Since 1984, Transformers has proven an immensely enduring toy brand, spawning a hugely popular TV series (which in turn spawned even more spinoff TV series), a couple of movies and ever more toys, right up to the present day. In fact, the toys have their roots in the 1970s Japanese toy lines Microman and Diaclone, which were bought and developed in the U.S. by toy maker Hasbro. The concept is simple enough: robots in disguise; visitors from the planet Cybertron, hiding on Earth as everyday vehicles and objects, fighting a war between good and evil. What kid wouldn't fall in love with that?
In the new live-action movie of the same name, director Michael Bay drops a few select characters into a convoluted and confusing story that nonetheless offers a fun couple of hours' diversion, thanks largely to its convincing CGI and, well, having a bunch of bloody great robots smashing each other up on the big screen.
The giants in the movie barely resemble those we played with in the 1980s, but toy maker Takara Tomy has taken a different tack with its Transformers Music Label products, sticking closely to the original character designs to create functional toys that hit the nostalgia bone hard.