Lorries In The Limelight
What do you think of when you picture a lorry? Perhaps one of these lorries from popular culture. They might not wear giant sunglasses or have punch-ups with the paparazzi, but that doesn’t make these superstars any less well known.
From the Coca Cola Christmas haulage truck from the TV ad to the mysterious characters of the tongue twister ‘Red Lorry Yellow Lorry‘, here is a reminder of some of the most famous trucks, lorries and general haulage vehicles of all time.
1) Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Originally a British tongue twister, you may be interested to know that ‘Red Lorry Yellow Lorry’ is also a rock band that was formed in Leeds in 1981. Whilst there are no known lorry or lorries attached to the phrase, this is certainly a famous lorry concept which is entrenched in the British psyche. Red lorry yellow lorry red lorry yellow lorry … It’s even hard to type!
2) Long-distance Clara’s juggernaught
As the song goes,
Long Distance Clara, shifts the gears
Long Distance Clara, she safely steers
Long Distance Clara, slams on the brakes
Long Distance Clara, accelerates
Long Distance Clara driving round the bend
Hot dinner waiting at her journeys end
Long Distance Clara, driving down the road
Always on time and never late
- Part of the theme tune to the adorable pre-school cartoon ‘Pigeon Street’.
3) Fire Engines
Ok, so we don’t really call them ‘lorries’, but we sometimes call them ‘trucks’, and that’s really what they are. The real hero in the world of over-sized vehicles, this red bundle of bravery is like a giant red angel, transporting fire-fighters to the scene of the blaze and providing them selflessly with access to the burning building with its trusty ladder, water with its hose and a whole host of other equipment for battling the flames.
4) Coca Cola Christmas Truck
You remember the ad with all those beautiful Christmas – themed haulage trucks? Perhaps this will jog your memory:
‘Holidays are coming, holidays are coming
Tis the season
Watch out, look around
Something’s coming, coming to town
Do do do do do
Always Coca Cola.
Something magic, in the night
Can’t you see it, shining bright!
La la la la la la la la la la
Holiday refreshment’s what we bring
Tis the season, it’s always the real thing!
Always Coca Cola!’
- A heart-warming Christmas treat which almost makes up for a million rotting teeth.
5) Optimus Prime and the Transformers Movie
The basis of the film is as follows: a long time ago, far away on the planet of Cybertron, an alien civil war was being waged between the two races of robots – the noble hero Autobots led by the wise Optimus Prime, and the devious evil Decepticons commanded by the dreaded Megatron – for control over the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. For some reason, the Autobots and the evil Decepticons are able to change into a variety of objects, including cars, trucks, planes and other technological creations, but tend to spend their time masquerading as enormous haulage trucks when inhabiting the Earth.
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 1
“Transformers” heavy on action, light on story
Longtime fans of the “Transformers” toy and cartoon series were outraged when it was announced that Michael Bay would direct the live action adaptation. Those fans had no need to worry. After seeing his vision of “Transformers,” it is obvious that no one but Bay could have made this movie work.
The cartoon series always had the simplest of plots, so animators could cut to the big fight scenes and allow kids to hurry out and make their parents buy the toys. It’s only fitting that a faithful adaptation of a cartoon would feature a thin plot heavy on action and adrenaline-pumping excitement but light on actual plot. “Transformers” fit the description of a Michael Bay film perfectly before it was even made.
Bay has a talent for crafting visually vibrant action sequences, almost always at the expense of character development (see “The Rock” for a best-case example and “Pearl Harbor” for a worst-case example). With this film, Bay gets to show off his skills at getting gigantic computer-generated robots to smash into each other. Every trick in his book-overdone explosions, heavily reliance on slow motion, quick edits-is on display here. Again, the plot in his film is a meager formality; for Bay, he earns his money on the action sequences, and with “Transformers,” he earned himself a big payday.
The plot focuses on the civil war between two races of living robots from the planet Cybertron. The beings from the planet get into a huge fight over control of a cube called the “Allspark,” which is composed of pure energy. The destructive Decepticons, led by the evil Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) want to use it for nefarious purposes, while the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) want its power for good.
