Bumblebee & Me: Life as a G1 Transformer [Paperback]

While a little bit on the short side, it is an informative and enjoyable read for anyone who grew up watching the show "Transformers: The Complete Series".

Dan Gilvezan is famous for doing a few voices in various 80's cartoons. Amongst those are Cooler from Pound Puppies and Spiderman From Spiderman and His Amazing Friends. He has a very sweet, defined and recognizable voice that comes across with all the major characters he has done in these various cartoons. Of course most who are going to be reading this book will be doing so due to his providing the voice of the little yellow VW Bug Autobot Transformer from the series, that being fan favorite Bumblebee.

Dan takes you on a walk from his start in 1984 to first getting the part of voicing the iconic character, to what the people in charge of the voice studio were like, the experience itself and most importantly the other voice actors he worked with, all the way to the conclusion of the show. He gives a nice little piece on each of the main voices he had interactions with trying to let us readers see what it truly was like during one of these voice sessions.

The book is a bit on the short side as lets face it, a show that lasted from 1984-1987, with said character he is voicing getting less and less time on the screen as the show progressed, there is only so much you can say. But for such an affordable price, it is more than worth getting to read. Of course I wish there were more stories and experiences and opinions on his part. As some of the areas in the book do just seem like filler,(Like did he really have to name every character that was voiced on the show suddenly? Or give a list of every episode of the series at the end?). So one has to think either he forgot things over the years or just wanted to keep it short and sweet. But there did seem like there was room for a bit more than what we got and could have done without some of the filler found within.

Reading this you get a bit of a feel of what it was like doing the voice for this character and working with the others involved on the show. And it also made one a bit nostalgic as we take the path from where the series went and wound up when all was said and done. A simple show based around a new toy series that had to keep changing to keep up with the latest figures on the market and that meant the replacing of characters, themes and settings as the show went into a movie and a third season that were vastly differently from what the first two seasons offered. And even his thoughts on his Bumblebee character becoming the silly named Goldbug towards the end of the shows run.

Overall, it's a very quick read and you will learn a bit about not only Dan but Frank Welker and Peter Cullen to name a few of the famous voice actors from the show. All still doing voice work to this day and doing it well for that matter. And it's a fun and humorous experience as you do read about them.

Thanks Dan for sharing the memories and for the great voice work you did on one of my favorite characters ever in a cartoon series.

I'll leave you all with one of my favorite Bumblebee lines from the show: "Outta gas, but not outta luck!"

About the Author/Topic:

There were a lot of larger-than-life characters in The Transformers as it appeared in the mid-eighties. Bumblebee was not one of them. He was just life-sized and that made him more accessible to me than any of the other Transformers. I was not a kid who spent a lot of time lost in imagination, but I distinctly remember fantasizing about what it would be like to be Bumblebee's friend in real life. I'm in my 30's now, and as I re-watch old episodes on DVD, it's clear that Dan's performance of the character went above and beyond just speaking the lines. He brought the character to life, and made Bumblebee someone I wanted to be friends with. I honestly don't think most voice actors understand the profound effect they can have on kids. Everyone's childhood has its ups and downs, and as cheesy as it is to say, Bumblebee helped me through some of the downs, and I can't thank Dan enough for giving a six-year-old little boy someone to relate to when he felt like he didn't have a friend in the world. For me, Bumblebee always has been and always will be Dan Gilvezan.

About the Book:

Gilvezan gives a very rare insight into the voice acting process in general, and a fresh perspective on the early days of The Transformers before word had spread to the world just how awesome they were. Some of the memories he shares about the sessions and the other actors are truly hilarious. For example, I could tell by watching his smile in interviews that Frank Welker could be a mischievous guy, but that didn't prepare me for one story in particular about him that made me laugh so hard I had to stop reading for a minute. But these guys were also so dedicated, it's amazing what they put up with to bring their characters to life. As the narrative unfolded, it was like looking through the television in my childhood and finally seeing through to what was on the other side of it. Events that I remember living through looked very different from the point of view of the voice actors. I don't think I'll ever be able to see the 1986 Transformers Movie in quite the same way again. And when the story neared its end, I nearly teared up (I wouldn't admit it if I had!) to hear how the cartoon series that was so influential in my childhood came to an end as all good things do. But Gilvezan ends on an upbeat note, and I, for one, heartily hope that he gets a chance to reprise his role some day.

Conclusion:

As far as I'm concerned, this book is a cherished piece of the Transformers legacy, and would be at home in the library of any Transformers fan. It's a little on the short side - you can read it in an afternoon, but it's exactly the right length as it says what it needs to say without any filler. There's also a pretty comprehensive cast list and complete G1 episode guide thrown in for good measure.

Learning the "making-of" and "behind-the-scenes" stories of my favorite films and shows has always fascinated me. I love to learn the stories behind the story, as it were, and learn what influenced the creators, the funny and interesting antics that took place behind the cameras, and the hows and whys of what we see onscreen. So "The Art Of..." and "The Making Of..." books are always fun reads for me, as are other behind-the-scenes books such as Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back.

So when I learned that one of the voice actors of the original Transformers cartoon had written a book about his experiences, I knew I had to give it a look.

Dan Gilvezan's book is NOT a biography, nor is it an all-inclusive book about his experiences in show business. It focuses primarily on his work in the sound studio, providing the voice of Transformers icon Bumblebee. He describes some of the perils of the voice-acting business, the challenges and rewards of his work, and his experiences with other voice actors -- including such iconic names as Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Scatman Crothers, and Chris Latta. And of course, he shares some of the funny and crazy behind-the-scenes moments that one has to expect when they cram half-a-dozen madmen into a cramped studio and turn them loose.

This book is a short read, padded in length somewhat with a complete cast list and episode guide in the back -- though these are handy references, so I don't deduct stars for their inclusion. But it's a must-have for anyone who is a fan of the original Transformers cartoon, or for anyone who's interested in the process of bringing cartoon characters to life. Dan Gilvezan has given us a unique and often hilarious look into the world of cartoons, one I think anyone who likes cartoons -- not just Transformers fans -- will enjoy.

In the introduction of the book, Dan Gilvezan says that if any of the other Transformers voice actors have different views/memories on what happened than he does, "tough, write your own damn book." After reading "Bumblebee and Me," I actually hope one of them takes him up on it. It would be interesting to see the other voice actors' takes on what happened behind the scenes, and see if they have any fun and interesting stories to share.