Last weekend at Hasbro Studios‘ Transformers: Robots in Disguise panel at New York Comic Con, we got a little sneak peek at the new series, and had tons of laughs with the creative team and voice cast. The new series features some favorite Transformers and all new ones, including the exciting addition of Grimlock to a Transformers TV series. The new series will debut on Cartoon Network next year, but we got a special sneak peek of the first episode and behind-the-scenes secrets about this new series that changes up the way we’re used to seeing the Transformers in more ways than one.
In Robots in Disguise, Bumblebee (voiced by Boy Meets World actor Will Friedle) is the leader of the group instead of the usual Optimus Prime, although Peter Cullen does lend his voice talents again for the part of Optimus when he is present. Friedle and his fellow voice actors, including Khary Payton (Grimlock) and Mitchell Whitfield (Fixit), spent a majority of the time gushing like starstruck fanboys over their first encounter meeting Cullen in the booth—which was, in fact, quite adorable, and surefire proof that fans never quite outgrown their love of this brand. They also spent a lot of time teasing Whitfield and his character Fixit, who is a new addition to the Transformers series. The much smaller, yet still mighty, Fixit, serves as more of an IT-support type character for the gang, seemingly great at plot exposition for each episode. His wiring is a little faulty, giving him a but of a tick, but—while the cast teases Whitfield for his small-statured robot character—Fixit really pulls his weight on this team (Although it’s not much weight to pull!—insert bad pun symbol crash here).
Besides the excitement of finally seeing Grimlock in a series (which was officially announced at this New York Comic Con panel), more excitement stems from the addition of a female Autobot to this cast—one that’s not pinkwashed, girly, sexy, or any different than a male Auotbot. Strongarm (Constance Zimmer) is a lady Autobot who is generally blue, built like the other Transformer robots, and turns into a pretty kickass police car as seen in the clip above. When commenting on Strongarm in the panel, Zimmer mentioned that she loves that she is able to teach her own daughter—as well as other young girls— that “women don’t have to be pink or purple or fit into a certain box.” It’s less about gender and more about being strong in general. So move over, boys, because this brave Autobot isn’t afraid to show off her strength.
The animation in the series is lighter and brighter than previous series such as Transformers Prime, which matches the general mood of Robots in Disguise. This rendition of Transformers is more comedic and less about the doom and gloom of its predecessors. However, that is not to say that all the battles and action have been cut out by any means. Check out this exclusive clip starring everyone’s favorite—villains!
As you can see, the series leans a little on the goofier side, which makes it fun for kids of all ages and provides dedicated fans with a new way to watch. Besides the lighter and brighter animation, there are incredibly detailed hand-painted backgrounds that really add an extra level to the animation. Although you wouldn’t know it unless you saw them together in person, the cast’s IRL friendship really translates into the camaraderie that you see between the Transformers on-screen, giving the show a very heart-warming vibe in addition to all the battles and action.
You can check out the full first season trailer for Transformers: Robots in Disguise below and let us know what you think!
Also, unrelated side note and not-so-humble brag: Marissa and I fangirled ourselves and took this selfie with Will Friedle! YAY!
Time for a #selfie with @ohsotrendy & #willfriedle #boymeetsworld #ericmatthews #nycc pic.twitter.com/LasQ1M6Lyk
— Marissa DiBartolo (@MarissaDBartolo) October 10, 2014