The war causes Cybertron to be destroyed and the allspark to be thrown across the universe. The transformers track the cube to Earth. The Decepticons arrive first and attack U.S. troops stationed in Qatar in order to infiltrate military software and discover the cube’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, a nerdy teenager named Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) discovers that the beat-up old Camaro he just bought seems to be coming to life. It is actually the Autobot Bumblebee (voiced by Mark Ryan). Bumblebee is on a mission to locate Sam, whose grandfather first encountered the cube in 1895. Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and the Autobots must now find the cube and destroy it before the
More than meets the eye: Anticipating the release of the Transformers movie
The moment all of us 80’s kids have been waiting for is almost upon us…the release of the Transformers Movie! This big screen adventure started as a cool toy back in 1984 produced by Takara and sold in the U.S. by the Hasbro toy company. Soon after, the toy sparked into a cartoon phenomenon and even had a feature-length movie called “The Transformers: The Movie”.
The premise of the cartoon and movie was that two divisions of transformers, Autobots and Decepticons, fought for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The Autobots were considered the good guys, while the Decepticons were the enemy. Using their unique ability to morph into different modes of transportation, these two opponents were in constant battle with each other. Now we can look forward to these two foes meeting in movie theaters.
Directed by Michael Bay (Bad Boys) and written by Roberto Orci (Mission Impossible III) and Alex Kurtzman (Legend of Zorro), it should be interesting what happens. The plot of this 2007 Transformers movie, due for release on July 4, involves the two races led by Optimus Primus (Autobots) and Megitron (Decepticons) taking the battle to planet Earth. The main question posed by this feud is the possible annihilation of Earth in the process.
CAST
Sam Witwicky- Shia LaBeouf
Mikaela- Megan Fox
Captain Lennox- Josh Duhamel
Maggie- Rachael Taylor
USAF Master Sgt. Epps- Tyrese Gibson
Keller- Jon Voight
Glen- Anthony Anderson
Agent Simmons- John Turturro
Banachek- Michael O’Neill
Optimus Prime- (voicePeter Cullen
Megatron- (voice) Hugo Weaving
The way Internet Movie Database has presented the plot outline for this movie has me worried about its integrity. It seems like the movie will be based on a few human characters on Earth with not so much a focus on the Transformers themselves. Additionally, this movie is bound to be primarily made up with Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) which often comes off as hokey. I suddenly have visions of 2003’s “Hulk”. I guess we will have to wait and see however, but either way I’m sure it will be #1 in the box office. Past generations that have grown up with the Transformers and a new generation that is into science-fiction action movies will all be flooding theaters this fourth of July.
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 7
I have watched some of the golden age transformers, to beasties, to the most recent Transformers cybertron (this one goes on). So it’s safe to say I’m a relatively big fan. So obviously I looked forward to a huge blockbuster on my favorite cartoon I watched as a kid (and watch bits and pieces now i must admit). It was most entertaining indeed. I laughed at the jokes referencing the classic saying “more than meets the eye”. Indeed it was a great ‘effort’ at reviving a good child orinted story. I say effort due to the fact it was entertaing…..just that. Almost like Spiderman 3, good movie over all and funny but horrible some changes to the story I didn’t approve of. Or a couple questions left un-answered. One un-answered question would be the confusing line (out of context I don’t have photographic memory yea know) Optimus Prime “We will stay on earth”……So basically that kid changed his plans to stay. But without him they’d leave HOW? Would they scan an earth spaceship and blast off for a 1 in 10 chance of leaving the atmosphere. Or the fact that the only name I recognized was Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscreem, and 1 or 2 other decepticons (the other names were probably from the golden age and thats why I don’t remember). The only thing I find odd in transformers in general is that names are never consistent for most of the characters, rather the whole character besides the name is presented. An example would be Bumble Bee (Cheetor, Hot shot, ext…). But the worst part was when they showed Megatron as a more physically stronger than his rival Optimus. These two entities have always been equals except for the couple exceptions of Megatron turns into Galvatron. But over all goof 2 thumbs up.
Michael Bay: Destroying our childhoods?
I have to say i loved the new transformers film and the last TMNT film, but compared with the original comics and stories they were not that good. I have gone back and watched the old transformers TV series and i take Michael Bays point, the animation was terrible, the editor deserved to be shot, and the plots were pretty simplistic. But to say the same about transformers the movie, the animated one, is the comic book equivalent of accusing the pope of being a heretic! The original feature length transformers film was not only a great film, well animated and a cast to die for, it had a better plot than most of the films that came out of the eighties and it was a landmark for animated films.
