DVD Review: Challenge of the GoBots From The Warner Archive

The Warner Archive manufacture-on-demand program has continued putting out classic and often rare old cartoon series to DVD. This is an opportunity to see things that have largely been unseen in decades but at the same time, these are animated series that were well-loved by a generation.

Recently, the Archive put out and remastered the five-part Challenge of the GoBots mini-series which first aired in late 1984 – a year before the actual series premiered. This mini-series sets up the conflict between the heroic GoBots and the evil Renegade GoBots, with characters like Leader-1 in conflict against Cy-Kill and his gang of baddies. As mentioned, these episodes are remastered and as far as dust and scratches or anything like that, they look brand new… a lot of effort was put in to giving this a top-notch presentation. I’ve seen bad cartoon releases from this era, and some of them have not done too well with the restoration process. This, however, looks great.

I admit the story and the DVD would have meant a lot more to me if I had actually watched the GoBots as a kid. I’m sure there’s a huge fandom for these characters that would eat these up. But for me – I kind of have to agree with the comment in Clerks 2; I always saw these as the “K-Mart Transformers.” With that said, I’m sure if I had seen this when I was 6 when this first came out I would have loved it. And even now, I love hearing familiar voices from other cartoons I enjoyed while watching. (Gee, Scooter sounds a lot like Glomer) And I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the voices I’m hearing are also ones that were famous from that other robot series, Transformers.

I think I am also cynical in that at this age, it’s painfully obvious this is a cartoon created just to sell toys. The GoBots look just like toys, without any improvements made for the cartoon incarnations, or none visible at least. It comes off as a little silly. And I’m not sure if the GoBots preceded the Transformers or vice versa, but I can’t help but make the comparisons while watching.

So the ultimate verdict? If you loved the GoBots, you’ll really love this, and if you didn’t, this will still take you back to being a kid in 1984 if you’re my age. You can purchase Challenge of the GoBots exclusively at the Warner Archive. As with any Archive program, the more people who check out this stuff means the more likely it will be to have other TV and cartoon favorites.

Here’s a clip from the show for those curious: