The G1 bots never really looked like robots either, they looked more like dudes in metal suits.

Considering that transformers are sentient beings with emotions, wouldn't it also make sense that they might be just a little organic in some way. I mean, do all I have to do is shove a spark into my toaster in order to bring it to life and have it hunt down my neighbors cat?

 

Yes. Shockwave is a good example of a living toaster.

 

Cool stuff but no thanks. I'll take what looks "realistic".

 

I love what this guy said. The past needs to stay there. Gimme the new.

 

You mean "Gimme the kool-aid".

 

Looks like a video I posted a few years ago. It had Rammstein's song Duhast in the background. very similar animation

 

 
No. He doesn't.

 

I think the first clip would have been great for a cartoon show. That would be a CGI I could like. The second one would have been "ok" for the movie but would need some work. Finally I am also for a "new" or fresh start like they tried for the movie but let's face it they failed. I honestly cannot take Starscream or Megatron seriously. "Look it's Megatron! He is transforming into a METAL TRASH HEAP RUN!!" Maybe after watching the movie my mind will change however......

 

the second one is from elgoodo, and you're absolutely right, the best ones are the war withins and his ironhide and ratchet (i don't know if they were in that youtube link, don't feel like watching it all over) the guy created a transformation for them without cheating or extra parts!! awesome.

and while at this point i'm satisfied with most movie designs, i can't help to wonder how could the designs have been if they got a little bit closer to the alts look.

that would be actually reeeally cool.  

 

Heh... no. But then, I have to say, that's what makes this clip BRILLIANT. The handling of real world forces like inertia, momentum and gravity help make this animated titan seem all the more real, doesn't it?

When it comes to animation, hand-drawn OR cgi... observation is king. God really is in the details.

Er... metal dudes in armour. But then, that warrior aesthetic has always been a defining element of robot design. Who says "robots" need to look like skeletal insect demon monsters instead? I find in some cases, the Dreamworks TFs sort of look like G1 dudes with their suits/skin peeled off.  

Isn't that exactly what the Allspark does in the new movie?  

I've never felt that TFs had to look "organic". They are a total fantasy creation, beings that are built from a similar but different foundation than organic beings. Just as "organic" forms are natural to us, can geometric forms not be natural to Cybertronians?

And part of the wonder of bringing something fantastical into a realistic (and cinematic) environment is seeing it realized as something discordant, something impossible, yet as solid as reality. That's why a TF movie done with G1-ish designs wouldn't be "cartoonish" or "stand out like a sore thumb".

If ILM made a G1 robot that looked so real you could touch it, it would look like a real G1 robot. You wouldn't have to suspend disbelief because it would be right there in front of you (onscreen) looking as real as the actors and surroundings.

It's fine to prefer the current movie designs to more traditional ones, or to want something different, more alien, more scary... whatever... but I think a lot of people are wrong when they automatically assume that it "couldn't" be done the other way. And when they point at (exceptionally well done) fan-imations and try to use that as "proof"... well that just kind of undermines anything else they might say. Comparing competent fan-imations to the potential of ILM is vastly underselling ILM.

QFT. Some people have a really hard time admitting this. Don't get me wrong... I think a lot of the movie stuff I've seen so far looks REALLY COOL... but so far I can't say it takes the place in my heart, of seeing more traditional transformers designs on this scale.

zmog

 

seen this already... thank you, come again.

 

Isn't it about time that using that tired cliche is stopped?  

It's not like you're FORCED to and why replace? Did we worry about [Insert post G1 series here] replacing anything. So just accept the new stuff as new stuff, if you like it great. If you don't then move on  

 

No.

 

Well... see... it IS sort of about replacing. It's not just a cliche.

In that, because we're getting the movie that we are, I'm NOT getting to see what I consider to be the "Transformers" that I have always wanted to see, depicted in glorious high-budget live-action... something part of me has been aching to see for over 20 years. Sob. Sob.  

The post G1 cartoon series are always held up as an example of changes we have accepted already... but to say that denies the undeniable power of a major live-action movie. Also, as it has been said many times before, there have been few departures from traditional TF aesthetics in the past that can compare with what's happening here. It's a pretty dramatic shift. At least as much of a shift as BW was (which were also often skeletal, buggy, monstrous, organic-looking deviants).

zmog

 

Any body else notice the new Michael Smith CGI yellow Transformer has the exact same animation sequence as Jazz in the original commercial bumpers?

 

Sorry man, but when something is so different from what you liked, it's hard to accept it as a legitamate part of it. ...It has no elements of that which you liked, so how can it be the same (property) and how can you there for enjoy it?

 

Beast Wars changed just as much (actually more, with the alt modes changed too), yet people love it and embrace it.

 

Same continuity though. If I recall correctly, it wasn't until the Unicron appearance that fans went Ape-Shit for Beast Wars. I can stand the movie designs, mostly. *glares at starscream and megatron* I just would have rather seen something more 'Transformers-like' on the big screen.

With that said, the cgi in the first post woulda made a cool cartoon or OVA, but not on the big screen. Purple bots? Boo urns.

 

Man, this thread is awesome. It's like a carbon copy duplicate of every movie animation discussion thread since the movie discussion forum opened.

 

Er... some people love it an embrace it. I enjoyed watching the show, and hated the toys. With BM, when the bad guys went back to vehicles, I strongly disliked them too. The aesthetic lacked the traditional vibe. However, I didn't get too worried about it. It was only another TV show.

But, as has already been said, a movie on this scale has much more impact and significance than "just another new series".

Heh. So very true. I'm getting deja vu while typing my posts!

I guess I'm just nostalgic.  

zmog