Bumblebe is barely the size of a garage, Optimus is barely reaches the height of trees, They're giant robots, Why are they so small?

 

They're appropriately sized for the alt modes they possess (or for those who we don't see alt-modes for, appropriately to scale to their compatriots)

Bumblebee has generally only ever been about 12-15 feet tall. At least in the times where the creators cared enough to be a) consistent with and b) concerned about scale.

Not that G1 was ever concerned with keeping things 100% to scale all the time, but:



If Spike is an average sized human male, Bumblebee is maybe about 2x his height or just slightly larger. So if Spike were 6 feet tall (which I know is above average. I'm just picking a round number for the sake of easy math), Bee would check in at about 12-15 feet. In the Bumblebee movie, Bee isn't able to stand up straight in the garage and I would imagine that its interior ceiling is in the 10-foot range. And he is a bit more than 2x the height of Charlie when he stands up (and Hailee Steinfeld is listed on IMDB as being 5'8)

When you say they're "giant" robots, I don't know what you're referring to to qualify as "giant". The Transformers haven't ever been the size of, say, Godzilla or mecha type stuff like Gundams or the Pacific Rim Jaegers. Other than the bots that are supposed to be rightfully massive like combiners or Fort Max/Metroplex/Trypticon. The main characters have never been the type to tower over buildings or anything like that.

 

They could upscale him at the least, Like make his robot form bigger, In the Bay films all the Transformers are house sizes

 

The robot form can't just be bigger if they're trying to stay within the realm of reasonableness to the alt mode. A VW Beetle is a much smaller car than a modern Camaro. And while I don't doubt that all Michael Bay's talk from early in the franchise about how he wanted to avoid mass shifting entirely probably went out the window at some point, they did at least seem to be trying to stay within the bounds of sanity.

And not all the bots in the Bay movies were house sized. Optimus and Megatron were big, but most of the rest of them (aside from the likes of the Dinobots or the Constructicons) were 25 feet or under, and Bumblebee, for example, was usually 18 feet at his tallest. Tall, for sure, but not "big as a house" tall.

I can't say these are 100% accurate, but they're at least well put together, appear well-researched, and are better than nothing.

AOE Scale Chart Thread

The Bumblebee movie bots are definitely smaller, but it's not so out of whack with the previous stuff as to be distracting. I never liked it when Optimus was literally twice the size of most of his troops.

 

Because it's a departure from the bayverse, known simply as a reboot . . .

 

Why though? What purpose does it serve?

 

Bumblebee, Shatter and Dropkick are all the logical size they would be. But Optimus and Blitzwing were indeed downsized.

Probably because they required, visually, for Optimus and Blitzwing to interact with Bumblebee, and it would look awkward if Optimus had to kneel down to put his hand on Bee's shoulder and what not.

 

Because it’s easier and more natural for them to interact with humans and each other if the size discrepancies aren’t massive. Which is ultimately the point of Transformers media, how these robots in disguise interact with their new environment.

And as a result have almost no meaningful or believable interactions with each other or the actors on set. Most of the Autobots never even talk to each other.

 

If he took on a bigger vehicle mode, maybe...

 

And what? Bumblebee would inexplicably gain body mass to equal out the discrepancy of a larger alt mode?

I think people forget that the majority of space in a typical vehicle IS EMPTY. You know, for people to sit inside it and store luggage, etc. In the trunk. Most of the time transformation boils down to the vehicle compressing itself to remove the hollow space and become more humanoid in shape. The whole reason Optimus was NOT a cab-over in the bay films as originally given? His robot mode would only have been maybe twenty feet tall. They needed the extra mass from a long nose cab to make him taller.

 

The answer is mass shifting

 

That scale chart isn't 100% accurate. At least according to 3A, Prime in Bumblebee is supposed to be 20'.

 

Just saying.

 

Boy he would've looked so weird being that big next to Bumblebee.

 

Probably just to make it look similar to the G1 style. I prefer the bigger robots though, 2007-11 Optimus looked waaaay more badass than BB Optimus.

 

I recall a G1 Transformers coloring book i had as a kid. In one picture, Ravage was towering over trees. Not the best scale...

 

It never ceases to amaze me that people seem to think that the G1 Cartoon was anything close to resembling a quality product of consistency.

 

And indeed, it looks awkward, like he's talking to a child.

But movie Bee isn't a child, he's Optimus' little pal. It would've really undercut Bee's growth and struggles if he wasn't allowed to stand tall next to his superior in the end there considering the whole scene was Optimus acknowledging Bee's achievements.

 

Yes that G1 shot is precisely the kind of awkwardness they were trying to avoid, I'm glad you noticed.