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The Transformers: The Movie
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = The Transformers: The Movie
| image = Transformers-movieposter-west.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Nelson Shin
| producer =
| screenplay = Ron Friedman
| based_on =
| starring =
| narrator = Victor Caroli
| music = Vince DiCola
| cinematography = Masatoshi Fukui
| editing = David Hankins
| studio = Sunbow Productions
Marvel Productions
Toei Animation
| distributor = De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
| released =
| runtime = 85 minutes
| country =
| language = English
| budget = $56 million
| gross = $2.65.8 million (North America)
}}
'The Transformers: The Movie' is a 1986 animated science fiction action film based on the 'Transformers' television series. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986, and in the United Kingdom on December 12, 1986. It was co-produced and directed by Nelson Shin, who also produced the television series. The screenplay was written by Ron Friedman, who created 'Bionic Six' a year later.
The film features the voices of Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, John Moschitta Jr., Scatman Crothers, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, and Orson Welles, who died 10 months before the film's release, in his final film role. The soundtrack comprises electronic music composed by Vince DiCola and songs from rock and heavy metal acts including Stan Bush and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
The story is set in 2005, 20 years after the TV series' second season. After a Decepticon assault devastates Autobot City, Optimus Prime wins a deadly one-on-one duel with Megatron, but ultimately sustains fatal injuries in the encounter. With Megatron gravely injured, the Decepticons are forced to retreat, saving the Autobots. The Autobots are hunted across the galaxy by Unicron, a planet-sized Transformer intending to consume Cybertron and who transfigures Megatron to become the enslaved Galvatron.
Hasbro's exclusively toy-focused agenda demanded a product refresh, to be contrived by the on-screen extermination of starring characters, at the protest of some creators of the film and TV series. The slaughter of characters, especially Optimus Prime, inadvertently upset the young audience.
The film was a box-office failure, having been released in a season crowded with hit films, and having a failing young distribution company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG). Contemporary critics were generally negative, perceiving a thin plot made of blatant advertising and violent action appealing only to children. The film gained cult classic status decades later with many home re-releases and theatrical screenings, especially coinciding with Michael Bay's live-action series in the 2000s. Several critics greatly favor the original over the live-action films; 'Den of Geek' remembered it as "The Great Toy Massacre of 1986" which "traumatized a generation of kids with a string of startling deaths", and as "a milestone in animation history".
Plot
In 2005, the Decepticons have conquered the Transformers' home planet of Cybertron. The Autobots, operating from Cybertron's two moons, prepare a counter-offensive. Autobot leader Optimus Prime sends a shuttle to Autobot City on Earth for supplies. The Decepticons, led by Megatron, kill Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet, and Brawn and hijack the ship.
Outside Autobot City, Hot Rod, is relaxing with Daniel Witwicky (son of Spike Witwicky). Seeing the shuttle, they head back, but Hot Rod spots Megatron and hits the craft with missiles, causing it to crash. Megatron then leads an all-out assault on the city. Hot Rod and Daniel barely make it inside as the walls are raised. Unable to penetrate the wall, the Constructicons form Devastator and destroy the city's defenses, allowing the Decepticons to raid the city.
Optimus arrives with reinforcements, killing several Decepticons, then engages and defeats Megatron. Megatron attempts to use a hidden gun; when Hot Rod tries to stop him, the Deception leader overpowers him and fatally shoots Prime. As Megatron goes for the kill, Prime uses the last of his strength to kick Megatron over a hillside. The remaining Decepticons get inside Astrotrain and retreat from Autobot City, heading back to Cybertron.
On his deathbed, Optimus passes the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus, telling him that its power will light the Autobots' darkest hour. It drops from Optimus's hands and is caught by Hot Rod (who briefly feels its power), who hands it to Ultra Magnus. Prime succumbs to his injuries.
To conserve fuel, several Decepticons, led by second-in-command Starscream, jettison Thundercracker, Skywarp, Shrapnel, Kickback, Bombshell and Megatron. The wounded Decepticons are found by Unicron, a sentient planet who consumes other worlds. Unicron offers Megatron a new body in exchange for destroying the Matrix, which can destroy him; telling him Ultra Magnus has it.
Megatron refuses, but reluctantly agrees when Unicron threatens to allow him to drift helplessly in space forever. Megatron is remade into Galvatron, while the corpses of the other Decepticons are converted into his new troops: Cyclonus, Cyclonus' Armada, Scourge, and the Sweeps. Unicron also supplies Galvatron with a ship.
Unicron consumes Cybertron's moons, including the secret bases with the Autobots and Spike. On Cybertron, Galvatron disrupts Starscream's coronation as Decepticon leader and kills him. Retaking command of the Decepticons, Galvatron leads his forces to seek out Ultra Magnus at the ruined Autobot City.
