An Ode To Transformers Box Art

Sound wave,  the perfect nemesis for Major Lazer.

As Christmas approaches, gift unwrapping frenzy time is just around the corner. I want to pay a personal homage to one of those things that really made my holidays: box art from any toy in the 80's and early 90's. ESPECIALLY Transformers package art, which was like half the fun of getting one from Santa.

Back in the day, there was no wikipedia nor any kind of wiki page where you could search for extended information on your toys/games/figures/characters. Box art was part of the magic behind the universe toys came from, and that compelled you to piece together things, fill in the blanks, and eventually use your brain to make something compelling and coherent out of a simple image.

And for that task there was nothing better than the box art made for Transformers toys. From the color palettes, through the poses, to that neon grid that extended to cybertron and beyond. Everything was so neat and cool that I almost felt sorry for playing with the damn things. Props to Botch the crab, for the most extensive online database for package art on the web.

Now travel back in time (if you were born in the eighties) for a small selection of Transformers after the break!

Is Transformers Fall of Cybertron Going To Be Good?

During the game-award-mockery-that-shall-not-be-mentioned-on-this-site, a number of trailers were premiered including the Platinum games/over the top treatment of the Metal Gear series. But one trailer stood out and proved that a dramatic, emotional Transformers can be down without the use of high mothers, robot balls and everything else Michael Bay decided to throw in.

The cinematic trailer features Autobots fighting for their lives in the last moments of the Transformer home world. We see death, we see million dollar effect fightings and most importantly we see the Dinobots. The game follows Transformers: War for Cybertron, an overlooked third-person shooter developed by High Moon Studios and whilst is a sequel for a over saturated franchise it looks to develop on what made the first game great, and what made me a fan of the franchise as a kid. Whilst I'm fed up of a market of sequels, remakes and Zombie games I'm glad one has kept has kept my interest. If the game fails at least the trailer looks pretty. I mean when have I fallen for that trick before?

Transformers The Ride: Experience The Mind Of Michael Bay

We were at Universal Studios Hollywood just a few months back, and noticed that some sort of Transformers ride was under construction at a massive facility on the premises. I had no idea that they were also building a replica of the ride at Universal Studios Singapore, which actually just opened before the LA versions completion.

The ride took a whopping 4 years to develop, pooling talent from Industrial Light and Magic as well as having Michael Bay as a creative consultant. The video above is an extensive behind the scenes, showcasing the process and thought behind this awesome looking ride. Despite the Transformers movies being pretty average, this looks like a ride I'd be willing to wait in line for.

C&C Truck Ad Will Probably Piss Michael Bay Off

This ad was created to promote a Chinese construction vehicle company known as C&C, with the visualization handled by the studio known as Manymany. Its a slick ad, but boy does it borrow a little much from Transformers..including the visual style for the robots (is that you, Bumblebee?) and the concept behind Devastator from Transformers 2, the robot made out of various construction vehicles. Even the logo for the entire company is strangely reminiscent of the Autobots logo. I guess copyright laws are a little more lax overseas....But hey, that aside I think this is a pretty damn impressive emulation of the house that Michael Bay built. Check out the breakdown of the ad after the break, as well as a few stills!

Transformers Wasn't Always Politically Correct

This episode is borderline unbelievable for how insanely offensive and insane it is. You thought the blinged out, jive talking Transformers 2 twins were bad? Well this buried episode called 'Thief in the Night' from the original G1 series was so bad, that it caused one of the main voice actors, Casy Kasem to quit the show due to the 'offensive caricatures of Arabic people and countries.' Aside from the fact that the setting in this episode is called 'Carbombya,' it also features a caricatured dictator who seems to love livestock a little too much.. and it only get worse. I'm surprised this episode didn't get buried by the studio behind it, I'd be embarrassed to let the public see this.