Beast Wars: Transformers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beast Wars: Transformers |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Action Science Fiction |
| Developed by |
|
| Voices of |
|
| Opening theme | "Beast Wars Theme Song" |
| Composer(s) | Robert Buckley |
| Country of origin |
|
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Running time | 22–23 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
|
| Distributor | Claster Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
|
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | September 16, 1996 – March 7, 1999 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Transformers |
| Followed by |
|
Beast Wars: Transformers is a cool animated TV show from Canada and the United States. It first aired in 1996 and finished in 1999. In Canada, it was called Beasties: Transformers.
This show is a big part of the Transformers: Beast Wars world. It takes place in the future of the original Transformers story. The main characters are the Maximals and Predacons. They are like the future versions of the classic Autobots and Decepticons.
The story begins with two small teams from each side. They are fighting in space and crash-land on a strange planet. Now, they must find a way to get back home. But first, they have to keep fighting their war on this new world.
Beast Wars was the first Transformers show to use computer animation. It was made by Mainframe Entertainment in Vancouver, Canada. The show's designer, Clyde Klotz, even won an Emmy Award in 1997 for his amazing work.
Contents
What is Beast Wars About?
Maximals and Predacons
In Beast Wars, the two main groups of Transformers are the Maximals and Predacons. The Maximals are the good guys, like the Autobots. The Predacons are the bad guys, like the Decepticons. This change from Autobots and Decepticons to Maximals and Predacons is called "The Great Upgrade."
The Story Begins
The leader of the Predacons is Megatron, who is named after the original Decepticon leader. He and his team are looking for powerful crystals called Energon. They use a special item called the Golden Disk to help them. Megatron also stole a ship called the Darksyde. This ship has a "transwarp drive," which lets it travel through time and space.
A Maximal exploration ship, the Axalon, is sent to stop Megatron. It is led by Optimus Primal. During a battle in space, both ships get pulled into a time-space event. They crash-land on a mysterious planet.
The Mysterious Planet
The planet has a lot of raw Energon. But there's so much Energon that it's actually dangerous for the robots! To protect themselves, they have to change into animal forms. These forms are called "beast modes." They can be mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, or even insects. This is how the "Great Upgrade" works.
Before the Axalon crashed, it sent out "stasis pods." These pods hold Maximal protoforms. Protoforms are Transformer robots that are not fully developed. They orbit the planet safely. Throughout the series, these pods fall to the planet. Both Maximals and Predacons race to find them. If Megatron's team gets a protoform, they can reprogram it to become a Predacon! These stasis pods often bring new characters into the show.
Who's on Which Team?
Most Maximals turn into mammals, birds, or fish. Most Predacons turn into reptiles, amphibians, or insects. But there are some exceptions! For example, Dinobot starts as a Predacon but later joins the Maximals. He's a Utahraptor, which is a reptile. Also, some "Predacons" like Inferno and Blackarachnia were originally Maximal protoforms. But they were changed to fight for the Predacons.
The Maximals work together as a team, even when they argue. Rattrap is especially good at friendly teasing. The Predacons, however, often fight among themselves for leadership. This makes them less effective against the Maximals.
Episodes and Characters
You can find a full list of all the episodes and characters from Beast Wars in other articles.
Voice Actors
Many talented voice actors brought the Beast Wars characters to life:
- Garry Chalk as Optimus Primal and G1 Megatron
- Scott McNeil as Rattrap, Dinobot, Waspinator, Silverbolt, Cicadacon and Dinobot II
- Richard Newman as Rhinox and the Vok
- Ian James Corlett as Cheetor and Sentinel, the Maximal computer
- Blu Mankuma as Tigatron, Tigerhawk, Vok and Unicron
- Pauline Newstone as Airazor
- David Sobolov as Depth Charge
- David Kaye as Megatron
- Don Brown as Scorponok
- Alec Willows as Tarantulas
- Doug Parker as Terrorsaur and Starscream
- Venus Terzo as Blackarachnia
- Jim Byrnes as Inferno
- Colin Murdock as Quickstrike
- Campbell Lane as Rampage
- Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff as the Predacon computer
- Lee Tockar as Ravage
Video Games
There have been two main video games based on Beast Wars:
- Beast Wars: Transformers: This was a third-person shooter game. It was released for PlayStation and PC. The game followed the story of the first season of the show. Players could control either the Maximals or the Predacons. They completed missions to get resources and win the war. The PC version even had a multiplayer mode for up to 8 players!
- Beast Wars Transmetals: This was a fighting game based on the second season. Many of the original voice actors from the show returned for this game.
A third game was planned for the PlayStation 2. However, it was cancelled before it was fully developed.
Watching at Home
The Beast Wars series has been released on DVD multiple times. In 2003 and 2004, Kid Rhino Entertainment first released the DVDs in North America.
Later, in 2011, Shout! Factory re-released the series. They put out Season 1 and a complete series set. These new releases included cool bonus features. You could find interviews with the voice actors and special comic books. Seasons 2 and 3 were re-released later that year.
In Australia, Madman Entertainment released all three seasons on DVD in 2006. They also released a "Complete Collection" box set in 2009. This set had all 52 episodes and many bonus features.
| DVD Name | Episodes | Release dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 4 | ||
| Season 1 | 26 | August 12, 2003 June 7, 2011 (Re-release) |
March 17, 2006 |
| Season 2 | 13 | March 23, 2004 | July 25, 2006 |
| Season 3 | 13 | March 23, 2004 | November 10, 2006 |
| Seasons 2 & 3 | 26 | October 4, 2011 (Re-release) | N/A |
| Complete Series | 52 | June 7, 2011 | June 24, 2009 |
What Came After Beast Wars?
The story of Beast Wars continued with a show called Beast Machines: Transformers. Other Beast Wars shows were made in Japan, like Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo. These shows helped fill the time while the second and third seasons of Beast Wars were being translated into Japanese.
There have also been several comic books and video games based on the series.
People have talked about making a Beast Wars movie. In 2020, it was announced that a movie based on Beast Wars was being developed.
- Transformers Beast Wars: Complete Series at Shout! Factory
See also
In Spanish: Beast Wars para niños