The surviving Autobots escape in separate ships. Hot Rod and Kup's take off first, with Magnus, Arcee and Springer's close behind. Galvatron hits the second one, confident he has done Unicron's bidding; unaware that Magnus separated the back half. The explosion causes the Autobots to crash on different planets. Galvatron reports to Unicron, only to be punished for his failure, then sent to the Planet of Junk.
Hot Rod and Kup are taken prisoner by the Quintessons, a clutch of tyrants who hold kangaroo courts and execute prisoners by feeding them to the Sharkticons. They learn of Unicron from Kranix, a lone survivor of Lithone, a planet devoured by Unicron at the beginning of the film. After Kranix is executed, Hot Rod and Kup escape, aided by the Dinobots and the small Autobot Wheelie, who helps them find an escape ship.
The other Autobots land on Junk where they are attacked by the native Junkions, who then hide from Galvatron's arriving forces. Ultra Magnus secures the remaining Autobots, but is cornered by Galvatron. Failing to release the power of the Matrix, he is destroyed by Galvatron who seizes the Matrix, intent on using it to control Unicron.
The Autobots befriend the local Junkions, led by Wreck-Gar, who rebuild Magnus. They are joined by the Autobots from the planet of the Quintessons. The Autobots and Junkions (who have their own ship) fly to Cybertron to retrieve the Matrix. Galvatron attempts to threaten Unicron, but cannot activate the Matrix. In response to Galvatron's threats, Unicron transforms into a colossal robot and attacks Cybertron. When Galvatron attacks him, Unicron swallows him and the Matrix whole.
The Autobots crash their spaceship through Unicron's eye and become disbanded. Unicron continues to battle the Dinobots, Decepticons, and Junkions. Daniel saves his father Spike from Unicron's digestive system, and the group rescue Bumblebee, Jazz, and Cliffjumper.
Galvatron attempts to form an alliance with Hot Rod, but Unicron forces him to attack. During the fight, Galvatron gains the upper hand. Realizing this is the Autobot's darkest hour, the Matrix transforms Hot Rod into Rodimus Prime, the new Autobot leader. Rodimus tosses Galvatron into space and uses the Matrix's power to destroy Unicron, then escapes with the other Autobots. With the Decepticons in disarray from Unicron's attack, the Autobots celebrate the war's end and the retaking of their home planet while Unicron's severed head orbits Cybertron.
Cast
Development
Writing
The 'Transformers' television series began broadcasting in 1984 to promote the Transformers toys by Hasbro; 'The Transformers: The Movie' was conceived as a commercial tie-in to promote the 1986 line of toys. The TV series featured no deaths, and the writers had already deliberately assigned familial identities to characters for young children to associate with; however, Hasbro ordered that the film kill off several existing characters to refresh the cast.Director Nelson Shin recalled: "[Hasbro] created the story using characters that could best be merchandised for the film. Only with that consideration could I have freedom to change the storyline." Screenwriter Ron Friedman, who had written for the TV series, advised against killing Autobot leader Optimus Prime. He said in a 2013 interview: "To remove Optimus Prime, to physically remove Daddy from the family, that wasn't going to work. I told Hasbro and their lieutenants they would have to bring him back but they said no and had 'great things planned'. In other words, they were going to create new, more expensive toys."
According to the screenwriters, Hasbro underestimated the extent to which Prime's death would shock the young audience. Story consultant Flint Dille said: "We didn't know that he was an icon. It was a toy show. We just thought we were killing off the old product line to replace it with new products. [...] Kids were crying in the theaters. We heard about people leaving the movie. We were getting a lot of nasty notes about it. There was some kid who locked himself in his bedroom for two weeks." Optimus Prime was subsequently revived in the TV series.
A scene in which Ultra Magnus is drawn and quartered was scripted and storyboarded, but replaced with a scene of him being shot. Another unproduced scene would have killed "basically the entire '84 product line" in a charge against the Decepticons.
Production
The film's budget was $6 million, six times greater than that of the equivalent 90 minutes of the TV series. Shin's team of almost one hundred personnel normally took three months to make one episode of the series, so the extra budget did not help the considerable time constraints from the concurrent production of both the film and TV series. Shin conceived of Prime's body fading to grey to show that "the spirit was gone from the body".Toei Animation vice president Kozo Morishita spent one year in the United States during production. He supervised the art direction, insisting the Transformers be given several layers of shading and shadows for a dynamic and detailed appearance.
