IMAGINATIVE TRANSFORMATIONS: More than meets the Eye
Tinseltown’s "Transformers" have been tearing up movie screens all week as heroic Autobots and nasty Decepticons battle for supremacy around the world, from New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range (standing in for the Middle Eastern emirate of Qatar) to our very own Hoover Dam.
Now, it’s time for Southern Nevada’s own shape-shifting alien combatants to roll out and flex their mechanical muscles.
They may resemble familiar objects — a race car, a helicopter, even a humble backyard barbecue grill.
Once the transformation kicks in, however, the masquerade is over — and these creatures reveal their true identities as living robots, ready to play their roles in the epic clash between good and evil.
The Review-Journal received 15 entries in our first (and, let’s face it, our last) create-your-own-Transformer contest for kids 4 to 12, launching everything from Tracktron to Skatertron upon us unsuspecting humans.
Entries introduced, among others, a red-winged, antennaed Decepticon named Fantimbot — to say nothing of a well-armed, 40-foot Autobot, Fireball, equipped with a rocket pod, a hypersonic electroclaw, a trinearostrangilizer (we’re still not sure what that does) and, should all else fail, 20 low-tech smokebombs.
The five winning designs display even more imagination, with the young artists executing out-of-this-world metamorphoses.
A picture of a lighthouse, for example, inspired 11-year-old Tommy Fullerton, a fifth-grader at Cartwright Elementary School, to turn a towering beacon into a rocket — and then into a Transformer.
Although his rocket-powered robot is unnamed, "he’s a good guy," Tommy comments.
Not so Hayden Williams’ aptly named Darknetron, which masquerades as a helicopter before revealing his treacherous Decepticon self.
"There are not really many other (Transformers) that are a helicopter," says Hayden, explaining his Transformers’ origins. The 12-year-old, who’ll be a seventh-grader at Fertitta Middle School this fall, favors the villainous Decepticons for a simple reason: "I just like how they destroy things."
Both Hayden and Tommy received suggestions from their mothers regarding their creations; so did 8-year-old Holly Piper, soon to be a third-grader at Martha King Elementary School in Boulder City.
Holly’s mom suggested a barbecue grill as the basis for her contest entry.
"For what the Transformer turned into," however, Holly found inspiration from her father, a geologist "who is usually drilling — drills are part of his job."
So drills became a part of her Transformer, which was nameless until Holly thought of one — Drillhead — during her interview for this story.
The idea of transformation, a key part of the Transformers’ appeal, helped spark 12-year-old Lucas Peltier’s entry, the part-submarine, part-sea snake Hydroid.
"It’s cool how first they’re robots, then they’re vehicles," Lucas says of the Transformers’ dual identities. As for what inspired his Hydroid, "I noticed there weren’t that many submarine Transformers," he adds.
An experienced artist, Lucas — who’s home-schooled — has been drawing a cartoon depicting the adventures of a character named Rocket Boy since the age of 5, reports his mother, Renee Peltier.
"Every week, we get a cartoon in the mailbox," she says.
Hayden Williams also draws cartoon characters — including his creations Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Some friends have encouraged him to pursue drawing, "but I’m thinking about becoming something else." (Exactly what, he hasn’t figured out — yet.)
Tommy Fullerton also likes to draw, "but I’m better making stuff up," he says, citing action stories as his favorites.
Another interest — cars — inspired Chandler Williams’ winning entry, Dasher, a NASCAR Transformer.
"I’m kind of a cars person," admits Chandler, who’s been racing go-karts for several years. "I’ve been dreaming of becoming a professional NASCAR driver."
So a NASCAR-style Transformer was a no-brainer, according to the 12-year-old — who turns 13 Friday and will be a seventh-grader at Greenspun Junior High in the fall.
"The hardest part," Chandler says, "probably was figuring out how (Dasher) was going to transform into the car."
Chandler has "a lot of old-fashioned Transformers from a long time ago" — the same Transformers that inspired the 1984 cartoon series, a 1986 animated movie as well as this week’s live-action blockbuster.
As winners in the Review-Journal’s "Create Your Own Transformer" contest, Chandler and his fellow designers receive new toys tied in with this week’s movie launch.
But who knows. Someday, maybe Hasbro, home of the "Transformer" toys, will add Darknetron and Dasher, Drillhead and Hydroid to the lineup.
After all, you can’t keep a good Autobot — or a dastardly Decepticon — down.
See other entries. ON THE WEB Design Your Own Transformer Contest entries page with images of other drawings that were submitted and links to larger versions of each. Movie trailer link
