'Transformers: EarthSpark' Review: A Fun And Fresh New Form
Image Source: Paramount+
Transformers: EarthSpark is more than meets the eye. Initially announced in February and revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in July, the new animated series based on the beloved toy property manages to introduce the franchise to a new generation while also remembering the spark that makes the robots in disguise so endearing. As with most Transformers stories, EarthSpark follows a family on Earth that comes into contact with the titular space mechs. The Malto family, including mother Dorothy “Dot” (Benni Latham), father Alex (Jon Jon Briones), son Robby (Sydney Mikayla), and daughter Morgan “Mo” (Zion Broadnax) become wrapped up in the action when the children find an ancient artifact known as the Ember Stone. When Robby and Mo touch the stone, they are met by a pair of newly formed Transformers, whom the kids name Twitch (Kathreen Khavari) and Thrash (Zeno Robinson), and form a deep empathic bond via stones attached to their hands.
Meanwhile, the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Alan Tudyk), are hunting rogue Decepticons with the help of a shadowy government organization known as G.H.O.S.T. Optimus is joined by fellow bots Elita-1 (Cissy Jones), Bumblebee (Danny Pudi), Arcee (Martha Marion), Wheeljack (Michael T. Downey), and none other than Megatron (Rory McCann), who made peace with Optimus at the end of their war and has joined the Autobots in finding the remaining Decepticons. While fighting a new wave of mysterious drones, the Autobots encounter Twitch and Thrash, who are far from mastering their abilities. As such, Optimus allows them to stay with the Maltos and assigns Bumblebee as their trainer to prepare them for battle in the future. While Twitch and Thrash train with Bumblebee and become bonded with their new family, they are sought out by a scientist named Meridian (Diedrich Bader), who wishes to harvest their parts and use them to destroy the Autobots and reignite the war with the Decepticons.
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Image Source: Den of Geek
The majority of the episodes focus on slice-of-life stories rather than action set pieces. Despite lesser amounts of action though, the episodes still manage to entertain while also delivering good messages about family, friendship, and cooperation. While training with Bumblebee, Twitch and Thrash have occasional run-ins with the Autobots, the drones sent by Meridian, and even a few Decepticons, one of which is Swindle (Nolan North), who tries and fails to manipulate Thrash into joining their side. Living up to their namesakes, Twitch and Thrash scan vehicle modes to transform into, with Thrash’s being a motorcycle and Twitch’s being one of Meridian’s drones. Twitch and Thrash are captured by Meridian at one point and manage to escape with the help of the Autobots, with Thrash giving him the nickname “Mandroid” in the process. Twitch and Thrash also evade capture by G.H.O.S.T, who mistake them to be Decepticons, and eventually join the Autobots in a fight against Soundwave (Sean Kenin Reyes) and his mini-cassette minions Frenzy (Tiana Camacho), Ravage, and Laserbeak (Jake Green).
Though Soundwave is captured, he is able to break out from his prison cell with the help of Ravage and prepares to free the rest of the imprisoned Decepticons. Soon after, the Autobots and the Maltos join a celebration of the partnership between the Autobots and G.H.O.S.T but is interrupted by the arrival of Skywarp and Nova Storm (Nicole Dubuc), who assist Mandroid in capturing Megatron and Dot. In turn, the Autobots seek the help of Twitch and Thrash, who lead them to the stone that first created them. Skywarp and Nova Storm attack once more and cause the cave containing the stone to collapse. Fortunately, though, Robby and Mo’s connections with Twitch and Thrash protect them and allow the stone to create three more Transformers. The Transformers are named Hashtag (Stephanie Lemelin), Jawbreaker (Cyrus Arnold), and Nightshade (Z Infante) and join the Maltos in saving their mother and Megatron. While Mandroid prepares to harvest Megatron’s weaponry, Dot escapes and creates a smoke signal to guide the Autobots and her family to Mandroid’s base of operations. After they break into the base and rescue Megatron and Dot, Mandroid’s base transforms into a gigantic mech. Together, the Autobots and the Maltos are able to destroy the mech, forcing Mandroid to flee.
The tenth episode ends on a warm note as Twitch, Thrash, Hashtag, Jawbreaker, and Nightshade are welcomed by the Autobots while they choose to stay with their chosen family. The dynamics between the Malto family are the heart of the series, with Twitch and Thrash becoming siblings to Robby and Mo and ultimately deciding to remain with the Maltos. Each Transformer in the Malto family has a distinctive personality. Twitch is excitable and eager to learn about the world around her, Thrash is rebellious and prefers breaking the rules, Hashtag is bombastic and acts playful even during battle, Jawbreaker is easygoing and tends to go with the flow, and Nightshade is devoted to their new family despite their tendency to be nervous and lose their confidence under stress. The rest of the Maltos are equally endearing, with Robby and Mo being energetic and fun-loving, Alex being a dorky yet caring father, and Dot being stern and protective yet supportive and encouraging. Alex and Dot also seem to have pasts connecting them with the larger story of the Transformers, with Alex having been a former colleague of Mandroid and Dot having previously served in the war with the Decepticons and even having a prosthetic leg from the experience.
Image Source: Den of Geek
Overall, the first ten episodes of Transformers: EarthSpark are a fun and relaxing watch. The focus on slice-of-life stories is unexpected, but nonetheless endearing and effective in establishing the dynamics between the main cast of characters. The action scenes themselves are also well done, with well-paced choreography and touches of hand-drawn animation reminiscent of the Spiderverse series. The music by Crush Effect is equally exciting with elements of synth and techno that suitably fit the retro-future style of the series. The voice cast is very well suited to their characters and brings an abundant amount of energy to their respective roles, with Khavari’s performance as Twitch and Bader’s performance as Mandroid being especially fitting and entertaining. If you’re a longtime Transformers fan and you’re ready to introduce your kids to this gloriously cheesy yet endearingly heartfelt toy commercial of a franchise, then EarthSpark is here. And it’s waiting.
Rating 7/10
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