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Challenge of the GoBots

Challenge of the GoBots

Overview
Challenge of the GoBots (also known as Mighty Machine Men) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. , was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...

, based on the Gobots
Gobots
Gobots was a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Transformers.-History:The Gobot toyline was based on figures produced by Popy of Japan , named Machine Robo...

 toy-line released from Tonka
Tonka
Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 19, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...

. Most of the toys were imported from the Japanese Machine Robo
Machine Robo
is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 1982 by Popy, a division of Bandai, then later by Bandai proper. The franchise was marketed as Robo Machine in Europe, and Machine Men in Australia...

 toy line .

The GoBots originally debuted in animated form as a five-part miniseries, which aired in syndication from October 29 - November 2, 1984.
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Encyclopedia
Challenge of the GoBots (also known as Mighty Machine Men) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. , was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...

, based on the Gobots
Gobots
Gobots was a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Transformers.-History:The Gobot toyline was based on figures produced by Popy of Japan , named Machine Robo...

 toy-line released from Tonka
Tonka
Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 19, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...

. Most of the toys were imported from the Japanese Machine Robo
Machine Robo
is a Japanese transforming robot toyline first released in 1982 by Popy, a division of Bandai, then later by Bandai proper. The franchise was marketed as Robo Machine in Europe, and Machine Men in Australia...

 toy line .

The GoBots originally debuted in animated form as a five-part miniseries, which aired in syndication from October 29 - November 2, 1984. A regular series followed the next year, premiering on September 16, 1985. The series was later rerun on the USA Cartoon Express
USA Cartoon Express
The USA Cartoon Express was a popular television programming block of animation on the USA Network from 1982 to 1996. The Express was the first structured animation block on cable television, predating Nickelodeon's animation blocks by half a decade and Cartoon Network by more than a...

.

Summary


GoBots dealt with two opposing forces of transforming robots from the planet Gobotron: the heroic Guardians and the evil Renegades. The Guardians were led by Leader-1 with others including Turbo and Scooter. The Renegades were led by Cy-Kill
Cy-Kill
Cy-Kill is the name of several fictional characters from the Gobots and Transformers toy line and fiction.- Challenge of the Gobots :In Challenge of the Gobots, Cy-Kill was the leader of the evil Renegades. He was originally a member of the Guardians and friend of Leader-1...

, with Crasher and Cop-Tur among their ranks. The characters rarely had guns, instead shooting energy blasts out of their fists. Unlike Transformers, GoBots had regular female characters. However, the females were built like the males (only Crasher receiving any distinguishable female features). The GoBots' origin as organic beings accounted for the presence of genders among the robots.

The series generally focused on the "lead" three robots from each faction (Leader-1, Turbo and Scooter vs. Cy-Kill, Cop-Tur and Crasher), who were virtually ever-present, with other characters seeming to rotate in "guest-star" roles.

GoBots had no clear divide between the two factions. The characters (as well as the toys) had no identifying insignias or markings to indicate their allegiance, although it was clearly indicated on the packaging. Likewise, there was no commonality of design within each faction.

The only 'theme' to a side was that anything that turned into a 'monstrous' looking robot or vehicle was a Renegade.

Clips from the show were used in Errol Morris
Errol Morris
Errol Morris is an American Academy Award winning documentary film director. In 2003 The Guardian listed him as number seven in their list of the world's 40 best directors.-Early life and education:...

' Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control is a 1997 film by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. It profiles four subjects with extraordinary careers: a lion trainer, a topiary sculptor, a mole rat specialist, and a robot scientist....

.

