2008 Woodie Awards
Humor : Transformers, more than meets the eye
Danny Harry
Issue date: 4/20/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Children of the 80's, join me in song. "Transformers, robots in disguise. Transformers more than meets the eye. The Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of - the Decepticons." I grew up a Transformer geek, amazed by the intrigue of Volkswagen Bugs, semi-trucks, jets, even dinosaurs, who could change into robotic humanoids. Boys everywhere, and some adults, still love this cartoon series of fantastical battles between good and bad machines. I was almost fanatical about the toys, even envying those who could afford the expensive, technological figurines. I had to buy the much cheaper Go-Bots and generic transformable robot toys.
One such no-name toy robot changed into a car, and I continually transmographied it until the legs broke off. I still remember Car-Bots funeral, where I gathered all his mechanical limbs, placed him into a concentrated orange juice can stuffed with tissue, and laid him to rest in the kitchen garbage. I imagined digging up the landfill decades later, rediscovering his remains and reassem bling him with current technological advancements. Little did I know a dab of crazy glue would have done the trick.
I really wanted the interchangeable Volkswagen Bug, Bumblebee, and actually coveted the ones kids at school had. So one morning in the first grade when the recess bell rang, and I found a sparkling clean, red Bumblebee on the ground in its car form, I nearly performed an inward joy-dance complete with "I have Bumblebee, I have Bumblebee!" singing through my mind. I was one happy camper, so excited, in fact, I immediately transformed Bumblebee into his robotic humanoid form just to talk to him. After recess, we went back to class to face the rigors of first grade spelling and math, where I stood Bumblebee on the front of my desk to help sound out my name correctly. We were an inseparable team, until a few minutes into class, a friend of mine turned around, saw Bumblebee, and declared, "That's mine! I lost it before recess." With that, my Transformer friend was taken away, mine for less than a half an hour.
One such no-name toy robot changed into a car, and I continually transmographied it until the legs broke off. I still remember Car-Bots funeral, where I gathered all his mechanical limbs, placed him into a concentrated orange juice can stuffed with tissue, and laid him to rest in the kitchen garbage. I imagined digging up the landfill decades later, rediscovering his remains and reassem bling him with current technological advancements. Little did I know a dab of crazy glue would have done the trick.
I really wanted the interchangeable Volkswagen Bug, Bumblebee, and actually coveted the ones kids at school had. So one morning in the first grade when the recess bell rang, and I found a sparkling clean, red Bumblebee on the ground in its car form, I nearly performed an inward joy-dance complete with "I have Bumblebee, I have Bumblebee!" singing through my mind. I was one happy camper, so excited, in fact, I immediately transformed Bumblebee into his robotic humanoid form just to talk to him. After recess, we went back to class to face the rigors of first grade spelling and math, where I stood Bumblebee on the front of my desk to help sound out my name correctly. We were an inseparable team, until a few minutes into class, a friend of mine turned around, saw Bumblebee, and declared, "That's mine! I lost it before recess." With that, my Transformer friend was taken away, mine for less than a half an hour.