How would you have done "Optimus Prime: Awakening"?

[Jackpot]

Not sure if this thread belongs in the Art Institute forum, since it's pretty much fanfic. I thought it should at least be separate from the TF:TM 40th Anniversary thread because that's got enough going on in it. Mods, feel free to move this wherever you think it goes.

It is the year 2025. John Hasbro has put you in charge of creating an animated post-credits short for next year's 40th anniversary theatrical re-release of TF:TM. You have Cullen, Welker, a handful of other VAs, a CGI animation studio, access to the archives of TF shows and movies to pull clips from, and 12 minutes of screen time. What do you do with it?

My cheeky answer is a re-creation of the Ferris Bueller end credits, with a bedraggled Galvatron being picked up by a passing ship full of Junkions (who of course would be genre-aware enough to commit to the bit). Per the original, Galvy wouldn't speak, but Welker would voice Wreck-Gar as the driver, as he did in the character's toy commercial. "Hey Mr. Decepticon, what's going on? Did you get in a fight?" (Another VA can say "Energon goodie? It's been in my manifold, they're real warm and soft.") One of the Junkions is holding a folder with "SAVE OPTIMUS" written on it. After the ship flies away, cut to Optimus in a bathrobe, telling the audience to go home. End on the Paramount logo but with Mt. St. Hilary.

The original sequence takes 4 minutes, so I don't know what I would do with the other 8. But man, wouldn't that be great?

I also have a more serious answer, detailed below. I banged it out in one go, probably not going to edit it - just wanted to get it out of my head. I haven't seen the actual short, but from what I can tell from the TFWiki summary and the chatter in the movie re-release thread, it's kind of similar. Maybe an improvement, though? You be the judge:

---

Open on a black screen and the audio of Galvatron saying "First Prime, then Ultra Magnus, now you," but with a slight garbling on it, like it's being heard through water and/or a bad transmission. As his next line is spoken, the movie clip comes into focus in an effects-y way, like it's also being seen through a distortion. When Hot Rod grabs the Matrix and it lights up, the camera zooms into it, and for a moment all that's seen is rays of blue light. The camera continues moving and turning such that we can see that the rays are streaming in one direction, like speed-lines. The camera settles on a shot of Optimus' CGI head in profile, parallel to the direction of the beams, as he says, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." (No music - all we hear is dialogue and sound effects.)

The camera rotates again, showing that he's seeing a CGI-rendered version of Hot Rod turning into Rodimus and fighting Galvatron. When Rodimus drops the Matrix, the field of blue rays fades out. During the fade-out, cut to a frontal view of Optimus' face as the audio of the fight continues but grows quieter. Behind Optimus, indistinct figures step into view. They're arranged in a way that echoes the vision of the Primes from "Revenge of the Fallen", but the silhouettes are based on the models of the narrators from the FFoD history lesson. One of them comes close enough to put his hand on Optimus' shoulder.

"Well done, good and faithful Prime," he says. "The Autobots' darkest hour has been illuminated."

"That's it, then? I've served my purpose, and now I take my place in the lineage of Primes?"

"As we all have done. Had we not, you would not. And had you not, Rodimus would not be able to serve his own purpose now."

Optimus continues to look off-camera, listening to the slightly muffled, echo-y sound of Rodimus's final line about "a new age of peace and happiness."

"Did I do enough to prepare him? To prepare all of them? Surely the Decepticons will return. If only the war could be ended so easily, and nothing but peace and happiness were ahead."

"You doubt yourself? Don't you remember?"

"Remember?"

Effects-y cut to a rapid-fire montage of season 1 & 2 still frames, settling on one that looks like it could've been from the cartoon but actually isn't. It turns into CGI and begins to animate. A battle scene plays out involving Optimus, Hot Rod, and Megatron, among others. It shows Optimus making a pivotal mistake that nearly gives Megatron the win, but with Hot Rod's help, the Autobots scrape out a victory anyway.

Cut back to inside the Matrix. Optimus: "Why did you show me that? My mistake almost let Megatron destroy us all!"

"And yet they stand on a free Cybertron, victorious over the Decepticons and Unicron, celebrating."

"In spite of me!"

"Come now."

Optimus pauses. "If I had been better, the war would've been over eons ago."

"If perfection were possible, there would never have been a war at all. Do you think your purpose was to introduce perfection into the universe?"

Optimus is silent.

