Transformers Movie Optimus Prime prototype

[ParanoiaDragon]

I gotta say, I think he looks sweet!
http://www.allspark.com/content/view/545/20/

[TR0N]

New op looks ok too bad the new megatron looks like shit 

[CrackTiger]

I like the OP, but I really don't like the look of all the others. I hope the movie isn't full of vehicles that transform into mutant crabs. 

I've been anxious about this movie ever since it first seemed to be getting off the ground, since it so easy to screw up. As much as I'm discouraged by the other concept toys, the OP does give me new hope for the film.

[PCEngineHell]

Really so far I'm not impressed at all. I think they tried too hard trying to recreate the look of them and now they don't resemble anything of the originals. Other then Optimus Primes head at least. Watching the new trailer for the movie if I didn't see the Transformer logo anywhere I could just have easily assumed the movie was titled "Demon Hellbots War" or "Maximum Overdrive 2: The Revenge". All in all Im sure it will be a good movie,but it wont pay any kinda true respect to the originals look and feel at all.

[Dark Fact]

I don't think it will pay homage to the original.  Hell, the trailer looked like it was some kind of sci-fi horror flick or something...WTF!

[ParanoiaDragon]

I've been watching the progress of the movie over the past couple years, & it's taking that long to grow on me.  The main thing, as a G1 purist, that I finally accept, is that it ISN'T G1.  It's another reboot, but in live action movie form.  If any figure of the new line impresses me, it is Prime.  Megatron, atleast from the CGI, looks like a bunch of silver tentacles wrapped together.  It's going to take some time for me to ever warm up to him, as he's the worst design I've seen in a loooooooong time.  As for the Megatron toy, the only pictures I've found, are of the mini Megs that is part of the Legends of Cybertron line.  All the regular toys are cool so far, though, from what I've seen of Scorponok, well, he leaves alot to be desired!  His robot mode, sucks, though it's always possible the seller that posted him, didn't transform him correctly.  That happens quite often.  With all that said, I "think" I'm really going to enjoy the movie, & a friend of mine is designing a Soundwave outfit for me to wear when we all go see it.

I do want the movie to suceed, so, I know it can't be a G1 fan's wet dream.  I understand that.  It's not the way I would've wanted the movie, just like it's not the way a rabid fan of Spiderman or X-men would've wanted the movies, but I accept them for what they are.........alternate realities.

[Joe Redifer]

I like the G1 toys and cartoons/movie a lot.  They lost me when #1) they started separating them into generations (lame)... why the hell were they all transforming into "beasts" now?   I just can't get over that.  #2) I hit puberty.  #3) I bought a Sega Master System, which was much more interesting than even the G1 TF stuff. 

I recently sold Fortress Maximus on eBay for over $400 before shipping.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Well, the Generation thing came, when they started re-releasing G2, which were repaints of the original series, so, they called the original series G1.  As for Beast Wars, originally, it was intended to be a direct sequal to G1, but, when they decided to do a show for it, Hasbro wanted it to be seperate.  However, the writers, as the show progressed, did alot of researching into the original series, & connected it, which is ultimatly what got me into Beast Wars.  I used to hate that show with all my might, but, between it's connection to the original series, & plus seasons 2 & 3 are just awesome, & the Megatron of the future became a dragon, well, I ended up loving it.  I can't think of anything else in my life, where I used to hate it, & then ended up loving it.  It's really wierd. 

Beast Machines I used to hate as well, but, now I like it.  Though, the ending is not what I would want.  After that, came of a plethora of crappy series that just don't do anything for me.  Though, Robots in Disguise, is probably the best of the crappy ones.  But, this fall, comes Transformers Heroes, which is way in the future, kind of like I-robot, where robots already exist when the Autobots & Decepticons arrive, & their robot modes are their disguise.  Plus, it's being done in the US, as opposed to all the crappy shows that were made in Japan.  You'd think Transformers & Anime would work well, but, it's never turned out right, so, Cartoon Network is doing the new show.  I'm more excited about this new show then the movie personally.  And I'm hoping, that it'll be connected to G1 somehow, that would rock!  And I like the reverse take on their disguises.

[Dark Fact]

Well, the Generation thing came, when they started re-releasing G2, which were repaints of the original series, so, they called the original series G1.  As for Beast Wars, originally, it was intended to be a direct sequal to G1, but, when they decided to do a show for it, Hasbro wanted it to be seperate.  However, the writers, as the show progressed, did alot of researching into the original series, & connected it, which is ultimatly what got me into Beast Wars.  I used to hate that show with all my might, but, between it's connection to the original series, & plus seasons 2 & 3 are just awesome, & the Megatron of the future became a dragon, well, I ended up loving it.  I can't think of anything else in my life, where I used to hate it, & then ended up loving it.  It's really wierd. 

