A large part of the people know the role of Bumblebee through the film version of "Transformers" directed by "Explosion Bay" in recent years, as one of the heavyweights of the first "Transformers" movie, the "pro-son" of Director Michael Bay, Bumblebee became a household superhero. Because of its mischievous behavior, the need to speak through radio FM, and there is never a proper shape on the mouth, such a rebellious image is deeply loved by young people. The recently released "Bumblebee" independent film is completely based on Bumblebee as the protagonist, telling the story of the encounter between an injured Bumblebee and an adolescent girl, and the image of Bumblebee has changed from Chevrolet Camaro back to the classic volkswagen Beetle, as an elderly fan of "Transformers", he was excited to tears after seeing the trailer...
Several movie versions of Bumblebee "possessed" models are Chevrolet Camaro, human protagonist Sam was in the used car market at that time to find a 1977 Camaro z28, this old medieval car after the two were also disliked by Sam and his girlfriend, bumblebee with personality in one breath into the 2007 Camaro retroica, even the appearance of bgm was replaced by the classic song "battle without honor or humanity".
▲ 1977 Camaro z28
▲ 2007 Comaro replica
After the success of the first Transformers, Camaro's version of Horn was deeply rooted in people's hearts, sales soared, and people gradually got used to calling Camaro Bumblebee. In fact, the director still retains some of the classic design elements in the cartoon in the design, such as the two horn-like parts on the top of the bumblebee's head, but as a fan of the car and the "Transformers" fans, the volkswagen beetle is what we think the bumblebee should look like.
▲ Animated version of Bumblebee
The name Bumblebee actually came from this beautiful yellow beetle, the yellow body black stripes, like the pattern of the bee, coupled with the beetle round beep shape, I really can't think of a more suitable name than bumblebee (bumblebee). And the name is also very much in line with the character positioning, as a spy and messenger, the small body and the unobtrusive model is a very good camouflage, it can complete many of the tasks that the leader (Optimus Prime) can not complete, and later bumblebee has a more powerful version - goldbug (goldbug).
▲ Golden beetle
▲ The figure above shows the proportion of size between bumblebee and leader Optimus Prime
The plot of the animated version of "Transformers" is very different from the movie version, and it can be said that it is completely different, but there are some commonalities in some general direction settings. The animated version of Bumblebee is also a Transformer on the Ark, riding an Ark in search of new worlds and new energy in the universe when Cybertron is on the verge of destruction, but the ship eventually crashes on Earth, and the Transformers "wait" in the Ark for more than four million years, until the awakening of Bumblebee in 1984. In the first season, Bumblebee uses its small body to help the alliance of humans and Autobots place explosives in the mining operation of the Decepticon, temporarily calming the fight between the two factions.
▲ Bumblebee hiding in the corner
▲ Ark
The reason why I chose to use this 1967 Volkswagen Beetle as the "new car" of the Bumblebee is that the new director looks at the word "feelings" more than anything else. The Bumblebee of the Beetle is a very classic animated image, and I remember when I was a child, my parents bought me a lot of Transformers toys and I was also the only one of the Bumblebee.
▲ Bumblebee toy
If Michael Bay's version of "Transformers" is realistic, then this new work is definitely called cartoonism, and the bumblebee after the transformation is not as sharp as the previous ones. When watching the first few movies, I always jumped, "If the autobot bends down or clenches his fists, will the metal gaps on his body clip to the hair or the flesh on his body, and the protruding parts will not poke the protagonist...". The new version of Bumblebee is a completely new visual style, the overall shape is quite animated version of the charm, and the more cartoon shape looks particularly "harmless", thanks to the already rounded lines of the volkswagen beetle.
▲Comparison chart
Director Michael Bay actually added a small Easter egg to the first part, or it can be said to be a tribute. When Sam went to pick out a used car, there was a yellow Volkswagen Beetle parked next to the Camaro Z28, and bumblebee also destroyed the Beetle next to it to ensure that Sam would buy him, and this tribute at the time may have been the original motivation for the preparation of this independent film.
When the first film version of "Transformers" was released in 2007, I went to see the premiere, and when the superheroes stood like they were alive in the real world, the kind of visual shock was rare in recent years. The first time I saw the movie version of the transformation scene, almost everyone in the audience could not control the exclamation mixed with dirty words: "I... x”。
▲ The first "Transformers" poster
However, the expectations of the next few films have decreased year by year, especially when "Transformers: The Last Knight" was released in 2017, the childish plot and embarrassing advertising made people no longer bear it, and the word of mouth plummeted, and the Douban score was only 4.9 points. This seems to have become a business, no longer our feelings, especially china's capital has recharged this film. But even if the reputation of the next few films is very poor, but the box office is still firm, maybe it is like Chinese New Year's Eve dumplings, even if you don't like to eat, you will still eat a few bites, really fragrant.... Paramount Pictures and Hasbro saw the success of the first film and the failures of the next few films, and this "Bumblebee" independent film is trying to abandon the smelly business model and embrace its original historical imprint, which may be what "Transformers" fans want to see. Finally, thanks to the invitation of the imported public for the "Bumblebee Premiere Movie Viewing Event", although the public announced the suspension of the Beetle at the beginning of this year, the return of the "Bug" in "Transformers" can be said to be a strong advertisement for the public without a sense of violation, and perhaps the Beetle will usher in a leap in sales after the suspension of production.