Transformers The Movie 20th Anniversary!

[Apollo Leader]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_The_Movie

The 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of Transofrmers The Movie is just a few days away!

I was 12 going on 13 that August. After being used to what was on the TV series, this was definitely a surprising experience because they actually killed off a bunch of the characters including Prime himself! There was adult language in it! And the animation was pretty good, too. With season 3 totally sucking in most areas (animation quality, continuity errors, bringing Optimus Prime back to life TWICE, etc.), Transformers The Movie was the peak of my Transformers fandom.

If anyone has any thoughts or experiences they want to share involving the 1986 release of Transformers The Movie, please do so.

[kanedaestes]

i remember being a young child constantly watchin the movie on VHS, it still holds up to this day as one of the best i have ever seen. War, death, and the first time i heard a cartoon say curse words, although all he said was dammit. I need to find a copy of DVD somewhere. I love you hot rod you were always my favortie.

"Hey Daniel, if you are going to ride, ride in style" - Hot Rod

[Roy Focker]

I just remember having to beg to see it. No problem watching it on TV but got a lot of parential type flak for wanting to see it. I remember it being one the more louder movies and the older types accompying me bitching about how bad it was.

[Southpaw Samurai]

I can only remember a few things about the movie when it first came out. I remember being excited about it as a 12 year old could and I can still remember that there was a point where I DIDN'T want to shout, "Optimus, just shoot the punk in the head and then shoot Megatron."

I also remember my mother's reactions to it. She thought it was senselessly loud in its music, but I think she actually felt worse about Optimus dying than my little brother or I did (I think she thought he was a good cartoon character and maybe had something of a crush on Cullen's voice). I probably was more annoyed about Prowl at the time. Prime went out in a big way whereas Prowl, who has always been a favorite of mine, went out in a painful way that was just a slight step away from being as simple as Brawn's.

But, yes, the aftermath is probably more memorable. After that movie, you went home all excited... but over the next few months, you suddenly got a subpar cartoon (compared to the previous seasons, much less the movie) and just about any character you cared about disappearing even without so much as a shoulder-shot-death. The let-down of that season was probably made worse by the movie, which elevated your already-high enthusiasm.

What kid didn't just lap up the whole 'Megatron must be stoppped...no matter the cost' Prime attack? Heck, I have a friend who never got into the Transformers, who hates that type of 80's music, and never saw the movie until his late twenties who will admit that the scene is pretty darn cool.

[wolfx]

Prime died. I cried.

Nuff said.

[Keith]

I think Sony is supposed to be re-releasing it on DVD in september.

[Apollo Leader]

I think Sony is supposed to be re-releasing it on DVD in september.

422187[/snapback]

November 7th.

[Hurin]

I was twelve when it came out. I thought the beginning kicked ass. I thought the Megatron and Optimus duel was great. I was sad that Prime died but also thought it was a cool thing to do. I hated all the new additions and thought the rest of the movie was pretty f'ing terrible.

But that's me. I fear change.

H

[bandit29]

Saw it when I was 12 thought it was horrible at the time even though I loved the toys. The duel was the only good part. Then the next season of Transformers was even worse than the original....I didn't think that was possible

I'll be glad when this 80's nostalgia trip is over..not everything from back then was good..

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I remember watching it when I was 4...I kept waiting for Optimus Prime to come back but he NEVER DID!! Alas in the movie that is...and that was the biggest dissapointment to me.

As I got older...I realized Hasbro had some balls to pull that poo off. And in every script he was supposed to die regardless....I so wanted him to kill off Hot Rod.

[Ivan]

The movie was never released theatrically in Hong Kong, but they did show it on TV some time afterwards. Somehow it was the Japanese version and at the very end, the narrator told us that at some point Optimus Prime will return.

