The animatedTransformers Oneput the Autobots and the Decepticons at the forefront of the franchise after years of sharing the screen with A-list actors. The return to form was truly the culmination of course correction for the franchise on the big screen. The source of recapturing the magic of the classic syndicated cartoon from the ‘80s can be traced back to the spin-off prequel,Bumblebee.
Directed byTravis Knightwith a screenplay byChristina Hodson(The Flash),Bumblebeewent back to the basics ofMichael Bay’s first Transformers installment: A simple story about a teenager and their first car.Critics praised the sentimental nature of the ‘80s-set tale, echoing the cinematic era that producerSteven Spielberghelped to define. Whilethe prequel’s box office returnspaled in comparison to thebillion-dollar grosses of the Bay films,Bumblebeehas an introductory scene that reset the tone for future Transformers movies to follow.
2018’s ‘Bumblebee’ Kicked Off With the Fall of Cybertron
InBumblebee’s first two and a half minutes, the war on Cybertron is brought to life as the Autobots are in the midst of a losing battle with the Decepticons, includingStarscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave. Optimus Prime (voiced byPeter Cullen) sends his scout B-127/Bumblebee (voiced byDylan O’Brien) off to 1987 Earth to set up a new base of operations as the world crumbles. Badly damaged by the Decepticon Blitzwing upon his arrival, Bumblebee takes the form of a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, resulting in an eventual encounter with California teen Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) and members of Sector 7, led by Jack Burns (John Cena).
The Cybertron War sequencecaptures the Transformers in a way no Michael Bay film ever did. Not only is it devoid of Bay’s dorky humor and expendable human characters, but it also has the Transformers back in their original Generation 1 designs. The ‘80s setting allows the Transformers to be almost entirely removed from their 2007 designs with Prime sans painted flames, Arcee with her exact look from 1986’sTransformers: The Movie, and Rachet as a bright white ambulance instead of a neon green Hummer. This allows each character to stand out and still look blended into the film’s cinematic environment, unlike the Bay movies where the identical metallic looks of the secondary characters make them indistinguishable from one another.
In terms of action,the entire sequence is a giant love letter to the Marvel-produced animated series. The CGI choreography of the war is more polished than the chaotic mess of Bay’s over-the-top explosions, reflecting the cartoon and those adult fans who played with the Hasbro toys as kids.One of the biggest issues with the Bay movies isthe emphasis on the Transformers’ scale within the real-world environments they inhabit. In turn, Bay’s sequences feel lifted from every Godzilla and King Kong movie in existence. The original animated series, however, usually had the Autobots and Decepticons battle each other with little to no humans in the way. This emphasizesthe personalities of the Transformers, which makes them more prominent than they were as just oversized CGI stand-ins smashing each other up. In short,Bumblebee’s opening establishes to its audience that the excitement and adventurethat made the franchise so exciting in the ‘80s had finally returned.
‘Bumblebee’ Going Back to Basics Was a Smart Move for the Transformers Franchise
Theback-to-basics direction ofBumblebeewas vital to the Transformers’ future in cinema. While the original movie’s emotional center was the relationship between Bumblebee and Sam Whitwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the story was overstuffed with human perspectives from the military angle led by Capt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel), the tech geeks led by Maggie Madsen (Rachel Taylor), and the covert government agents led by Sector 7’s Agent Simmons (John Turturro). Though Bay made attempts to reduce the number of human players in the sequels, they were still prominent enough that their cookie-cutter personalities paled in comparison to the Transformers themselves.
‘Transformers One’ Hits a Franchise High That the Live-Action Movies Never Could
The animated movie starring Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jon Hamm delivers quality storytelling and character development.
With a throwback approach that surely pleased old-school Transformers fans,Bumblebeegave the Autobots and the Decepticons the humanity they were lacking all along. This set the tone for their prominent roles in the ‘90s-set installmentTransformers: Rise of the Beastsas well asTransformers One. The two most recent installments in the Transformers franchise adaptedBumblebee’s heartfelt premise and charm and completely removed the Bayhem altogether (including the crude humor), thankfully making the Transformers story way more than meets the eye.
Bumblebeeis available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Watch on Paramount+
