Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon)
| The name or term "Robots in Disguise" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Robots in Disguise (disambiguation). |
Transformers: Robots in Disguise is the first Japanese-original Transformers cartoon ever officially dubbed and broadcast for a US audience. Debuting about eighteen months after its Japanese incarnation, it aired—not without problems—from September 8, 2001 to March 30, 2002, in support of the toyline of the same name.
Overview
When Hasbro scrapped their plans for the Transtech series that was initially intended to follow Beast Machines, material was suddenly needed to fill the void until a new series could be developed. At the eleventh hour, the Japanese series Car Robots, which had screened in Japan the previous year, was selected for his task, and in the process, it became the first Transformers anime to make the leap across the Pacific in an official capacity. Although "only" filler, the series marked a partial return to the roots of Transformers fiction, reintroducing the Autobot and Decepticon factions and insignias and realistic modern Earth vehicles to the brand, after the Beast Era's five years of Maximals, Predacons and alternate modes based on animals or abstract/futuristic vehicles.
Given Takara's method of operation at the time, Car Robots was aimed at a younger audience than that targeted by Hasbro, meaning that it feature a more light-hearted, comedic tone overall, with storylines that were typically light or goofy and sometimes relied on bad jokes, absurd imagery and slapstick. This approach divided fans, but regardless, comic foil Sky-Byte became the real breakout character of the series and a fan-favourite whose enduring popularity saw him break into the top five nominations for the 2012 Transformers Hall of Fame's fan vote.
The animation of the series, meanwhile, was cel-based, a significant change from the CGI that had been a hallmark of Transformers television series in the US since 1996. In-keeping with the show's general tone, the cartoon features many standard anime light-comedy stylings, and is replete with overdone facial expressions, comic effects like sweat drops surrounding a character's head to signify confusion or consternation, and the traditional streaked background behind the character for high-action shots or stock footage transformation/attack sequences.
The Robots in Disguise English dub was produced by Saban Entertainment, who were riding high at the time with the early 21st Century anime boom in full force, and broadcast on the Fox Kids programming block, which was at the peak of its popularity. The series was subject to some notable editing and re-writing in the traditional Saban style, often involving the addition of numerous references to other Transformers series (see below). Curiously, the three clips shows that were part of Car Robots were cut entirely, and replaced with brand new clip shows, created whole cloth from reused footage by the American production team. As a dubbed product, most of the voice actors involved in the series, though veterans of other Saban properties, had never worked on a Transformers series before, save for actor/director Michael McConnohie.
Perhaps the best-remembered element of Robots in Disguise's legacy, however, was the fate that befell it following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which occurred after only two episodes of the series had been broadcast. A scramble resulted to re-edit multiple episodes of the series before they reached air to remove scenes that were considered distasteful after these events, but as the first two-thirds of the series was airing on a daily basis, five times a week, this quickly left the series airing in a disjointed, out-of-order fashion, with sheer misfortune causing the majority of episodes effected to be ones that dealt with the show's sporadically-referenced ongoing O-Parts plot. The first victim was "The Secret of the Ruins", production on which had already been finished, and had to be pulled from broadcast to be re-written. A trio of episodes—"Attack from Outer Space", Landfill" and "Sky-Byte Saves the Day"—could not be salvaged and were simply not aired in the US at all; it seems possible that at least two of the clip shows, mentioned above, were specifically re-created to patch over the holes in the plot that resulted from the removal of these episodes, though the episodes did later air in the United Kingdom and Canada with their questionable plot elements intact.
The Walt Disney Company acquired ownership of Robots in Disguise when it purchased Saban's assets in late 2001. Disney's ownership and apparent lack of desire to do anything with the show has resulted in it being the only American-broadcast Transformers cartoon to not be even partially released on DVD in the United States (though the complete series was released in the UK). Although Saban did reacquire several of their programmes in 2010, there is presently no evidence that Robots in Disguise was among them.
Car Robots's opening song is "Honō no Overdrive ~Car Robot Cybertron~" and ending song is "Marionette".
Storyline
When Earth is targeted by Megatron and his Predacons, Optimus Prime and his Autobots prepare for their coming by installing themselves in secret among human society, masquerading as everyday vehicles used by humankind with no knowledge of their true nature. When Megatron strikes and kidnaps famous scientist Kenneth Onishi, the Autobots ally with his son Koji to rescue him before Megatron can pry from his mind the truth of the ancient secret hidden somewhere on Earth.
After successfully re-energizing his ailing craft, the Megastar, Megatron rips the first clue from Doctor Onishi's mind, and tracks the location of an ancient Cybertronian O-Part, only to lose it to the Autobots. Incensed by failure, Megatron recovers six Autobot protoforms from a crashed spaceship and brainwashes them into the Decepticons, led by the dark clone of Optimus Prime, Scourge. These new warriors prove much tougher opponents for the Autobots, who then have to deal with attacks from their own side when Optimus Prime's embittered brother, Ultra Magnus, arrives on Earth to steal the Matrix of Leadership from Prime. Realizing the Matrix can be shared between them, the brothers put aside their differences and gain the power to combine into Omega Prime, as well as using the Matrix's power to give the Autobot Brothers new super-charged bodies.
