New Transformers Series Coming to Cartoon
Network
http://tv.ign.com/articles/799/799046p1.html
June 25, 2007 - With their first live action movie about to
premiere, the Transformers are set to also return to the small
screen in the coming year. The new series, titled Transformers
Animated, will air on the Cartoon Network. While the cable station
has aired other Transformers series in the past, this will be the
first time Transformers toy creators Hasbro are co-producing a
series with the US based Cartoon Network, rather than Takara, the
Japanese toy and production partner on previous Transformers
projects.
In a move that will certainly raise the eyebrows of longtime
Transformers fans, the series is intended as a very different take
on the concept, with the heroic Autobots serving as a sort of
superhero team that face threats from evil humans most of the time,
rather than constantly fighting their longtime enemies, the
Decepticons.
The Hollywood Reporter says the plan is to give the robots "more
human qualities" on the series, to allow for kids to better
identify with them. Cartoon Network's Bob Higgins tells Cartoon
Network "We've used the basic Transformers and characters as a
springboard, but then we're pretty much reimagining the whole
thing. What we're doing with it is basically turning it into a
superheroes story. We're really excited that we're able to take
this decades-old property and hopefully turn it into something that
kids haven't seen or expected from a Transformers series
before."
26 episodes will be produced initially, along with a 90-minute
special that will launch the series. The staff of the series
includes supervising director Matt Youngberg (Teen Titans / The
Batman), executive producer Sam Register (Ben 10 / Teen Titans),
character designs by Derrick Wyatt (Teen Titans), and head writer
Marty Isenberg (X-Men / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). After
preproduction is completed at Cartoon Network Studios, Animation
will be done by Japanese studio Mook.
The series will premiere in early 2008, and the inevitable Hasbro
toyline for Transformers Animated will launch in March.
