Way back in late 2007, in the wake of the release of Michael Bay's first live-action Transformers film, a new animated cartoon series starring the famous Robots in Disguise was launched on Cartoon Network. This show was the first North American-produced cartoon since 2000's Beast Machines (as well as the first cell-animation series since 2003's Transformers: Armada), and would take an approach akin to 2001's Transformers: Robots in Disguise by combining action with comedy. The result was the now fan-favorite Transformers: Animated, which presented new and unique takes on many a fan's favorite Autobots and Decepticons. The show would see a younger Optimus Prime--here presented as the lowly leader of an Autobot space bridge repair crew--as they defend a technologically-advanced Detroit from both Decepticons and human villains, while they sought out fragments of the legendary Cybertronian artifact known as the Allspark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers%3A_Animated
At first, fans weren't as receptive to the series, but over the course of three seasons, it won them over. After the show's conclusion in 2009, fans wouldn't have another animated series until Prime premiered two years later. Yet for a while, the world of Animated would be revisited, both in toys and in fiction, thanks to the Transformers Collectors Club, which debuted a couple of new stories at their Botcon conventions on two different occasions. (The two entries in the officially-released Allspark Almanac book series also helped.)
Personally, I loved this show when it aired, as it made me think of a Transformers show that could definitely cross over with the original run of Teen Titans, with which I feel they share similar design aesthetics and senses of humor.
It's this version of the Transformers mythos that I'll be throwing the spotlight on today, as I flex my fancasting muscles to give voices to the characters in those two Club-exclusive stories. Hypothetically, were they actually animated and produced, I would pair them together in a special direct-to-DVD release, one that I'd title:
Now let's roll out and see what's in store today, shall we?
Bio info courtesy of the Transformers Wiki.
Based on the theme and storyline for the 2011 Botcon, Autobot cops Sideswipe and Cheetor--on the trail of stolen weapons and body mods--stumble on a more sinister plot under the guise of a stunt show put on by five undercover Decepticons.
+Autobots
1. Returning Faces
-David Kaye as the voice of Optimus Prime
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/David-Kaye/
*Before Animated debuted, Kaye in the TF fandom was mostly known for voicing two incarnations of Megatron: the megalomaniacal Predacon/Vehicon leader in Beast Wars and its sequel Beast Machines, and the power-hungry Decepticon leader in Armada, Energon, and Cybertron (collectively known as the "Unicron Trilogy").*
-Townsend Coleman as the voice of Sentinel Magnus
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Townsend-Coleman/
"With Optimus Prime being hailed as "Cybertron's greatest hero", Sentinel tried to borrow some credit for the Decepticons' capture by arranging for them to be held in Trypticon Prison, Megatron's old fortress in Kaon. He also agreed to have a stunt show set up in view of the prison, with Autobot actors openly mocking the Decepticon leaders with their act. Of course, Sentinel Magnus's "actors" turned out to be Decepticons in disguise, orchestrating an elaborate plot to free Megatron from Trypticon Prison right out from under Sentinel's olfactory receptors."
*Coleman, best known for his portrayal of the title character in the animated series based on The Tick, is a veteran of the 1980's Transformers cartoon, having voiced Rewind, one of the cassette troops under Autobot communications officer Blaster.*
-Tom Kenny as the voice of Rattletrap
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Tom-Kenny/
"Rattletrap is that one 'bot who will tell you anything if you "persuade" him enough. He's kind of a dirty rat when you think about it. Rattletrap swiped a replica of Optimus Prime's famous axe from the Stunt Convoy, but his attempts to sell it off as the genuine article got him arrested by Sideswipe and Cheetor for dealing in stolen goods. After being brought before Prime himself and forced to reveal the truth, he offered to trade information for his freedom by telling the cops about other illegal modifications he'd seen at the Stunt Convoy's place."
*Rattletrap is based on fan-favorite Transformer Rattrap, one of the central characters of Beast Wars. His voice actor, Tom Kenny, additionally played another Animated version of a Beast Wars character, in the form of Waspinator.*
2. New Faces
-Lex Lang as the voice of Sideswipe
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Lex-Lang/
"Sideswipe is a senior investigator for Cybertron Police Defense Command in Iacon Central. He's been on the force for 30,000 stellar cycles and has all the accumulative experience that's implied. Though he's a rough, jaded old-timer who's seen it all, somewhere deep inside his spark are the remnants of the idealistic, impulsive, loose-cannon youth he was long, long ago. He's hardest on those who share these lost qualities, but only because they remind him of himself. Despite the planet-wide jubilations over the capture of Megatron, Sideswipe was unmoved both by the Decepticons' defeat and the return of the AllSpark to Cybertron. To him, it was all another day at the office. He simply looked forward to closing his last case before he could retire to a nice, quiet life on an energon farm."