Plot


Thousands of years ago on the planet GoBotron, there lived a race of human-like beings known as GoBings. Civil war erupted on the planet when the power-hungry terrorist group known as the Renegades arose, led by a madman dubbed the "Master Renegade", who waged war against the peaceful Guardians. When a Renegade sabotage operation inadvertently resulted in a gigantic asteroid colliding with GoBotron, the natural disasters that resulted from the asteroid's impact pushed the GoBings to the verge of extinction. However, the genius who became known as the "Last Engineer" saved his people, taking his experiments to replace parts of his own body with mechanical substitutes to the ultimate extent and transferring the GoBings brains into large robot bodies known as "GoBots". The GoBot forms possessed an additional ability; after being run through the device named the Modifier, the GoBots' bodies were able to transform into other vehicles. His work done, the Last Engineer intended to retreat to a pre-prepared workshop elsewhere in the galaxy, but the Master Renegade stole his ship and escaped in his stead. The Last Engineer placed himself into suspended animation beneath the surface of GoBotron, while above, the war continued to rage between the Guardians and the Renegades, now all encased in GoBot shells.

In the last quarter of the 20th Century, the planet Earth became involved in the conflict between Leader-1's Guardians and Cy-Kill's Renegades. During one of these battles, one of Leader-1's lieutenants, Turbo, became severely damaged. Unwilling to let his friend and teammate die, Leader-1 began his quest to find the legendary Last Engineer. Leader-1 found the person he believed to be the Last Engineer, but Leader-1 had unwittingly released the Master Renegade (though he did repair Turbo to gain the Guardians' trust). The Guardians later found the true Last Engineer, who was instrumental in frustrating the alliance between Cy-Kill's Renegades and the Master Renegade.

The Master Renegade later escaped the custody of the Renegades, and plagued both factions, notably attacking the UniCom
UNICOM
Universal Communications or as known by its abbreviation, UNICOM, is an air-ground communication facility operated by a private agency to provide advisory service at uncontrolled aerodromes and airports.-Description:...

 colony of New Earth.

Guardians

  • Leader-1
    Leader-1
    Leader-1 is the name of two fictional robot characters from the Go-Bots and Transformers toy lines.-Gobots:In the animated series Challenge of the GoBots, Leader-1 was the leader of the Guardians. He was a brave leader who cared deeply about his people. He believed not one person should be in...

  • Turbo
    Turbo (Gobots)
    Turbo is the name of a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the Gobots cartoon. The character transformed into a concept car.-Challenge of the Gobots:...

  • Scooter
    Scooter (Gobots)
    Scooter is a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the GoBots cartoon. The character transformed into a motor scooter.-Challenge of the Gobots:...

  • Small Foot
    Small Foot
    Smallfoot is the name of a fictional character from the various Gobots series and later became part of the Transformers universes.-Challenge of the Gobots:...

  • Van Guard
  • Blaster
  • Rest-Q
    Rest-Q
    Rest-Q is the name of a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the Gobots cartoon.-Gobots:Rest-Q is the Guardian medic.-Animated series:...

  • Path Finder
  • Sparky
  • Heat Seeker
  • Road Ranger
    Road Ranger (Gobots)
    Road Ranger is the name of a fictional character from the various Gobots series and later became part of the Transformers universes.-Gobots:Road Ranger is one of the Guardians.The Autobot Road Ranger is based on the Go-Bots characters of the same name....

  • Night Ranger
  • Hans-Cuff
  • Bolt
  • Ace
  • Mr. Moto
  • Dive-Dive
  • Flip Top
  • Zeemon
    Zeemon
    -Gobots:Zeemon is one of the Guardians. He is a prominent Guardian leader.-Animated series:Zeemon appeared in "Battle for Gobotron" episode 1. He was among the leaders of the Guardians planning to stop the Renegades...

  • Treds
    Treds
    Treds is the name of a fictional character from the various Gobots series and later became part of the Transformers universes.-Gobots:Treds is one of the Guardians. He was featured in a 1986 Gobots commercial where he was named as one of the new Guardians along with Mr. Moto. The Decepticon Treds...

  • Major-Mo
  • Twister

Renegades

  • Cy-Kill
    Cy-Kill
    Cy-Kill is the name of several fictional characters from the Gobots and Transformers toy line and fiction.- Challenge of the Gobots :In Challenge of the Gobots, Cy-Kill was the leader of the evil Renegades. He was originally a member of the Guardians and friend of Leader-1...

