Transformers/Trivia

Cross Series

• Once per series:
  • Optimus Prime learns how to fly: G1, Beast Wars, Cybertron, Animated, Revenge of the Fallen
  • Megatron becomes Galvatron: G1, Robots in Disguise, Unicron Trilogy (and we mean every subseries of the Unicron Trilogy)
  • Starscream comes back from the dead: G1, Beast Wars, Unicron Trilogy, Animated
  • Waspinator blows up: Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Animated
  • Someone makes a Dark Convoy: G1, Robots in Disguise, Energon, Beast Wars Second
  • Unicron Appears: G1, (technically)Beast Wars, Armada, Energon, Prime, Beast Wars Neo
  • Transformer with a human for their alternate mode: Animated, Revenge of the Fallen.
• If you were to play every Transformers opening theme ever made back to back, it would take just shy of 40 minutes to complete.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Here.
• Inconsistent Dub: The Latin American and even the European Spanish dubs, All the way: Due to the fact Hasbro wanted to dub the Spanish versions in the U.S. for having more control about the dubbing (This is was during G1, the animated movie and the Japanese Anime versions, mind you) , all the Spanish language versions (including the European one) were sometimes dubbed by a Spanish-language studio in Los Angeles. The main problem with this approach is, due of consideration about the Spaniard viewers, especially in the Anime versions, some series were dubbed using the European Spanish dialect, but keeping the local accents intact: Not only the Latin American viewers had to tolerate a very fake Spaniard accent, but the Spaniards had to tolerate a ridiculous Spaniard dialogue with Mexican and Central American accents.
  • In fact, Mexican voice acting studios only dubbed a very small amount of Transformers stuff: The Beast Wars/Beast Machines series, Prime, Robots in Disguise and the live-action films. Other countries that dubbed the rest of the TF series were: Chile (Animated) and Venezuela (The Unicron Trilogy).
  • While the Mexican dub of Beast Wars was pretty good, it was panned for changing the names of all the characters to Spanish equivalents. This was corrected later in Beast Machines' dub.

G1

• Something interesting of note: While a number people claim to have memories of Optimus crumbling into dust after death in the Generation One Movie, he did not actually do that - it was the Armada Optimus who crumbled into dust on death. They may be confusing Optimus' death with Starscream's - 'Screamer did crumble to dust when dying.
• Megatron almost had a different name. When the writer of the initial Transformers fiction came up with the name, it was shot down by Hasbro, as they felt it conjured up images of nuclear weapons. He then reminded Hasbro Megatron was supposed to be the Big Bad and the name was approved.
  • Similarly, Starscream was originally named Ulchtar in Denny O'Neill's original treatment for the comic book, but Bob Budiansky changed it.

