Theme song
From Transformers Wiki
Wherever Transformers goes, it takes with it its theme song. Its lyrics were established in Generation 1, and most Western Transformers shows (Beast Wars, Beast Machines and Prime being the notable exceptions) follow the lyrics, or at the very least an acoustic pattern matching them. No two series have ever used the lyrics in the same order.
Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons!
The Transformers! Robots in disguise!
The Transformers! More than meets the eye!
The Transformers!The Generation 1 theme song.
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Generation 1
The original, classic "Generation 1" theme tune by Ford Kinder and Anne Bryant, with its simple, iconic repetition of the brand's rhyming slogans, "More than meets the eye," and "robots in disguise," has formed the basis of most Western Transformers theme tunes. Accompanying the title sequence and being used as both the opening theme of the animated series and in the multitude of toy commercials over the years, it's pretty much burned into the mind of every thirty-to-forty something year old in the English-speaking western world, and maybe their parents as well. You say to someone, "Transformers?" and it's not unlikely that you'll have them jingle back "Ro-bots in dis-guise!"
Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of the series feature their own distinct renditions of the theme tune. Season 2's version was mostly different but the tune and lyrics remain unchanged. Season 3's version is especially distinguished by the unusual "Ah-aah!" chant which is a chorus tune that runs throughout it, and being offbeat compared to those of earlier seasons, which suits Season 3's grim and sci fi orientated nature. (Season 4, having only three episodes, used the previous season's theme.) The original studio recording of the season 1 version of the theme, without the post-production processing and effects that were used for the broadcast version, can be found on the 2018 LP release Hasbro Studios Presents 80s TV Classics: Music From The Transformers.
For The Transformers: The Movie, composer Vince DiCola created several new versions of the tune (featuring instrumental pieces included in other parts of the movie's score), sung by Ed Frugé, Gary Falcone and Stan Bush, although ultimately, the finished movie used a power metal arrangement by Lion with additional verses in between the familiar chorus.
Various iterations of the theme were incorporated into many pieces of the show's stock background music, which was composed by Robert J. Walsh. The show's commercial bumpers used the theme song as well.
The closing theme of the first two seasons had a different orchestration, dominated by guitar and horn. An instrumental version of the Season 3 theme was used as the closing theme of that season and Season 4.
Generation 2
Generation 2 had a new theme arranged by Kinder & Company. This theme was more orchestral-sounding, and retained only the "robots in disguise" opening of the original theme.
Beast Era
As the first new Transformers cartoons since Generation 1, Beast Wars and Beast Machines featured new theme tunes that owed nothing to the original; in years to come, this would make them the distinct exceptions amongst their animated brethren. Beast Wars features an instrumental theme tune with occasional roaring shouts of "Beast Wars!" (unless you lived in Canada, in which case they were shouting "Beasties!"). The theme was composed by Robert Buckley, who composed and performed all of the show's background music as well. The motifs of the Beast Wars theme show up in many scenes during the show itself.
During the episode The Agenda (Part 2), Decepticon-turned-Predacon Ravage turns on the Maximals, declares "Decepticons Forever!" and transforms to his G1 cassette-mode, slotting into a control panel. For this brief moment of uber-fan-wank, Mainframe wanted to briefly insert the original G1 theme, but were unable to acquire the rights. Instead Ravage's transformation was set to the original G1 transformation sound, and lo, there was much rejoicing.
Beast Machines stands out even further, having licensed the pre-existing song, Leftfield's "Phat Planet," to serve as its theme, though with several additional SFX such as animal snarls and gunfire for the background. However, Buckley continued to supply background music for the show itself, though it had more of a hip-hop/techno feel than its predecessor. Another song related to Beast Machines, "Evolution Revolution," was produced by Fox Kids for use in preview materials but was not heard in the series itself.
Robots In Disguise (2001)
The fandom just about wet itself when Robots in Disguise became the first cartoon since Generation 1 to employ a variation of the classic theme tune, although there were a few surprises along the way. First, an mp3 of what appeared to be the new theme tune was released online, but when the series actually debuted, everyone was a bit surprised to discover that its theme was an entirely different variation of the G1 theme, most notable for adding the new line, "Change before your eyes," in place of "more than meets the eye." The mp3 turned out to be the new commercial jingle by Marc S. Pearlman, which featured in commercials for all subsequent lines. The actual opening theme used in the show was arranged by Saban mainstay Paul Gordon; an extended version of the theme song could at one time be heard on his website, Stay Awake Music; that site no longer exists, but the song can still be heard here.
The Unicron Trilogy
Armada followed this trend, featuring a trance version of the classic theme, sans lyrics (with a narrator lecturing the audience on the premise of the show instead). A second arrangement, however, was included as an "insert song" during episodes, and featured the traditional "more than meets the eye" and "robots in disguise" lines. The Armada video game, meanwhile, included a stirring orchestral version of the theme composed by Ric Formosa, in addition to a metal version by Dropbox, an odd techno version by Regurgitator, and a funk version by The Brown Hornet, the latter of which was used over the end credits.
The Energon cartoon's theme featured another new version of the classic theme, this time with lyrics, the transformation sound mixed in at various points, and a keyboard solo during the middle eight. The vocal track is actually re-used from the previously mentioned Robots in Disguise toy commercials. The name of the show is also announced at the end of the song.