  • Crasher
    Crasher
    Crasher is the name of several fictional characters in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the GoBots and Transformers universes.-Gobots:...

  • Cop-Tur
    Cop-Tur
    Cop-Tur is the name of a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the GoBots cartoon. The character transformed into a futuristic helicopter, hence his name.-Challenge of the Gobots:...

  • Loco
    Loco (Gobots)
    Loco is the name of a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the GoBots cartoon. The character transformed into a steam train, hence his name.-Challenge of the Gobots:Loco is one of the soldiers of Cy-Kill....

  • Fitor
    Fitor
    Fitor is the name of a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the GoBots cartoon. The character transformed into a futuristic jet fighter.-Gobots:...

  • Tank
    Tank (Gobots)
    Tank is the name of a fictional character in the Gobots toyline, and the subsequent Challenge of the GoBots cartoon. The character transformed into a futuristic tank.-Challenge of the GoBots:...

  • Screw Head
  • Destroyer
  • Tux (Stretch)
  • Fly Trap
  • Vamp
  • Scorp
  • Pincher
  • Bugsy
  • Hornet
  • Creepy
  • Dr. Go
  • Scales
  • Zod
  • Stallion
  • Stinger
  • Buggyman
  • Geeper-Creeper
    Geeper-Creeper
    Geeper-Creeper is the name of a fictional character from the Gobots toy line and fiction.- Challenge of the Gobots :Geeper-Creeper was one of the Renegade followers of Cy-Kill.-Animated series:Geeper-Creeper appeared in the following episodes:...

  • Snoop
  • Slicks
  • Zero
  • Bug Bite
    Bug Bite
    Bug Bite is the name of several fictional characters in the GoBots and various Transformers universes.-Challenge of the Gobots:Bug Bite was a Renegade Gobot who transformed into a yellow Volkswagen Beetle....


Humans

  • Matt Hunter
  • Nick Burns
  • Allison Janmoria, aka "A.J." Foster
  • Dr. Anya Turgenova
  • General Newcastle
  • The Last Engineer
  • Master Renegade
  • Dr. Braxis

Episodes

  1. Battle for Gobotron
  2. Target Earth
  3. Conquest of Earth
  4. Earth Bound
  5. The Final Conflict
  6. It's the Thought that Counts
  7. Renegade Alliance
  8. Time Wars
  9. Terror In Atlantis
  10. Trident's Triple Threat
  11. Lost on Gobotron
  12. Cy-Kill's Shrinking Ray
  13. The Quest for Rogue-Star
  14. Ultra Zod
  15. Sentinel
  16. Speed Is of the Essence
  17. Genius and Son
  18. Dawn World
  19. Pacific Overtures
  20. Forced Alliance
  21. Invasion from the 21st Level (Part 1)
  22. Invasion from the 21st Level (Part 2)
  23. Doppelganger
  24. Scooter Enhanced
  25. Tarnished Image
  26. Cold Spell
  27. Crime Wave
  28. Auto-madic
  29. Renegade Rampage (Part 1)
  30. Renegade Rampage (Part 2)
  31. Search for the Ancient Gobonauts
  32. Gameworld
  33. Wolf in the Fold
  34. Depth Charge
  35. Transfer Point
  36. Steamer's Defection
  37. The GoBot Who Cried Renegade
  38. The Seer
  39. Whiz Kid
  40. Ring of Fire
  41. Cy-Kills Escape (Part 1 of 5)
  42. Quest for the Creator (Part 2 of 5)
  43. The Fall Of Gobotron (Part 3 of 5)
  44. Flight To Earth (Part 4 of 5)
  45. Return To Gobotron (Part 5 of 5)
  46. Destroy All Guardians
  47. Escape from Elba
  48. Fitor to the Finish
  49. Clutch of Doom
  50. The Third Column
  51. A New Suit for Leader-1
  52. Renegade Carnival
  53. The Gift
  54. Nova Beam
  55. The Last Magic
  56. Braxis Gone Bonkers
  57. Inside Job
  58. Element of Danger
  59. Mission GoBotron
  60. Et Tu Cy-Kill?
  61. The GoBots that Time Forgot
  62. The Secret of Hailey's Comet
  63. Guardian Academy
  64. Quest for New Earth
  65. Cy-Kill's Cataclysmic Trap