Personally i always preferred the comics to the films anyway, inc. TMNT for that matter, and hear you cannot complain about plots. I read the UK publication so i cannot comment on the American transformers comics but the ones i read had more sophisticated plots at the time than you got on most TV drama programs, they had the advantage of having multiple issues, characters that could be developed over years and a remarkably consistent plot for a comic that ran to over three hundred issues. When you consider that it featured time travel and was set over at least three planets at one point, earth, cybertron and nebulous, this was quite an achievement. Take the time-wars story line, this was the cumulation of a series of separate story arcs that originated with Transformers: The movie and continued for more than a hundred issues. You cannot get much more sophisticated than that!
I have to say that i was really unhappy when the UK transformers comic came to an end in the 90’s and was really looking forward to the film coming out so i would probably have loved it however it turned out, but i actually enjoyed it. I think we have to separate the new film from the old comics and films. Lets face it, its not the same story, it has to be seen as the start of a new film saga!
As far as the new film goes, it had a great cast, the voice of Optimus Prime was perfect, Good choices for the Witwickys, but why change the names and what happened to Sparkplug. I loved Blackout, Scorponok, Roadblock and Starscream but their wasn’t enough of Megatron and his fusion cannon was not worth the name, the best Decepticon was clearly Frenzy. The transformers just looked too organic. That said the transformation and action sequences were fantastic!
A Must-Love Movie : Transformers
Transformers are robots from the planet Cybertron divided into two powerful groups namely Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the Decepticons led by Megatron. The story began during the Cybertronian Civil War. When all transformers search for the Allspark, a large cube of energy that grant eternal life to mechanical objects and where the source of of all Transformer’s lives. And finding out that the cube landed on the planet, Earth. Later it was discovered by the U.S Government and the built a Dam making it as a research facility for it. Megatron later on found out that it was there on earth but as he went to earth, accidentally he crash-landed in Artic Ocean and was frozen. Years had passed and he was found and brought to the same facility where Allspark is located. Autobots were dispersed throughout the entire universe. Optimus Prime’s group traveled to earth in search of the Allspark. However, Decepticons follows. Transformers can change in an instant from the body of common objects usually vehicles to physically grown robots.
There are many characters of Transformers and i apologize that i cant include them all because Transformers change quite several times since it was first aired decades ago.
Here are the lists of the Transformers The Movie(2007) directed by Michael Bay:
Autobots
Optimus Prime-
Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime. Disguised as a Peterbilt truck. Leader of the Autobots, dedicated himself to stop the Decepticons wherever and whenever they attack.
Bumblebee -
Mark Ryan voices Bumble Bee. Disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, and upgrades into the 2009 model.
Cliffjumper-
1982 Porsche 924. Impulsive. Optimus Prime usually gives him advice about precaution.
Ironhide-
Jess Harnell voices Ironhide, a modified GMC TopKick C6500 . Autobot weapon specialist.
Ratchet-
Robert Foxworth voices Ratchet. Medic of the Autobots. Transforms into Search and rescue Hummer H2.
Jazz-
Darius McCrary voices Jazz. Second in command of the Autobot forces. A modified Pontiac Solstice in disguise.
Arcee-
Female Transformer once a member of a squad lead by Bumblebee on Cybertron.
Prowl-
1979 Nissan 280ZX Police Car . He operated Optimus Prime’s right-hand man in early episodes.
Decepticons
Megatron-
Hugo Weaving voices Megatron. Decepticon leader. Optimus calls Megatron his brother.
Starscream-
Charlie Adler voices Starscream, Megatron’s second-in-command. A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet in disguised.
Frenzy-
Reno Wilson voices Frenzy. Decepticons spy who transforms into a boombox, and eventually into a mobile phone.
Barricade-
Jess Harnell voiced Barricade. Disguised as a Saleen Mustang police car.
Bonecrusher-
Jim Wood voices Bonecrusher, he attacks Optimus Prime along the highway to Mission City. Disguised as a Buffalo H Mine.]
Blackout-
Transforms into a MH-53J Pave Low III helicopter with his minion Scorponok.
Transformers became the highest grossing movie in the year 2007 all over the world. The film won number of awards and nominated several times for Academy Awards. Children and Adults were really into it and proven to be the “Must-Love Movie” of the year worldwide!
TV network reviews: Cartoon Network
In Cartoon Network’s beginnings, there were more classical cartoons, like Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, and Droopy. Since then, its programming has moved on, with some classic cartoons, such as daily episodes of Tom and Jerry combined with newer series. Occasionally, old Scooby-Doo still makes it on air, but sadly, it is usually its newer (not better) version: A Pup Named Scooby Doo, as well as the sad substitution: Baby Looney Tunes, which is so far away from the cleverness of the original Looney Tunes, it’s as if the writers aren’t even trying. Such shows may capture the attention of a pre-school audience, while other shows on the network aim for a more adult market. The Cartoon Network is the station for animation fans, but don’t expect all of it to be family friendly programming.
