- Co-Produced and Directed by Nelson Shin
- August 8, 1986 (North America) / December 12, 1986 (UK)
- Based on The Transformers television series and accompanying toy lines by Hasbro and Takara
Voice Cast
- Narrator-Victor Caroli serves
- Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime-Judd Nelson
- Optimus Prime, Ironhide-Peter Cullen
- Kup-Lionel Stander
- Ultra Magnus-Robert Stack
- Unicron-Orson Welles
- Megatron, Soundwave, Frenzy, Rumble, Wheelie, Scrapheap-Frank Welker
- Galvatron-Leonard Nimoy
- Arcee-Susan Blu
- Springer, Bonecrusher, Hook, Slag-Neil Ross
- Grimlock-Gregg Berger
- Starscream-Christopher Collins credited as Chris Latta
- Bumblebee-Dan Gilvezan
- Perceptor-Paul Eiding
- Blaster-Buster Jones
- Blurr-John Moschitta Jr.
- Wreck-Gar-Eric Idle
- Cliffjumper-Casey Kasem
- Prowl, Scrapper, Swoop, Junkyard-Michael Bell
- Spike Witwicky, Brawn, Shockwave-Corey Burton
- Daniel Witwicky-David Mendenhall
- Devastator-Arthur Burghardt
- Jazz-Scatman Crothers
- Inferno-Walker Edmiston
- Shrapnel-Hal Rayle
- Kickback-Clive Revill
- Scourge-Stanley Jones
- Blitzwing-Ed Gilbert
- Astrotrain-Jack Angel
- Dirge-Bud Davis
- Gears-Don Messick
- Kranix-Norman Alden
- Cyclonus, Quintesson leader-Roger C. Carmel
- Quintesson Judge-Regis Cordic
“It is the year 2005. The treacherous Decepticons have conquered the Autobots’ home planet of Cybertron. But from secret staging grounds on two of Cybertron’s moons, the valiant Autobots prepare to retake their homeland.”
The Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming machine while defending themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons.
The Transformers: The Movie is perhaps one of my favorite animated films and maybe even my favorite film in general. As much as I love the old Star Wars and old Star Trek, this particular movie has a very special place in my heart. It takes me back and reawakens the kid within.
This for me is an evergreen film. I get as excited and enjoy it as much as I did the first time I watched. I am taken instantly back to that summer day at the Wonderland 4 Cinema where after I fulfilled my promise of being good for a month, my mother fulfilled hers of taking me to see this movie. Dad may have been less willing since he did not join us.
It is an animated film that introduced into the Transformers mythos so many things that have been re-used or endured since. Unicron the World Devourer. The Matrix of Leadership. A possibility that a Transformer can die. Until now they were always repaired by the credits. Then again this was to wipe out the previous line and usher in what the kids were supposed to beg mom and dad to buy. Such has been stated numerous times.
We have many of the major characters showing up in one way or another. For some it is their corpse or we watch others getting mowed down with psychotic glee. Those that never made it to the film and were last seen in a Season Two episode could safely be assumed deceased. This movie went hard in showing you how serious and different it was from The Transformers. It pushed everything to the brink. Whatever happened here would (and did) change their fictional world.
There are also so many iconic scenes and general moments that stick with the fans who have watched from the beginning. Hot Rod getting in the way. Unicron’s first time devouring a planet. The Quintessons and their seemingly insane kangaroo court that by the third season made a strange sense. The death of Starscream at the hands of the reformatted Megatron now calling himself ‘Galvatron.’ The death of Optimus Prime. That final battle between Megatron and Optimus. It was two seasons in coming and every kid knew it could only end one way.
I hear to this day many fans griping about Hot Rod and his actions during that battle. He ran to help Optimus but instead became a shield that allowed Megatron to act and grievously wound Robot Space Dad. What is often not considered is that Hot Rod jumped in to stop Megatron as he inched towards a gun Prime did not see. He failed but he was trying to help and not throw hands while Megs was down.
Also was Prime not about to execute the guy? Megatron was on his knees damaged, and Optimus had his gun pointed at a foe that from his perspective looked defeated. It is almost a running gag how bloodthirsty Prime is now, but murder was not in his repertoire back then. He went out of his way to save lives!
What Optimus was about to do was slightly less cold than what Starscream later did to Megatron. Meg’s Number Two dumped him out an airlock before winding up a window and driving off while smirking. But the moment Starscream realized he was f****d after encountering Galvatron was perhaps the only way that rivalry should have ended.
This is one of those movies that for me is infinitely rewatchable. It’s a visually stunning bit of ‘80s animation with a fate of the galaxy story set in the Transformers world. It might be a 90 minute toy commercial but it never treats itself as such. It’s an immersive and imaginative bit of science-fiction space fantasy.
Visually it uses lighting in a way that the television series probably could not afford to do. There are excellent examples where shadow and light accentuate the scene, add to the drama, and/or occasionally introduce a sinister edge. It is dramatic and even cinematic stuff that owes some debt to film noir. This animation has dynamic shots like rotating cameras which in the mid-‘80s could only be accomplished with carefully hand drawn animation.