"If they'd had a perfect leader until this moment, making the best decision for them every time, where would they be without you now?"

Optimus looks back in the direction of where he'd been watching Rodimus. "Lost."

"And yet they stand in triumph. How did they do that?"

Beat. "Together." Beat. "Imperfectly."

The predecessor nods. "Who taught them to do that? And what better lesson could Rodimus carry forward?"

Optimus lifts his head up in silence, his blue optics sparkling. After a few beats, he says, "So that's it, then? Time to take my place?"

"You've always been in your place. That place is here now. It may yet be back there again. But of the future, even we do not know. What we know is this: The hour is bright, and the forces of evil have lost the day."

"And when the forces of evil come back..."

"Do you have faith in the Autobots? In your human friends?"

"How could I not?"

The predecessor smiles. "As we had faith in you. And as our faith proved justified."

Optimus turns fully toward the other Primes, his posture straightening. "Till all are one."

"Till all are one!" they cheer.

Effects-y pan away from the Primes through clouds and streaks of bright color. Fade to starfield. Pan ends on the surface of a cratered planetoid. Pan across a lava-filled crater, then to tracks on the ground leading out of it. Pan ends on a singed, battered Galvatron walking with a limp. A spaceship enters the frame, and a hatch opens. Wreck-Gar looks out from inside. "Oh Yeah" by Yello begins playing.

 

[Platypus Prime]

I haven't seen it yet but

Quintesson: "He's alive! HE'S ALIVE!!"
Optimus: "Five more minutes.." *blindly flails till he accidentally bashes in the Quintesson's head, rolls over, and goes back to sleep*

 

[lastmaximal]

I tossed out some ideas in the 40th Tour thread. Mostly, Cullen's passing or not, I'd have gone for something that went for closure and a tribute, with a bit of meta commentary about how Prime's death becomes A Thing, but that the need for him himself to literally personally return and fight and die can be superseded by how he metaphorically lives on in everyone his legend and sacrifice inspires.

Maybe play with the idea of various dead OPs meeting in a multiversal waiting room sort of thing a la the "Prime Spark" short story. Or something inspired by "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader", where it's deliberately about Batman's death an ambiguous continuity that is eventually suggested to be all of them.

I kind of want to add a little bit inspired by that latter story, which ends with Bruce being read Goodnight Moon by his mother, extending it to say good night to Alfred, Robin, the cave, the bad guys, and so on... his reward for his sacrifice is to be Batman again, but after ending this run. Maybe here, after meeting the others and seeing the breadth of his scope and role, Optimus' spark and essence can visit others in a vision that they don't discuss with others, just hold to themselves. Just to concretize on screen what he was to them, and how he knew his soldiers by name, rather than just faceless conscripts to feed into the war machine.

(The visual struck me of Rodimus visiting the Matrix every now and then just to replay "Arise, Rodimus Prime"... Not in a self-aggrandizing way like his IDW persona might, but just in a "dad's last voice mail" kind of way to boost his confidence when he needs it. But I'm not sure how to work it in there and keep the focus on Optimus.)

 

[CoffeeHorse]

(The visual struck me of Rodimus visiting the Matrix every now and then just to replay "Arise, Rodimus Prime"... Not in a self-aggrandizing way like his IDW persona might, but just in a "dad's last voice mail" kind of way to boost his confidence when he needs it. But I'm not sure how to work it in there and keep the focus on Optimus.)

You're on to something. Maybe that's what this needed to be. A short that did what Season 3 failed to do, giving Rodimus Prime a Matrix vision with a grand pep talk from Optimus Prime, and having him actually take it to heart for a change and proceed to kick righteous ass in some battle with Galvatron.

But that would still be an odd addendum to a movie that ends with Rodimus easily beating Galvatron and hurling him out into space.

Maybe what we needed wasn't a post-show, but a pre-show. Our long overdue equivalent of what Japanese audiences got with Scramble City. A little pre-movie adventure that contains an encounter between Optimus Prime and Hot Rod. Something that has Optimus Prime do the grand speechifying he's been stuck doing since 2007 because Peter Cullen was so very good at it, but that lets him do it in dad mode for a change. Something that previews Hot Rod's potential while giving Optimus Prime a reason to give him an inspirational lecture.

Done right, it could totally reframe Hot Rod's "I've got to help Prime" moment that let to the whole stupid apology tour.

 

[lastmaximal]

I've just always wanted to have that little moment, that bit of acknowledging Rodimus' being thrust into leadership and needing that validation, while also providing a bit more connective tissue between Primes -- and the "arise/"Optimus..." line in the moment is the perfect thing to build on. But you're right about this not really being as useful IN the moment. That's why I was angling for repurposing the FFOD Matrix vision quests into something less lethal (maybe after going in a couple of times he found a more meditative way to commune with the Matrix and past leaders that didn't involve being near death) and more personal. Like, when he's beset by doubts, or able to let his brave facade down, he can draw on Optimus' most recent words to him for strength. But, again, that shifts the focus away from Optimus, and it's more about Rodimus' journey, so that may belong more in its own text, which is fine.

I like the idea of a pre-Movie encounter between Optimus and Hot Rod, similar to that one prequel comic (the Madman one, I think). Maybe Hot Rod uncharacteristically hesitates and things nearly go awry because of it, and Optimus tells him to trust his instincts or something else dripping with dramatic irony. But it's kind of in the same boat as the previous idea, something that seems more apt for a separate piece of media rather than a short that seems best positioned to provide a wrap-up or give closure in celebrating a milestone anniversary.

 

[ZakuConvoy]

Maybe just adapt "The Last Days of Optimus Prime", more or less?

The Last Days of Optimus Prime - Transformers Wiki

tfwiki.net

Optimus "wakes up" all alone in a place he doesn't know. He slowly starts to meet a bunch of old friends and foes who have already passed on. But, each one keeps running off into "the mist" and leaving him alone again. Then he realizes that he's dead.

...Then there's a reveal that they're all working on something together. A "great work", that's kept vague and mysterious. Something like Autobot City, but something you need a bunch of Trasnformers to help build. And then Optimus starts pitching in. Autobots and Decepticons all working together in the afterlife on some mysterious project all together.

You could do something with that. Really pull on the heartstrings. I guess that's really nothing like "The Last Days of Optimus Prime", but I'm going more for those kind of vibes?

 

[Jackpot]

I like the idea of a pre-Movie encounter between Optimus and Hot Rod, similar to that one prequel comic (the Madman one, I think). Maybe Hot Rod uncharacteristically hesitates and things nearly go awry because of it, and Optimus tells him to trust his instincts or something else dripping with dramatic irony.

Yeah, that was part of my motivation behind the flashback scene I dropped in the middle of the conversation between the Primes - something that establishes more of a history between Hot Rod and Optimus, and also provides an opportunity for action that the dialogue-heavy rest of my idea didn't (not to mention the presence of Megatron). But I like your dramatic-irony twist, where Optimus encourages Hot Rod's impulsiveness in some way that directly relates to what he does to "help" Optimus in the movie. Or maybe the "mistake" I gestured at Optimus making involves him being too resistant to receiving help, and when Hot Rod defies orders to save him, the day is saved as well.

Maybe just adapt "The Last Days of Optimus Prime", more or less?

The Last Days of Optimus Prime - Transformers Wiki

tfwiki.net

Optimus "wakes up" all alone in a place he doesn't know. He slowly starts to meet a bunch of old friends and foes who have already passed on. But, each one keeps running off into "the mist" and leaving him alone again. Then he realizes that he's dead.

...Then there's a reveal that they're all working on something together. A "great work", that's kept vague and mysterious. Something like Autobot City, but something you need a bunch of Trasnformers to help build. And then Optimus starts pitching in. Autobots and Decepticons all working together in the afterlife on some mysterious project all together.

You could do something with that. Really pull on the heartstrings. I guess that's really nothing like "The Last Days of Optimus Prime", but I'm going more for those kind of vibes?

Running with the "Last Days" vibes... A complaint I've seen about the actual short is that Welker isn't up to playing Megatron the way he used to. For that matter, going by Cullen's other recent performances, there was only so much he could do to make up for his own age as well. I feel like there must be a good story idea that could roll with that, where the characters have "aged", insofar as TFs are capable of ageing. But then there's the problem of Megs having been turned into Galvatron. Could there be an Anakin/Vader angle?

Another complication is the strong rumor that the short was meant to kick off a series, likely tied into next year's toyline. That adds a set of unclear requirements in the mix. Hasbro released the Decepticon Bumblebee figure lickety-split; I wonder if that idea had come before the short was developed.

