TV Obsessive
Transformers Generation 1
Emma: As one of my many “quarantine activities,” I’ve taken it upon myself to consume every Transformers cartoon ever made. I’ve loved the franchise since I first saw Revenge of The Fallen when I was nine, but have rarely ventured beyond the live action movies. So to start, I thought, what could be better than checking out Generation 1?
I’m not one to typically enjoy cartoons from the 1980s; with my sensory disorder, I find it hard to process the aging audio and animation. Generation 1 isn’t much of an exception, as I really need to pay attention to it to appreciate it and don’t watch it for leisure like I do other iterations. But even with that said, Generation 1 is genuinely a quality cartoon!
What surprised me most is how…sweet it is. For such a “masculine” concept (at least by more recent standards), there’s a lot of emotion and friendly love depicted amongst its male characters. It’s absolutely bursting with positivity like that, and I appreciate it greatly.
Aside from that, the writing is sharp, way ahead of its time (“I used to keep a time travel device in here, but a dragon claimed it as his home.” “We never saw him!” “That’s because he’s been out visiting relatives”). The animation, while still hard for me to process, is great, and the character designs and personalities are incredibly varied and special. Oh, and this is the only version of Transformers I’ve seen yet that depicts Cybertronian-human attraction. Thank. You.
And after the long, LONG adventure that was Season 2 (49 episodes!), I was ready to see the prolific The Transformers: The Movie. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t quite what I got. I guess my main expectation was Optimus’s death, and he’s dead in the first 30 minutes—I expected that to be the final note of the film. After that happened, I was just along for the ride; and man, was it a fun ride!
I adored Hot Rod (one of the best designs in the whole series) and his adventures with Kup. Seeing a version of 2005 from the perspective of someone living in 1986 was also incredibly interesting, and kind of funny. It all had this shamelessly fun and fantastical aura. It seemed like every five minutes we got a sequence set to some ’80s rock & roll, which in my book is always welcome. Ultimately, this movie acts as a really fun bridge into Season 3, and I’d gladly watch it again, sensory overload and all!
Aside from Op’s earlier-than-expected death, I also didn’t expect to lose Starscream in this movie. I’d seen the scene of his death before but had no clue it happened pre-Season 3! Honestly, his absence was more felt than Optimus Prime’s. While one of Scream’s great comedic attributes as a character is his ability to get the worst of the worst out of every situation, as a fan, it would still be nice to see him have one good day.
As a final note, Spike says “sh*t” in this movie. As a kid who grew up in the prudish 2000s, hearing that type of language in older kids’ films is always hilariously jarring. Way to go, Spike.
I’m only a small step into Season 3 as of writing this, but I’m glad I stuck with it and kept going, even if it’s not my exact cartoon taste. I’m excited to add it to my small growing list of Transformers cartoons I’ve seen in their entirety, and even more excited to watch more.