Cast

  • Rene Auberjonois - Dr. Braxis
  • Arthur Burghardt
    Arthur Burghardt
    Arthur Burghardt is an African-American actor best known for portraying Dr. Jack Scott on the soap opera One Life to Live.His first movie appearance was as the Great Ahmed Kahn in Network . A prolific voice actor during the 1980s, his most celebrated roles were Destro in the animated series G.I....

     - Cop-Tur (1986), Talc, Turbo
  • Ken Campbell
    Ken Campbell
    Ken Campbell was an English writer, actor, director and comedian.Ken Campbell may also refer to:* Ken Campbell , Canadian evangelist* Ken Campbell , former Scotland international goalkeeper...

     - Van Guard
  • Philip L. Clarke
    Philip L. Clarke
    Philip Lewis Clarke is an American voice actor. He has provided voices in various TV series, films, and video games, but is most notable for his leading role as Malcolm Betruger in Doom 3....

     - Dr. Go, Tork
  • Peter Cullen
    Peter Cullen
    Peter Cullen is a Canadian voice actor who is arguably best known as the voice of Optimus Prime and Ironhide, in the original Transformers series and the narrator in both American Voltron series...

     - Pincher, Spoiler, Tank
  • Bernard Erhard
    Bernard Erhard
    Bernard Erhard was an American voice actor.He worked primarily in children's cartoons. Among his roles were Cy-Kill in Challenge of the GoBots, King Morpheus in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, and one of the wolves in Rover Dangerfield....

     - Cy-Kill
  • Richard Gautier
    Richard Gautier
    Richard "Dick" Gautier is an actor, comedian, composer, singer and author. Among his most well-known television roles are for Hymie the Robot in the television series Get Smart, and Robin Hood in the short-lived TV comedy series When Things Were Rotten, a Mel Brooks send-up of the classic...

     - Claws
  • Bob Holt
    Bob Holt
    Robert Holt was an American actor best known for his voice work. His first film role came in 1950, acting as Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar. His career as a voice artist started with the 1968 short film Johnny Learns His Manners, for which he provided all of the voices...

     - Cop-Tur (1984-1986)
  • Marilyn Lightstone
    Marilyn Lightstone
    Marilyn Lightstone is a Canadian film, television and voice actress.She starred on Canadian television in Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea. She also has had various voice roles in animated series....

     - Crasher, Path Finder
  • Sparky Marcus
    Sparky Marcus
    Sparky Marcus is an American actor born December 6, 1967 in Hollywood, California. He had a prolific career as a child actor.-Career:...

     - Nick Burns
  • Brock Peters
    Brock Peters
    Brock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role, in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, of Tom Robinson, the black man unjustly convicted of raping a white girl...

     - General Newcastle
  • Lou Richards
    Lou Richards
    Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played 250 games with the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1941 and 1955...

     - Leader-1
  • Leslie Speights - A.J.
  • B.J. Ward - Small Foot
  • Kelly Ward
    Kelly Ward
    Kelly Ward is an American actor and voice director for TV animation. He is most famous for his role as T-Bird's Putzie in Grease.-Films and TV:*GoBots: War of the Rock Lords - Fitor...

     - Fitor
  • Kirby Ward - Heat Seeker
  • Frank Welker
    Frank Welker
    Franklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...

     - Blaster, Rest-Q, Scooter, Zeemon

Production Credits

  • Executive Producers: Joseph Barbera
    Joseph Barbera
    Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera ; was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose movie and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century...

     and William Hanna
    William Hanna
    William Denby "Bill" Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, television director, television producer, and cartoon artist, whose movie and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century...

