The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated science fiction action film based on the Transformers television series. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986, and in the United Kingdom on December 12, 1986. It was co-produced and directed by Nelson Shin, who also produced the television series. The screenplay was written by Ron Friedman, who created Bionic Six a year later.
The Autobots are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the Transformers multimedia franchise. The Autobots are living robots from the planet Cybertron who, like most Transformers, are each imbued with a unique "life force" known as a "spark." Led by Optimus Prime in most stories, the Autobots believe "freedom is the right of all sentient life" and are often engaged in a civil war with the Decepticons, a faction of transformers dedicated to military conquest and usually headed by Megatron. In a mirror universe portrayed in Transformers: Shattered Glass, the Autobots are villains opposed by the heroic Decepticons.
Transformers is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, such as vehicles and animals. The franchise encompasses toys, animation, comic books, video games and films. As of 2011, it generated more than ¥2 trillion in revenue, making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor. He is notable for voicing Optimus Prime in the original 1980s Transformers animated series, later returning to the role in Transformers media in 2007, starting with the first live-action film. He has also voiced many other characters across a wide variety of popular media, including Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, the first voice of KARR in Knight Rider and the vocalizations of the title character in Predator.
Soundwave is a fictional robot character appearing in various Transformers continuity lines within the Transformers franchise. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is almost always depicted as an Autobot with flight capabilities and a jet or space shuttle as an alternate mode. In some continuities he is a former Decepticon.
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as Super Robot Life-Form Transformers: Legends of the Microns, is a Japanese anime series which debuted on August 23, 2002. As the first series co-produced between the American toy company Hasbro and their Japanese counterpart Takara, Armada begins a new continuity/universe for Transformers, with no ties to any of the previous series, including its direct predecessor Transformers: Robots in Disguise in 2001. It inspired two sequels, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron.
Bumblebee is a fictional robot character appearing in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. The character is a member of the Autobots, a group of sentient, self-configuring, modular extraterrestrial robotic lifeforms.
Sideswipe is a fictional robot character in the Transformers series.
Cliffjumper is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints or remold of Bumblebee toys.
The Transformers is an American-Japanese animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro and Takara Tomy's Transformers toy line. The first television series in the Transformers franchise, it depicts a war among giant robots that can transform into vehicles and other objects.
Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as Convoy, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Transformers franchise. Generally depicted as a brave and noble leader, Optimus Prime is the supreme commander of the Autobots in their fight against Megatron and the Decepticons. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the coloring was changed; notably, Optimus Prime was colored red, chrome, and dark blue. The popularity of the Transformers toys resulted in comics, movies, and even a TV series.
Transformers: Generation 1 is a toy line from 1984 to 1990, produced by Hasbro and Takara Tomy. It was a line of toy robots that could change into an alternate form by moving parts into other places, and it was the first line of toys produced for the successful Transformers toy and entertainment franchise. The line was originally called The Transformers, with "Generation 1" originating as a term coined by fans of the toys when the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line was released in 1992. Hasbro eventually adopted the term "Generation 1" to refer to any toy produced in that era.
Transformers: Prime is an American animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro that aired on the Hub Network from November 29, 2010, to July 26, 2013. The series focuses on the Autobots of "Team Prime", consisting of Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, and their human allies as they attempt to protect the Earth from the villainous Decepticons and their leader Megatron.
Transformers: Robots in Disguise is an American science-fiction animated television series for children produced by Hasbro Studios and Darby Pop Productions in the United States for Cartoon Network. It was also animated by Polygon Pictures in Japan. It is the stand-alone sequel to Transformers: Prime that ran from 2010 to 2013 on The Hub Network, featuring characters and storylines mostly self-contained from the events of its predecessor as well as an overall more lighthearted tone. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman did not return to the new series. In the United States, the series ran on Cartoon Network from March 14, 2015, to November 11, 2017.
Transformers: Cyberverse is a cel shaded computer-animated series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on August 27, 2018.
Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy is a Flash animated children's television series on Discovery Family. Based on toy manufacturer Hasbro's Transformers franchise, the series is a sequel of Transformers: Rescue Bots, sharing the name with the Rescue Bots season three episode called "Rescue Bots Academy". It was created by Rescue Bots co-creator Nicole Dubuc. The first two episodes were previewed on December 8, 2018. The series officially premiered on January 5, 2019. The voice cast of Rescue Bots leaves their roles, with existing characters being recast with New York–based voice actors.
Dinobot is a fictional character from Beast Wars in the Transformers universe. He is driven by a code of honor somewhat modeled on samurai bushido. He first debuted in the series premiere as a subordinate of Megatron, leader of the villainous Predacons. While he initially joins Megatron, Dinobot eventually challenges Megatron's leadership and is shortly expelled from his crew. He then joins the ranks of Optimus Primal and the Maximals. He fights alongside the Maximals as part of their crew before ultimately sacrificing himself to save a group of primates that eventually become the human race from a Predacon onslaught.
