REVIEW: Hasbro's Transformers Animated - GRIMLOCK

Grimlock smash a whole new generation...

Debuting in the final days of 2007, Transformers Animated is the current version of the venerable fight between the Autobots and Decepticons. Veering away from the CG and convoluted storylines of the previous few Transformers incarnations, Animated is a simpler, anime-influenced, and stylized mish-mash of bright colors and stereotype characters. It’s gaudy, it’s silly, and it’ll probably connect better with kids than Transformers have in a while. Like it or not, Animated is in.

With the great outpouring of Transformers Movie-related merchandise still clogging the shelves of toy stores everywhere, Hasbro has been slow to unveil Animated products, but they are coming. As with past lines, there will be various ‘bots and ‘cons in all sizes and price points. The first toys are now being spotted in Wal*Marts across the country, and that’s where I found my first, none other than the Dinobot Commander himself, Grimlock!

The Transformers Animated product packaging is much like the show itself: flashy and stylized with bright colors. Grimlock is one of the mid-size Voyager Class Transformers, and so comes in a sturdy window box showing off the toy inside. On the front of the box is an image of Grimlock from the cartoon, with the words “Snapping jaws!” The collector is also informed that the Dinobot is Level 3, or “Advanced Conversion” when it comes to the transformation scheme.

The back of the box has a detailed photo of the toy on the left side, and bio on the right. All around are little facts and notes about the character and toy. All in all the packaging is pretty snappy, with loads of information and crisp, clean artwork.

Every Transformers fan knows Grimlock. Everyone knows he’s big, he’s mean, and he talks funny. What they might not know is that with all of the Transformers expanded universe he’s got a bunch of conflicting back stories, is (usually) much more intelligent than his glitched audio processor makes him sound, and is an excellent tactician and leader. In Animated, however, Grimlock goes back to his cartoon roots. Created on Earth, Grimlock is one of three new Dinobots. Destructive in the extreme, they are exiled by the Autobots to their own island paradise where they can’t harm anyone. Of course, they occasionally get off of that island...

Grimlock comes packaged in his alt mode, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex. It’s interesting to note how this mode continually evolves alongside current trends in paleontology. In the ‘80s Grimlock was the classic “vertical” T-Rex, slow and tall. With further fossil and footprint evidence that body shape was discarded in favor of the much faster “horizontal” version, most famously seen in Jurassic Park. And so, the last few Grimlock toys have had this shape, still huge and powerful, but much longer than tall.

Animated Grimlock looks like a silly robotic dinosaur. The proportions are pretty exaggerated, with a thick body, decently sized rear legs, tiny forelegs, and a stylized head. This is what really jumps out at you first, the huge underbite. Grimlock’s lower jaw is bigger than his whole head! There is a pretty cool action feature here, though. Push down on the button on Grimlock’s neck and the lower jaw springs down. Let go and it snaps back up.

Sculpt on the Dinobot Commander is fairly basic, with lots of large, flat planes. He’s definitely a Cybertronian dinosaur, though, and so there are a variety of panels and vents, and layered surfaces especially on the neck and feet. Grimlock’s color scheme is reminiscent of his G1 counterpart (and most other versions in between), primarily gray with accents in maroon, gold, and black. There is a white Autobot symbol on the left leg, and Grimlock’s eyes are blue with a great light-piping effect.

The mighty T-Rex has only basic articulation, but it serves well enough. Other than the aforementioned jaw, only the hind legs are poseable. Where they attach to the body are very open ball joints. Further down the leg are two more joints (roughly knees and ankles). Finally, the feet can rotate and the claws, all three together in front and the one in back, are articulated. So, Grimlock can stand, run, or stomp enemies with glee.

Transformation to robot mode is pretty straightforward, and anyone who’s owned a G1 Grimlock could do it without needing instructions. Basically, split open the tail to form the legs, flip the dinosaur head back, and move the T-Rex legs up to form the robot arms. A very nice feature on this toy is the multitude of slots and posts to hold pieces in their respective places securely; there’s very little kibble flopping around. One weird thing, though, is the way the black “elbow” sections slide into the upper arms. On mine, the right one works fine but the left only goes so far before getting stuck. Pushing harder causes the upper arm to crack and split. Hopefully this isn’t a problem on every toy.

Grimlock’s robot mode is pretty badass. He stands about seven inches tall, nicely sized with the other Animated toys since he’s always supposed to be huge. He’s got a wide upper body, massive arms, and heavy duty lower legs. Depending on his pose, the sides of the dinosaur mode neck can be spread out behind him. As usual for Grimlock toys, the T-Rex claws become his robot hands, and so look like they can do a lot of damage. Finally Grimlock’s face is really cool, a mix of traditional and new elements.

While the T-Rex mode had relatively poor articulation, the robot mode shines. Grimlock has the following joints: neck, ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers (all together), thumbs, waist, hips (both forward-back and side to side), knees (both forward-back and side to side), and rotating calves. Some of these joints, like the knees, are really interesting, and add a lot of character to the poses of the Dinobot. And this guy has a great range of motion.

Grimlock’s one accessory is a huge flaming sword. Once known as an energo-sword, this has been standard Grimlock (and indeed Dinobot) armament for twenty years. The piece is massive, measuring about five and a half inches long. It’s a really cool weapon, and looks like a sword of fire with alternating black paint over clear orange. Even better, when the sword is plugged into Grimlock’s hand extra flames pop out of its sides! With a sword this cool, it’s a shame Hasbro didn’t include Grimlock’s other traditional weapon, the double-barreled self-propelled rocket launcher.

While Transformers Animated has its... idiosyncrasies, the toys appear to stand up well on their own, if you like their non-standard looks. Grimlock is a perfect example of this. He’s certainly functional, and even has some cool surprises like his excellent robot mode articulation and great sword. All in all he’s a solid toy with plenty of potential for play, so he’ll do great with the kids (especially since he looks exactly like his on-screen counterpart). Collectors and fans of the character will find him a worthy addition to other Grimlocks or Dinobots. Look for Grimlock and the other Animated toys to hit shelves any day now.

Click the link below for more images of Grimlock!

Review and Photos by Scott Rubin

Transformers Animated Grimlock Photo Gallery