Dir. Nelson Shin, 1986, US/Japan, 81 minsins
Cast: Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Orson Welles, Peter Cullen, Eric Idle
Review by Richard Badley
For a lot of people Bambi’s mother getting both barrels was a big part of growing up while others may have discovered the dark pain of the world when Simba’s Dad snuffed it in The Lion King. But for kids - OK, boys, of the 80s, the death of Optimus Prime would be their first, fragile step to maturity. Like many other cartoon series of the time The Transformers had a strong distinction of good versus evil; the Autobots were noble and just while the Decepticons were a gang of mindless, destructive terrorists. As long as the toys were being shifted the series was given free reign and the writers gradually turned to more adult themes in a response to the kid friendly, Timmy Mallet endorsed, Gobots. So when The Movie rolled into cinemas in August 1986 it offered a God-like villain who destroyed whole planets, the resurrection of the anti-Christ and much destruction and death, including, to everyone’s horror, Prime himself. Forget the usual Disneyfied family values, this was total war against the cartoon genre.
Set in the world of the future (well, 2005) the Transformers duke it out over their power-source, Energon, and a fierce battle sees the great Optimus Prime fall and the Autobot leadership shift to the reluctant and reckless Hot Rod (brat-packer Judd Nelson) via a mystical glowing crystal; The Matrix. Decepticon leader Megatron is also badly damaged and thrown out into space thanks to Starscream’s glorious coup d'état (“I still function..” “Wanna bet?”) but he’s saved by the fearsome Unicron (Welles), a malevolent robot planet who drifts through the universe literally eating worlds for breakfast. Megatron is given a 2005 makeover becoming Galvatron (Spock himself; Nimoy) and tasked with bringing The Matrix to Unicron before the monster devours the Transformer’s home world of Cybertron. Looks past all the gibberish names ending in “on” or “bot” and it’s a deliriously ambitious epic crammed into a non-stop 80 minutes. With stand-in Autobot leader Ultra Magnus getting quartered and other poor wretches systematically dropped into sulfuric acid it’s certainly not an easy ride for young viewers yet certainly inspired a generation’s fascination with sci-fi, comics and graphic novels in the decades that followed.
With such a large scope some of the fan favourites don’t get more than a few seconds onscreen. Jazz, Soundwave, Ironhide are all pushed aside to let the writers bring in the next generation but it pays off, allowing more nuanced characters to stand-out during the action scenes. The aging war veteran Kup offers most of the comic relief and pathos while the gibbering Wreck-Garr, spouting TV slogans while running a planet of unwanted electronics and pop culture, is a smart reflection of Regan’s disposable 80s America. With characters like these round every corner the film offers constant surprises as it bounds through a colourful and detailed universe. One subplot even sees Hot Rod and Co stranded on a dystopian world ruled by a revolving head judging all to be guilty proving that a wealth of ideas have gone into a movie that refuses to give-in to its toy advert tag. Stylistically it feels more comic book, borrowing heavily from Japanese Manga to create its villain Unicron who wouldn’t look out of place on the horizon of Akira and, in a masterstroke of casting, voiced by a grumbling Orson Welles in one of his last appearances. Juxtapose this with all-out US power ballads, including air-punching The Touch, that compete against Top Gun for soundtrack of the decade and Transformers: The Movie is a bloated slice of fun still offering a huge amount of action with the expected guilty nostalgia.
Having this much-loved movie already in the hearts of fans must be a big worry for director Michael Bay as we wait for his live-action version, only capturing the odd glimpse of CG robots through swirls of dust and explosions. Sure the technology is there to bring them into the real world but it can’t give them character, making them likeable or funny, and it also won’t be the grand cosmic battle that’s seen in this animation. He’s already made the smart move of bringing back the voice of Prime, Peter Cullen, but whether it will be to the same tear-shedding degree remains to be seen. Look out for a release of Bay’s film 20 years from now and then see if it warrants comparison to this 80s classic. In the meantime “All we need now is a little Energon, and a lot of luck…”
Ultimate DVD
On the Ultimate 2-Disc set viewers are treated to the US cut of the film in glorious widescreen format and the UK version in standard 4:3. The latter is slightly longer (84 mins rather than 81) due to an extended credit sequence with a Star Wars style crawl that sets the scene of The Transformers. It also contains a slightly more hopeful ending, promising that “Prime will return…”, but does without Spike’s swearing which helps earn the package a slightly tougher PG certificate rather than the wishy-washy U usually bestowed on cartoons. These alternative sequences can also be compared in a separate extra.
Displaying Transformer geekery to the full is expert Chris Mcfeely who commentates over the widescreen presentation providing plenty of history about how the toys came about and anecdotes about The Movie. This may sound incredibly dull but Mcfeely is an easy-going Irishman and a pleasure to listen to. He even crops up again to provide his in-depth knowledge to the Japanese episode Scramble City which was created solely for their market who were without The Movie until 1989. It’s subtitled so you can see just how crazy the lyrics for their version of the theme song were and it’s certainly not a work of Shakespearean prose, simply an excuse for the Combiner characters to smash each other, but an interesting addition.
Also making an appearance in an interview is story consultant Flint Dille who talks of his experiences at bringing the adult edge to The Transformers and his eventual work on The Movie, initially entitled Secrets of Cybertron. Some of his anecdotes meander slightly but like Mcfeely he’s an everyday guy who revels in sci-fi and comics. There’s footage from a convention of Optimus Prime voice Peter Cullen who has a touch of Robin Williams wildness about him as he talks through how he got the Transformers gig and how he used his Marine Corp brother as inspiration. Yes, eventually, he does the voice.
A wealth of trailers are included to transport you back to the completely mad marketing of the 80s where every voiceover guy sounds like Spottswoode from Team America boasting a “rock n roll adventure.” The Japanese alternatives are slightly more melancholy, making the most of the doom spread by Unicron and pitch him as the selling point.
Other extras include Title, Colour & Exposure Tests, Character Biographies (rather morbidly split into who survives and who doesn’t), New Transformers: The Movie Trailer, Test Deleted/Alternative Footage – With Commentary, Transformers Live Action Trailer, Animated Storyboards, Original Movie Script and 5.1 Audio Breakdown.
Overall it’s a must have for Transformer completists. It might not boast the commentary power of the Sony 20th Anniversary release in the US (which had two, including director Nelson Shin) but it’s a lovingly produced package with hours of Transformers nostalgia. Even for non-fans it’s a film that completely defies expectation being outlandish, violent and funny; the Die Hard of cartoons.
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