Bumblebee

A prequel set in 1987, smaller and warmer than the Bay films, with the classic boxy G1-inspired robot designs fans had wanted.

A grieving teenager named Charlie finds a battered yellow Volkswagen Beetle that turns out to be the wounded Autobot Bumblebee, hiding on Earth and hunted by Decepticons. Their friendship anchors a coming-of-age story with real heart.

Directed by Laika’s Travis Knight, the film deliberately reset the series’ tone and aesthetic toward the original cartoon.

The best-reviewed film in the franchise, it proved a character-first, lower-budget approach could work and reframed the series going forward.