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:

More than meets the eye!

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Official Sites:

Hasbro home page

Country:

USA Japan South Korea

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Transformers

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Megatron actually does not transform into his gun mode very often. Instead, he stays as a robot and uses arm mounted fusion cannon. The series placed greater importance on Megatron's motives to attain absolute power.

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Goofs

Animation errors can be found in each and every episode, and some of these are quite noticeable. Characters are colored differently from shot to shot at times, robots that should be dead appear randomly, and sometimes, you can see the same character twice in the same shot. Another issue is the misplacing of animation cels, which resulted in characters appearing to be small/gigantic, and in some instances, full limbs and other body parts are missing.

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Quotes

Rumble: If on Decepticon turf you happen to tumble, look out now, 'cuz here comes Rumble!

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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

Referenced in Robot Chicken: Gimme That Chocolate Milk (2018)

User Reviews

Adult oriented as well as child oriented

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Golly gosh,is Transformers really nearly 20 years old?This timeless celebration of colourful good machines versus bad machines is a piece of genius.I was channelsurfing today,and saw this on one of the channels.It was an episode I remember called The Revenge Of Bruticus.That holds your attention as well now as it did when you were a young kid.In fact,strangely enough,it almost seems better caught up in the pretentiousness of adult life.I would be very happy if they made a big hollywood blockbuster movie adaptation of the series,even though this would contradict my movie laws no end.Maybe the heartless marketing moguls at hollywood should leave this old classic alone,and let it stand the test of time in it's current posistion.*****