Why TRANSFORMERS ONE Was a Risky Career Move for Its Director
Movieguide® Contributor
When TRANSFORMERS ONE director Josh Cooley left Pixar for greener pastures, it was just before COVID-19 hit and left the entertainment industry at a standstill.
“I don’t have health insurance for my family anymore. Did I just make the worst decision of all time?” Cooley recalled his thoughts at the time.
“He did have one thing in his pocket,” The Hollywood Reporter said. “That previous Friday afternoon, he quietly signed on to direct an animated TRANSFORMERS feature for Paramount Animation, a move that could be seen as risky, since the last time an animated TRANSFORMERS movie hit theaters back in 1986, things didn’t go so well.”
But eventually, things fell into place, and five years later the fruit of his labor, TRANSFORMERS ONE, is in theaters. It boasts the cast of Chris Hemsworth, Michael-Keegan Key and Brian Tyree Henry.
“The reviews have been most excellent. And perhaps surprisingly for a movie with “TRANSFORMERS” in the title, it is generating awards buzz,” THR said.
Part of Movieguide®’s review reads:
TRANSFORMERS ONE is a spectacular animated movie about the origins of the epic battle between the good Autobots and the evil Decepticon robots. On the planet Cybertron, a lowly mining robot, Orion Pax, and his friend, D-16, discover a holographic map to the missing Matrix of Leadership. The Matrix is a device that may help them awaken the power of their creator, Primus, the source of the liquid energon that fuels robotkind and their machines. It’s much easier to use the liquid form of the material than to mine the solid ore. However, Orion Pax also discovers their planet is ruled by a deceitful tyrannical government. A great war ensures.
TRANSFORMERS ONE tells an exciting, well-written, crowd-pleasing, often funny story. The animation is amazing, and the characters are well-crafted. TRANSFORMERS ONE also has strong allegorical situations and themes reflecting Biblical, Christian, morally uplifting, conservative values. It promotes sacrifice, fighting totalitarian tyranny, individual liberty, and self-determination. There’s also a powerful death and resurrection scene. However, TRANSFORMERS ONE has lots of strong action violence with large robots battling one another and some light foul language.
Except for some language and violence, the movie proves to be a redeemable movie with allegorical Christian values acceptable for families with older children. The values could have been strengthened had there been softer language. The movie came out Sept. 20 and brought in $39m worldwide over the weekend.
Movies with strong family values attract more moviegoers. This is proven with hits like SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, PADDINGTON, THE PARENT TRAP and the first live-action Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS (2007), which won a Movieguide® Teddy Bear Award®.
Of TRANSFORMERS ONE, Cooley told Wired, “I read the script for TRANSFORMERS ONE, and I was like, oh, being that it’s an origin story, it was unlike anything that TRANSFORMERS had done before. I love the idea of the relationship between these characters. I was like, ‘I have to do this.’”
“I’ve made movies with cars and toys and emotions. Those aren’t us, but they have human characteristics. And I think that’s why those movies work so well. It doesn’t matter what they are, they’re feeling like you and people can connect to them. Why can’t I do that with Transformers?” he said of his thought process.
He told IGN he wanted to make the movie for “everyone,” which is why it has some lighthearted and comedic moments.
“Because it’s an origin story, it was like, I want to make a movie not just for fans, but for everyone. You don’t need to know anything about Transformers and you can start watching this film and enjoy it,” he said.
Now with TRANSFORMERS ONE crossed off his list, the director, who has extensive experience with Pixar working on movies like TOY STORY 4, UP and RATATOULLIE, looks forward to the next big thing.
“I just want to keep making great movies and telling great stories, whether that’s live action, animated, sock puppets. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of what people are expecting,” he added. “I was obsessed with Roger Rabbit. I’d love to do a hybrid at some point…”
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