Cybertron offered a unique version of the tune by British DJ Paul Oakenfold, with energetic shouts of the brand and faction names. It also includes a narration by Optimus Prime, explaining how the Autobots have to find the Cyber Planet Keys and namedropping several members of the Autobot team. Perhaps most significantly, it featured the return of the long-lost line, "Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons"—albeit simply spoken by Oakenfold during the middle-eight, rather than sung.
Live-action films
As part of the viral marketing for the live-action movie, an mp3 of Linkin Park soundalikes "DECEPTIBOT" performing a song that included the classic theme as a chorus was released online. The song also featured a roll call of the Autobots in the movie while excluding Jazz as... well, we all know what happened to Jazz. This song didn't feature in the movie or on the soundtrack, though. Instead, MuteMath performed a whiny and emo laid back version of the tune for the soundtrack, although it didn't appear in the film itself. Ironically, the Deceptibot theme does appear in the IMAX extended cut of the film, though none of the lyrics are heard.
In 2009, the Revenge of the Fallen soundtrack featured a cover of Lion's version of the Transformers theme song by the American band Cheap Trick.
Animated
Transformers Animated continued this tradition with yet another new variation of the theme by Andy Sturmer and Sebastian Evans II, including an entirely new rhyming couplet, "More than they appear/Justice, bolts, and gears!" However, because the opening credits had to be shortened from one minute down to thirty seconds, this new verse had to be omitted from the final broadcast version of the opening. The full, uncut theme song is available on the DVD that comes in the Optimus Prime vs. Megatron - The Battle Begins 2-pack, and was available for download in mp3 format on Hasbro's website.
Prime
Prime on the other hand, eschewed the theme for a classical composition by Brian Tyler (which goes for more of a "Hollywood blockbuster movie theme" vibe similar to Steve Jablonsky's "Arrival to Earth" from the 2007 Transformers movie's score or Michael Giacchino's "Enterprising Young Men" from the 2009 Star Trek film, both of which Orci and Kurtzman were also involved with). The "Darkness Rising" mini-series didn't have an opening theme, only showing the title and development credits following the cold open. The theme was re-recorded for Season 3 in line with the Beast Hunters subline, and was dropped for the final three episodes of the series, starting with "Persuasion", reverting to just the title and development credits of "Darkness Rising", presumably to save screentime during these final episodes. Years later, Tyler would incorporate motifs from this theme into his score for Transformers One.
Rescue Bots
Rescue Bots also did its own thing, opting for a rock/pop opening composed by the show's incidental musicians, husband and wife team Starr Parodi and Jeff Eden Fair. The lyrics, written by Nicole Dubuc and sung by Marianas Trench front-man Josh Ramsay, describe the show's premise.
At the climax of the musical episode "I Have Heard the Robots Singing", the main cast sings a revamped version of the theme song.
The show's sequel, Rescue Bots Academy, has a different, shorter and more dramatic theme to it. Unlike Rescue Bots, Rescue Bots Academy features a short roll call of the main cast partway through the song. Doug Califano composed the theme, with vocals by Zach Allen.
Robots in Disguise (2015)
The theme for the 2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon uses the original Transformers theme as a jumping off point for a composition of its own, suspense-building with rising horns and a meaty guitar riff at the end. Kevin Kiner rearranged the theme for the show.
Cyberverse
Cyberverse features a new track dominated by heavy guitars, though it still ends on the familiar call of "more than meets the eye". The track was composed by Max Repka and Toonocracy LLC.
BotBots
The BotBots cartoon features an upbeat techno-pop theme that describes the show's basic backstory and premise, placing heavy emphasis on the line's core concept of "literally anything could secretly be a tiny robot." The theme was composed by Igor Correia and Jeff Milutinovic of TV music production group The Wilders.
EarthSpark
The EarthSpark's cartoon's opening titles are a few seconds long, so there is only time for a few synthwave notes overlaid with sound effects including the transformation noise. This is in line with the series' score, which is composed and recorded by electronica producers Crush Effect.
Theme songs in other countries
There are many Japanese themes, with different openings and closings for each series. Many different performers have contributed songs over the years. One of the songs is totally about how Star Saber wet the bed as a kid. Seriously. The opening for Car Robots ("Honō no Overdrive ~Car Robot Cybertron~" performed by Kōji Wada) has the lyrics "Go Boy! Convoy!" It's kind of dubious. Interestingly enough, Legends of the Microns' "Transformer: Dream Again" features the phrase "More than Meets the Eye" uttered just before the refrain, while Galaxy Force's "CALL YOU... Kimi to Boku no Mirai" has the phrase "Robots in Disguise" during the bridge in the full version.
France kept almost all the original openings. The Beast Machines French opening just removed the voice shouting "Beast Machines!" when the logo appears. However, the Rescue Bots, Rescue Bots Academy and BotBots opening theme songs were translated and sang in French. For the dubs of the Unicron Trilogy, the English theme songs were used (with the talking parts translated in French), since the three cartoons were dubbed from the English dub version rather than the original Japanese. Curiously, in the Cybertron opening, the moment when Optimus Prime names the various Autobots one by one is replaced by him saying "I know I can count on the dedication and loyalty of all of you to achieve this goal".
The French-Canadian one uses the same music as the original Season 1 theme song, but with the lyrics translated to French.
In Germany, the Animated theme song is the same, but translated into German. This makes Animated the first Transformers series to air there with a German theme instead of the original.
Italy kept the original openings for most of the series, except for the Generation 2 cartoon, Beast Wars, the DVD release of Robots in Disguise, later reruns of Energon and the first season of Prime, which got brand new openings. Also, the TV broadcast of Robots in Disguise used an instrumental version of the English opening.
