The Autonomous Robotic Organism series, commonly known as Transformers, has for the most part, been overwhelming and obtuse, leaving little for those who are not obsessive enthusiasts of the renowned Hasbro toys to enjoy. That’s why it is refreshing to note that the first animated theatrical offering of the franchise in almost four decades has come as an inviting and enjoyable revelation. This origin narrative, embodied by both verbal and visual humour, action, and a surprisingly pleasant dose of sentimentality, injects a new life into the old franchise.
Similar to recent successes in animation such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, experience has shown that animation can be fabulously effective for origin stories. This is more than demonstrated in Transformers One, where the traditionally redundant human characters are excellently left out.
For those curious about the birth of the complex relationship between Optimus Prime and arch-rival Megatron, this film will be insightful. Directed by Toy Story 4’s Josh Cooley, we meet the lead characters when they were just inconspicuous, unchanging bots and underground workers on their homeland, Cybertron. Now known as Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), their friendship quickly consolidates out of a mutual dislike for the elite Transformers who dominate them.
As the bravest of the group, Orion Pax endeavors to retrieve the lost Matrix of Leadership from the proscribed surface, hoping to reestablish the flow of the vital Energon necessary for their survival. Supported by D-16, and their coworkers Elita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), they set out on this perilous journey.
This leads to the revelation that their society's leader, Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm), is not who he portrays himself to be, instigating an existential crisis among the group. The narrative is skillfully written by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. They deftly intertwine comedy and drama in this lively story that showcases the eventual divide between the main characters.
The stunning 3D-style computer animation is worth a mention with its remarkable character designs, elaborate action sequences, and varied settings. However, the visuals, as striking as they are, would be in vain if Transformers One did not also present a well-thought-out plot, robust characters and clever dialogue-a feat comparable to Pixar at its best. This surprising revelation brings a new perspective to the Transformers series.
