Cartoon Clipshow: 47 - Mighty Orbots

[@daithirian]

Remastered DVD incoming! April 17th from Warner Archive! Which also released Go Bots!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Now you can see the truth!

[@mauromesa78]

that is true

[@mauromesa78]

i hope go-bots battle of the rock lords will come soon to dvd to complete the collection

[@wwetnabamafan194]

Can't wait to see it, brings me back to all those Saturday mornings waking up & watching cool shows like that

[@mauromesa78]

it has all of the episodes but it dos not have the original unaired pilot special broots as a bones special features

[@redconvoy]

I thought the animation of that show was ahead of its time. I think one of the animators was having fun with the special effects on this show.

[@ChrispinCram]

The creator of the show (Barry Glasser) is my college English teacher now.

[@truck6859]

After all these years, the intro still gives me goosebumps.

[@chaseroush6503]

Top 3 candidates for a Pixar reboot: 1. Dragon's Lair 2. Mighty Orbots 3. Space Ace

[@nathanblevins9870]

Seems like good idea.

[@stephenbyrne2170]

As-long as said reboots are handled by the right people.

[@chatbear69]

Loved this show back in the day. I think more than anything I really liked the animation. Like you said when I watched the Transformers it looked like shit. I couldn't believe that other shows beat this out but now I know what really happened. Was thinking about making a game based on the show but I know better than that now. Thanks for the review.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

I swear some of the animation is smooth, like CGI, but we know it was really just outstanding animation for it’s time (example - ships docking).

[@4thDan]

As far as Dia not recognizing Rob, it's the old "Clark Kent/Superman" trope. If you notice, Dia never sees Rob without his glasses, and he never wears them as Orbots Commander.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

OK, cartoon-wise, it’s plausible. I also thought, and it wasn’t portrayed, that his Orbots Commander helmet might make his voice sound differently.

[@mrGeostrike]

thank you for spotlighting this wonderful memory

[@hokum4438]

The little intercession/quips by the bots and the atmospheric music for the credits were my favored unmentioned touches. There was an episode where Bort asked how the dragon-critter they were chasing could fly without an atmosphere and Rob (Orbots commander) replied that they would ask it when they caught it. 🤖

[@sag4186]

Fun fact: the design for the character crunch later inspired the creation of bulkhead from transformers animated

[@fiddleback4903]

The timing of the humor was flawless though. The show had Me in stitches.

[@naturalice79]

I loved this show when I was a kid!!

[@mauromesa78]

if you love it the the complete series is coming to dvd on 4/17/2018

[@maguffle]

I loved it too! Time to look for those DVDs!

[@mauromesa78]

@@maguffle and you can get the complete series dvd set on wbshop.com and on amazon.com

[@maguffle]

@@mauromesa78 thanks! I already ordered it!

[@michellemullins4588]

StrayPanther79, me too! I have this on DVD!

[@rindenking1387]

The show is only 13 Episodes because of the Lawsuit. Shame, it could have cleared the confusion if it was allowed to move forward and the Lawsuit is ridiculous.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

I know I mean Tonka didn’t even plan to sell Godmarz toys - they did the lawsuit to prevent competition if they did sell them one day. What. A. Crock.

[@Seoulsearch616]

I absolutely love this show and was devastated even as a kid that it only had one season. Great video, thank you so much for covering this! A truly hidden gem. 👍

[@IrishKyokushin]

They probably would have gone into the backstory if the show had lasted longer.

[@Banjo_Oz]

Amazing theme song, fantastic animation, and an actual *ending* that makes me cheer to this day. Sad that it's only real legacy is directly inspiring Bulkhead in Transformers: Animated (and beyond). It was a great show with really memorable characters and some genuinely "grown up" moments (and I don't just mean the fembots!).

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

I agree about the show, and that, yeah, Bulkhead is the “Tor” of Transformers Animated.