Some of the new, humorous cartoons, such as Camp Lazlo and Chowder, actually have some great moments. Adults can sit down and laugh with their kids over them while the kids are guaranteed some quotable quotes that won’t embarrass their parents. The Mr. Men Show is a great example, as well. It’s new to the kids, but many adults may remember growing up with the books.
There is also a dark side of Cartoon Network-after dark, that is. Cartoon Network’s late-night programming, also known as Adult Swim, includes Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Robot Chicken. These shows are inappropriate for children. Although they are aired late at night, I learned when my son had a sleepover with friends that late night airing does not mean off-limits to children. Somehow, the ratings filters we set up on our satellite dish have not prevented these shows from being seen. I was shocked to find that Robot Chicken in particular, while a funny, claymation parody, is as inappropriate for kids as the R-rated movie Superbad. Since it is only a fifteen minute show, it rarely even shows up on our satellite’s programming guide, which may explain why we have had some difficulty with the ratings blocks filtering it.
For fans of action cartoons, Cartoon Network has Transformers Cybertron, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, and Pokemon. My reaction to each of these shows is, “I don’t get it,” but my eight year-old absolutely loves them. A number of other shows on Cartoon Network fall in the in-between categories of not exactly Adult Swim but not exactly kid-friendly either. For this reason, parents should watch a few episodes of any series before deciding if it’s age appropriate for their child.
A Must love Movie Transformers
Transformers are robots from the planet Cybertron divided into two powerful groups namely Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the Decepticons led by Megatron. The story began during the Cybertronian Civil War. When all transformers search for the Allspark, a large cube of energy that grant eternal life to mechanical objects and where the source of of all Transformer’s lives. And finding out that the cube landed on the planet, Earth. Later it was discovered by the U.S Government and the built a Dam making it as a research facility for it. Megatron later on found out that it was there on earth but as he went to earth, accidentally he crash-landed in Artic Ocean and was frozen. Years had passed and he was found and brought to the same facility where Allspark is located. Autobots were dispersed throughout the entire universe. Optimus Prime’s group traveled to earth in search of the Allspark. However, Decepticons follows. Transformers can change in an instant from the body of common objects usually vehicles to physically grown robots.
There are many characters of Transformers and i apologize that i cant include them all because Transformers change quite several times since it was first aired decades ago.
Here are the lists of the Transformers The Movie(2007) directed by Michael Bay:
Autobots
Optimus Prime-
Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime. Disguised as a Peterbilt truck. Leader of the Autobots, dedicated himself to stop the Decepticons wherever and whenever they attack.
Bumblebee -
Mark Ryan voices Bumble Bee. Disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, and upgrades into the 2009 model.
Cliffjumper-
1982 Porsche 924. Impulsive. Optimus Prime usually gives him advice about precaution.
Ironhide-
Jess Harnell voices Ironhide, a modified GMC TopKick C6500 . Autobot weapon specialist.
Ratchet-
Robert Foxworth voices Ratchet. Medic of the Autobots. Transforms into Search and rescue Hummer H2.
Jazz-
Darius McCrary voices Jazz. Second in command of the Autobot forces. A modified Pontiac Solstice in disguise.
Arcee-
Female Transformer once a member of a squad lead by Bumblebee on Cybertron.
Prowl-
1979 Nissan 280ZX Police Car . He operated Optimus Prime’s right-hand man in early episodes.
Decepticons
Megatron-
Hugo Weaving voices Megatron. Decepticon leader. Optimus calls Megatron his brother.
Starscream-
Charlie Adler voices Starscream, Megatron’s second-in-command. A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet in disguised.
Frenzy-
Reno Wilson voices Frenzy. Decepticons spy who transforms into a boombox, and eventually into a mobile phone.
Barricade-
Jess Harnell voiced Barricade. Disguised as a Saleen Mustang police car.
Bonecrusher-
Jim Wood voices Bonecrusher, he attacks Optimus Prime along the highway to Mission City. Disguised as a Buffalo H Mine.]
Blackout-
Transforms into a MH-53J Pave Low III helicopter with his minion Scorponok.
Transformers became the highest grossing movie in the year 2007 all over the world. The film won number of awards and nominated several times for Academy Awards. Children and Adults were really into it and proven to be the “Must-Love Movie” of the year worldwide!
