Beast Wars: How Faithful Is Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts To The Cartoon?
Contains spoilers for "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"
After the success of the "Transformers" cartoon and toy line, Hasbro needed to mix things up. In 1996, a new line of heroes and villains debuted on the scene with "Beast Wars: Transformers," which saw the Maximals, robots that can turn into metal animals, take on the ferocious Terrorcons. It was the dawn of a new era for the franchise, and these new alien races finally make the leap to a live-action setting with "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts."
However, this is far from a faithful adaptation of the "Beast Wars" series many people grew up with. For starters, "Beast Wars" takes place 300 years after the events of "The Transformers" show, with the Maximals being direct descendants of Autobots. Optimus Primal comes from Optimus Prime's lineage. In the new movie, Maximals live at the same time as Autobots, with the explanation for the similar names being that Optimus Primal was named after the great warrior Optimus Prime. On top of that, the original cartoon depicts the Maximals as much smaller than Autobots, but they're roughly the same size in the film.
Arguably the biggest discrepancy comes in the Maximals' designs. When they originated, their standard form was that of humanoid robots, and they would transform into animals, much like how Autobots turn into cars. However, that's changed in "Rise of the Beasts," where their standard forms are robot versions of Earth animals, but they can Maximize to get some extra armor. Suffice it to say, "Rise of the Beasts" is by no means a one-to-one adaptation of "Beast Wars," and those changes might be for the best.
The Maximals' story is streamlined to make sense within the film franchise's continuity
"Beast Wars" ran for three seasons consisting of 52 episodes. Anyone hoping to see any of those storylines make it into "Rise of the Beasts" will be sorely disappointed, as the Maximals pretty much exist to help the Autobots defeat some more evil Transformers. In the case of Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), he shows Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) how it can be mutually beneficial to side alongside the humans.
While some "Beast Wars" fans may be upset that this isn't a true adaptation of the '90s cartoon, it makes sense why the changes were made to an extent. "Beast Wars" takes place centuries after everyone's favorite Autobots are gone, introducing entirely new characters. Having a "Transformers" movie without Optimus Prime may have been a hard sell to casual audiences, so making the Maximals live simultaneously as Autobots was likely the right move.
As far as the Maximals' designs, it's a good way to differentiate them from Autobots. Otherwise, it would've been a bunch of humanoid robot aliens standing next to each other, possibly confusing people trying to figure out who's who. When their standard forms are giant robot animals, it's easy to tell which ones are Maximals and which are Autobots.
And who knows? If audiences respond well to "Rise of the Beasts," there's plenty of potential for sequels and spin-offs. Optimus Primal could lead his own war against the forces of evil with his Maximals, completely separate from the mainstay "Transformers" franchise. Ultimately, it's understandable if some people are bummed about not getting a proper "Beast Wars" adaptation, but this also likely means there will never be a live-action adaptation of "Beast Machines," which everyone should be thankful for.