Hasbro Q&A/August 2009: Answers
1. It would appear that Energon Snow Cat, Demolishor (the dump-truck), and Mirage were originally designed as new characters, instead of upgrades of Armada Cyclonus, Demolishor, and Tidal Wave, respectively. Is this true, and if so, why were the original plans changed? And was the dump-truck Demolishor originally going to be called "Long Haul"?
- Often times in the past, we sometimes designed toys before the show was completed. Therefore, toy and animation needs traveled down separate paths, thus resulting in some characters not aligning together in the animation and toy expressions.
- With the first two movies and Transformers: Animated, our goal has been to ensure that the design of toys and our entertainment are better aligned together, thus eliminating this issue. This is certainly something that we will continue to do in the future to avoid some of the problems that you mentioned. Long Haul is certainly one of our favorite classic characters and the original design intention was for the dump truck to be named as such.
2. At the BotCon 2008 Hasbro Commentary viewing of the live-action Transformers film, an early exchange between Hasbro and Michael Bay was brought up: Michael Bay questioned the logic of damaged Transformers turning into pristine vehicles, and the Hasbro response to him was along the lines of "the Transformers don't actually turn into the vehicles, they're just mimicking them". Is this concept something that the "movie" universe is still operating under?
- Transformers across all of our expressions 'mimic' vehicles. They are "robots in disguise" even when they are in vehicle mode. The inherent ability of Transformers to convert their bodies from space to space combined with their ability to create holograms fulfills the illusion of a pristine car in vehicle mode.
- As always, we try to remain true to the characters and put out the best toys as all possible at all times.
3. Do the companies that have their vehicles licensed for the live-action movie have any say over how their product is represented in the toyline? The two transforming incarnations of "battle damaged" Jazz (legends and deluxe) in the first movie toyline conspicuously lacked any visible damage in vehicle mode. Would Lockheed, say, be able to object to a redeco of Revenge of the Fallen Jetfire in Generation 1 colors? (Because a white and red SR-71 Blackbird would be hilariously awesome.)
- The studio works with the vehicle licensors on the movie and we in turn work closely with them on the production of the toys.