Fearful of losing his position to Scourge, the bumbling Sky-Byte accidentally frees Doctor Onishi when he attempts to use the scientist to locate all the remaining missing O-Parts. Onishi is then able to help the Autobots gather all the O-Parts, which together form a map that points the way to Fortress Maximus, an ancient Cybertronian battle station hidden on Earth for untold ages and controlled by the will of human children. The awakening of Maximus in turn awakens Scourge's ambition, and he leaves Megatron to perish in a collapsing temple so that he can take command for himself. Megatron, however, is transformed into the vampiric Galvatron and puts down Scourge's rebellion before confronting Omega Prime in a final battle at the Earth's core, where he is defeated by the Matrix Blade created by a fusion of Maximus's energy and Magnus and Prime's Matrix.
Cast
| Autobots | Predacons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Connections to other fiction
The Robots in Disguise cartoon was the first total reboot of Transformers fiction. As the first official material not set in any Generation 1 universe it established the first alternate continuity family in the line's history. However, as this was such a new idea, it took a while for fans to accept the "reboot" idea, and many would try to figure out how to fit the series into existing Generation 1 cartoon continuity. Aiding them in this endeavour were the numerous "easter egg" references added to the Robots in Disguise dub that mentioned characters and events from earlier Transformers series (typically added to scripts by Hasbro employee Andrew Frankel after they were submitted for approval). This mindeset died off with time, especially after subsequent series would create more and more reboots, eliminating the uniqueness of Robots in Disguise.
Takara did not make a point of defining the relationship between Car Robots and their version of cartoon continuity either, with the only statement on its place in time and space coming from the first toy catalogue that identified Optimus Prime/Fire Convoy's crew as a "Dimensional Patrol" that followed the Predacons/Destrongers from another dimension to 21st-century Earth. This concept does not seem to have been played up in the Japanese version of the show — if it was mentioned at all — to the point that Robots in Disguise was able to dub entirely around it. However, the idea returned in force in 2006, when a retcon performed by TakaraTomy through assorted timelines and flowcharts explicitly established Car Robots as part of the Japanese Generation 1 animated continuity, occurring in the year 2000. Broadly speaking, this was accomplished by exploiting the somewhat-unresolved ending of the manga, The Battle of the Star Gate, which had ended with the majority of the Generation 1 Transformers on Earth disappearing for some time, thereby allowing Car Robots to slip in with minimal opposition. Most connections between Car Robots and other aspects of the fiction center on Fortress Maximus, who was tied into important events from Robot Masters, Kiss Players and The Headmasters.
However, despite Car Robots being retconned into the Japanese Generation 1 timeline, Robots in Disguise remains unconnected to the Western Generation 1 universe, and still exists a separate continuity family there. And that's despite the fact that out of the two versions of the cartoon, the added easter eggs mean that Robots in Disguise has more Generation 1 references in it!
Episodes
The three clip shows of Robots in Disguise differ between the English and Japanese versions. Both are listed at the appropriate numbers.
- Battle Protocol!
- An Explosive Situation
- Bullet Train to the Rescue
- Spychangers to the Rescue
- The Hunt for Black Pyramid
- The Secret of the Ruins
- Sideburn's Obsession
- Secret Weapon: D-5
- Mirage's Betrayal
- Skid Z's Choice
- Tow-Line Goes Haywire
- The Ultimate Robot Warrior
- Hope for the Future
Gigatron's Ambitions Revealed! - The Decepticons
- Commandos
- Volcano
- Attack from Outer Space
- The Test
- The Fish Test
- Wedge's Short Fuse
- Landfill
- Sky-Byte Saves the Day
- A Test of Metal
- Ultra Magnus
- Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!
- Lessons of the Past
Assemble! New Troops - The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus
- Power to Burn!
- Fortress Maximus
- Koji Gets His Wish
- A Friendly Contest
- Peril from the Past
- Maximus Emerges
- The Human Element
- Mystery of the Ultra Magnus
Gelshark's Blues - Mistaken Identity
- Surprise Attack!
- Galvatron's Revenge
- The Final Battle
Home video releases
Car Robots
The Car Robots version of Robots in Disguise was released on VHS and DVD by Pony Canyon in Japan while the series was still on air.
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 1 (2000)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 2 (2000)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 3 (2000)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 4 (2000)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 5 (2000)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 6 (2001)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 7 (2001)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 8 (2001)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 9 (2001)
- Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 10 (2001)
Robots in Disguise
Maximum Entertainment, in association with Jetix, released the entire RiD series in the UK... several times.
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Volume One (2004)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (2004)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 2 of 2 (April 15 2005)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Battle Protocol (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Evil Intent (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Battling the Predacons (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — 3 DVD Mega Pack (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise / RoboCop: The Animated Series / M.A.S.K. (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise / Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation / Action Man (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Special Edition 2-Disc Set (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Season One (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Season Two (2007)
- Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Ultimate Collection (2008)
Notes
Foreign titles
- Brazilian: Transformers: A Nova Geração ("Transformers: The New Generation")
- Latin American: Transformers: Nueva Generación ("Transformers: New Generation")
- Korean: Brave Hero of Justice Car-Bot