G1 was good, G2 was a total piece of shit (what the hell was Hasbro thinking?), Beast Wars Seasons 1 and 2 were good, Season 3 went from mediocre to crap (with thanks to Hasbro's stubbornness to hustle the story in favour of promoting new toys) and Beast Machines was a total insult (organic Cybertron? WTF?).  The anime series that followed up ranged from okay to mediocre although I do hate Armada with a passion.  The microcons had to be the worst things ever made in all of Transformers.  It was like the Transformers used them as Pokemon or something!

[Joe Redifer]

I can't even keep track of all that shit!  Hasbro really needs to go out of business.  It should have ended with G1.  It's like taking the Thundercats, making a "G2" where Snarf is the leader, it takes place here on Earth in modern times and Warner Bros does the animation.  Leave the classics alone!  Fucking Hasbro.  They ruined Transformers for me!

[ParanoiaDragon]

G2 sucked, with the exception of the few brand new toys that came out of it at the last minute.  I agree about Beast Machines having an organic Cybertron sucks.  That's something that never should've happened.  But, storywise, I've tried to look around it somehow.  I know we only saw one small part of Cybertron, so, maybe it wasn't 50/50.  And I know even from G1, Cybertron did have some organics at one time, back from when the Quintessons arrived & proabably even before that.  But I found I enjoy Beast Machines now, with the exception of most of the last episode.  For me, the first season of Beast Wars, felt slow, I still enjoy it, but, I feel like it really picked up at the end, & was awesome thruout season 3.  I did feel Tigerhawk was rushed, but, enjoyed him all the same, with the exception of the quick demise.  And I love how Dinobot's mind came together, when the other half of the spark was destroyed, though I would've prefered he live on into Beast Machines. 

Armada just plain sucks, I hate it.  And I do own it, but only because it's Transformers.  Though, IIRC, some of the later episodes with Unicron had their moments.  But, one of my biggest gripes with all the Japanese produced series, is kids, I HATE having kids in the shows.  It's not like G1, Spike never really go on my nerves, but, all the kids in the latest series(Armada, Energon, Cybertron) got friggin' annoying.  Plus, I feel episodes are stretched out making them incredibly thin on plot.  I'm watching the end of Cybertron now, and it's kind of hard to watch.  I thought, that maybe with Gonzo behind the latest season, that it would be good.  Cuz I like alot of their other anime, but even they couldn't pull off a decent show.

I just hope that Heroes later this year, pulls the shows out of the gutter.  Not that Cartoon Network is gold, but, hopefully they can do it atleast half right!

[Dark Fact]

G2 sucked, with the exception of the few brand new toys that came out of it at the last minute.  I agree about Beast Machines having an organic Cybertron sucks.  That's something that never should've happened.  But, storywise, I've tried to look around it somehow.  I know we only saw one small part of Cybertron, so, maybe it wasn't 50/50.  And I know even from G1, Cybertron did have some organics at one time, back from when the Quintessons arrived & proabably even before that.  But I found I enjoy Beast Machines now, with the exception of most of the last episode.  For me, the first season of Beast Wars, felt slow, I still enjoy it, but, I feel like it really picked up at the end, & was awesome thruout season 3.  I did feel Tigerhawk was rushed, but, enjoyed him all the same, with the exception of the quick demise.  And I love how Dinobot's mind came together, when the other half of the spark was destroyed, though I would've prefered he live on into Beast Machines.

In my opinion, Season 3 just didn't have the excellent writing that the first 2 seasons had, not to mention some of the decisions Hasbro ordered for that season felt downright insulting.  I can't forgive them for bringing Dinobot back as a transmetal.  It made his sacrifice in the last season look like nothing.  Tigerhawk, while I was glad to see Tigatron and Airrazor back in some form, to have them killed off at the end of the season made them look like a bunch of throwaway characters, and I thought Tigatron and Airrazor were pretty cool! If they were going to kill any maximal off, it should've been Silverbolt!  Like I said, the whole season just reeked of pushing toys than pushing good storylines.  Beast Machines was good for the first four episodes until they brought in Nightscream and the organic tree.  After that, it all fell apart.

Armada just plain sucks, I hate it.  And I do own it, but only because it's Transformers.  Though, IIRC, some of the later episodes with Unicron had their moments.  But, one of my biggest gripes with all the Japanese produced series, is kids, I HATE having kids in the shows.  It's not like G1, Spike never really go on my nerves, but, all the kids in the latest series(Armada, Energon, Cybertron) got friggin' annoying.  Plus, I feel episodes are stretched out making them incredibly thin on plot.  I'm watching the end of Cybertron now, and it's kind of hard to watch.  I thought, that maybe with Gonzo behind the latest season, that it would be good.  Cuz I like alot of their other anime, but even they couldn't pull off a decent show.

