Transformers Animated: Transform and Roll Out
© Hasbro

Mania Grade: B+
Maniac Grade: B
DVD: Transformers Animated: Transformer and Roll Out
Rating: Not Rated
Starring (Voices): David Kaye, Bumper Robinson, Jeff Bennett, Bill Fagerbakke, Corey Burton, Tom Kenny, Tara Strong
Written By: Marty Isenberg
Directed By: Matt Youngberg, Yutaka Kagawa
Distributor: Hasbro
Original Year of Release: TV (1984), DVD(2008)
Extras: Two animated shorts

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DVD Review of Transformers Animated

After Michael Bay’s Transformers arrived in theaters it was only a matter of time before a weekly animated series came back to television. There has always been an animated series of Transformers on the air. Much like the perpetual love of Star Wars, the Transformers will always be with us. Hasbro brought them back to the small screen in December of 2007 and has finally released their first DVD of the series. 

Transformers Animated: “Transform and Roll Out!” starts with old footage from the 1984 series highlighting one of the Cybertonian Wars. A young Optimus Prime (David Kaye) watches these old videos in the hopes to learn more about history. Quickly we learn that this Optimus Prime is a crew chief of Autobots on a repair mission. Ratchet (Corey Burton), an old medic, is Optimus Prime’s link to the past and sage of conscience. Bumblebee (Bumper Robinson) and Bulkhead (Bill Fagerbakke) are his young recruits who are always getting into trouble. Prowl (Jeff Bennett) is the loner that lacks better judgment but is the only skilled warrior of the group.

On a routine mission to repair a space bridge they accidentally discover the Allspark, the device which gave all Transformers life. It is a source of incredible power and was jettisoned into space centuries ago to keep it from the Decepticons. The Decepticons have been missing for centuries since their last defeat. However, with the Allspark now back on their side of the galaxy the Decepticons have come looking for it.

The first half of Transformers Animated: “Transform and Roll Out!” is a great throwback to the old series. The animation is far superior but it is the characters’ story which quickly pulls you in and makes you a part of this small band of robots. The action is quick and the pace of the story is perfect. In the first eighteen minutes there is a great sense of the characters and their purpose. 

Megatron (Corey Burton) arrives and battles Optimus Prime for the Allspark. Quickly the difference between the old series and this one is relevant in this first battle. Here, Optimus Prime and all the Autobots work together to battle Megatron. In the old series it would have been a mano a mano battle and everyone else would have fallen to the wayside. The battle carries them through the space bridge and they crash land on Earth. Megatron, damaged, crashes away from the Autobots and is discovered by a little boy. The Autobots land in Lake Erie and are deactivated. 

In the second part of Transformers Animated: “Transform and Roll Out!” the human characters of the show are introduced. Flash forward fifty years and the city of Detroit has become the world’s leader in robotics. Isaac Sumdac (Tom Kenny) was that little boy who discovered Megatron and he has reverse engineered him to create an army of robots that service mankind. The Autobots are awakened when one of Isaac’s inventions runs rampant through the city. It is up to them to save the day and Isaac’s daughter Sari (Tara Strong).

Transformers Animated: “Transform and Roll Out!” is great mixture of all theaspects inside the Transformers cannon. It reignites the spark that made the original series from 1984 so appealing. There are great lessons about friendship, trust, team work and what it takes to be a hero. Fans of the original series may be turned off by the poor animation of the human characters and their anime-like movements. The Transformers themselves are sleeker, smoother and a step up from the old series. If these stories deliver the same punch as the original show the human animation might be less bothersome. Already on the first disc there was seeding of additional characters and plots. Where did all the other Decepticons go? Will the Autobots’ ship transform into Omega mode? Why was Optimus Prime thrown out of the Autobot Academy? Is Megatron really incapacitated? Transformers Animated: “Transform and Roll Out!” warrants further viewing.

Special Features:

There are two animated shorts included on the DVD as a bonus. One is a character profile of Prowl. The other starts off as a “Now You Know” segment that transcends into Optimus Prime fielding awkward questions from little kids at career day. It is a perfect spoof and realistic portrayal of what kids would ask Optimus Prime if here were real.

Transformers Animated: “Transform and Roll Out!” will be released on June 17^th, 2008

The Autobots discover the long lost Allspark.

© Hasbro