And, guys…?
It seems to have worked.
Theyre the one on the adventure, not just along for the ride.
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Not you too… she keeps muttering.
If I dont care about the characters, I dont care about what Im watching.
That simplified design had the bonus effect of making Bumblebee more relatable to the audience.
Will McCoy/Paramount Pictures
Its easier now to see the person inside the machine.
When Bumblebee is hurt, the audience has to feel it, too.
One of the key touchstones of this film wasE.T., Knight says.
Paramount Pictures
E.T.was the first film that ever moved me to tears.
It moved me deeply.
Id never cried at any movie before.
Paramount Pictures
It really was this kind of odd, moving portrait of childhood loneliness.
It was about empathy.
Thats really ultimately what this film is about, too.
Paramount Pictures
For Charlie, saving Bumblebee has deeper meaning.
She wasnt there to save her dad when his heart failed him.
I like to think that everything she knows, she was taught by her father.
Paramount Pictures
She has her dads car, which does not run, and it was their project together.
Its not progressing, its not going anywhere.
Its emotionally hard for her and physically she cannot accomplish what shes trying to do.
So, she goes out and starts her own journey of finding her another car to fix.
Thats how Charlie discovered a rundown Volkswagen Beetle in a junkyard where she frequently scavenges for parts.
It was in your living room, you had a relationship with the robots.
Here, its on the screen again.
I wanted to bring that back a little bit.
The success of similar retro-vibe stories like NetflixsStranger Thingsand the remake of Stephen KingsItproves Bumblebee is tapping something powerful.
Something that was lost, but could be found again.
A lot of us have been saying, [Movies] were better back then, Hodson says.
Now were bringing them back and people are like, Yeah, they were better!
