The Transformers 

Two opposing factions of transforming alien robots engage in a battle that has the fate of Earth in the balance.

Stars:

Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, Corey Burton

Cast

Series cast summary:
Frank Welker	...	Megatron / ... 93 episodes, 1984-1987
Peter Cullen	...	Optimus Prime / ... 69 episodes, 1984-1987
Corey Burton	...	Spike Witwicky / ... 68 episodes, 1984-1987
Christopher Collins	...	Starscream / ... 68 episodes, 1984-1987
John Stephenson	...	Thundercracker / ... 67 episodes, 1984-1987
Jack Angel	...	Ultra Magnus / ... 60 episodes, 1985-1987
Dan Gilvezan	...	Bumblebee / ... 54 episodes, 1984-1987
Michael Bell	...	Prowl / ... 53 episodes, 1984-1987
Casey Kasem	...	Teletraan I / ... 53 episodes, 1984-1986
Don Messick	...	Ratchet / ... 49 episodes, 1984-1986
Neil Ross	...	Springer / ... 39 episodes, 1984-1987

Storyline

During the great Cybertronian War, the Autobots and the Decepticons crash landed on Earth. Millions of years later, geological activity revives the warring factions - the Decepticons want to strip Earth of its vast energy resources, and the Autobots seek to protect the inhabitants of Earth from that fate. And so an endless battle begins in a crucial race to find an energy source for their homeworld Cybertron.

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Plot Keywords:

1980s | actor voicing multiple characters | alien planet | alien world | flying robot | 

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Taglines:

Robots in disguise!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of Spike Witwicky was based on a real person by the same name.

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Goofs

Wheeljack's "ears" that light up when he speaks change color randomly between episodes. Sometime, they shine with blue light, in other episodes they are red, yellow or white.

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Quotes

Quintesson No. 1: It is a day so long in coming that I am uncertain how to celebrate it.
Quintesson No. 2: Perhaps... a quiet chuckle.
Quintesson No. 1: Very well, then. Let us... chuckle.
Quintesson No. 1, Quintesson No. 2: Heh heh heh heh.

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Alternate Versions

In Germany, the series was first shown in 1989, and of the 98 episodes, only 39 were released: all of seasons 3 and 4, and a handful of episodes from the first two seasons. These were misleadingly shown out of order, giving the illusion that seasons 1 and 2 happened after Optimus Prime's return at the end of season 3 and 4. Voice actors also alternated between episodes. The dubbing studio claimed that all 98 episodes were dubbed into German, but the missing 59 episodes have never been broadcast anywhere and their German dubs are presumed lost. Later in 1994, the Generation 2 re-edit also saw a German release, consisting of the first 26 episodes. The Transformers: The Movie was dubbed into German as a sort of "pilot series" for the Generation 2 episodes, hence why it did not use the voice actors from the original '89 German dubbing.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Best Cartoon Villains of the 1980s (2017)

User Reviews

The best cartoon of the eighties!

Cartoons like Voltron and Thundercats are good by their standards, but Transformers blows them all away. Like it's follow ups, Beast Wars & Beast Machines, this show was designed to sell toys. But Transformers and the future series are much better them some people say. The reason the show ended in the first place is because sales for the toys dropped a lot, so the show was cancelled along with the comics. It's the classic good versus evil show. All the characters are great, especially Optimus Prime. Transformers is a number 1 show.

Details

Official Sites:

Hasbro home page

Country:

USA Japan South Korea

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Transformers

Filming Locations:

Chicago Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$619,597

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$619,597

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunbow Productions, Marvel Productions, Hasbro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (98 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1