I kinda doubt that the newest season of Transformers will be any better, especially when you consider that Gonzo is on the job.

[ParanoiaDragon]

That Gonzo rumor for the new show was already shot down by Hasbro.  I can't recall if I heard a name for the studio that's actually doing it, but, it's supposed to not be Gonzo.  And I suppose we'll probably get some more info on it, in a month at Toyfair.

As for Dinobot, I see your point, as he was my favorite character, but, at the same time, I wanted to see him again.

[Dark Fact]

I'm sure you did but for most entertainment enthusiasts, there is an unwritten law that states that when an important character dies in the most dramatic and glorious of ways, they should stay dead.  Not only does it make the sacrifice most significant but also gives the show an incredible impact of emotion and helps provoke thought.  It was one of those episodes that gave Beast Wars a great sense of realism thanks to the writing of Larry Ditillio and Bob Forward.  I still remember after having watched that episode for the first time a decade ago of what an impact it left on me.  To this day, that episode is the one I think about the most next to the episode entitled "Before the Storm" where the Maximals and Predacons had to use peaceful tactics to kick the crap out of each other.

[Joe Redifer]

Man, all of this is making my head spin.  I'm glad I only care about G1.

As for Dinobot, I see your point, as he was my favorite character

There are 5 Dinobots.  Please don't tell me they condensed the whole group into one character and called him (of all things) "Dinobot".  I'm ready to slit my wrists.

[Dark Fact]

There are 5 Dinobots.  Please don't tell me they condensed the whole group into one character and called him (of all things) "Dinobot".  I'm ready to slit my wrists.

Dunno for sure but I think they did.  However, Megatron in Beast Wars was a Tyrannosaurus for the first couple of seasons before he became a dragon.

[Joe Redifer]

WTF?  Megatron is a gun, not some lame animal!  Oh man how my Transformers have been slaughtered.  Did he at least have Frank Welker's voice?

[Dark Fact]

It was an all new cast.  David Kaye was the voice of Megatron in Beast Wars.  Since the Maximals weren't the Autobots, Hasbro felt that they didn't need the original cast back. 

By the way, Starscream did appear in Beast Wars but only as a spark.  Fortunately, Chris Latta did reprise his role for that one episode before his death.

[Joe Redifer]

As a spark?  Sparks can speak?  Sparks only last a fraction of a second!  Man, this just gets weirder and weirder.  Who murdered Chris Latta?

PS - Hasbro is teh suck.  Who is voicing the movie?

[Dark Fact]

Starscream's spark is indestructible.  He can float around in space for 1000 years and not faze out.  And Chris Latta wasn't murdered, he died of a cerebral hemorrage in 1994.

As for the movie, Peter Cullen is confirmed as Optimus Prime.  However, no word if Frank Welker is reprising his role as Megatron or any of the other regulars are coming back.  We still have to wait and see.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Actually, Chris Latta died before he could reprise his role as Starscream, so Starscream was done by Doug Parker aka Terrasaur who claims he was actually good friends with Chris, & was taught how to talk like Starscream.  Though, I never thought he did a perfect job, but, he was decent.  I feel he really wasn't good at all at doing Starscream at a level tone, but, did good with Starscream's screaming voice.

As for Dinobot, it was just a dumb generic name, like Rhinox, Insecticon(toy only), Tarantulas, Tigertron, & Iguanus(toy only).  He didn't have any connection to the Dinobots.  If anything, he might've taken the name, because he respected the Dinobots for being warriors, but even then, he was born the spark of a warrior/Predacon, rather then a worker/Maximal(going by G1 standards that is).

Also, Ravage & G1 Megatron were also in the show, though, G1 Megs was not voiced by Frank Welker(by this time, Frank was a very expensive man to hire).  Plus, really, most companies don't bother to get the same cast several years later, when a show continues.  Look at The New Adventures of He-man, which is a continuation storywise, but has none of the original actors.  In Japan, that's a different story, they always try to make sure to get the same actor's, no matter how many years it's been.

Oh, also of note, G1 Megatron was a gun.  Beast Wars Megatron, had no relation to G1 Megatron, he only took the name in respect of the original Decepticon leader.  But, IIRC, there might've been some kind of connection between Prime & Primal, though, neither was the same guy.  Basically, they might be related somehow, just like Prime & Ultra Magnus.  Since the show happens in the future, the original Optimus & Megs are long dead, well, atleast Optimus for sure.  Megs, they aren't as vocal about.  For all we know, he could be still floating around out of control in space(as Galvatron) which happened at the end of the Rebirth episodes of G1.

[Joe Redifer]

I hear that Frank Welker is at least a tad bit, ummm, insane.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Yeah, I've heard the same thing.  There's supposedly a good chance that he is indeed going to be Megs in the new movie, which, for me, helps.  I wanna hear those voices again!

