'Transformers' ' Skids and Mudflap: Stereotypes or innocent fun?

LOS ANGELES - "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" introduces some 40 new mechanized characters of all shapes, sizes and even sexes - but it's a pair of jive-talking 'bots that critics are singling out as more than just harmless comic relief.

Skids and Mudflap, twin robots disguised as compact Chevys, constantly brawl and bicker in rap-inspired street slang. They're forced to acknowledge that they can't read. One has a gold tooth.

As good guys, they fight alongside the Autobots and are intended to provide comic relief. But the traits they're ascribed raise the specter of stereotypes most notably seen when Jar Jar Binks, the clumsy, broken-English speaking alien from "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," was criticized as a racial caricature.

Daily News movie critic Gary Thompson gave "Transformers" a C and described it as "borderline racist.

"There are a couple of Chevy Aveos that transform into buck-toothed, shuckin' and jivin' hip-hop autobots that call each other 'bitch' and are assigned lines like 'We don't do much readin'.' Whoa. These guys make 'Star Wars' Jar Jar Binks look cosmopolitan."

Associated Press movie critic Christy Lemire called Skids and Mudflap "Jar Jar Binks in car form."

Director Michael Bay insisted that the bumbling 'bots are just good clean fun. "We're just putting more personality in," Bay said. "I don't know if it's stereotypes - they are robots, by the way. These are the voice actors. This is kind of the direction they were taking the characters and we went with it."

TV actor Reno Wilson, who is black, voices Mudflap. Tom Kenny, the white actor behind SpongeBob SquarePants, voices Skids. Neither immediately responded to interview requests for this story.

Bay said the twins' parts "were kind of written but not really written, so the voice actors is when we started to really kind of come up with their characters."

"I purely did it for kids," the director said. "Young kids love these robots, because it makes it more accessible to them." *