  • Co-Executive Producer: Joe Taritero
  • Producer: Kay Wright
  • Associate Producer: Lew Saw
  • Creative Supervisor and Story Editor: Jeff Segal
  • Associate Story Editor: Kelly Ward
  • Supervising Director: Ray Patterson
  • Directors: Art Davis, Oscar Dufau, Volus Jones, Don Lusk, Rudy Zamora, Alan Zaslove
  • Assistant Directors: Robert Goe, Bill Hutton, Rick Leon, Tony Love, Don Patterson, Tim Walker
  • For the Tonka Corporation
    • Executive Producer: Patrick S. Feely
    • Producer: Lois Hanrahan
    • Co-Producer: Ray McDonald
  • Story Direction: Robert Taylor, Kent Butterworth, Roy Wilson, Rhoydon Shishido, Michael Swainigan, Peter Von Sholly, Rich Chidlaw, Larry Latham, Marijah Dial, Dale Barnhart, Tom Sito, George Scribner, Bill Kroyer
  • Recording Director: Gordon Hunt
    Gordon Hunt (director)
    Gordon Hunt is an American actor, voice actor, director of stage, film, and voiceover.-Biography:Hunt was born in California, the son of Gertrude and George Smith Hunt, an industrial designer. He is the father of actress Helen Hunt, from his marriage to photographer Jane Elizabeth Novis; they...

  • Assistant Casting Director: Andrea Romano
  • Voices: Adrienne Alexander, Lewis Arquette
    Lewis Arquette
    Lewis Michael Arquette was an American film actor, writer and producer. Arquette was known for playing "J.D. Pickett" on the TV series, The Waltons, where he worked from 1978–1981....

    , Rene Auberjonois, Bever-Leigh Banfield, Jared Barclay, Eddie Barth
    Eddie Barth
    Eddie Barth is an actor and voice actor.Eddie Barth is most famous for his role as Myron Fowler, owner of Peerless Detectives and father of Jeannie Wilson who played Janet Fowler in the hit series Simon & Simon.-Films:*Babe: Pig in the City*The Amityville Horror*Shaft*Bananas*Osmosis Jones*Rover...

    , Steve Bulen
    Steve Bulen
    James Steven Bulen , better known as Steve Bulen, is an American voice actor. He also goes under the names Steve Buelen, Steve Bulin, Stevie Beeline, and Scott Ponsov.-Anime:...

    , Arthur Burghardt
    Arthur Burghardt
    Arthur Burghardt is an African-American actor best known for portraying Dr. Jack Scott on the soap opera One Life to Live.His first movie appearance was as the Great Ahmed Kahn in Network . A prolific voice actor during the 1980s, his most celebrated roles were Destro in the animated series G.I....

    , Howard Caine
    Howard Caine
    Howard Cohen , who performed as Howard Caine, was a popular character actor, probably best known as Gestapo agent Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the television series Hogan's Heroes....

    , Bill Callaway, Ken Campbell
    Ken Campbell
    Ken Campbell was an English writer, actor, director and comedian.Ken Campbell may also refer to:* Ken Campbell , Canadian evangelist* Ken Campbell , former Scotland international goalkeeper...

    , Philip Lewis Clarke
    Philip L. Clarke
    Philip Lewis Clarke is an American voice actor. He has provided voices in various TV series, films, and video games, but is most notable for his leading role as Malcolm Betruger in Doom 3....

    , Selette Cole, Henry Corden
    Henry Corden
    Henry Corden was a Canadian-born American actor and voice artist best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones after Alan Reed died in 1977...

    , Regis Cordic
    Regis Cordic
    Regis John "Rege" Cordic was an American radio personality and actor.His career in entertainment divides roughly in half: from 1948 to 1965, he was the dominant morning drive-time radio host in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, he was a successful voice, television,...

    , Peter Cullen
    Peter Cullen
    Peter Cullen is a Canadian voice actor who is arguably best known as the voice of Optimus Prime and Ironhide, in the original Transformers series and the narrator in both American Voltron series...

    , Jennifer Darling
    Jennifer Darling
    Jennifer Darling is an American actress and voice actress.-Anime roles:* Astro Boy - Nora* Blood + - Ms. Lee* "Hello Kitty" - Mama* Tenchi Muyo! - Ayeka Masaki Jurai, Tokimi -Animation roles:...