 

[Jackpot]

Another cheeky idea: All the "missing" characters (Snarl, the '85 cars, Scramble City combiners, etc.) stroll into this scene and ask what they missed.

 

[Jackpot]

It probably would've been too expensive/complicated to do in CGI, but a whole string of "bloopers"/"deleted scenes" could be fun. Also, a way to roll with Cullen and Welker's age could be to animate "interviews" with them as robot actors looking back at their early work, with names at the bottom of the screen like "Actorbot 540-X7" and "Thespiatron 9000". CGI is used for the interviews and "behind-the-scenes" footage, such as outtakes and moments between filming. It could be suggested that the look of the original cel animation is the result of post-production CGI effects - like, you see a scene being "filmed" in CGI (the robot actors against a green-screen), then you see the "actors" watching the cel-animated clip of it, and they're talking about how amazing the computer effects are.

 

[Haywire]

I've not seen the actual short, but I think any short I would have made would have been Optimus and Megatron either sharing energon drinks in Maccadams or watching clips from the G1 toon on a couch on Junk, reminiscing and maybe ribbing each other in a good-natured way. At some point, Megatron says that while he inspired obedience through fear, Optimus inspired hope and future leaders (like Rodimus Prime, Optimus Primal, and maybe Victory Sabre), even going so far as to admit that Optimus may have inspired him a few times. They end shaking hands, and walking away from the camera together, enemies no more, maybe with a Rodimus Prime voice-over of "Till All are One".

 

[lastmaximal]

Love that.

Give me a cozy little Maccadams wind down, ending on a note similar to Batman and Commissioner Gordon on New Year's Eve.



"Maybe I'll win in the next lifetime."
"Maybe I'll win MORE."
"Maybe you will, Megatron."
(Clink)

 

[Jackpot]

"Maybe I'll win in the next lifetime."
"Maybe I'll win MORE."
"Maybe you will, Megatron."
(Clink)

Makes me think of the "Chaos Theory" IDW issues, with the two having a conversation while Megatron is imprisoned. That's more in retrospect, but similar idea.

I think any short I would have made would have been Optimus and Megatron either sharing energon drinks in Maccadams or watching clips from the G1 toon on a couch on Junk, reminiscing and maybe ribbing each other in a good-natured way.

That reminds me, one of the visuals that had popped into my head when I was thinking up ideas was of Junkions watching the music video for "Dare to Be Stupid". (Or, barring rights issues, them listening to the cover of it from the "Reformatted" soundtrack album.)

 

[KingSwoop]

Rather than the esoteric, multiverse nonsense, I think you do Snake Way.

You have Optimus go on a quest, fight some "lost souls" in the afterworld, and then return to see Skylinx over him from that one G1 episode.

It's the afterlife, so time might not be linear, but you can have Prime swarmed by some Insecticons that got gobbled up that one time, maybe retcon that Prime did away with some filler redecos from MTMTE... you know, choose a sweep color scheme, give him a name and then have him flash back to Optimus reluctantly killing him to save his friends. Maybe at the end we see Megatron standing over the bodies of Orion Pax's friends and Optimus beats him, but chooses not to kill him, which reveals the McGuffin that lets him return? "I want to end you, but doing that won't bring back those we lost." Yadda yadda.

 

[The Phazer]

Personally?

I'd have tried to do something with Rodimus in his quarters after the events of the movie, somewhat crushed by his self doubt and asking Optimus for advice. Optimus may have recounted some of his early experiences fighting Megatron, but reiterated that he wasn't the "Optimus Prime" Hot Rod knew straight away, but grew into it over time with the help of those around him. You can use those recounted Megatr

Rodimus might have countered with speaking about the friends he's lost, cutting to some of the scenes from Autobot City that were dropped from the film but we have storyboards for (sorry Mirage, we probably rcannonise you dying, haha).

Optimus would have some wise words about how it was part of the job that you had to cope with death, but that it was important to value life and be a leader and not just a warrior, and to tell Rodimus that he believed in him. To do the right thing with the time you have.

I'd have left if Optimus was a figment of Rodimus's imagination, or a ghost through the Matrix, or whatever, pretty ambigous. At the end Rodimus would turn round and Optimus would be gone, but Rodimus would remark he was glad to have the wisdom of those who came before and how he'd try his best.

So more of a character piece that fits the actual film itself, not so much the multiversal mess we got that tries to be too meta for it's own good.