[@kjk7611]

GLAD someone is standing-up for this show!😊👍 It was so good that haters go out of their way to pun it. B/c it out-classes their favs. So glad you finally acknowledged the end credits music.🎼🎶🎹 Long over-due. Does anyone else feel a STAR WARS IV & V overtone? Fyi, there's a MIGHTY ORBOTS prototypes/alternate intro up on KZbin.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Sorry, I had to think about “prototypes/alternate intro” for a second... yes, “Broots” (another anagram of “robots”) is here. They even used some of this footage in an episode...

[@Hewylewis]

Wow, being sued by Go-Bots IS embarrassing. :(

[@DigiMega351]

Mighty Orbots is how I discovered GodMars. I love both.

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

hey hewy! :)

[@DigiMega351]

Some other note(s) I should mention: 5 of the GodMars robots had recharge chambers around the world. (Plus Crunch was voiced by Don Messick.)

[@cksmith08]

Don Messick also did the voice of Rondu, and the late great Gary Owens is the Narrator.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

@@cksmith08 I think Don does Crunch’s voice, as well. Also, I think the Superfriends travelled from elsewhere to HQ, so the idea isn’t so much “stolen” as it is “borrowed”. However, the remote locations themselves seem very Voltron.

[@jamiewillkner8742]

I remember seeing a kid at my grade school have a Mighty Orbots lunchbox!

[@SuperSongbird21]

Rob isn't the only one who has a pointless secret identity - in some episodes the public all seem to think Mighty Orbots is a single being, so the individual Orbots effectively have secret identities. But in others, everyone knows the Mighty Orbots are a team, yet never recognize the group when they're doing 'civilian' stuff - how the heck does that work?!?

[@Urizen61]

All of your criticisms are spot on, but I still love this show! It has a sense of fun that is infectious. I also found the characters likeable if one-dimensional.

[@SuperKokuJin916]

Ironically, GodMars (also animated by TMS in 1981) was the actual basis of the design for Mighty Orbots which predates Gobots by 3 years! It was reused in Mighty Orbots as a plan to sell repainted Godmars molds in the US! How can Tonka sue them when it's based off a pre existing IP that was animated by the same team? It wasn't a ripoff of their crappy show. It was so much better. Don Messick also did the voice of Crunch and Barry Gordon also did the voice of the Nestle Quik rabbit. So glad its finally on DVD legitimately. I've been holding on to my fan made DVDs since 2006.

[@coreylevine3856]

if both shows were made by the same company why the hell Tonka sue them knowing they may lose the lawsuit .

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

@@coreylevine3856 TMS made both shows, but the actual owners were two other companies. Godmarz toys were owned by Bandai, which Tonka licensed, along with other Bandai toys (like Gobots, etc.). Tonka basically did it to prevent a “potential” IP infringement, because Tonka sold Bandai’s Gobots, but never ending up selling Bandai’s Godmarz in the USA... Yeah, makes me mad, too...

[@bittybears5287]

Why is this 1984 cartoon animated better than Captain Planet, and most video game tv adaptions? Even some very beloved shows, such as Thundercats? Something's wrong here.

[@bittybears5287]

And I like Bakugan.

[@Hughes81]

I remember being terrified of the main villian. Just a great design.

[@davidramossalsologoporexse2469]

I loved the mighty orbots My favorite of that era

[@DigiMega351]

Dia is on the same brain-length as Lois Lane, Akane Tendo, and the Kuno Siblings in that regard.

[@MrEricon9]

I don't think she and the "orbots commander" are ever face to face, in the series.

[@DigiMega351]

Maybe.

[@bobbycoltrane7552]

One time only

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Maybe they can’t animate it, but maybe the helmet only looks transparent to us, just like his voice is never distorted by the helmet/face shield. I mean it’s a kids show, and kids have to know what he’s saying...* but Ohno should be a dead giveaway that it’s Rob.

[@mauromesa78]

the complete series of mighty orbots is coming to dvd on 4/17/2018 this is a super cool time for all fans

[@timkozdra5647]

This show should've survived instead being ruined by the god damn Gobots.

[@NewManTruckin]

The action sequence music 80's all day.

