Transformer: Animated

Alright, so I decided to write about this one as a dedication to my friend.

"Transformers: Animated" is a Japanese/American animated television series produced by Cartoon Networks Studios and animated by The Answer Studio, MOOK DLE., and Studio 4°C. The show's continuity is seperate from any other previous "Transformers" series, despite using footage from the first series in its first episode as a historical film (Which seemed really out of place). The Japanese version was slightly rewritten to tie into Michael Bay's "Transformers" film series. It debuted on Cartoon Network in 2007 and ran for three seasons until its sudden cancellation in 2009.

"Transformers: Animated" unfortunately didn't receive a particularly positive response when the previews first came out, as compared to "Transformers: Prime", possibly due to the fact that it came out alongside the first Michael Bay movie (While the first one turned out to be pretty decent, fans still disliked the somewhat ugly and overly complicated designs of the bots)... One thing that immediately turned off most fans was its incredibly cartoony and rather exaggerated design of the characters.

It is not just the humans that look noticeably different in this style, but also the bots themselves, they just looked childish, silly... and just far too kiddy when compared to the first series. It was however a considerably unique direction for them to take in terms of their character design, especially after sticking to a more 'realistic' style in the original 80s series as well as the Armada trilogy (Yeurgh...), and well, I suppose one issue about the designs is the fact that some of them... didn't really look like robots.

There are just some parts of him that don't look very robotic.
But he's still an awesome character nonetheless.

The art style definitely gave the animators more opportunities to exaggerate and mess around with the characters a whole lot more... and again, it is just so unexpected to see these normally blocky mechanical aliens being so... malleable when it came to their faces and bodies (And again, that makes them even less mechanical looking than ever).

But eventually, the style soon enough grew on me, and I found it appealing in the weirdest sense, despite the human-like traits and features they tend to have now and then (... they have human tongues apparently), this turned out to be... a pretty alright change. They definitely had to try something new, and this was it. 

Since shows like "Beast Wars", I think this was also the first series where the characters were given the chance to be a lot more expressive. The style that was used in most 80s cartoons definitely limited the types of expressions that could be used on the characters (That sometimes even an emoticon is more expressive than them), even the human ones, and I can see why they decided to go with something a little more 'anime' to make these characters more interesting. I mean it's nothing compared to "Transformers: Prime", but it was still a really good starting point, plus the show truly had numerous moments where the bots were given incredibly well designed expressions.

This is not really one of them... so go watch the show to see what I mean.

It wasn't surprising to see that there were some anime elements added into the show (Some scenes bore similarities to transformation or action sequences from various mahou shoujo and shonen animes), considering how the art style already resembles one to some degree. While it probably makes some scenes more appealing or entertaining, I can't really say that it contributes all that much to the overall animation (But of the Armada trilogy was anything like this, I might have actually give them a chance).

And they definitely took the easier way out most of the time when it came to animating their transformations (Either they reuse one sequence a couple of times or simply turn it into a huge blur, which I thought was a smart choice), these supposedly simpler designs of the characters made transformation scenes a lot less tedious and more straight forward, but all the same still pretty appealing and entertaining to watch.

The show was definitely off to a rough start, especially when it seemed really childish with the gimmicky human villains, and the fact that the writers were forced to make these rather awkward connection to other continuities (Such as the original series and the live action movie), but it really was one of those shows that fans simply had to give a chance, because things really did take off by season 2 onwards, and the show soon enough proved itself to be surprisingly... dark.

I soon began to think that the childish style was just a way to attract a larger audience of kids before they got to the nitty gritty, to fool their parents into thinking that this was a friendly, silly, kiddy show with no death or torture whatsoever... While they will most definitely have the old fans to watch it, they needed to get more people to watch this show somehow if they wanted to continue for a couple more seasons.

As the show also progressed, I also felt that the designs for new characters got even better, and it is just a pity to know that we won't get the chance to see them again as season 4 never came to be (Characters such as Perceptor, Wheeljack, Hot Rod were all positively received despite their brief appearances throughout seasons 2 and 3 and are just only some of many fun redesigns shown throughout the show)... 

There are some absolutely amazing character designs used merely as background
characters alone here.

After the unfortunate end to this series, fans were definitely more welcome and open to other "Transformers" series that were released later on. Because from what we have learnt, the cartoons and comics will always be leagues above the movies themselves, and that fans need not fear that they will ever be like them.

Tangled

Mmhmm yeah, sorry, I am going to write about this film too.

