Trivia for
"Transformers: Animated" (2008) More at IMDbPro »

• This is the first, and so far only, Transformers continuity family in which the rank of Prime isn't the highest in the Autobot Army.
  
  
• The first Transformers franchise since 2002 to not use CGI to represent the robotic characters and the fourth one overall.
  
  
• This series is heavy with references and nods to previous Transformers cartoons. From random objects that serve as "easter-eggs" and background characters all the way through regular cast members, it features the appearances of various characters and concepts from the Transformers media that came before it.
  
  
• When the first images of the show's characters appeared online, there was a major outrage among the fan-community because of how different the drawing style was compared to previous Transformer cartoons. Although there still are fans who simply cannot stomach the visual appearances, a lot of the "haters" were won over when the broadcasts began.
  
  
• Aside from featuring some classic Transformers characters like Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream, the show's cast consists of various characters from other series as well: Blackarachnia originates from "Beast Wars: Transformers" (1996), as does Waspinator; Strika from "Beast Machines: Transformers" (1999); Hot Shot was originally found in "Transufômâ: Maikuron densetsu" (2002); while the giant Decepticon Blackout first appeared in Transformers (2007). Some all-new robots also made their debuts in this show: for example Bulkhead, Lugnut, and Lockdown haven't appeared in previous Transformers media. Others, like Jetfire and Jetstorm, Sentinel Prime, and to an extent Blitzwing are more radical re-imaginings of their former namesakes.
  
  
• After the cancellation of Season 4, many story connections to it had to be removed from Season 3. This upset a lot of fans, who had hoped that the cartoon would last longer. The show's creators apparently wanted it to last as long as possible as well.
  
  
• The character Ratchet was originally meant to be a completely different robot, Red Alert, a female Autobot. In the end, Ratchet took her place as the main hero medic, with added shades of an old and sometimes grumpy veteran's personality (muck like Kup from "Transformers" (1984)). However, Red Alert was later introduced in season 3 of the cartoon, as a medic of a different Autobot group.
  
  
• Megatron's Fusion Cannon makes the same sound as the original Megatron's cannon from "Transformers" (1984).
  
  
• The head of Megatron's Cybertronian mode, seen in the first episode and later in flashbacks, bears some resemblance to an early rejected concept of Megatron's head from Transformers (2007).
  
  
• Susan Blu is not only the voice director of the series, she also plays the role of the female Autobot Arcee, a role that she also played in the original "Transformers" (1984).
  
  
• The most prominent role of Corey Burton in this series is the role of Megatron and Ratchet, however he also voices Ironhide, Longarm Prime/Shockwave, Cyrus 'Colossus' Rhodes, Brawn, and the human background character Spike. In "Transformers" (1984), he also voiced the original Shockwave, Brawn, and Spike, and uses the same voices he did back then for each of them.
  
  
• John Moschitta Jr., the original voice actor of the fast-talking Autobot Blurr returns to reprise his role again. Although this time Blurr actually speaks coherently. In "Transformers" (1984), the original Blurr often simply repeated his lines.
  
  
• Voice actor David Kaye, after more than a decade of playing the role of the evil antagonist Megatron, gets to voice the heroic main protagonist Optimus Prime in this series. The sudden switch, he reports, was completely unexpected even to him.
  
  
• Judd Nelson, after more than twenty years since The Transformers: The Movie (1986), returns to voice the character Rodimus Prime.
  
  
• The Autobot Elite Guard council building is an homage to the city mode of the gigantic Autobot Metroplex from the original cartoon ("Transformers" (1984)) and comics.
  
  
• Strika's Decepticon team is referred to as "Team Chaar". This is a reference to the planet "Chaar" from "Transformers" (1984), where the Decepticons were stranded after the events of The Transformers: The Movie (1986) and later built their homes.
  
  
• This series marks the first time that the Dinobots get to play a role in an animated Transformers cartoon after more than twenty years of absence. Although their leader, Grimlock (Tyrannosaurus) is the only one who bears a strong resemblance to his original counterpart. Dinobot Slag (the Triceratops) had to be re-named due to his name having a profane nature: he is now called Snarl, which was originally the name of another Dinobot, the Stegosaurus.
  
  
• Art director and character designer Derrick Wyatt is one of the few official Hasbro employees who were Transformers fans even before being employed by the company.
  
  
• The holographic driver that Prowl projects when he is in motorcycle-mode is actually his own human form.
  
  
• Optimus Prime's human form looks much like his voice actor David Kaye.
  
  
• A special Transformers cartoon, in the sense that the war between the two opposing robot factions had already ended by the time the story begun. As such, it can focus on more "mundane" problems that the heroes have to face, as well as more peaceful plots.
  
  
• The opening sequence of the premier episode "Transform and Roll Out" has scenes from the original transformers episodes "More than Meets the Eye" and "Wardawn", and even shows the original Megatron in his robot form, Starscream in his vehicle form, and Bumblebee in his vehicle form.
  
  
• Megatron's fusion cannon makes the same sound it made in the G1 series, but with a few added effects.
  
  
• The character Sentinel Prime was originally going to be Rodimus Prime, but since Hasbro didn't like the idea of changing Rodimus into a rude jerk, they instead created Sentinel. Rodimus Prime later showed up in the cartoon's 3rd season, briefly.
  
  
• As of the series' finale, many of the plotlines have been left hanging, and some crucial plot elements never got explained. This was because the episode scripts haven't been changed as a response to the show's cancellation, and everything remained as it was.
  
  
• Autobot scientist Perceptor is not voiced by a human voice actor, his monotone, robotic voice was created using PlainTalk. The writers have said that this speech pattern is a result of deleting his own personality and capacity for emotion to create room in his processor to store more information, although in one of the comics he did show at least some enthusiasm. Art director Derrick Wyatt claims this is how he imagines the ultimate scientist to sound like.
  
  
• Long time fan favorite Autobot inventor Wheeljack only has small cameo appearances in the show, and never talks, however he has dialog in the comics. His design is heavily based on the original Wheeljack's body (from 'Transformers (1984)'), and although he has no mouth, a large mustache-like plate is seen covering his face mask. Fans have joked that this, along with his muscular lines and his profession makes him look like Jamie Hyneman from "MythBusters" (2003).
  
  
• The series was originally meant to gap the bridge between the first two live-action Transformers movie, Transformers (2007) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and act as some sort of filler. The success of the cartoon and the toys surprised Hasbro, mostly the largely positive fan feedback.
  
  

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