The new Transformers cartoon, plainly yet descriptively titled “Transformers: Animated,” debuted last night in the 90-minute special “Transform and Roll Out!” There’s a good amount of interest and hype for this, due to the fact that it’s coming on the heels of that wildly successful if not laughably divisive $319 million grossing summer blockbuster also involving Transformers.

Of course, this isn’t the first new Transformers cartoon since the beloved ’80s original. They’ve actually been cranking them out nearly non-stop - the various permutations of “Beast Wars” in the 1990s, and an unflinching array of nigh-unwatchable Pokemon-ripoffs like “Transformers: Robots in Disguise.”

This one, though, looks to be better than much of the recent material. Though the designs are wildly different than the beloved “G1″ characters, they are still keeping closer to that spirit than say, the movie (where the Transformers looked more like Bionicles). The pilot was pretty good, definitely geared towards kids (which, as a cartoon about alien cars that turn into giant robots is probably for the best), but with enough elements/winks towards the original material that old-school fans - if they can get past the obviously Genndy Tartakovsky-inspired art and changes (oh no! Optimus Prime is younger than I am used to him being portrayed as!) - might enjoy.It’s in danger of suffering the same problem I had with the movie - too many humans (and the humans that are there are pretty lame).

For me, I’ve always dug the Transformers toys - because, you know, they’re awesome - but never really cared too terribly much about the various fictions they were involved in. So when I thought this summer’s “Transformers” movie sucked, it might have been less because my childhood was being raped and more because there’s a pretty low ceiling to how good a movie about Transformers can actually be. I liked the old cartoon, but when I watch it now (sadly, the DVDs are way out of print) I’m realistic about what it is: fun for kids. Which, presumably, is something this cartoon, with its dynamic designs and wacky robots, will be as well.