"Tangled" is a 2010 American computer animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairytale "Rapunzel" by the Brothers Grimm, the film's title was changed from "Rapunzel" to "Tangled" to market the film as gender-neutral, especially after the box office disappointment faced by "The Princess and the Frog" in 2009... well, so they say.

There were a lot of expectations for Disney's "Tangled", seeing that it was not just Walt Disney Animation Studios' first ever full length computer animated fairytale adventure (Don't get them confused with Pixar now), but also their 50th animated feature, so there were some pretty high expectations for this film.

And as such, I think they did a pretty amazing job (Remembering that this was their first ever computer animated feature film), with the character animation being one of the absolute highlights of the film. You might say that it was a blessing in disguise that the development for this film had taken forever (Since the days of "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs" in fact), and was finally able to go into production just when animators felt more familiar with 3D animating as compared to the days of the first "Toy Story".

The animation on Rapunzel's parents was absolutely one of the best things in this film and shows just how much raw emotion can be evoked from the animation alone, even without words. Sometimes you don't always need to depend on flowery lines to contribute to the overall story to make it better and stronger, and "Tangled" proves just that. Just looking at the examples below, you can truly see...

... the worry and fear...

... sorrow and heartbreak...

... and absolute relief from their eyes alone, it still pulls at the heart strings every time I look at them... If that isn't one of the best examples of 3D animation, then I don't know what is.

The quirkiness for this so-called unconventional Disney princess definitely shines through the animation alone (It helps that Mandy Moore was always a pretty decent voice actress, and to this day, I still find her to be the best voice for Aerith Gainsborough). 

It has been said that Rapunzel was inspired after Ariel, not just in looks but in personality... and yeah, I suppose I can see that, it was a pretty good choice especially when they wished to fully utilise what computer animation could already offer at the time (Instead of making her a more calm and quiet character). All that liveliness and spiritedness just translates so well into this type of animation, and Ariel herself should be proud!

And while it has been said numerous times that it was an absolute challenge to animate her long, luxurious hair, the animators have actually done some absolutely creative things with it that truly adds to her adorable character.

There definitely aren't many Disney 'princes' like Flynn Rider (Nah wait, I suppose there's Aladdin, Hercules... and the sequel versions of most Disney princes), he has his charms, but what makes him one of Disney's more memorable and likeable love interests is the fact that these 'charms' fall short with Rapunzel, leading to some absolutely hilarious and almost endearing outcomes... 

Flynn has an amazingly wide variety of facial expressions ranging from his believed-to-be signature cocky smirk to something completely twisted and embarrassing (Such as when he gets knocked out by a frying pan or beaten up by a strangely intelligent horse), and in all, that makes him one of the most colourful and most interesting Disney love interests to date (Though honestly, I actually like all of the love interests featured in the long series of Disney Princess films, with the prince from "Snow White" being my least favourite).

If girls begin questioning why guys don't look at them the way a fictional character does his own fictional love interest, you know the animators are doing something right...

Again, Rapunzel and Flynn are given one of the best relationship developments out of all the Disney films, sure their time together only lasts for a couple of days like most Disney relationships, but so much just happens over that time during their journey together that you can absolutely feel that they are really growing on one another. And by the time it happens...

... You are totally rooting for them because you know that they absolutely love each other, I mean just look at the way they cling to one another when they thought that they had almost lost each other, how Flynn just buries his face into Rapunzel's shoulder as they both weep and tremble quietly from the relief they feel. Much like Rapunzel's parents, the animation for these two lovebirds just feels so believable... so powerful...

Mother Gothel was also another wonderful change from the original fairy tale, a lot of people probably hate her, but that's because there truly are people that behave and think like her in real life, making her a much more menacing and believable villainess as compared to the original version where she was a haggard old witch that had a less interesting reason for kidnapping Rapunzel.

I absolutely loved her design and charismatic personality, she is another wonderful addition to the Disney Villain and Villainess gallery. While it might seem that her intentions are pretty clear to most viewers, one can't help but feel that perhaps Mother Gothel had more complicated feelings than what was actually conveyed onscreen when it came to her feelings for her 'daughter'.

And who could forget Maximus? At this day and age, we find ourselves growing less interested and more annoyed by supporting characters such as these, but then Maximus just comes and restores our faith in such characters. Besides of course being fantastically animated, Maximus probably had one of the best comedic timings out of any character in the film. And with Flynn already being a funny character on his own, these two together just make a fantastic comedy duo.

You might nitpick at the songs or any other aspect, but one thing you should admit is that, for Disney's first 3D animation feature film, they did a spectacular job with the character animation. People have constantly said that 3D killed Disney, but I think "Tangled" and "Frozen" proved otherwise...

Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is an American 3D rendered computer animated television series that premiered on Nickelodeon in 2012. It is the third animated TMNT television series (Following after the 1987 and 2003 series) and has presently been renewed for a forth season by Nickelodeon.

Like many 3D remakes/reboots/renditions of a classic cartoon series, a lot of people, especially longtime fans were rather turned off and groaned in dismay upon laying their eyes on the previews for this show. And the truth is, I really can't blame how they feel, it is reasonable to feel that way, especially when you grew up with the original. But it really is most unfortunate not to give this version a chance as I feel that it not only stays true to older versions, but also adding their own unique ingredient into the mix.

This show might seem a little more childish at times if you were to compare it to such shows like "Transformers: Prime" or any of the other DC 3D animated shows at the time, a considerably unique aspect of the show is how 2D 'anime' expressions are applied to the characters during many comedic moments, while I was a little caught off guard when I had first seen it, I was surprised to realise that it just... worked.

And the best thing was that the animators didn't get lazy when it came to animating their more 'normal' expressions. The expressions most of the characters (And not just the turtles) pull almost never fails to make me giggle or aww (I swear there's a whole archive just for all of the amazing expressions made throughout the show). And I am not just talking about the goofy and cartoony expressions, they have done a wonderful job in making these characters appear like real living, breathing beings, even the most subtle expressions are well done.

While the personality of the turtles have been somewhat established over the years (Thanks to the 80s theme song), I feel that the animation used in this series was able to fully flesh out their characters as compared to previous incarnations, each one has their own unique mannerisms, expressions and body language, that even without the differences they sport in their appearances (More on that later), you can actually still identify who is who. As mentioned before, they are given so much energy in the way they are animated, that you can definitely tell that they are still teenagers.

The show definitely took a more stylistic direction as compared to other 3D shows (Well... I suppose there's "Tron: Uprising"), there were many moments when more comic-book-like visuals were used instead of more realistic ones, which made the scenes all the more dynamic, aside from paying homage to the original comic.

Honestly, while I have watched the 80s and 2003 version, this still remains my most favourite representations of the turtles yet. This is probably a little bias on my part but they are just so unbelievably adorable in this version (Though of course the 80s version had their moments too). Ever since the first live action movie, designers have begun adding in unique elements to each of the turtles to differentiate them from one another, aside from the coloured masks they wore of course.

Honestly, the designs actually grew on me.

While the turtles in the recent movie wore unique attires from one another and had incredibly different body builds to boot, this version's design of the turtles are a little more subtle and simple but are still different enough to be told apart from one another, even without their masks on (It also helps that they have a pretty good voice cast). 

Taking out the fact that they each have different coloured masks, eyes and even skin tone, each turtle's facial features are considerably different from one another, such as Donatello's head being... thinner than the rest I suppose... I'm not to sure how to describe it but I'm sure you will agree with me that his head shape is the most different out of all four of them. One of the more obvious differences between their designs are the shape of their eyes, with Michelangelo having the widest and most innocent looking pair out of them all, and Leonardo having the most almond shaped ones, though you probably won't notice it as much once they start pulling those silly faces again.

And there are of course other little things added to their appearance like Michelangelo with his freckles, Donatello with his tooth gap, and heck, Raphael with his little beauty mark.

Much like "Transformers: Prime", I felt that the animators for this 'new' version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were able to fully (Or greatly) utilise the perks of 3D computer animation, they were not only able to animate more complexly dynamic and detailed fighting sequences (Because hey, this is still a show about ninjas... and mutants) but also bring more... development to these already well known characters.

Transformers Prime

I think I have written enough about human characters designs for the time being, so let's talk about robot aliens for the time being!

"Transformers: Prime" is an American computer-animated television series by Hasbro that aired from November 29, 2010 to July 26, 2013. Since its release, the series has been well-received and has won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards. 

The initial designs of the characters were first shown at Botcon 2010 at its panel, and late at San Diego Comic Con 2010. Hasbro created a 400 page Transformers production bible (Whew) titled the "Binder of Revelation", which the production team used as a reference for the show. Whereas the movies were about a boy and his car, the dynamic between the kids and the robots on Prime was meant to be more like "The Iron Giant".

While they may be robots, we constantly forget that they are alien robots, and due to the limitations (Or cutbacks I suppose) faced when it came to animating the original G1 series in the 80s, they were given considerably basic if not stiff expressions (Though then again this was the 80s), making them not all that different to normal robots (Wait, wait, I'm going somewhere with this...).