    , Jerry Dexter
    Jerry Dexter
    Jerry Dexter is a voice actor best known for voicing heroic young men in Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1960s to the 1980s. He is a California native...

    , George DiCenzo
    George DiCenzo
    George Ralph DiCenzo is an American character actor and once associate producer for Dark Shadows.- Biography :DiCenzo has been in show business for more than 30 years, with extensive film, TV, stage and commercial credits....

    , Richard Dysart
    Richard Dysart
    Richard A. Dysart is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on the NBC legal drama L.A. Law....

    , Paul Eiding
    Paul Eiding
    Paul A. Eiding is an American voice actor, voice instructor, and actor, perhaps best known as the voice actor behind Judicator Aldaris in the Starcraft video game, the narrator in the original Diablo video game, Roy Campbell in the Metal Gear series, and Max Tennyson in Ben 10 and Ben 10: Alien...

    , Richard Gautier
    Richard Gautier
    Richard "Dick" Gautier is an actor, comedian, composer, singer and author. Among his most well-known television roles are for Hymie the Robot in the television series Get Smart, and Robin Hood in the short-lived TV comedy series When Things Were Rotten, a Mel Brooks send-up of the classic...

    , Phillip Hartmann
    Phil Hartman
    Phil Hartman was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family immigrated to the United States when he was ten. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed...

    , Darryl Hickman
    Darryl Hickman
    Darryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and TV actor, former television executive and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early beginnings:...

    , Bob Holt
    Bob Holt
    Robert Holt was an American actor best known for his voice work. His first film role came in 1950, acting as Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar. His career as a voice artist started with the 1968 short film Johnny Learns His Manners, for which he provided all of the voices...

    , Erv Immeman, David Jolliffe, Zale Kessler, Peter Leeds
    Peter Leeds
    Peter Leeds was an actor who appeared on television more than 8,000 times, and also had many film, Broadway, and radio appearances. The majority of his work took place in the 1950s and 1960s. Working with many well-known comedians, he became popular as a straight man to their antics...

    , Marilyn Lightstone
    Marilyn Lightstone
    Marilyn Lightstone is a Canadian film, television and voice actress.She starred on Canadian television in Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea. She also has had various voice roles in animated series....

    , Norma MacMillan
    Norma MacMillan
    Norma MacMillan was a Canadian voice actress.Her roles included "Sweet Polly Purebred" in Underdog, Davey in Davey and Goliath, and the title roles of Casper the Friendly Ghost and Gumby. She also voiced Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. on the comedy album The First Family...

    , Tress MacNeille
    Tress MacNeille
    Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and some Disney movies....

    , Sparky Marcus
    Sparky Marcus
    Sparky Marcus is an American actor born December 6, 1967 in Hollywood, California. He had a prolific career as a child actor.-Career:...

    , Ken Mars
    Kenneth Mars
    Kenneth Mars is an American television, movie and voice actor. Best known for his roles in several Mel Brooks films, the most memorable being the insane Nazi playwright of Springtime for Hitler, Franz Liebkind, in 1968's The Producers and the relentless Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Fredrich Kemp...

    , Gail Matthius
    Gail Matthius
    Gail Matthius is an American actress and voice actress. She was a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live during its critical and ratings low point at the time , and co-anchored the Weekend Update segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.-Recurring Characters:*Vicki, a Valley girl who,...

    , Bill Martin
    William E. Martin
    William E. Martin, also known as Bill Martin, is an American musician, songwriter, screenwriter, comedic actor and voice actor.A friend of Monkee Michael Nesmith, Martin wrote the first song to be recorded with all four Monkees singing and playing...

    , Walter Matthews
    Walter Matthews
    Walter Franklyn Matthews was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a merchant by career....

    , Amanda McBroom
    Amanda McBroom
    Amanda McBroom is an American singer, song-writer and cabaret performer. One of the songs she has written is "The Rose," which Bette Midler sang in the movie of the same name...

