Transformers – The Beginning: “It’s the most human story in the franchise”

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After seven live-action films between 2007 and 2023, which generated more than $5.3 billion at the global box office, the franchise Transformers is now experiencing a new chapter with Transformers: The Beginningscreened in French theaters on Wednesday October 23, 2024.

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This animated film returns to the origins of cult characters Optimus Prime and Megatron, as well as the popular toys created in 1984. In addition to our review of the upcoming film, The Digitals was able to speak with Josh Cooley, at the helm of this new animated feature film.

Interview with Josh Cooley

Josh Cooley began his professional career at Pixar in 2003 as an intern. He then climbed the ranks and collaborated in particular on the storyboards and scripts of films. The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille or even Up there.

Having signed the short films George and A.J., Mini Buzz And First meetinghe writes the screenplays for Vice Versa in 2015, then Toy Story 4 which he co-directed and won him the Oscar for best animated film in 2020.

Transformers: The Beginning is the first feature film he directed solo.

The project has been in development for more than 10 years. What convinced you to make the film?

When I read the script, I saw that it was totally different from the previous films Transformers. It takes place on Cybertron, no humans are involved… And then, the story of this relationship between Megatron and Optimus, before they became enemies, really excited me. It's the most human story in the franchise, precisely because of this friendship.

It's totally different from the previous Transformers films.

Josh Cooley

The film is both a origin storyA reboot of the franchise, a return to the spirit of the 1980s… How did you manage to reconcile these imposing specifications?

I think that was the main challenge of the film. We had to find the balance between a film Transformers and what that means for fans of the franchise, but also tell a story not too steeped in mythology, so that audiences who don't know it can understand everything. It was also necessary to find the right balance between drama, comedy and action. It was a lot of experimentation.

How did you develop the particular aesthetic of the film, between realism and a cartoon aspect?

I love New York City and its art deco style with the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building… It's a celebration of the grandiose. And I always felt like that aesthetic was designed by robots. We were also inspired by films like Metropolis[de Fritz Lang et sorti en 1927, NDLR] and paintings by JC Leyendecker. He paints humans in a very statuesque and expressive way. I wanted to bring a little bit of that as well so that the characters weren't just rigid robots.

I always felt like the art deco aesthetic was designed by robots.

Josh Cooley

How did your experience at Pixar and the Toy Story franchise help you on the film?

I think a key element of Pixar's success is that even if the characters are cars or rats or toys, inside they are human. They have human emotions and they are complex. This is an element that I absolutely wanted to bring to the film, and to seize this opportunity to show Megatron before he was evil, with this friendship that links him to Optimus Prime.

After 18 years at Pixar, this is your first film for another studio (Industrial Light & Magic), which is historically a special effects company. Has ILM’s DNA changed anything in the way you work?

The big difference is that ILM is not the same company as Paramount, it is only a supplier. Whereas at Pixar, everything is done in the same building with all the animators in the same place. So it's still very similar, but I think it was really exciting and liberating for the animators at ILM because they were able to work on fiction. I loved being able to tell them: “Surprise me, show me something, help me understand this character.”

Watch the trailer for Transformers: The Beginning :

You are fans of the saga Transformers ? Almost all of the films in the franchise (with the exception of Rise Of The Beasts) is available on streaming platforms Prime Video And Paramount+.

As a reminder, Paramount+ programs are offered on Canal+ and myCanal from the first subscription level.