Bumblebee's Animated incarnation certainly feels unique amongst all of the numerous cartoon takes on the character made after the movies rewrote the way we see the character. TFP felt the most like the movies, Cyberverse was a cartoony take on the Evergreen design with an initially damaged voice box only in the first season, and Earthspark is just Evergreen/Cyberverse but half dude-bro/half older brother trying to babysit the Terrans. Animated Bumblebee looks the most like his G1 self but stylized, yet he has more in common with the Unicron Trilogy's version of Hot Shot because Bee was originally meant to be Hot Shot! That being said, we now have a new version of Animated Bumblebee 14 years after we last had the Hydrodive version of the character (and a few repaints of the original Deluxe). Let's see if it's worth getting this guy, whether or not you have either original run Bee.
Here we have Animated Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. This generally resembles the Animated aesthetics pretty well, though things like the side window and the hinge combined with the 5mm port near the doors does disrupt the aesthetics. I do appreciate there being enough paint apps to make it feel worth the inflated prices Deluxes get while matching the simplicity and stylistic aesthetics of the Animated series, with the front end receiving as much attention as the rims. Also appreciate how the stripe on my copy remains aligned from front to back. The overall altmode looks like a mix between the original Deluxe and the Hydrodive version.
The rockets and stinger halves can be stored on the back, and I have to say I wish the rockets were painted like the stinger halves are. Another annoyance has to be how some parts don't like to be tabbed in all the way. Interestingly, due to the engineering of the toy, the front wheels appear to be snap-on while the rear wheels are pinned.
For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is next to Animated Prowl from last year. Obviously not to scale because of the way the sizes work in the show, but it's clear bot mode scale is prioritized.
Transformation is more involved than one would expect from this little guy. Between the fact that his size makes the process more fiddly for anyone with big hands like myself, and the way it transforms differently from the original toys, it takes some getting used to with ensuring all goes as planned when switching mode and tabbing parts properly. The robot mode is bulkier than the original character design, with arms that are blockier than they were in the series, resulting in a football player take on the character. And it's also unique since despite having the same design cues from Animated, he ends up being Geewunified. That being said, it's better done here than with the TFP cast (the pack piece kind of ruins the flow), and it also has one aspect that Prowl was missing...
...that being a show-accurate head. While the head on Animated Prowl was fine on its own, his head sculpt is not as stylized as it is on Bumblebee, what with the smirk, the 2D influence, and the chin DJW was known for. His articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, shoulders that move front and back on swivels and in and out on hinges, though both joints could lock in place better. There are sort of double-jointed elbows, bicep swivels, and tiny wrist swivels. Hips move front and back, in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend, and ankles pivot only if you click them past where they are normally locked.
The rockets can be pegged on the back while flipping the fists away reveals peg holes for the stinger halves to attach. You can them complete the main form offense Bee is known for in this series, as Autobots don't use guns in Animated overall (the second and last time the rule first used in Beast Machines was used). You could have the stinger halves separated, but it won't look parallel due to the way the ports on the forearms are slanted.
For a robot mode size comparison, here he is running along with Optimus Prime and Prowl! Now this is shaping up to be a great display overall for an updated collection of Animated figures. I have the same hopes for Armada, and I hope we not only get Bulkhead and Ratchet ASAP, but also Decepticons that will look great with this cast. So overall, Bumblebee manages to be a solid update for fans of the Animated series who are willing to stomach the Generationized aesthetics. There are some minor annoyances with the engineering, and he is very small, but still a recommend nonetheless.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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