    , Joe Medalis, Allan Melvin
    Allan Melvin
    Allan Melvin was an American character actor who appeared in several television shows and may be best remembered for his roles as Sam the Butcher, Alice's boyfriend on The Brady Bunch, and Barney Hefner, Archie Bunker's best friend on All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place.-Life and...

    , Scott Menville
    Scott Menville
    Scott David Menville is primarily an American voice actor, actor, musician, and comedian. He is perhaps best known for his voice work as Robin on Teen Titans....

    , Sidney Miller, Noelle North, Soon-Teck Oh, Alan Oppenheimer
    Alan Oppenheimer
    Alan Oppenheimer is an American voice actor who has had an active career in cartoons since the 1970s.-As a character actor:...

    , Laurel Page
    Laurel Page
    Laurel Page is an American actress. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Page provided voice-overs in the following animated series:*Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels - Taffy...

    , Morgan Paull
    Morgan Paull
    Morgan Paull is an American actor probably most notable for playing Holden in the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner. He made his acting debut in the 1970 film Patton playing Captain Richard N...

    , Rob Paulson
    Rob Paulsen
    Robert Fredrick Paulsen, III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson or "Vocal Magic", is an American voice actor best known as the voice behind "Raphael" from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "Yakko Warner" from Animaniacs, "Pinky" from Pinky and the Brain, and Throttle from Biker...

    , Brock Peters
    Brock Peters
    Brock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role, in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, of Tom Robinson, the black man unjustly convicted of raping a white girl...

    , Peter Renaday
    Peter Renaday
    Peter Renaday is an American voice actor.-Film:*The Aristocats as the truck driver*Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost as McKnight-TV series:*Angel as The Beast's Master...

    , Lou Richards
    Lou Richards
    Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played 250 games with the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1941 and 1955...

    , Bob Ridgely
    Robert Ridgely
    Robert Ridgely was an American actor and vocal artist, known for both on-camera roles and extensive voice-over work. Ridgely started his television career with guest roles in such 1960s series as Maverick, Sea Hunt and Surfside 6. He landed a regular role as Lt. Kimbro in the short-lived World War...

    , Josh Rodine, Shavar Ross
    Shavar Ross
    Shavar Malik Ross is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, editor, photographer, author, and entrepreneur. He is perhaps best known for his recurring television roles as Dudley Ramsey on the NBC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and as Weasel on the ABC sitcom Family...

    , Marilyn Schreffler
    Marilyn Schreffler
    Marilyn Schreffler was an American actress, who provided voice-overs for several animated TV programs, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions.Born in Concordia, Kansas, and had an affinity for cartoons since age 6...

    , Michael Sheehan
    Michael Sheehan
    Michael Sheehan may refer to:*Michael Jarboe Sheehan, the current archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe.*Michael Sheehan , Irish independent politician, represented Cork Borough from 1948-1951*Michael A...

    , Leslie Speights, Andre Stojka
    Andre Stojka
    Andre Stojka is a voice actor. He is best known for his role as Owl in Winnie-the-Pooh projects beginning with The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, inheriting the role from Hal Smith. He was also the voice of the horse Starlite in all of the animated Rainbow Brite productions...

    , Steve Susskind
    Steve Susskind
    Steve Susskind was an American actor who appeared in numerous small parts in sitcoms, such as Frasier, Scrubs, and NewsRadio...

    , Mark Taylor
    Mark L. Taylor
    Mark L. Taylor is an American actor who has appeared in various shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal and Boston Legal...

    , Brian Tochi
    Brian Tochi
    Brian Keith Tochihara , better known as Brian Tochi, is an American actor, screenwriter, movie director and producer...

    , Les Tremayne
    Les Tremayne
    Les Tremayne was an British radio, film and television actor. Born Lester Tremayne in England, he moved with his family at the age four to Chicago, where he began in community theater. He danced as a vaudeville performer and worked as amusement park barker...