In retrospect, I agree that Hasbro was a lot more daring and creative back then. Rather than coming up with different verions of Optimus Prime (like they do now), they were willing to kill off the main characters and introduce a new leader. That was just cool. Too bad Hasbro is totally risk-averse now, and I doubt we will ever see anything like that again.

[JB0]

In retrospect, I agree that Hasbro was a lot more daring and creative back then.  Rather than coming up with different verions of Optimus Prime (like they do now), they were willing to kill off the main characters and introduce a new leader.  That was just cool.  Too bad Hasbro is totally risk-averse now, and I doubt we will ever see anything like that again.

422202[/snapback]

Well, they laerned a valuable lesson that time. Kids get pissed if you blow up all their favorite characters at once.

Anyways... I was 4. Don't really remember seeing the movie at the time.

I DO remember seeing it on TV much later, with a CG-ed intro and ending framing the entire thing as a story told to some kid by Powermaster Prime.

[Greyryder]

TF:TM killed my inner child.

[Hoptimus]

Man I saw this in the theatre when I was 9 with my bro and Cousin. We were TF and Robotech junkies! After the movie we went to the local TRU and each got a new Autobot. I got Kup,Bro got Blirr and my Cousin got Hotrod. Spent the weekend playing with TF's. I miss those days. My cousin was killed a few years ago in a scooter wreck in China. He would have loved the MPC Prime.

[ComicKaze]

i remember being a young child constantly watchin the movie on VHS, it still holds up to this day as one of the best i have ever seen. War, death, and the first time i heard a cartoon say curse words, although all he said was dammit. I need to find a copy of DVD somewhere. I love you hot rod you were always my favortie.

"Hey Daniel, if you are going to ride, ride in style" - Hot Rod

422168[/snapback]

Spike says "Oh s***! What are we going to do now?"

I never saw it in theatres, I only experienced it through VHS at the videostore on a dying Sears Viking TV from the 70s that you had to hit to display proper colors. Totally changed my life. I was like 4 or 5 years old. From that moment on, I dared to be all that I could be since I knew I had the touch and that I had the power.

I cheered the death of Optimus, I loved the new guys. I loved Season 3. It was just so much more darker sci-fi and I loved that stuff as a kid. That was my favorite part of the Transformers. I mean, I had nightmares about that Eskimo guy taking a hot iron and cutting out Perceptor's bowels my whole childhood. The 3rd season was just magical and frightening (with that eerie music) and so much more entertaining than the regular 1st and 2nd seasons.

The movie and the 3rd season have some of the best music composed of all time.

Edited August 4, 2006 by ComicKaze

[BoBe-Patt]

so wait, it's coming out in theater's on the 8th of august and coming out on dvd on november 7th?

[Hikuro]

I think I was 3 when the movie came to theaters, but I was 4 or 5 when I saw it on TV where they had one of those big premier specials with the gigantic optimus prime and that kid....I have it on tape but I missed the first 4 minutes of it.

[Keith]

The movie was awesome, but they definately set a standard that wasn't followed. Crazy/Whiney Galvatron just wasn't cool. If they had used whoever did Cyclonus's voice instead for that season, he would have been a much better character.

Boring/Whiney Rodimus was equally not cool. They spent way too much time that season having him deal with issues that were solved at the end of the movie. And then when he finally stops whining, they bring back Optimus Prime....and honestly, if they hadn't made everyone whiney battyes, they wouldn't have needed to.

The definate highlight of that season though was the cameo by Cobra Commander.

[Hoptimus]

The movie was awesome, but they definately set a standard that wasn't followed. Crazy/Whiney Galvatron just wasn't cool. If they had used whoever did Cyclonus's voice instead for that season, he would have been a much better character.

Boring/Whiney Rodimus was equally not cool. They spent way too much time that season having him deal with issues that were solved at the end of the movie. And then when he finally stops whining, they bring back Optimus Prime....and honestly, if they hadn't made everyone whiney battyes, they wouldn't have needed to.

The definate highlight of that season though was the cameo by Cobra Commander.