[@s.rnohbody3068]

*Gary Owens voice*: This long time viewer first time commentator is trying to figure out if he should go with a comedy based comment or a observation of similar themes between this series and another obscure show, perhaps a combination of the two. However after thinking of it, this commentator has decided to not leave a comment in fear of not coming up with something clever. Oh well, maybe next time dear commentator. *me*: Goddammit Gary Owens you ruined my train of thought. *Gary Owens voice*: The commentator shakes his fist in the air to no avail as I am but a disembodied voice

[@gijose83]

underrated show

[@ronniearnold9165]

The animation is still one of the best from 80s!

[@DennisTamayo]

It was animated by a Japanese studio TMS Entertainment in Tokyo.

[@oliverortiz8507]

I remember watching this series on Saturdays and thinking that I had discovered something truly different and visually superior to anything I had seen before. Love the intro. The reviewer was honest but still showed a love for a cool show.

[@modakkagitplugga]

I'd love to see the original subs for this. The animation is crazy mastercraft quality

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

I...don’t think it was subbed. I think Hanna-Barbara (sp?) brought the initial character designs to TMS. Then TMS did the animation, and Hanna-Barbara did the voice and soundtrack.

[@christianyoung1383]

As it is a joint U.S.-Japan production and not just an anime import, it was always meant to be produced in English.

[@Dietpepsiahh]

You got to love 80's Logic, I do!

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Thanks for covering this awesome show. I have the new DVD - great quality. I only have a lion Voltron toy (the “cheap”, non-die cast, combiining one), but no episodes. I wish Mighty Orbots had spawned toys... Hopefully it’s reboot-worry some day...

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

I think it wouldn’t be that tough to do a Lego custom, even if you need to “kit bash” a little. And since it’s your own custom creation, no worries about getting in trouble. I think you could also create instructions without repercussions, so long as you only share them and don’t sell them. Or paper-craft, instead of Lego. So many possibilities...

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Great review! I ended up getting the remastered DVD everyone mentioned here. It’s great!

[@treygreene4298]

mighty orbots was awesome

[@TheCastellan]

TMS also animated Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, another good series.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Jerry Orbach was part of the voice talent on the Galaxy Rangers. Good voice for a lawman...

[@rodrigocastro7651]

Love Migthy Orbots show since 1895 !!!!!!!

[@ghuff31]

hmmm...*hides his mp4 file containing the ENTIRE series, goes back to work*

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Did you lookup “Broots”...the initial pilot?...because it’s out there... Maybe worth 1 more mp4, at least that’s what I did...

[@jamesstephens3222]

And it has one of the BEST theme songs from the 80's!!!

[@stephenbyrne2170]

Ya know, with a little scrubbing, this show could be a proper masterpiece.

[@kangaroofuno]

Why didn't toonami air mighty orbots?

[@skybite]

Finally got to watch this and it was OK

[@iblankedurmommy]

I love this show so much

[@Alex-km7so]

This show looks sick!

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

It was fun. I hear about people saying Beast Wars was fun. It was like that - Saturday-morning sci-fi mayhem! Good times!

[@jonecuntapay9561]

The mech designs were inspired from anime scifi robot Six Gods Gattai Godmars(Loose adaptation from Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga titled MARS, he also created the TETSUJIN28gou/Gigantor series)

[@bobbycoltrane7552]

As far as why the robots are bigger when they're combined I believe that's because of bort and crunch. What can shift shape so he has the power to make the robots bigger where crunch is a battery pack which is why he eats he supplies the extra power needed to maintain that form

[@kilroywashere513]

I did watch this back when it aired on Saturday mournings, and it did have an awesome theme song though, and the animation is cool too👍🏻👍🏻🙂.

[@johnpenn74]

Did you ever notice how Robs Commander uniform looks a lot like Roger Wilco??!!!

[@wwetnabamafan194]

I'm pretty sure everyone loved the Orbots theme song, kinda reminds me of Styx with Dennis DeYoung.