The animators for this show now had the opportunity to make these characters more sentient than before, with the latest animation tools and software available to them, the characters could be made much more expressive this time round.

With there being a lot of 3D children animations being put out there as of late, one aspect that could differentiate one animation from the rest is the quality of its animation, and the folks behind "Transformers: Prime" definitely went all out when it came to that. From the considerably more basic stuff like characters calmly interacting with one another...

... to the explosive battles that take place between the two factions.

Design wise, I already found myself gushing over how gorgeously modelled and textured each transformer was, especially when it came to the little details put into their paint jobs (With some being shinier than others, and others having notable 'war scars'), but once I got my hands on the show's art book... I just knew that these designers were on a whole nother level from not just me, but from other designers that I admired.

I would just stare at these pages in awe for ages, trying to get my head around the designs that they even did for when these mechanical aliens transformed between their bipedal and alternate modes. These weren't even messy sketches, they actually took every little detail into account, especially when it came to their vehicle modes, as seen below. 

That diagram, oh god, that diagram...

Aside from several characters such as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, etc. Most of the characters were heavily redesigned for this show, sure some retained some of their original features from their original designs, but if you have been a longtime fan of the series, you still might find yourself taking double takes at the redesigns for some of them just to confirm that they truly were the same characters you have grown familiar with. 

While most of the bots were pretty blocky and similar in shape in the original series (With their colours and sizes being the best way to truly differentiate them from one another), each character had their own unique build in this show to fit both their roles and personalities. While characters such as Optimus and Megatron were made to be larger and more imposing as compared to the rest of their crew, characters such as Arcee and Bumblebee have noticeably smaller or more slender builds to show that they are meant to be scouts. Starscream as well is designed to be a whole lot smaller, sleek (And if not a tad fragile looking...) to match his swift alternate mode, he is also given some considerably bird like qualities to his design the more I look at it... I could go on really.

As mentioned before, some of the best things about this show is just how amazingly animated these characters are, aside from the expressions (Sometimes I think Starscream's hilarious expressions alone makes the entire show), there is also the way how each character would move, even if they were idle, very much the way the humans do. You could almost immediately figure how they were feeling without looking at their faces at times. The animation in this show absolutely adds to their character.

And again, Starscream makes for a great example, what with his expressive wings that
actually stiffen or droop depending on his mood... as if his face wasn't already
expressive enough.

Sensing some sassiness there.

I don't think I will ever be able to comprehend how they figured out simplifying the mechanics for the transforming animation... or just how much patience they had to do it all for every single episode. And aside from such complex animations, I felt that some of these characters had more personalised transformations to match their personalities, some actually seemed more violent and heavy, while others seemed more swift and sleek.

While we know that the bots are the main focus of the show, the humans characters are nothing to be sneezed at and are for once... not that bad as compared to past human characters in the franchise (Though the only human characters I ever found annoying were the ones from the anime series). 

Sure, their designs are simpler, but just as much love was given into animating them as our beloved mechanical aliens, making them just as expressive as the transformers if not more (I especially heard numerous times from various sources that the animators absolutely enjoyed animating Miko (Japanese girl with the pink highlights) as her zany and loud personality gave them the opportunity to play around a lot more with her expressions and body language as compared to the other humans).

While choosing an art style for alien robots wouldn't be that much of an issue for the designers (Seeing that they could just play around before figuring out what best appealed to them), what I did find interesting was their choice of art style for the human characters... with these incredibly detailed robots, what made them decide to go with a more simplistic and cartoony look for the humans as compared to a more realistic one (If you exclude the comics, the G1 series with its typical 80s art style probably had the most realistic looking humans)?

... though I suppose it isn't all that surprising when you look at the styles used for other shows such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Green Lantern" and "Beware the Batman" where they all use a pretty similar cartoony style for their human characters... I still do wonder though, who started this style?

"Transformers: Prime" has done a remarkable job when it came to the designs and the animation of their characters, when I had first started watching the show, it was during a period when I was still feeling a little wary over the fact that many of my favourite shows have been given a 3D makeover. But after forcing myself to get through a few episodes, I began to appreciate various aspects about 3D animation, such as how expressions were done, the complexity of certain animations and whether the animators would actually bother to get it done right, and 0f course the designs for the characters and settings (When it comes to the textures used and how the lighting is done for them, I have seen other shows, though mostly children shows being quite lazy in this area).

Even if you aren't a fan of the Transformers, you should definitely check this series out for its quality animation, clearly a lot of love was put into it by its creators.