*Sideswipe's color scheme is based on his Generation 2 figure from 1992. With regards to casting Lang, he does a really good Harrison Ford impression, as evidenced by his Han Solo portrayal for the Lego Star Wars video games. Here though, I'd have Lang channel a more fitting Ford character--Rick Deckard from the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner. Lang is also a Transformers veteran, having voiced Tow-Line, my favorite character in the 2001 Robots in Disguise series.*
-James Arnold Taylor as the voice of Cheetor
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/James-Arnold-Taylor/
"There's nothing Cheetor loves more than chasing down Decepticons at incredibly high speeds. However, when caught up in the thrill of the chase, he tends to ignore his surroundings; street signs, traffic, and any unfortunate Autobot who gets in his way are bound to be ran right over! Because of this, the precinct tends to keep rotating Cheetor from partner to partner; no 'bots in their right minds would want this turbo-revving young punk on their backs! After his transfer to the street beat in Iacon Central, Cheetor was assigned a new partner, Sideswipe. Sideswipe was mere cycles away from retirement, and had little regard for such an enthusiastic punk."
*Cheetor's design is inspired by that of a version of Cheetor from the proposed and designed, but never-executed, follow-up to Beast Machines called Transtech. In casting Taylor, I felt that he'd come the closest to a decent imitation of Cheetor's original voice actor from Beast Wars/Machines, Ian James Corlett.*
-Dee Baker (with a London's East End accent) as the voice of Ironfist
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/dee-bradley-baker/
"Ironfist is one of Cybertron's top weapon and modification designers. While he has his share of odd ideas, he has also been responsible for many of the Autobots' best pieces of equipment, including his friend Optimus Prime's axe (though this is often mistakenly credited to Skyfall). Cheetor and Sideswipe arrived at Ironfist's workshop to investigate a reported break-in, and found the weapons and modifications expert severely damaged on the floor, surrounded by debris. Though he was in terrible shape, he was strong enough to point out the window towards the silhouette of his attacker, Optimus Prime! But as Cheetor shattered the window, the perp was revealed to be not Optimus, but Toxitron! Cheetor and Toxitron exchanged fire, and ultimately Toxitron was taken into custody. As Ironfist was being repaired by Minerva, he was visited by his friend Optimus, who had an idea...At Optimus's suggestion, Ironfist gave Optimus an electronic paint modification, allowing him to infiltrate the Motor Master's Stunt Convoy and once again save Cybertron."
*My mention of Baker using that particular British accent reflects the original European-exclusive release of Ironfist's toy in 1991.*
+Decepticons
1. The Stunticons
-John DiMaggio as the voice of Motormaster
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/John-DiMaggio/
"A younger Motormaster was part of a Decepticon force during the Great War. He seemed quite disinterested in the battle he was fighting, as strangely enough, he was seen reading an issue of CSI. Like all the participants in that battle, he ended up a victim of Oil Slick's Cosmic Rust. Though reports would suggest that all victims perished, Motormaster actually survived on Spark support until the mid-21st century, when he readily accepted an offer to have his spark placed in a healthy, new body cloned from an Autobot bodyform as part of an elaborate prison break. "The Motor Master" was sent, along with the other Stunticons and Toxitron, on a mission to break Megatron and other Decepticons out of Trypticon Prison. In the guise of entertainers, they planned to rig the former Decepticon Gladiatorial Arena in Kaon with explosives, blasting the prison walls open and killing the audience in the process."
*According to Animated lead character designer Derrick J. Wyatt, Motormaster is meant to sound like the late, great pro wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage, while appearing like a wrestling 'heel'. In casting DiMaggio, I'd have him draw upon some of his Motor Ed character from Kim Possible.*
-Charlie Schlatter as the voice of Breakdown
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Charlie-Schlatter/
"Breakdown is pretty sure the universe is out to get him, and this seems entirely plausible. His phenomenally bad luck and low self-esteem have left him incredibly paranoid, and he's often too focused on his paranoia to pay attention to anything else, providing more ways for everything to go wrong. His preferred method of dealing with his problems is to take it out on everyone around him... which probably doesn't help his luck, either."
*For his portrayal of Breakdown, I'd have Schlatter use a more paranoid take on a Steve Buscemi impression, specifically of Buscemi as Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs (1992).*
-Rino Romano as the voice of Dead End
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Rino-Romano/
"Despite this deep knowledge of the dark, inevitable pointlessness of existence, Dead End spends an inordinate amount of time polishing and primping himself. This is something the other Decepticons are sure to tease him about whenever they get the chance, which only depresses him more. Their attentions would be wasted on Dead End, because he's too busy being a depressing beat poet."
