MEMORIES:
James Bishop 006.75 remembers...A very good follow up to Transformers. Moreso when they just concentrated on a core group of the toys, rather ... More »
Posted on 10/25/06
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By 1995, the Hasbro formula for success had been well established: Take things that kids like and make toys out of them. Simple enough. But in the mid-eighties, Hasbro took things a step further with the invention of Transformers_%28toyline%29" title="Transformers (toyline)">Transformers, a toy line that combined robots and vehicles. This goes beyond the realm of mere success into the echelons of genius.
So it was that in 1995, with the popularity of yet another generation of Transfomers in decline, Hasbro went back to the drawing board, or at least half of it.
Beast Wars (Beasties in Canada) combined traditional robots with the new concept of animals. Building upon the original Transformers’ storyline, Beast Wars emerged as something of a prequel to the Generation One cartoon series.
Taking advantage of the advent of Computer Graphic Imaging, Beast Wars quickly released a full CG-animated series produced by the Canadian company Mainframe Entertainment. Several comic book companies jumped on the band wagon for a short time, including Dreamwave comics and IDW.
The dependence upon the first generation of Transformers is both the allure and the aversion of Beast Wars. Robot beasts engaged in a firefight crash land on prehistoric earth and battle to either preserve or destroy mankind – and generation one Transformers’ – futures. Notable characters include silver-back Gorilla and good guy leader Optimus Primal, or the “big boss monkey” according to robot rat Rattrap. The escaped convict villains, lead by ambitious tyrannosaur Megatron II, seeks to change time by killing generation one leader Optimus Prime before he can be reactivated. Optimus Primal’s band of scientists and explorers meanwhile, do everything they can to save their eventual ancestors…
For five years, kiddies could bring wasps, spiders, rats, even cheetahs and rhinoceros into the house unawares. Mom’s keen eye was easily beguiled by the harmless robot on the sill. But behind her back unfolded a technological jungle where mechanized beasts continued the proud tradition of Transformers.
