$5 Billion: This legendary saga returns to theaters with a must-see prequel!

After Toy Story 4, director Josh Cooley returns to cinema with a new adaptation of the Toy Story franchise: Transformers: The Beginning! Derived from Michael Bay’s live-action saga, which itself was inspired by the famous Hasbro brand of figures, this animated film takes us back to the beginnings of Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Cyberton-based Orion Pax and D-16, then mere miners, discover a lead regarding the disappearance of a legendary artifact. Accompanied by the B-127 and the Elita-1, the two friends set off for their planet’s surface, not suspecting that their search would lead to the Autobots and Decepticons factions.

At the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival, we were able to catch up with Josh Cooley, who came to the preview of the film to talk about Transformers and his various animated works. With his 17 years of experience at the Pixar studio, the director notably collaborated on Vice-Versa, Ratatouille, Up, as well as two installments of Cars.

A passion for animation linked to the childish spirit he never lost and his over-the-top imagination: “I always have the feeling that I haven’t grown up. I have a bit of Peter Pan syndrome. And with animation, I have the feeling that anything is possible. That we can make our characters whatever we want, whether it’s the level. The action or their emotions.’

Transition from live to animation

At first, making Transformers: The Beginning an animated film wasn’t an obvious choice. In an interview with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, producer of the feature film and various opus of the original saga, he spoke about this choice: “In live action, this movie would have cost us about $600 million. I say that because I tried that option. After all, we were recreating the foundation of a great story that already exists in live action. We did our estimates. And every time, we were met with sad news. At what cost, we told ourselves that we should try to make this film differently.

After research, Hasbro and Paramount agreed to turn this prequel into an animated project. A welcome decision for Josh Cooley, who was able to take more liberties with certain sets and scales: “This movie doesn’t take place on Earth.” He reminds us. “It allowed me to do something that was purely sci-fi. We didn’t have to refer to a human in one way or another. Unlike live-action, where the Transformers looked huge on a human scale, here’s a world that we could make huge in relation to the Transformers, visually for that.” We outdid ourselves.

Make a link to the original saga

If the story frame and production techniques differ from the first feature films, it was still essential to connect this new opus with Michael Bay’s already filmed opera. For this, the support of Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian, the producers of the previous Transformers, proved essential.

“I relied heavily on their knowledge of the films under license to see what they thought worked and what didn’t.”The director reveals. “It was very, very important to me.”

The transition from live to animation, from the present to the past, from Michael Bay to Josh Cool, was done very naturally and fluidly, always according to Di Bonaventura, who was very involved in the project: Michael Bay was a great director for the Transformers movies because he knew how to make them cool. Comedy was the key to the saga’s success and he brought it about. In this prequel, there is more emotion, etc. Bitter Ending We needed a director specializing in animation who knows how to manage the relationship between two characters that are broken, Josh Cooley was an obvious choice because he always shows great humanity.

Bringing Optimus Prime and Megatron back to their roots as sworn enemies was a way to bring together old fans as well as new audiences with no knowledge of the Transformers universe. A brotherhood that has become one of the greatest rivalries in science fiction cinema, which had to be told according to the director.

“It’s a relationship that’s never been seen on screen before, but it’s part of the story. Everyone knows they’re rivals, but how did that happen? I love that. The idea that they were best friends in the past before their relationship started. Ruin, done With true tragedy, it’s a way to show what these characters feel, to understand them better.

Michael Bay was a great director for the Transformers movies because he knew how to make them cool.

The transition from hero to dark side until he becomes the most mythical antagonist of the saga is difficult to show according to Lorenzo di Bonaventura: “This phase of Optimus and Megatron’s relationship turned out to be the most difficult. How do we convey to the audience that the character is becoming darker? The transition from good to evil was very fast at first, so we agreed to slow it down. Only at the end, when he moves to evil, do his eyes become funny when he does the animation, We realized that it was almost a cinematic language.

The meaning of votes

To (re)live such popular characters, the choice of dubbing actors was a step that should not be overlooked. For the United States, it was first and foremost necessary to find an actor who could bring all of his presence and charisma to Optimus Prime, the iconic hero and icon of an entire generation. “For me, it’s such a big story of brotherhood that we absolutely had to feel the full power of the cast, especially Optimus.” The producer explains. “Because for many people it is a symbol of truth and righteousness and a whole host of other values.”

So the choice fell on Chris Hemsworth, who replaced Peter Cullen. Two quite similar voices and tones, according to Josh Cooley: “They both have very low, very deep, very powerful voices. Chris is a fantastic actor and he really brought charm, humor and calmness to Optimus.”

To play Megatron, it’s Brian Tyree Henry who takes up the torch after being passed over by Hugo Weaving in the first part of the Cybertronian saga. An obvious one for the director who saw in him the perfect D-16, but also a necessary element for Chris Hemsworth to make the duo flawless: “Brian Terry Henry is a phenomenal actor. He’s so funny. I knew from day one that he was the one for us. And watching him and Chris do some scenes together gave me chills.”

The pair of robots in France are voiced by the excellent Adrien Antoine (regular voice of Chris Hemsworth, but also Henry Cavill and Sam Worthington) and Baptiste Mark, both very active in dubbing. To complete the leading quartet in the roles of Bumblebee and Elita, actors well known to the French public, Philippe Lachaux and Audrey Fleroux! So proud of this first one, who confides in us all his love for Transformers toys and movies.

“I grew up with Transformers. I had all the toys, they were really the first of their kind that you could manipulate as you wanted. It was a revolution. That’s why when the first movie came out in 2007, we were all like crazy. So I’m happy and proud that I’m taking part in this new movie, and specifically Bumblebee, because I think it’s my favorite and a lot of people’s favorites.”

The start of a new Transformers era?

This film is intended for license lovers, but also for beginners, has the advantage of being suitable for all audiences and can be enjoyed alone, with friends, but especially with family. In its new animated form, with much looser and more engaging characters, Transformers: The Beginning may have other new stories to tell.

During our interview at the Annecy Festival, director Josh Cooley told us about the possibility of one or more sequels:

“Is it possible to make a new movie? I don’t know, but I hope so. I think these characters are the real power of this world. More than the story we’re telling. They still have a lot to experience.”

The film Transformers: The Beginning can now be seen in cinemas, VOSTFR and VF.