*Romano has what it takes, in my opinion, to give this version of Dead End a very authentic, beatnik-sounding voice.*
-Grey Griffin as the voice of Drag Strip
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Grey-DeLisle/
"Drag Strip has plenty to be angry about. Not only did Scalpel protoform her into a weak Autobot body, but she has to take orders from those privileged idiots Wildrider and The Motor Master, and why? Because Cybertron is ruled by Autobots, not rightfully by Decepticons. Never mind that she plays the stupid damsel-in-distress role in Team Stunticons' fake stunt show. That's just adding insult to injury. So don't be surprised if she takes out that anger on everyone with her laser swords."
*For Griffin's take on Drag Strip, I'd have her use Marisa Tomei in 1992's My Cousin Vinny as the basis.*
-Dave Fennoy as the voice of Wildrider
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Dave-Fennoy/
"Wildrider is the "director" of Team Stunticon. A perfectionist with a flair for the dramatic, he likes to make things go boom. All the things. And if he can't boom them, he'll smash them."
*Fennoy's casting here is meant as a callback to a prior role of his that also fit the director/manager archetype--Dick Scott in the cartoon based on the famous boy band the New Kids on the Block. Later on, Fennoy would lend his voice to two Transformers video games and the 2015 Robots in Disguise series.*
2. David Kaye as the voice of Toxitron
"Toxitron is a failed clone of Optimus Prime created by Decepticons Scalpel and Oil Slick, able to shoot corrosive toxic sludge. Toxitron was cast as the "hero" in The Motor Master's Stunt Convoy show, scripted to "rescue" Drag Strip from the other Stunticons just before a large hologram of Sentinel Magnus was cast in plain view of Trypticon Prison. In reality, the dim-witted Toxitron and the others were Decepticons posing as Autobots posing as Decepticons, all part of an elaborate scheme to eject Megatron from his imprisonment."
*Toxitron is meant to be a riff on both Superman foe Bizarro and Mongo from Blazing Saddles (1974). On the Bizarro side of things, having Kaye voice him is not only because he voices Optimus, but because he also voiced Bizarro for the DC Nation shorts. Additionally, Toxitron is based on a proposed repaint of the Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime figure for the original 2003-06 Transformers: Universe line.*
3. Tara Strong as the voice of Strika
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Tara-Strong/
"Strika is Megatron's personally chosen "General of Destruction", and for good reason. She lives for war, for the glory of war. She is the ideal mix of brains and brawn, as her immense strength and brilliant military tactical mind make her a worthy adversary and a dangerous foe to the Autobots. To add to her power, her multi-wheeled heavily armored battle tank mode is equipped with weaponry that produce an enormous amount of fire power. On top of all this, she brought many victories to the Decepticons during the Great War on Cybertron. fter the Autobots defeated and captured Megatron, Strika orchestrated a daring rescue plan requiring Team Stunticon to masquerade as Autobots in a stadium show next to Trypticon Prison; the plan would have allowed them to both rescue their captive leader and bomb all the Autobots in the bleachers into oblivion. However, this plan was foiled by the cunning detective work of Sideswipe and Cheetor."
*Strika is the Animated version of the Beast Machines Vehicon general.*
Based on the Botcon 2015 script reading (and storybook)--minus the 4th-wall-breaking bits--while on a field trip to the Metroplex with her classmates, Sari stumbles upon a certain incapacitated Autobot Intelligence agent, and accidentally unleashes a forgotten Decepticon superweapon.
+Autobots Returning and New
-Susan Blu as the voice of Arcee
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/susan-blu/
"Following her return to Cybertron, Arcee's memories were fully restored by Sari. She also received a pair of laser swords from Ratchet, who had intended to build her pointers for her re-instated position as a teacher, but had gotten carried away. She took a small group consisting of Sari, Hosehead, Nightbeat and Siren on a field-trip to Cybertron's Metroplex. During the trip, she noticed that Sari had gone missing, and thankfully found her down in the facility's recycling center just in time to save her from being crushed by the machinery there. Sari informed her that a Kremzeek had gotten loose, and Arcee was forced to fight against her own students as they became possessed by the creature. The Kremzeek eventually escaped, intent on making its way to Fortress Maximus, where it could do untold damage to Cybertron. Arcee and Sari pursued it, eventually containing it before it could do anyone serious harm."