Transformers Film Series

• Creator Backlash: Michael Bay apologized for the result of Revenge of the Fallen, and promised better results for Dark of the Moon.
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Tom Kenny voices Skids and Wheelie (the latter with a somewhat modified SpongeBob SquarePants voice). Also, Grey DeLisle voices Arcee, but her role is so minor, it's forgivable that you miss it. Oh, and Kevin Michael Richardson, Robin Atkin Downes and Michael York (Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series, and three guest roles in the DCAU) voice the Prime ghost-things Sam sees during his brief death.
  • Megatron is Agent Smith. As if he wasn't enough of a badass already...
  • Reno Wilson voices Frenzy, Mudflap and Brains. For you gamers out there, that's the Black Baron (stop starin').
  • Candyman is The Fallen!
  • In the Japanese dub, Skids is Tomokazu Seki and Mudflap is Katsuyuki Konishi. That logically amounts to Domon Kasshu and Kamina joining forces and becoming wiggers.
  • As we noted above, Frank Welker using his unmistakable Dr. Claw voice for Soundwave once more (He also uses it in the French and Italian dubs of the film, confirmed by Welker himself).
    • Also, as noted above, Peter Cullen reprised the role of Optimus Prime.
    • Following Cullen, in Japan Tessho Genda once against voiced Optimus/Convoy.
  • Though not as easily recognized as Grey DeLisle, André Sogliuzzo, best known as King Bumi and Hakoda, provides Sideswipe's voice. He gets replaced in the follow-up by James Remar, however.
  • Ironhide is Wakko Warner AKA Jess Harnell. (though it is kinda hard to tell, and the voice he uses is closer to Captain Hero...)
  • Italian dub: Sam is Frodo, Ironhide is Leonidas, The Doctor and Ratchet are Pinky and The Brain, Skids and Mudflap are Lenny and Milhouse, Optimus Prime is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Soundwave has his English actor for this dub as stated above.
  • Brazilian dub: Optimus Prime is Superman from Justice League and Raj.
    • In Mexico, Sam is Raj. So this Indian elephant witnessed the Latin American invasion. Mexican Optimus Prime is Eeyore, like his English actor
  • Eddy from Family Matters (Darius McCrary) is Jazz.
  • Another Japanese example: Carly is Lucy!
  • Hungarian dub:
    • Optimus (only movie 1) is Morgan Freeman. Also Lex Luthor.
    • Megatron is Eduardo, and also Cleveland's dad. He was also Overhaul/Leobreaker.
    • Ironhide is Leroy Gibbs
    • Jazz is Wolverine
    • Starscream is Orochimaru and Gollum.
    • Soundwave and Bobby Bolivia are Crumplezone, Uncle Ruckus and Captain K'nuckles. And yes, he was once Dr. Claw, too.
    • Sam is Dexter, Noah, Cosmo, Johnny Test, Barney Stinson... and like every third fictional young male character you can imagine.
    • Mikaela is Padmé.
    • Ron Witwicky is Al Bundy, Mojo Jojo, and Raymond.
    • Agent Simmons is both fellow Ghostbuster Winston and Superman.
    • Lennox is Xandir.
    • Que and John Keller are Optimus Prime. And Carter Pewterschmidt.
    • Sentinel is K, Captain Barbossa and Gimli.
    • The Fallen is King Neptune.
    • Skids is Austin Powers, also Cyclonus.
    • Mudflap is Lumpy Space Princess, Peter Griffin, Jim Carrey, and lotso' other guys. Among them, Cliffjumper.
    • Wheelie is Cheese, Stitch, and Rock Lee.
    • Brains is James May.
    • Leo is Bart Simpson.
    • One of the Primes is Armada Cyclonus.
    • Wang is Eddy.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Danny McCoy from Las Vegas is Lennox. Aaron Pierce is Col. Sharp in the first movie and General Morshower in the second.
  • Zach Ward played Sgt. Donolley, who you'd probably recognize from almost anything.
  • Andrew Wells and Sasha Forbes work in the Pentagon as analysts.
  • Lest we forget, this isn't the first time that Sam's dad had to get paid off to keep his mouth shut after his house got trashed by rampaging toys.
    • That does help explain how he's so financially well off when he has never even gone to college.
  • Also from Revenge of the Fallen:
    • Dwight Shrute as Professor Colan
    • The guy in Simmons' deli who wanted those new teeth? Dhalsim in Street Fighter: The Later Years.
    • The Oompa-Loompa stationed at the border patrol.
  • Dark of the Moon currently holds a record number of these:
    • Simmons managed to get Wash/Alpha on retainer. And apparently Cyrus the Virus survived to become the (assholish) head of a defense contractor.
    • Jeff and that one fat pimply Buy More employee are two of Sam's coworkers in DOTM.
    • Jerry Wang in DOTM used to teach at Greendale! (Or was it not-Forks?)
    • Patrick Dempsey is Carly's boss and Mr. Ditkovich is the Russian informant.
    • Frances McDormand is the new Obstructive Bureaucrat and one of her assistants was Adam Sandler's housekeeper.
    • Epps ensures that he and Sam have a smooth ride through Chicago by enlisting the Cole Train himself for help. Woo~!
    • While it may be a blink and you'll miss it cameo, Naruto Uzumaki appears as an office worker.
• What Could Have Been: They were going to put a transforming aircraft carrier (which partially inspired the toy-only stealth battleship Depthcharge), but the scale would have been extremely awkward to animate—as in, it would have likely been able to walk on the ocean floor while keeping its torso above water.
  • Fan favorite Springer was scheduled to be in the movie as an Osprey twin rotor helicopter, with two toys released based on the design. The guess is he was dropped because the Osprey design would make him absolutely tower over near every other robot (at about 60 feet tall) and give Devastator a run for his money.
  • The very first non-movie character to get a toy was Wreckage - a Decepticon with an APC altmode based on an ILM design that eventually went unused.
  • Both the twins and Arcee were apparently supposed to combine into a larger robot form. The cycles' version got far enough to make it into the toyline, the Twins...not so much (though the ice cream truck did).
  • The studio initially requested that they try and make it so the robots don't talk at all, fearing it would come across as silly. Both the writers and Michael Bay knew that despite the requisite Ruined FOREVER for any changes, the fans would absolutely crucify them if the robots didn't talk.
  • Soundwave was to appear in the first movie, his role being an inverted Composite Character of Frenzy and Barricade. Since there would be major size changes involved (he would go from a robot to a radio to a humvee), he was split off. At first, Frenzy was to be named "Soundwave", but the writers changed it because they felt the character was too different from all the other Soundwaves. Another attempt at working him in eventually turned into Blackout and Scorponok.
  • The various adaptations of ROTF feature a different ending than the movie itself, where Megatron, having found out that The Fallen had been lying to him and manipulating him all this time, leaves his master to die and flies back to the Nemesis with Starscream to awaken his new army.
  • James Arnold Taylor was originally cast as the Fallen, but was later replaced by Tony Todd. He did keep the role for the video game though.
• Peter Cullen reprises his role as Optimus Prime for the Michael Bay films, but he does not reprise his role as Ironhide. Frank Welker returns as the voices of Soundwave and Ravage, but his other characters (Megatron, Frenzy and Laserbeak) have new actors. He was going to portray Megatron once more, but Michael Bay decided that Welker's voice didn't match his vision for Megatron.
  • Amusingly, Frank Welker's brief lines for Shockwave in DOTM sound an awful lot like his G1 Megatron voice.
• According to the family tree that Sam presents in the first film, the Witwickys are inbred. This might be a case of Critical Research Failure on Sam's part though.