[Dark Fact]

Actually, Chris Latta died before he could reprise his role as Starscream, so Starscream was done by Doug Parker aka Terrasaur who claims he was actually good friends with Chris, & was taught how to talk like Starscream.  Though, I never thought he did a perfect job, but, he was decent.  I feel he really wasn't good at all at doing Starscream at a level tone, but, did good with Starscream's screaming voice.

I see.  I guess I was mistaken.  I could've sworn that Starscream in Beast Wars sounded like him.

Also, Ravage & G1 Megatron were also in the show, though, G1 Megs was not voiced by Frank Welker(by this time, Frank was a very expensive man to hire).  Plus, really, most companies don't bother to get the same cast several years later, when a show continues.  Look at The New Adventures of He-man, which is a continuation storywise, but has none of the original actors.  In Japan, that's a different story, they always try to make sure to get the same actor's, no matter how many years it's been.

I remember that.  G1 Megatron's new voice in that flashback sucked.  It didn't even sound close to Welker's version.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Yeah, that G1 Megs voice was beyond terrible, but, for all the kids that were watching it at the time, they wouldn't know the difference, only we would!

[Dark Fact]

Megatron sounded way too robotic in that episode like he was some kind of service computer.  However, I heard from someone that that Megatron voice was supposed to sound closer to his japanese version.

[ParanoiaDragon]

I'm not sure about that, I remember hearing something about the voice actor(I think it might've been David Kaye IIRC), trying to imitate Megs, including his little chuckle that he does.  I could be wrong though

[Dark Fact]

That was David Kaye trying to do the G1 voice?

Frank Welker is an experienced voice actor.  I don't think anyone can mimic the pitch he does for G1 Megatron without  risking a burnout of their vocal cords.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read it was David Kaye.  I don't think anyone can do G1 Megs accept Welker.  I know Gary Chalk tried to do G1 Prime in Beast Machines, & that was better.  I think G1 Prime is an easier voice, though, Cullen does it right.  Chalk still sounded Primalish.

[Dark Fact]

If you compare Gary Chalk to Peter Cullen, you would see that Peter Cullen sounds like an "aged" version of Optimus Prime while Chalk can make Prime's voice sound a little more younger and more energetic.  In other words, Gary Chalk = young Prime, Peter Cullen = old Prime.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Yeah, I agree.  Also, I do think that Neil Kaplan(I think that was his name) did a really good Prime in RID(Robots in Disguise).  I think he had it down really well.  Oh, & IIRC, David Kaye is apparently going to play the new Optimus Prime in Transformers Heroes!  He's supposed to be a younger Prime, that's about all I've heard.  It'd be funny if Garry Chalk ended up playing Megatron or whoever the leader is in the new show(it'll probably be a Megs of some sort).

[CrackTiger]

Also, Ravage & G1 Megatron were also in the show, though, G1 Megs was not voiced by Frank Welker(by this time, Frank was a very expensive man to hire).  Plus, really, most companies don't bother to get the same cast several years later, when a show continues.  Look at The New Adventures of He-man, which is a continuation storywise, but has none of the original actors.  In Japan, that's a different story, they always try to make sure to get the same actor's, no matter how many years it's been.

The The New Adventures of He-man was purposely trying to be completely different from the original show and more like GI Joe/Transformers. When the 2000+ MOTU came out, they made sure to get Alan Oppenheimer to voice Skeletor, since he was the only voice that really mattered. Thankfully, they let him do it less cartoony.

If you compare Gary Chalk to Peter Cullen, you would see that Peter Cullen sounds like an "aged" version of Optimus Prime while Chalk can make Prime's voice sound a little more younger and more energetic.  In other words, Gary Chalk = young Prime, Peter Cullen = old Prime.

That's why I was glad to find out Peter Cullen was going to do OP in the new movie. OP should sound old and more leader'ish.

[Dark Fact]

The The New Adventures of He-man was purposely trying to be completely different from the original show and more like GI Joe/Transformers. When the 2000+ MOTU came out, they made sure to get Alan Oppenheimer to voice Skeletor, since he was the only voice that really mattered. Thankfully, they let him do it less cartoony.

It was less cartoony because the new MOTU needed to be more mature to fit in with today's viewing audience and I'm thankful that they did that.  Skeletor should be acting the way he should: as a conniving evil bastard and not a goofball who just stands around all day screaming at Beast Man, calling everybody names, and giving into the Christmas spirit.

[ParanoiaDragon]

Actually, I just got The New Adventures of He-man, & I find it to be goofier then the first series.  Especially Skeletor, he's just wacky in that one.  The new show was out a few years ago, & that unforntunatly got cancelled, just plain rocked!