*Blu originally voiced Arcee in the 1980's Transformers series and reprised the role for Animated. She also served as voice director for a number of later Transformers shows, notably Beast Wars and Beast Machines.*
-Tara Strong as the voice of Sari Sumdac
"Sari is the human ally of Optimus's team who later learns she's actually a modified techno-organic protoform found by human scientist Isaac Sumdac. At the end of the final battle with Megatron, Sari used her "tech-savvy" powers to restore Arcee's lost memories. Arcee then took Sari along with her class on a field-trip to Cybertron's Metroplex so Sari could learn more about her Cybertronian heritage. Before the field trip was under way, Sari received some Burger-Bot take-out from her dad via the space bridge. She pulled out her meal during the field trip, grossing out her classmates Siren, Hosehead and Nightbeat. Embarassed, Sari snuck away from the group to dispose of her soda cup. Though she found a disposal hatch, she lost her balance upon opening it, and tumbled down into the facility's recycling center. There, dormant AllSpark energy within her brought back to consciousness Blurr, who had previously been crushed into a cube by Shockwave, something that Sari was informed about over and over by the talkative Autobot. Grabbing the Blurr-cube, Sari poked around for an exit. She found an access panel, but when she used her tech-savvy powers to activate it, she inadvertantly awakened Kremzeek, a Decepticon trojan virus and energy being."
-John Moschitta as the voice of Blurr
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/john-moschitta/
"An intelligence agent in the Cybertron Elite Guard, Blurr tends to barrel ahead with whatever he's doing and simply expects everyone else to keep pace... be it on a mission or in simple conversation. His motor-mouth and penchant for tangents tend to leave others in the dust, forcing them to ask him to repeat things. At the time of Animated's finale, Blurr had been crushed into a cube by undercover Decepticon Shockwave. The Blurr cube lay dormant at the bottom of the compactor chute until Sari Sumdac took a field trip to The Metroplex and stumbled down the same chute. Her residual AllSpark energy revived him, though he was still an immobile cube. When she also inadvertently unleashed a Decepticon weapon from the Great War, Kremzeek, she was able to tap into his speed to reach Fortress Maximus ahead of the creature and save the day. Optimus Prime and Jazz used the AllSpark Matrix to restore Blurr to his normal body. "
*Moschitta originally voiced Blurr in the 80's Transformers series and reprised the role for Animated. You might recognize him as the pitchman for FedEx and Micro Machines.*
-Nika Futterman as the voice of Nightbeat
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Nika-Futterman/
"Young and inexperienced at detective work, Nightbeat nonetheless has a lot of raw talent that gives her incredible insight. Sideswipe just wishes she would tone down her exuberance. Detective work is for gritty loners, dangit."
*Nightbeat is based on the Generation 1 Headmaster of the same name from 1988, with her head being based on the helmet of the G1 version's Nebulan partner Muzzle. Unlike this version, G1 Nightbeat was a more experienced detective, and male, though a Japan-exclusive redeco from that same year (Minerva) was female.*
-Will Friedle as the voice of Siren
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Will-Friedle/
"Siren seems to have no inside voice, shouting every thought that pops into his head. Even his main weapon is a sonic scream. It drives Arcee to distraction."
*Siren is based on the 1988 Autobot Headmaster of the same name. Apparently, Siren's speech patterns appear to be based on the former comedy persona of comedian "Bobcat" Goldthwait, specifically his character Zed from the Police Academy movies (a likely reference to Siren turning into a police car).*
-Benjamin Diskin (with a Maritime Canadian accent) as the voice of Hosehead
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Benjamin-Diskin/
"Hosehead is very, very Canadian, especially for an alien robot. He's able to access his hoses from his fire truck mode, which can shoot streams of flame-retardant foam or high pressure water jets."
*I'd have Diskin maybe channel a bit of either Bob or Doug McKenzie in his portrayal of Hosehead, who's based on the 1988 Autobot Headmaster of the same name (though not as Canadian).*
+Decepticons
-Corey Burton as the voices of Megatron and Shockwave
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Corey-Burton/
"Megatron and Shockwave were still incarcerated in Trypticon Prison when Shockwave's Kremzeek virus was unleashed and ran rampant across Cybertron. Megatron questioned why he'd create such a dangerous weapon, and Shockwave meekly admitted that the plan had been for Kremzeek to be unleashed when the Decepticons weren't on Cybertron."
*Burton is also a veteran of the 80's Transformers series, where Shockwave was among the many characters he voiced.*
+Other Antagonist
-Charlie Adler as the voice of Kremzeek
http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Charlie-Adler/
"Kremzeek was an ancient Decepticon weapon, inadvertently unleashed by Sari Sumdac when she found herself in the bowels of The Metroplex in a school field trip gone wrong. Kremzeek tried to use the machinery of the Central Cybertronian Recycling Plant to dispatch Sari and the Blurr cube, but was foiled by the arrival of Arcee and the rest of Sari's classmates. Kremzeek then revealed itself and possessed each of Sari's classmates in turn before appropriating Sari's jetpack and flying towards Fortress Maximus. It attempted to destroy Iacon, but Sari's quick thinking enabled her to trap it in a soda can and save the day."
*Adler is another 80's Transformers veteran, having voiced the characters of Silverbolt and Triggerhappy. He would later voice Starscream in the live-action Transformers films.*