TRANSFORMERS ONE PRODUCER DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHY FANS LOVE ORIGINAL FILM
At the recent Annecy Animation Festival, veteran film producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura discussed the highly anticipated animated film Transformers One as well as the 1986 classic The Transformers: The Movie.
During a recent talk with Variety at the Annecy Animation Festival, Di Bonaventura revealed his confusion about the way that the original 80s Transformers animated film is perceived by many fans. He said, “What’s so surprising about the ’86 film is how dark it is. Honestly, I don’t understand why people love it so much. For some, maybe it was their first cinematic experience, but it’s really a downer movie.” The Transformers: The Movie was rated PG upon its initial theatrical release in North America on August 8, 1986.
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The comparisons between Transformers One and the 1986 film seemed to be inevitable based on Di Bonaventura's comments. The producer added, “Interestingly, when we showed our trailer for the first time, the fans’ reaction was to compare our movie to that one. But they’re so not comparable because that’s so dark, and this has so much humanity. They’re completely different movies in many ways.”
Which Other Transformer Films Has Di Bonaventura Produced?
Transformers One may be the first animated Transformers film in nearly 40 years, but there have been numerous live-action films released in the decades since. Each of these live-action films has also been produced by Di Bonaventura. Starting with the 2007 blockbuster Transformers, directed by Michael Bay, there have been a total of seven live-action films based on the popular Hasbro Transformers property thus far. The most recent release was the 2023 film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and is heavily influenced by the Transformers: Beast Wars franchise, which was also a popular animated series in the 1990s. The only theatrical Transformers film not produced by Di Bonaventura is the 1986 film.
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Transformers One tells the origin story of how Optimus and Megatron are transformed from brothers in arms to sworn enemies. Thor: Love and Thunder and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga star Chris Hemsworth is the voice of a young Optimus Prime. Meanwhile, Eternals actor Brian Tyree Henry is the voice of a young Megatron. The voice cast also includes many notable actors, such as Academy Award-nominated acrtress Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm and Steve Buscemi. Transformers One is directed by Josh Cooley, who previously won the best animated feature Academy Award for his work on Toy Story 4.
Transformers One is set to hit theaters on September 20, 2024.
Source: Variety
Transformers One
An origin story set on Cybertron, home of both the Autobots and the Decepticons. The film is said to focus on the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron