Paramount’s Transformers franchise, which opened to enormous box office around the world back in 2007, has in recent instalments seemed a little wobbly in terms of focus, consistency, and continuity. Following Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Night (2017), which actually lost the studio money, things looked up with Travis Knight’s Bumblebee (2018). A sort of soft reboot blended with a prequel, it was then followed by Steven Caple Jr’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023), the lowest-grossing live-action instalment to date.

It strikes me that audiences are tiring of Transformers movies, which is not exactly a surprise given that two out of seven films have actually been any good. This turns out be a shame, however, because their latest film – a CGI animated origin story set on the planet Cybertron – is as good as those two stand-outs. It was not a commercial success in cinemas, and so audiences are unlikely to see a Transformers Two in the future. Expect a risible G.I. Joe crossover instead, and we all – myself included – only have ourselves to blame.

It is easy to disregard Transformers One as a disposable money-spinner, since we are naturally inclined to favour the live-action films over animated ones. I, like many others, skipped in cinemas. I should not have. Blessed with a strong, well-developed screenplay, the film boasts funny and engaging characters, inventive and eye-catching design, and tells a decent all-ages science fiction adventure.

Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) work in the energon mines of Cybertron. Since the loss of the almighty Primes, energon has not flowed freely but must be processed by hand. In the city above transforming robots live a life of higher status than the simple mining robots. When Orion sets out to prove himself as equal as any robot, it reveals a conspiracy to keep all robots under the control of one.

A smattering of famous names populate the voice cast here, mostly to have something to advertise on the poster. It is a mixture of “cast because they’re famous” (Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson), “cast because their voices are strong” (Henry, Laurence Fishburne), and “cast because Steve Buscemi as Starscream is the dream combination you never knew that you needed in your life” (Steve Buscemi).

Visually the film is colourful and cinematic. The animation has been produced by Industrial Light & Magic, while Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) does an excellent job of directing. While the action does tend to get a little frantic during key sequences, for the most part it is smartly presented, hugely entertaining stuff. It has a weight to its story, and logic to its worldbuilding. It has an enjoyable blend of comic relief and high drama. It has, rather surprisingly for what is ultimately a cartoon adapting a toy, themes and subtexts.

Honestly I think a lot of us overlooked this one. Sure it is ultimately a Transformers movie, and you will need some affection for what that entails to get your full enjoyment out of this. Within those parameters, however, it is hard to imagine a production team making something better.