'The Transformers: The Movie' is the final film featuring Orson Welles. Welles spent the day of October 5, 1985, performing Unicron's voice on set, and died on October 10. 'Slate' reported that his "voice was apparently so weak by the time he made his recording that technicians needed to run it through a synthesizer to salvage it". Shin stated that Welles had originally been pleased to accept the role after reading the script and had expressed an admiration for animated films. Shortly before his death, Welles told his biographer, Barbara Leaming, "You know what I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen."
Soundtrack
Stan Bush's song "The Touch" is prominently featured in the film, having been originally written for the Sylvester Stallone film 'Cobra' (1986). A remix is in the 2012 video game 'Transformers: Fall of Cybertron', and in the 2018 film 'Bumblebee'. The soundtrack includes "Instruments of Destruction" by NRG, "Dare" by Stan Bush, "Nothin's Gonna Stand in Our Way" and "Hunger" by Kick Axe (credited as Spectre General), "Dare To Be Stupid" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, and a hard rock remake of the 'Transformers' TV theme song by Lion.
Release
The film was released on August 8, 1986 to 990 screens in the United States, grossing on opening weekend. It opened at 14th place behind 'About Last Night', which had already been in theaters for five weeks. Its final box office gross of made it the 99th highest-grossing film of 1986. In that year, Hasbro lost a total of $10 million on its two collaborations with the one-year-old and serially failing film distribution company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG): 'My Little Pony: The Movie' and then 'Transformers: The Movie'. Box office returns were booming across the industry, but several other small young distribution companies were similarly failing due to bulk production of many cheap films. Furthermore, 'Transformers: The Movie' was reportedly "lost in an already-crowded summer lineup" including 'Short Circuit', 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', 'Labyrinth', 'Big Trouble in Little China', 'The Karate Kid: Part II', 'Aliens', 'Howard the Duck', 'Stand By Me', 'Flight of the Navigator', and 'The Fly'.
Across the decades, 'Transformers' has become a cult classic, which yielded a remastering, several home media re-releases, and more theatrical screenings. In September 2018, the film was screened for one night in the United States, in 450 (later increased by 300, totaling 750) theaters.
Home media
The film was animated in 4:3 "fullscreen" format, and the trailer promises "spectacular widescreen action". The feature was vertically cropped to widescreen dimensions for theatrical showings and released in fullscreen on VHS and DVD.United States
The film was originally released in 1987 on VHS, Betamax, and LaserDisc in North America by Family Home Entertainment. This print of the film removes the usage of profanity said by Spike, but retains Ultra Magnus' line.
Rhino Home Video released the film on VHS in 1999. This version uses the UK master which has scrolling text and narration at the beginning to replace the cast credits, and an additional closing narration assuring viewers that "Optimus Prime will return." The company released the film on DVD in November 2000 with a newly remastered print based on the US version, and restores Spike's swear.It distributed exclusively in Canada by Seville Pictures.
Following Rhino's home video rights to Sunbow's catalog expiring, Sony Wonder released a 2-disc 20th Anniversary Special Edition on November 7, 2006. This release featured a brand new widescreen remaster of the film, in addition to the original fullscreen version. The extras include several audio commentaries, newly-produced behind-the-scenes featurettes, storyboards, commercials, and an episode from 'Transformers: Victory' - "Scramble City: Mobilization". However, it only features audio commentary.
Shout! Factory released a 30th anniversary edition on Blu-ray and DVD on September 13, 2016. Shout! Factory released a 35th anniversary edition on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on August 3, 2021.
United Kingdom
The film was initially released on VHS in September 1987 by Video Gems. This print of the film uses the same master used for the UK theatrical release but excludes the swear words. The film was re-released in February 2000 by Maverick Entertainment.
Maverick would release the film on DVD in November 2001, which once again used the UK print, but used the sound master from the US DVD, which restores Spike's swear. It features an episode of the 'Transformers: The Headmasters' anime as a bonus, alongside the theatrical trailer and a picture gallery. This version was later released on VHS in April 2002, which also contains the 'Headmasters' episode. Afterwards, the home video rights transferred over from Maverick to Metrodome Distribution after TV-Loonland AG's purchase of a stake in the company.
In March and June of 2003, Prism Leisure released a budget DVD release of the film.
Metrodome Distribution releasing 'The Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed' in September 2005, which featured a newly remastered version of the film that exposed the entire visible picture from the film's negative. The film was also released on UMD the following month.
In June 2007, Metrodome Distribution released an "Ultimate Edition" two-disc of the movie, one month prior to the release of the live-action 'Transformers' film, which featured the same remastered widescreen print from the Sony Wonder release on Disc 1, alongside the UK version on Disc 2. Its extras include many from the Remastered edition, plus fan commentary, a fan-made trailer, interviews with Peter Cullen and Flint Dille, and "Scramble City". This was followed up with a UMD reissue and a Blu-Ray Disc release in October 2007. This release uses an upscaled version of the 2006 widescreen remaster print, although it lacks bonus features.
