Not to step on the toes of my fellow Ghostbusters fans, but this year also marks the 30th anniversary of another standout property: Transformers. (Yes, 1984 was a very good year for entertainment!)
Surely many of us will be celebrating this momentous occasion in many ways, but our friends at Shout Factory are going out of their way to make it an extra special year in Transformers fandom. This week it was announced that Shout Factory, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios, will present a special “30 Years in 3 Days Live at BotCon” digital event.
Originating from the BotCon floor at the Pasadena Convention Center Friday, June 20th through Sunday, June 22nd, this live stream takeover will feature a marathon of Transformers series episodes, exclusive digital segments and highlights from the convention itself. Fans can tune in via TF30years.com and Shout Factory’s YouTube channel to check out all the mechanized madness, and are encouraged to spread a little of their own Transformers love using the #TF30years Twitter hashtag.
Shout Factory will also be offering a unique incentive to fans and collectors who purchase any Transformers animated product directly from their site. While supplies last any qualifying purchase will net you a handsome, limited-edition 18″x24″ poster.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, Shout Factory has done a fine job of compiling the various disparate Transformers series into a collection of handsome box sets that truly deserve a place in your media library. While my personal favorites are easily the landmark Japanese Collection, their latest release also holds a place in my heart.
While I grew up on the classic Generation 1, my son’s first Transformers experience was Transformers Animated. Though I resisted at first, this highly stylized gem definitely grew on me, and forced me to reconsider my longstanding puritanical views regarding contemporary iterations of my favorite transforming robots.
Transformers Animated: The Complete Series presents all 42 episodes in a solid six-disc collection. This set is particularly notable, as it marks the first official release of the series’ third and final season. Supplementary content is a little thin, but there are some commentary tracks available featuring members of the writing and directorial teams as well as Susan Blu (Arcee) and David Kaye (Optimus Prime) on discs three (Season Two, Disc One — “Garbage In, Garbage Out”) and five (Season Three, Disc One — “Transwarped, Parts 1-3”).
They may not be your Transformers, but I urge you to give Transformers Animated a look. And, of course, there’s no better way to celebrate 30 years of this iconic franchise than expanded your own Transformers horizons!
Review and promotional materials provided by: Shout Factory
I ended up loving Animated because it managed to modernize the franchise and call back to its origins at the same time (which Beast Wars had done before it, which is what got me back into the property).
Wish I could see this at BotCon!