[@phoenixman8569]

Same thing as when Lois Lane cannot tell that Clark Kent is really superman just because of the glasses Clark wears.

[@pdgf]

I really love the music in this cartoon. And dont you realize that Bo and Boo sound like Santana and Brittany on Glee?!

[@Bucky749]

Nice mst3k reference .

[@prestonmcleod1726]

Mighty Orbots was 1 of cartoons w/the best themes. Where can I find this series?

[@foxfireinferno197]

Don Messick also voiced Crunch, if I'm not mistaken.

[@cksmith08]

"TMS where are you when the world needed 2D animation? STOP GIVING US CRAP LIKE BAKUGAN!" And to a later extent, Sonic X. TMS were also busy with Bionic Six, Lupin the 3rd, and Visionaries. (I am completely aware this was posted and a reupload. So it's worth bringing up.)

[@L1701]

Eh, when you got animators to feed...

[@DennisTamayo]

The studio was responsible for the animation on Tiny Toon Adventures & the original Animaniacs.

[@cksmith08]

@@DennisTamayo as well As Galaxy High School.

[@TheCastellan]

8:44 Imagine how He man must feel.

[@rixlan]

Disaster Area? Well, we know the makers of this cartoon were Douglas Adams fans.

[@avaranabraham8507]

Fun fact the character designer who did the characters worked on the anime the space cobra

[@drichardson007]

Good review, thanks!

[@v.m.9198]

would you rather have Gary Owens or Steven Blum narrate your life?

[@victorhernandez8723]

Doesn't really matter. They're both great!

[@skybite]

That's a tough choice

[@orinanime]

I LOVE them BOTH.... But Gary Owens

[@jakarnilson]

Gary Owens if I happened to be a clumsy and idiotic yet lovable adventure game protagonist (that also dies a lot)

[@mechrob1]

To be fair such a similar lawsuit did happen with FASA Corp (the makers of BattleTech) in 1996 after Harmony Gold sued them for "stealing there" mecha deigns from RoboTech.

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Oh yes, Harmony Gold is more infamous than Tonka, even here...

[@snakes3425]

So Rob is a wimp with glasses, who becomes a superhero by simply taking his glasses off...gee why does that SOUND FUCKING FAMILIAR

[@areasevenpro]

Mighty Orbots is an '80s cartoon that's stuck in the '70s.

[@DennisTamayo]

The series should air on Cartoon Network, including my country.

[@justinlezcano8068]

Song 10 out 10

[@Bucky749]

Did rob create there personalities on people he knows or is it like the metal men and the personalities just happened???

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Yes, as soon as I got introduced to Metal Mene, I thought the same. I think the personalities are mostly their own, but with a little tinkering form Rob (he admits he programmed Ohno to be responsible, but that’s it).

[@YayAkiba]

That main guy sounds like Billy West(Frye)

[@cksmith08]

Not to mention Rob Simmons is voiced by Barry Gordon (who was Donatello from TMNT, Quik Bunny, Junior of the Snorks, etc)

[@diemartist]

Orbots and Godmars look completely different! Somebody countersue and get their commercial rights and back pay!

[@nicholasrodinos4701]

2:00 Umbra really? That is so unsubtle.

[@ronniearnold9165]

Think about the older cartoons, didn't they have narration? Hey, if you are going to have it - Nobody did it better than Gary.

[@soloseraphimheartsong3710]

The intro music was great but the music during the episode was always this weird synth-jazz. It was strange.

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

Mighty Orbot's Gestalt forum looks like God Mars.

[@breakingdragon22]

CaptainMarvell92 Returns same creator

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

Still better animation.

[@PuppetDungeon]

One of my all time favorites.. I actually found two VHS tapes of it in a store in the 90's, and passed on them because they were *gasp* $13.99 each! (Yeah, I constantly smack myself mentally for not picking them up) Years later I would buy bad 4th gen copies from a bootlegger at a convention for $40, which didn't even have the whole series! Desperately needs a modern release, but who the hell knows what obscure company has the video rights these days.

[@Bucky749]

Was orbots commander there only field agent ?