422387[/snapback]

Yup. Season 3 was lameass. I bought the DVDs of all the seasons and after Season 3 I sold them. 1 held up okay and season 2 had its moments but man 3 was a stinker. The 86 movie though is still fun to watch and it has some great dialogue(especially Kup,Grimlock,Prime,Galvatron)

[ComicKaze]

The movie was awesome, but they definately set a standard that wasn't followed. Crazy/Whiney Galvatron just wasn't cool. If they had used whoever did Cyclonus's voice instead for that season, he would have been a much better character.

422387[/snapback]

It was the guy who played Harry Mudd on the original Star Trek.

[Apollo Leader]

The movie was awesome, but they definately set a standard that wasn't followed. Crazy/Whiney Galvatron just wasn't cool. If they had used whoever did Cyclonus's voice instead for that season, he would have been a much better character.

Boring/Whiney Rodimus was equally not cool. They spent way too much time that season having him deal with issues that were solved at the end of the movie. And then when he finally stops whining, they bring back Optimus Prime....and honestly, if they hadn't made everyone whiney battyes, they wouldn't have needed to.

The definate highlight of that season though was the cameo by Cobra Commander.

422387[/snapback]

Yup. Season 3 was lameass. I bought the DVDs of all the seasons and after Season 3 I sold them. 1 held up okay and season 2 had its moments but man 3 was a stinker. The 86 movie though is still fun to watch and it has some great dialogue(especially Kup,Grimlock,Prime,Galvatron)

422407[/snapback]

Agree with you both. Back during 2002, I bought only the season 1 and 2 DVD sets myself. Haven't watched them yet, but with everything going on, I might do so soon.

BTW, today's the big 2-0 for Transformers the movie!

[Duke Togo]

I'm another who saw it in the theater. I was 10 years old at the time. I flat out love the movie.

[Skull Leader]

Saw it in theaters and loved it. Admittedly I was pissed to see my second favorite transformer (Prowl...after Skyfire) offed by a single shot Megatron (in the hands of Starscream... adding further insult to injury)

I remember that point in my life I had such a defined concept of good and evil that when Optimus Prime was initially brought back to life, and tried to kill most of the Autobots, that REALLY wigged me out. ("man, Prime just isn't supposed to be shooting at good guys...").

I didn't mind the direction the series took in season 3... I had lost my two favorite autobots at the time (Prowl and Skyfire, who was nowhere to be seen) and gained Metroplex, who was my new favorite (and unfortunately didn't get much time in the spotlight). It's been forever and a day since I watched anything from season-3 and on, but didn't a number of original transformers later re-appear? I can't remember.

[Roy Focker]

I also remember my mother's reactions to it. She thought it was senselessly loud in its music, but I think she actually felt worse about Optimus dying than my little brother or I did (I think she thought he was a good cartoon character and maybe had something of a crush on Cullen's voice). I probably was more annoyed about Prowl at the time. Prime went out in a big way whereas Prowl, who has always been a favorite of mine, went out in a painful way that was just a slight step away from being as simple as Brawn's

My family reactions were nearly the same. They thought it was too loud and I was bumb that Prowl Died. About a year prior My grand dad bought me Prowl. He walked me into a toy section day said, "This you good" and picked it out for me. The toy quickly grew on me. gramps died and then later I go to see Transformers the movie and Prowl dies without putting up much of a fight in the first minute or two of the film. Sorta sucks when oe of your autobot favorites goes out like that.

It was bold of them to finally show chaotic violent robotic destruction but it sorta made you feel your collection was worth less since all transforms were dead.

[Renato]

Yeah, happy anniversary to the animated movie beyond our wildest imaginations. Pure awe, even to this day.

[Vermillion21]

I saw this movie in the theaters too, think I was like 9 ... Prime dying was a shocker for me at the time. And Spike says "S---" in the movie, way cool!

Edited August 13, 2006 by Vermillion21