Who needs Transformers by Michael Bay when you can have them by Sydney Harbour? From now until April 30, two built-to-scale recreations of Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal from the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts film, have found a home in the picturesque harbourside surrounds of Sydney's Taronga Zoo. I was recently invited to check them out in the flesh – or at least, 'living metal' – and was impressed by the sheer size of these manmade monoliths.
The gorilla-like Optimus Primal stands at an impressive four metres (well, hunches at four metres), and weighs in at over 300kg – which is roughly equal to the combined weight of a basketball team made up of actual gorillas (or five Phoenix Suns mascots, perhaps). Meanwhile the iconic Optimus Prime has a height of a full six metres – which eclipses the 5.7m of Gerry, the world's second tallest giraffe, who was eying me curiously from his nearby enclosure as I struggled to frame a selfie with the only two exhibits in the zoo that didn't actually have a heartbeat.
Both Transformers feature impressive details, from the glowing green eyes of Optimus Primal to the battle-scarred paint job on Optimus Prime's chassis. While neither features any animatronic parts like the moving unicorn horn of Tokyo's Gundam statue, there is some interactivity to be enjoyed by scanning a unique QR code that presents you with an augmented reality view of the statues on your smartphone. From there you can tap on various body parts to reveal information overlays, movie clips and more. These twin towers aren't just an excuse for some super-sized selfies, because with the AR-powered interactivity there's more than meets the iPhone.
"It is a very exciting day for us at Taronga to have our guests be able to get up close and personal with these amazing beasts," said Taronga Zoo spokesperson, Leila Davis, who was presumably grateful for there being two amazing beasts at the zoo that don't actually require their enclosures to be hosed out at the end of each day."As a not for profit organisation, partnerships like this one with Transformers are absolutely critical in our mission to save wildlife," continued Davis. "In the past few years alone, seven species of wildlife have been saved by Taronga thanks to partnerships like this one. We welcome everyone to come on down for this Australian-first experience, have a great day out at Taronga and see these phenomenal statues."
So there you have it, not only does a trip to Taronga Zoo this April get you a rare glimpse at these gargantuan sculptures, but the cost of your entry ticket is helping to preserve some of the most endangered species' on planet Earth – an endeavour that Prime himself would be proud of.
Of course, these statues aren't there purely to warm the Energon of an Autobot's heart, but also to promote the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The long-awaited instalment in the series is set to arrive in theaters on June 8, almost five years since the rather delightful Bumblebee – which IGN's review described as being "the best live-action Transformers movie since the 2007 film." Thus expectations surrounding the new film are high, particularly since it's based on the fan-favourite Beast Wars series that sees the Autobots throw down with three ancient factions of the Transformers race: the Maximals, the Predacons, and the Terrorcons. With up and coming director Steven Caple Jr (Creed II) at the helm, and the dynamic Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, In the Heights) as its leading man (or leading human, at least), there are positive signs that this could well be a statue-worthy entry in the Transformers series.
We'll know for sure in two short months' time when Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hits theaters worldwide on June 8, and be sure to keep checking IGN for our review of the film as well as glimpses at new toy lines and more. Until then, if you're a Transformers fan in Sydney you should head to Taronga Zoo by the end of April in order to behold the biggest slabs of heavy metal this side of a Slipknot festival, before they transform back into a smaller set of parts and roll out into a storage unit.
Tristan Ogilvie visited Taronga Zoo Sydney's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts installation as a guest of Paramount Australia.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/towering-transformers-take-over-taronga