[@dayuhanspace]

yeah i remember this show it was before thundercats in my country

[@Maioly]

Fun fact, TMS entertaiment aparently also worked on godmars also, godmars was less an anime and more just a bunch of sliding pictures it was literraly so low budget that fight animation was kept to a minimun, and mostly moving stills

[@conradojavier7547]

it could have easily been an Americanized Godmars.

[@LatitudeSky]

The Go-Bots lawsuit saved everybody from a far worse fate. Bandai and the owners of God Mars were about to dump hot lava all over TMS, ABC, MGM, and everybody else involved in the wholesale IP theft. It was going to get very ugly very quickly. But Tonka got the first punch, killed the show in one hit, and solved the problem before Bandai had to enter the fight. This is all TMS's fault. It was not at all the first time they stole an IP and tried to run with it. They played very dirty at times.

[@crazytiger800]

Ah yes, Mighty Orbots aka. God Mars with a budget.

[@Bucky749]

Do think you’ll ever cover the show Drak pack ?

[@FanboyMarkJabroni]

I just saw DVDs on the series on eBay for somewhere around $40-50

[@prestonmcleod1726]

I ordered the DVD on Amazon for $25

[@MathieuLeblanc1991]

The other twin was voiced by Julie Bennett aka Cindy Bear

[@renedavila654]

If you liked this intro, you should listen to Galaxy Rangers, Thunder Cats, and Jem

[@toeimoviefan2978]

Crunch from Mighty Orbots vs Shimazu Toyohisa from Drifters, Po vs Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda style!

[@mauromesa78]

it has all of the episodes but it dos not have the original unaired pilot special broots as a bones feature

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

Cough cough (KZbin) cough cough (backup video) cough cough... Sorry, just my allergies there...

[@TheAutobotPower]

Funny thing is, this inspired much of the designs of TFA who latter on served to redefine the next transformers designs. like TF: Prime and TF : RID.

[@conradojavier7547]

Bulkhead(the Fat Guy) got his design from Mighty Orbots.

[@astrocitizen]

2:28 -- What? No HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE reference?!

[@sharonpereira4501]

I respect your criticism.

[@MinscFromBaldursGate92]

Galactic Patrol? Like in Lensman?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Pfft, probably!

[@latviandragon2718]

13:07 hey screw you bakugan is awsome

[@houseofno]

Could you show some respect for the dead, please? Space Ghost, er um Gary Owens, passed away on February 12, 2015. Barry Gordon also voiced the Nestle Quik Bunny character.

[@nazishhussain2712]

What about a review on Friday cartoon on mtv

[@bigbadhodad3894]

Disaster Area Is playing on mars wow, good by mars, and most of the planets near by.

[@Peridorito825]

Hey, I liked Bakugan!

[@nazishhussain2712]

Barry Gordon sound like eddy from ed edd eddy

[@ramblinwriter4987]

omg! i watched it has a kid, and had always wondered why it had only 1 season...i was sad, expecting it show up the next week...and the next...but nope.

[@Pynaegan]

It's my understanding that they were sued by....gobots. Me and my younger brother watched this religiously and when the final episode aired and Umbra was destroyed my brother cried. I was just pissed because I was in denial that the show was *OVER* !

[@ramblinwriter4987]

I wanna say youtube has all 13 episodes but I dare not watch because I don't wanna be heartbroken lol... That whole going back to yesteryear thing..

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

@@Pynaegan Yes, Tonka licensed all Bandai toys, like Machine Robo (Gobots) and Godmarz. Tonka only sued the owners of Mighty Orbots “in case” Tonka ever sold Godmarz toys here, and then they didn’t. That really annoyed me...

[@ronaldpaterni5081]

@@ramblinwriter4987 Someday, my friend, when you’re ready to venture back...

[@Pynaegan]

@@ronaldpaterni5081 A "preemptive strike". Ain't that a bitch!?

[@nazishhussain2712]

Do a reviw on Johnny test

[@pensado3000]

1st American "created" anime. I think.