Kids shows get a bum rap all the time. I try changing that by showing that “maturity” isn’t about violence and gore and “complexity” doesn’t have to be so complex that you can’t root for anyone. I like having set good and evil as starters, with complexity coming from those caught in-between. That’s where the redemption arcs and falls from grace happen.
Kids shows have bright colors but adult shows used to have more than three. They have happy endings, characters you can connect to if you aren’t the type to insist a character has to literally be you before you care. They’re also fun, but you can spot a bad kids show a mile away…even if you’re a kid. Respect your audience at any age group. So when in a recent video (not a post; goes to YouTube) TJOmega was talking about how he couldn’t get into Rescue Bots because it was too kiddie, I was rather disappointed. As a Transformers series only the lack of Decepticons keeps it from fitting in. And characters from this and the sequel series, Rescue Bots Academy, intermingle with the other “Aligned Continuity” shows Transformers Prime and Robots In Disguise (the second one). They got together about as well as any of the other “Aligned” shows, comics, games and novels. Admittedly that isn’t saying much since there was little actual aligning between the various product but that’s another argument.
So tonight let’s watch the first two episodes of Transformers: Rescue Bots. Four rescue worker Autobots, something thought lost during the war between Autobots and Decepticons, are awakened from stasis by a signal from Optimus Prime seeing other Autobots. To help them learn about Earth and blend in, the rescue bots are assigned to Griffin Rock, working undercover as the type of robots that wouldn’t be out of place in the high-tech testing ground this island functions as. Thanks to official YouTube channels, I get show you how their adventures began, plus a special bonus video about the franchise because I can. Enjoy.
Like too many Transformers shows, the toyline’s intended concept is altered in a few episodes. A de-aged Cody Burns is the only human figure that comes into play, the firehouse doesn’t transform and neither does Bumblebee’s garage. Most of the toys from the early run won’t be made into characters. More on that later. I brought in episode two not only because it’s where the intro first appears but because it’s a good follow-up to the first episode as the Rescue Bots and Burns family learn to get along.
Like with previous Saturday Night Showcase Rescue Heroes you can’t do a rescue show without teamwork because you can’t have rescue operation succeed if everyone isn’t working together. The show focuses more on the clash between Cybertronian and Earth cultures. Autobots are living machines and humans aren’t used to that. Humans have their own way of doing things and Autobots have to adjust to that. Of the various Aligned shows Rescue Bots gets to delve more into that because more than four humans know they exist. Sure, the town doesn’t know they’re alive until a later season but once they learn you see how they interact, something we haven’t seen in a Transformers cartoon since Transformers Animated because most versions either keep the battle secret from the rest of the world or barely do anything with the humans. (That would be you, season two of Cyberverse.)
Of course, when your show is done with computers having the processing power and time to design and animate multiple humans becomes harder. It’s one advantage the 2D has over 3D, the ability to have multiple characters even if you can’t animate them all at once due to time constraints. There are ways around that but CG animators haven’t figured out the best way to do that yet.
So where did the show differ from the source material, the toys, and where did the series go? Here’s a bonus video from Chris McFeely and Transformers: The Basics that just recently dropped.
The only human enemies not mentioned were Evan and Miles, two high tech thieves (that’s them with the shrink ray), who actually reform between the two Rescue Bot shows. I actually like the human villains on this show, as they feel like they fit in more than some others since Griffin Rock is a high-tech testing ground. I’m usually neutral to negative to human villains like the supervillains of Animated or even Mandroid on EarthSpark (to me he comes off as a bad fusion of Silas from Prime, Circuit Breaker from the old Marvel comics, and Dr. Morocco from this show). I do wish Chris had talked a bit more about Rescue Bots Academy and how it actually utilized Transformer lore, with one character being a former Decepticon, an actual Titan (those city-sized Transformers), and giving us a look at an actual Cybertronian sport, Cube. Maybe in a future video.
Kids shows do not have to be garbage. They’re how kids are introduced to stories, and they can still tell when they’re being talked down to, or the creative team didn’t put any real effort into making something entertaining. Kids have different tastes and haven’t “seen it all” yet, so their standards are lower. That’s not the same as being terrible. A good kids show stays with kids for a reason. A good team of creators understand that. The ones that don’t will produce garbage. The Rescue Bots shows were not garbage. They were made by people that care and it shows in the work, toy ad or not. Then again, isn’t that how you sell toys? Make the show good enough and the kids want to play further adventures. It’s how toys based on shows succeed as well.
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