The most despicable cartoon character in TV history
He is the Leader of the Decepticons and on July 3,2007 all of America and new generations of fans who ever heard of the Transformers will get to see in my opinion the Most Despicable cartoon Character in TV history. His name is Megatron. I first saw Megatron as a kid watching the Transformers cartoon show in NYC. It Came on Channel 11 (WPIX now known as CW) at 4:30pm monday through Friday. What I first notice is how his height is and then his way that he transforms into a gigantic gun with a eye target mirror on the top. Megatron was a evil machine that would stop at nothing to rule the world or in his case his homeworld of Cybertron. The Battles he had with Optimus Prime are extraordinary. I remember that his second Starscream always wanted to be leader of the Decepticons, so he challenged Megatron one on one, even though Megatron came out on top , he was ruthless and didn’t stop until Starscream begged for his life. Another Time I remember was the Transformers animated movie that came out in 1986 and Megatron and Optimus Prime battle to the Death and Megatron barely won the battle , He and Optimus Prime were severely injured by the other, Optimus Prime died after. Megatron was betrayed by Starscream
and blown away to death or so he thought. Megatron was saved by a gigantic living computer and was reborn as Galvatron. Galvatron interupted the ceremony as Starscream was being crown as the New leader of the Decepticons , Galvatron interupted and Starscream said “Megatron is that you”?, Galvatron said ” Here’s a Hint” and Blew Starscream away. Also Galvatron killed Several Autobots with ease and as any other Villain he main objective is POWER. Galvatron transforms into a powerful cannon that could blow building into rubble. Galvatron aka Megatron has always been a selfish ruthless leader of greed and power he is that type of machinery that lets no one or any thing get in his way of conquest. I am looking forward of seeing Transformers the movie very soon.
History Of The Transformers Television Show – The Greatest Cartoon Of The 80’s
The name Transformers has become a common word heard in home all around the world. Most every child has or had a transformer toy at one time or another in their life. There is even a realistic movie now out about these amazing Autobots that transform from vehicles to mighty warriors. They have been around since the early 1980’s and will most likely be around for years to come.
Let’s take a look at how the transformer TV shows got started. The Transformers first showed up on television in 1984 and was instantly a success. Kids from around the world immediately fell in love with these amazing creatures that could transform into mighty Autobots, taking on all the evil in the world as well as their own. Even the voice of Optimus Prime, done by Peter Cullen, became famous with the words “Autobots, transform and roll out!” Optimus Prime is perhaps one of the most favored of the Autobots with his ability to transform from a giant truck to a mighty hero. Kids of all ages still find him the best of the bots today.
The original Transformer television show lasted from 1984 through 1987, and then came Generation 1 which was only aired in Japan. That series lasted from 1987 through 1990. It followed The Transformers with the title of Transformers: Headmasters. There was a spin off from the Japan version in the United States that had the translated title of: Transformers: Super-God Master Force. This lasted for 42 episodes and ended in 1989. The all time hero called Optimus Prime had a new name in this one. He was known as Ginrai, the human trucker that could transform into the prime-like transformer.
The next generation came in 1993 and was called of course: Transformers: Generation 2. This series lasted from 1993 to 1995. This was not really called a series as it was mainly out to promote the new toy line up of the transformers. Beast Wars: Transformers was out in 1996 through 1998. This is one of the most popular versions of the Transformers television show. The show won an Emmy due to the awesome graphics it displayed. The next in line was again in Japan only. It was called Beast Wars and it had 2 series from it. They were called Beast Wars two and Beast Wars Neo. They were aims at the younger generation. Beast wars ran for a total of 43 episodes and Beast Wars Neo went for 35 episodes.
Next up was Beast machine: Transformers which aired from 1999 through 2000. This was a short lived show as it was said that it copied characters from the Beast Wars series. Along came Transformers: Robots in Disguise. This one also ran for just a year 2001 through 2002. This was considered a filler till the next series came along in 2002 called Transformers: Armada. This on ran one year as well and was about a promoting a new toy line up. This is where the mini-cons came out. It made 52 episodes and sparked 2 more series called Energon which aired from 2004 through 2005 with 52 episode and Cybertron which as from 2005 through 2006 with 52 episodes as well.
Yes the transformers are certainly something that you will find in most every home. Their toys can be found all over including in the fast food restaurants as well as most all retailers that carry toys. For the best way to learn the history of the transformers is to get the 20th Anniversary Special Edition Transformers DVD Set. The entire collection is a treasure you will want to have in your video library for the whole family to enjoy.