they could stay there instead of always being on The Ark beneath Lake Erie. She soon becomes fast and good friends with Bumblebee, often prompting him to try new things; sometimes just to see what he is capable of even though she intends no harm towards him.
• Dr. Isaac Sumdac (Tom Kenny): Father of Sari Sumdac, he is a good-natured but scatter-brained scientist who designs and tests robots at Sumdac Tower. Fifty years ago, Isaac found Megatron after he crashed onto Earth. It is through studying Megatron that many of Sumdac's technologies are introduced. He is convinced by Megatron (who until now had been inactive and silent) to keep his existence from his "friends" (the Autobots) a secret until Megatron can get a new body built; unaware of the true origins & motivations of the Decepticon leader. While he did not like that Megatron added the fire-breathing capability to the Dinobots without telling him about it first, he was sympathetic in understanding that Megatron was simply experimenting with the Earth technology in order to make a new body for himself.

Villains

• The Angry Archer (Jeff Bennett): A Robin Hood-styled human villain who uses a bow and arrows to commit crimes until he was captured by Optimus Prime and given to the authorities. He appeared briefly in "Home Is Where The Spark Is".
• Nino Sexton/Nanosec (Brian Posehn): Appeared in the episode of same title. Nino Sexton is a petty crook who Megatron drafted to help him acquire Destronium to recreate his body. The reward was all the money from Dr. Sumdac's private account. He provided Sexton with Sumdac's experimental speed suit, which enables the user to speed-skate at blurring speeds. However, overuse of the suit's abilities results in Sexton's body displaying symptoms of old age. Only a recently upgraded, Bumblebee (with Sari’s help) could match Nanosec’s speed, tricking the crook into chasing after him until he completely aged to a weak old man. The side-effects of Nanosec's speed suit are similar to the side effects of the speed powers belonging to Flash villain Griffin.
• Prometheus Black/Meltdown (Peter Stormare): Appeared in the episode "Total Meltdown". Prometheus Black is a biotechnology engineer who attempts to replace robots on the Detroit police department with humans with bioamplification tech. After Cyrus Rhodes went wild upon his attack on Bumblebee, his funding was cut. Black developed acidic powers after experimenting with some of Bumblebee's hydraulic fluid and then accidentally spilling it on himself. He could melt through practically anything except his own anti-melting suit. Only by Ratchet containing him in a magnetic field was he stopped from assassinating Sumdac. He returned in "Survival of the Fittest" forcing the Dinobots to attack intruders while he was working on a way to create transforming humans, failing on adult subjects so he kidnapped Sari but he was beaten after Fanzone tied a acid-proof suit around his arms. His melting powers are similar to Clayface III.
  • Cyrus "the Colossus" Rhodes (Corey Burton): Also appeared in "Total Meltdown". A wrestler who uses biotech steroids provided by Prometheus Black to grow in size and strength. He works as Black's thug. When not powered by the steroids, he appears as a small old man with gray hair (The powers of the character is reminiscent of the super-strong villain Bane from the Batman mythos). His name is a reference to the Colossus of Rhodes.
  • Fish Mutant: One of two mutants seen working with Meltdown in "Survival of the Fittest." It was defeated by the dinobots along with another mutant and Colossus Rhodes. It's very similar to the Decepticon pretender Submarauder in appearance.
  • Mammal Mutant: One of two mutant experiments of Meltdown in an attempt to make transforming humans. It was defeated along with a fish mutant and Colossus Rhodes by the Dinobots in robot mode. It's highly reminiscent of the Decepticon Pretender Bomb-Burst in appearance.
• Professor Princess (Kath Soucie): A villain who appears during the episode "Sound and Fury". Her appearance is that of a young girl riding on a model horse called Powdered Sugar (who is similar to a My Little Pony), and she uses toy-themed weaponry. Her only motivation so far seems to be the destruction of violent toys. She was defeated by Bulkhead(whom she bealived was a giant toy) who decapitated Powdered Sugar.
• Henry Masterson/Headmaster (Alexander Polinsky): An ex-employee of Sumdac with a fanboy mentallity who got fired for his Headmaster exosuit being a potential war machine. Using Bulkhead's body, Headmaster held the city hostage to promote his invention by taking over the power plant. Though the day was saved, the Headmaster escaped. He is due to return in "Return of the Headmaster" where he fights Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime.

Other

• Capt. Fanzone: A police officer who dislikes new, advanced machines, including the Autobots in general. In "Survival of the Fittest," he was forced to team up with Prowl and escape Meltdown's lair after following Prowl and Bulkhead go to Dinobot Island to investigate a lead on Sari's kidnapping.

Locations

• Detroit: The Autobots and Decepticons end up here, and the battle of good against evil is renewed in this future city on Earth. Instead of the Motor City, it has now become the "Robot City".
  • Sumdac Tower: The largest tower in Detroit where Isaac Sumdac designs and tests his robot creations, which is also the resting place of Megatron's severed head. Its appearance is that of a giant spark plug.
  • Abandoned Automobile Plant: The current headquarters of the Autobots as it was unused property of Sumdac's.
• Dinobot Island: This is where the Dinobots are living.
• The Ark: The Autobot ship, crippled by the Decepticon's attack and crash-landed in Lake Erie. Its main computer system has a female-voiced persona known as Teletraan I, which is the same name of the Autobot computer system in G1. When Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived on Earth to search for Megatron and the Allspark, Ratchet and Sari used it's (until now deactivated) weapon systems to battle the Decepticons.
• The Nemesis: Megatron's flagship, which dwarfs the Ark in size. On the verge of destruction, all the Decepticons except Starscream, who discovers that his fellow Decepticons left him behind, abandoned it. He managed to survive and pilot its remains for fifty years until he eventually homes in on the Allspark on Earth.
• Cybertron: Home-Planet of the Transformers.

Production

The show's supervising director is Matt Youngberg ( Teen Titans, The Batman) , with Cartoon Network vice-president Sam Register as executive producer and Vincent Aniceto as line producer. Additionally, Beast Machines writer Marty Isenberg is returning to Transformers as the head writer for this series. Art director/lead character designer Derrick Wyatt (Teen Titans, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends,Legion of Super Heroes) is creating a “brand new look” unlike anything seen in ‘’Transformers’’ before. The series is being distributed internationally by Entertainment Rights.

Like Teen Titans, the show that shares the supervising director, the show is based on Japanese anime, but more loosely.

Episode list

An episode list for the first two seasons has been released through Cartoon Network's website.

The series begins with "Transform and Roll Out!". A 90-minute movie special will later be broken up into three episodes for re-runs. Following the debut of this movie on 26th December 2007, the series properly began on January 5th, 2008.

Season 1: 2007-2008

: All of the Decepticons including Blitzwing, Lugnut, Starscream and some other Decepticons came to rescue Megatron. Blitzwing and Lugnut stole Sari' key from Ratchet and brought it to the Sumdac Tower and revived Megatron.

#	Title	Original airdate
1	"Transform and Roll Out! Part One"	December 26, 2007
2	"Transform and Roll Out! Part Two"	December 26, 2007
3	"Transform and Roll Out! Part Three"	December 26, 2007
4	"Home Is Where The Spark Is"	January 5, 2008
5	"Total Meltdown"	February 9, 2008
6	"Blast From the Past"	January 12, 2008
7	"Thrill of the Hunt"	January 19, 2008
8	"Nanosec"	January 26, 2008
9	"Along Came a Spider"	February 16, 2008
10	"Sound and Fury"	February 23, 2008
11	"Lost and Found"	March 1, 2008
12	"Survival of the Fittest"	March 8, 2008
13	"Headmaster"	March 15, 2008
14	"Nature Calls"	March 22, 2008
15	"Megatron Rising, Part One"	March 29, 2008
16	"Megatron Rising, Part Two"	April 5, 2008

Season 2: 2008

#	Title	Original airdate
17	"The Elite Guard"	April 12, 2008
18	"Return of the Headmaster"	April 26, 2008
19	"Mission Accomplished"	2008
20	"Garbage In, Garbage Out"	2008
21	"Velocity"	2008
22	"Rise of the Constructicons"	2008
23	"A Fistful of Energon"	2008
24	"SUV(Society of Ultimate Villainy)"	2008
25	"Autoboot Camp"	2008
26	"Black Friday"	2008
27	"Sari, No One's Home"	2008
28	"A Bridge Too Close, Part One"	2008
29	"A Bridge Too Close, Part Two"	2008

External links

• Official site
• Transformers: Animated - Transformers Animated.com
• Transformers Animated News Latest Transformers Animated News
• IGN's review

• YTV - Transformers: Animated YTV Canada's Transformers Animated Webpage