In December 2016, Manga Entertainment released the 30th Anniversary Edition as a limited edition Blu-Ray steelbook, and released the standard edition on DVD and Blu-Ray a year later. This release uses the same master and prints from the US Shout! Factory release, being released under license from the company. Funimation UK later reissued the Blu-Ray and released the movie on 4K Blu-Ray in October 2021, once again using the same prints and masters from the Shout! Factory release.
Japan
On January 25, 2001, Pioneer LDC released the film on Region 2 DVD with Japanese and English audio (which was presented in the UK version). That release is no longer in print.
Reception
Initial reception
Contemporary film critics had a mostly negative tone. Many perceived a thin but darkly violent plot appealing only to children, based on blatant advertisement, unintelligible action, and supposedly lookalike characters. The day after release, Caryn James of 'The New York Times' described the film: "While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors." Scott Cain reported a "packed theater", but complained that "as a jaundiced adult", he irritably "never had the slightest clue as to what was taking place" even after consulting several excited children and the irreconcilable four-page studio synopsis. He did not care to identify the voices of famous actors and concluded that "non-stop action is sufficient for kiddie audiences [but] I am offended that 'The Transformers' is a 90-minute toy commercial. Even worse, it paints a future in which war is incessant. The only human child among the characters is in tears almost constantly." Richard Martin said "It's everything you'd expect from a Saturday morning cartoon blown up to feature length and designed to sell more toys to more kids. [... Unicron is] a monster planet that consumes everything in its path, just as the movie seems set to do." Jack Zink said "Dino De Laurentiis has seen the future, and it is spare parts", calling the film "a wall-to-wall demolition derby for kids". As "an animated, heavy-metal comic book [with a] maddeningly simple story", he said "The art and graphics may be substantially more complex than the TV series but the net visual result is less impressive than most viewers have a right to expect. [...] Not bad for what it is, but not much in the face of precedents like 'Heavy Metal' (1986) and 'Fritz the Cat' (1972)." He said most of its characters are descended from 'Mad Max' and Luke Skywalker, and "have learned the art of the civil insult".The 1987 VHS release remained on the 'Billboard' Top Kid Video Sales top 25 chart for at least 40 weeks.
Later reception
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 62% of the 26 surveyed critics gave 'The Transformers: The Movie' a positive review. The site's critical consensus reads: "A surprisingly dark, emotional, and almost excessively cynical experience for 'Transformers' fans."In 2007, John Swansburg of 'Slate' wrote, "Though a modest film compared with Michael Bay's blockbuster
Gabe Toro of 'CinemaBlend' wrote in 2014: "...'Transformers: The Movie' otherwise provides the sort of chase-heavy thrills that comes from robots that can become cars. Contrast that with Michael Bay's vision, where the robots basically abandon their transforming skills to have endless, violent punch-outs that annihilate cities. Bay's films show the action as a junkyard orgy. The '86 offering slows down to allow for actors like Leonard Nimoy and, yes, even Orson Welles to give actual performances. Fans of Michael Bay's 'Transformers' movies are free to enjoy them. But they'll never top the gravity and excitement of 'The Transformers: The Movie'."
Kashann Kilson of 'Inverse' wrote in 2015: "[N]ostalgia is a funny thing: for many of us in the 30-and-over 'Transformers' fan club, that first movie was an integral part of our childhood. To hell with what the reviews said the O.G. 'Transformers' movie rocked our collective worlds ... We still love the original so much today, part of the fun of watching Bay's explosion-fests is being able to wave our canes at the youngsters and wax poetic about how back in our day, Hollywood knew how to make a real movie about giant, alien robot warriors."
In 2017, film historian Leonard Maltin gave the picture the lowest possible rating in his 'Movie & Video Guide' and wrote, "Little more than an obnoxious, feature-length toy commercial...That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help."
In the late 2010s, 'Den of Geek' published several retrospective reviews focusing on the film's gruesome but quirky tone, and on the traumatic cultural impact of its violence which is heavier than most preceding animated films. In 2018, it said "the shadow of death hung like a black curtain" over the film and called the psychedelic scenes of Unicron's world-eating guts "a futuristic rendering of Dante's 'Inferno'" in "apocalyptic detail". In 2019, the film was called "The Great Toy Massacre of 1986" which "traumatized a generation of kids with a string of startling deaths". It is remembered as "a story about death, transfiguration, guilt, and redemption", and as "a milestone in animation history".
Comic book adaptations
See also
* GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
References
Buy The Transformers: The Movie now from Amazon
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