    , Manu Tupou
    Manu Tupou
    Manu Tupou was an actor, writer, director, and teacher. Not only a film and television star but a Broadway star as well. He starred in such films as Hawaii and A Man Called Horse. He also appeared in television shows such as Hawaii Five-O as Eddie Chu...

    , B.J. Ward, Kelly Ward
    Kelly Ward
    Kelly Ward is an American actor and voice director for TV animation. He is most famous for his role as T-Bird's Putzie in Grease.-Films and TV:*GoBots: War of the Rock Lords - Fitor...

    , Kirby Ward, Jimmy Weldon
    Jimmy Weldon
    Jimmy Weldon is an American voice actor, ventriloquist, and former television host.He is best known as the voice of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yakky Doodle Duck and the host and ventriloquist in the locally-produced television series, "The Webster Webfoot Show".-History:Born in Dale,...

    , Frank Welker
    Frank Welker
    Franklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...

    , Eric Williams
    Eric Williams
    Eric Eustace Williams was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He served from 1956 until his death in 1981. He was also a noted Caribbean historian.-Early life:...

    , Keone Young
    Keone Young
    Keone J. Young is an American character actor. His father is Chinese, his mother is Japanese.He has been prolific in his character work and has made numerous guest appearances on such varied television series as Diff'rent Strokes, The Golden Girls, Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Family Matters, The...

    , Ted Zeigler
  • Title: Bill Perez
  • Graphics: Iraj Peran, Tom Wogatzke
  • Music Arrange and Conducted By: Hoyt Curtin
  • Music Supervisor: Paul DeKorte
  • Design Supervisor: Davis Doi
  • Character Design: Michael McHugh & Tony Sgroi
  • Background Color Key: Eric Heschrong
  • Background Supervisor: Al Gmuer
  • Background Artists: Eric Heschrong, Mike Humphries, James Hegdus
  • Produced and Associated with Cuckoos Nest, Wang Film Productions Co., LTD
  • Production Supervisor: Lynn Hoag
  • Technical Advisor: Bob Marples
  • Animation Supervisors: Richard Bowman, Gary Hurst, William Kitchen, Mark Simon
  • Sound Directors: Alvy Dorman, Phil Flad
  • Supervising Film Editor: Larry C. Cowman
  • Dubbing Supervisor: Pat Foley
  • Supervising Music Editor: Joe Sandusky
  • Supervising Effects Editors: Michael Bradley, Kerry Williams
  • Music and Effects: Vitello and Associates
  • Show Editor: Gil Iverson
  • Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer
  • Post-Production Supervisor: Joed Eaton
  • Executives in Charge of Production: Jayne Barbera and Jean MacCurdy
  • A Hanna-Barbera Production
  • (c)1984 Hanna Barbera Productions Warner Bros Inc & Tonka Corporation
  • Go-Bots are a trademark of Hasbro Inc.

Comparisons to Transformers


The franchises of GoBots and Hasbro's Transformers have often been compared due to the obvious similarities between the products. Although GoBots were technically first to reach the market, Transformers became the clear leader in both the marketplace and in popular culture.

Examples of the similarities between the brands' backstories include:
  • Both are opposing forces of good and evil robots engaged in civil war.
  • Both transform between robot and vehicle-based forms.
  • GoBots hail from Gobotron while Transformers hail from Cybertron.
  • Both franchises introduced female robot characters. However, GoBots featured these characters in the premiere and maintained the characters as regular players. Transformers did not introduce female robots until the second season of the cartoon and used them only sparingly before the movie.
  • Both TV series featured veteran voice-actors Frank Welker
    Frank Welker
    Franklin W. "Frank" Welker is a veteran American actor, who specializes in voice acting. He is responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 40 years in American television and motion pictures.Welker is listed as number one on the...

     and Peter Cullen
    Peter Cullen
    Peter Cullen is a Canadian voice actor who is arguably best known as the voice of Optimus Prime and Ironhide, in the original Transformers series and the narrator in both American Voltron series...

    .
  • While most likely coincidental, the Last Engineer is similar in concept to the Transformer 'god', Primus, whose consciousness also dwelt deep within their homeworld.

External links