The Transformers: The Movie is stunning in ways the series could not be. It leaned into the fanciful nature of pulp comics or books of the ‘50s. A sea of rusting metal or oceans populated with robotic sea life felt ripped right from the time. Unicron looked like a menacing version of Cybertron. Still upsets that they took this moment to kill Shockwave who was by far one of the coolest toys in the line
The opening shot of Unicron against the starry background of space amongst nebulas is striking. Then it drives into the destruction of Lithone followed by two seconds of silence before diving into the hair metal stadium rock reworking of the series theme. The Transformers: The Movie’s narrative uses a ticking clock element. The Autobots must make it to their home planet of Cybertron in time to stop the machine being Unicron before he makes it to their planet. As a kid I was worried. As an adult I am still worried, but what exactly was their plan? They started with two shuttles, seven Autobots, and a minor. How do you stop a ginormous world eater with that?!
At one point while on the Planet of Junk the newly minted Autobot leader Ultra Magnus gets blown to pieces in an attack by the Decepticons hot to get the Matrix of Leadership for their new master Unicron. The Junkions were able to repair and restore him. So what about Optimus? I STILL expect them to go get him. It also brings into question events in Season Three and the G1 series finale. The kid in me was too traumatized to think about that but the adult still harboring those scars can.
Despite that, for a 90 something minute toy commercial it’s actually a smart script. It establishes some new mythology but also proceeds with a bit of logic built around what was done in the show. It is chaotic and frenetic. Each character has a purpose, and time is generally not wasted.
What an epic soundtrack for fans of the show! Synthesizers were coming of age, and stadium rock was all the rage. This is perhaps one of my favorite film soundtracks of all time. While best remembered for Stan Bush’s ‘The Touch’ (he also performed ‘Dare’) which was originally for the Sylvester Stallone film Cobra, Spectre General (better known as Canadian band ‘Kick Axe’) contributed such bangers as ‘Nothin’s Gonna Stand in Our Way’ and ‘Hunger’, ‘Instruments of Destruction’ by NRG, a ballsy remake of the theme by Lion, and even the classic ‘Dare to Be Stupid’ by “Weird Al” Yankovic that was perfect for the chaos on the Planet of Junk. It stands strong against the likes of the earlier animated Heavy Metal.
Joining the series’ performers is a talented celebrity voice cast that created characters with their voices rather than simply read their lines well. Not every actor can be a voice actor. You need an ability to convey your character with how you say your words rather than physical actions. Stage performers are not generally able/used to doing that. Leonard Nimoy and Orson Welles and Lionel Stander all passed the test.
There’s always action of some type with characters or a battle scene or something is developing and moving forward. Establishing shots are extremely minimal compared to many other movies I’ve seen. A second or two with the camera barely lingering. In fact, establishing shots usually have what amounts to voiceover and dialogue from another character. For example a spaceship may be moving across the screen and somebody starts talking before you get inside to see who it is.
Like the surprise relative that everybody but regular viewers knew, this introduced the Matrix of Leadership like it is something that had always been there. You felt like you had just missed the mention somewhere with dialogue and actions alluding to its prominence and importance. The viewer innately understood its function with its final display of power being less out of left field and more a sense you knew it was powerful but had no idea it was that powerful. The presentation of the fight between Galvatron and Hot Rod gave it a Biblical feel akin to the Ark wiping out the Nazis in Raiders.
Kup had spent the whole movie relating war stories. Lionel Stander spoke like an old soldier fondly remembering that one great adventure. The disbelief of seeing the true form of Unicron still makes the 11-year-old in me worry. He had a story for everything but this which related just how serious this threat was. Not that killing Prime wasn’t enough of an indication.
Each Autobot filled a bit of a part. Ironhide was the tough uncle. Wheeljack was the crazy scientist with Ratchet being the assistant/partner that tempered him. Bumblebee was the kid brother/best friend. And so on with Optimus Prime being the father. Killing dad created a directionless family in chaos. Ultra Magnus was a relative that tried to fill the void and was unprepared. He had relied on Prime for so much and so long that he could only go through the motions rather than do it on his own.
I am not saying this was intentional but a natural creation by intelligent storytellers. This benefited from people working on it that could tell a tale rather than those who knew how to write a technically good script. That is why it has grown in its estimation over time. That does not mean all was done right.
While Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime learns some lessons, there is not a moment where it all comes together and he leads. His confrontation with Galvatron is more over vengeance than ending this threat. Ultra Magnus was more mature and experienced. Though he clearly relied on Optimus for direction, he just needed some help. The Matrix rebuilt Hot Rod so he could punch Galvatron out of Unicron but was unwilling to drop a hint/guide Ultra Magnus. Why?
No one can undersell the epic mistake it was to kill Prime. It was a decision by Hasbro meaning the writers were ultimately powerless to do anything. There had been no successor (narratively speaking) groomed in two seasons. Ironhide was a maybe, but he was a corpse so newbies with a bare connection to the audience were the only option. Hasbro executives forgot or never understood the emotional investment by kids drove the success of the line and show. While it created one of the most impactful moments of 80s film, it harmed their universe overall.
Still, this is definitely the best Transformers movie. A weakness of the Michael Bay began series is a reliance on humans over the Transformers to tell the story. Spike and new addition Daniel are a bit of a bridge, but it is the title robotic species that make things happen. The humans give access to the story but rarely make decisions or take action without robotic direction.
Despite numerous attempts by the live action films, this gets an epic scale. It’s a high stakes story not just because there’s a planet muncher coming to devour everything but because this story clearly will decide the fate of the Autobots and Decepticons. It throws their entire reality into chaos. Both sides had been waging a war for eons/two seasons with a perpetual stalemate being maintained. Now victory or universal defeat was within reach.
The Transformers: The Movie is a fantastic piece of ‘80s animation that gets cinematic Transformers right. It’s an exciting adventure film that if you saw it as a kid still brings out that child in you.
Warren Watched A Movie 