Transformers the Movie

Director
Nelson Shin
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
84 mins
Year
1986

Transformers the Movie

By Adam Cook
23rd May 04

The children of the '80's lived in a golden age for TV shows and toys. Whilst the children of today look fondly at their Pokemon and other cynically produced shows devised to sell even more merchandise, it was one television programme that pioneered the mergence of TV and toys. That show was called Transformers and it became a phenomenon. But whilst it was produced to push the toys to the salivating kids it was also a fantastic TV series that culminated in one of the most loved movies of the now mid to early 20's crowd, Transformers the Movie.

Transformers the Movie neatly follows on from the TV series with the good Autobots trying to stop the evil Decepticons whilst regaining their home planet of Cybertron. Whilst the film begins like a very polished episode from the series, you realise you are in for something special when most of the original cast members (on both sides) are killed off in an epic battle. It is quite funny watching the film now with more objective eyes as you can clearly see the only reason they decided to kill off so many characters was to push the new line of toys on to an unsuspecting audience. But as a child it was actually quite upsetting, especially seeing your much loved characters destroyed effortlessly in the first twenty minutes of the film opening. As the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons continues, a new menace and unspeakable evil is on the horizon. This evil comes in the form of a planet crunching robot called Unicron, and whilst the Autobots have to contend with the Decepticons they must also find a way of stopping Unicron from devouring Cybertron, and eventually Earth. The story is rather simple, and over the top, but the film is about so much more than just the story of trying to defeat Unicron.

Transformers the Movie is possibly the bravest movie ever based on a TV show. It defied logic to kill off at least 50% of its major cast and to introduce a whole set of new characters. It was a huge gamble, as fans of the series were not guaranteed to like the new line up of heroes and villains and find the film a turn off. Whilst the new characters were not as good as the old ones, the film was successful in creating the shock value needed to get the audience hooked whilst also hopefully introducing a whole new stream of children (and adults) to the world of Transformers. The whole film has an epic feel to it, from the size of Unicron, to the universal values of good versus evil, and this feeling of size and scale would transcend to the battle scenes. Most of the fight scenes from the series were entertaining but produced on a budget however the film went to town on the battles between the Autobots and Decepticons. The assault on Autobot City was on a grand scale and featured many different Transformers characters fighting it out for survival. The fight between the two group's leaders, Optimus Prime and Megatron was a prime (excuse the pun) example of how ruthless the writers were in disposing of the more established characters. Neither of the lead characters make it past thirty minutes in the film, and I am man enough to admit that I shed a tear when Optimus died (I was only 5 at the time though. Honest). The film is very successful in introducing the new characters, whilst also making them appear as if they had been fighting the battle between the warring Transformers for many years. Each of the new major characters are given time to explore their own storylines and the audience is able to get a good grasp of the types of characters they are. This is achieved by having several branching storylines that interweave with each other and finally reunite to face off against Unicron. This splitting of the narrative makes it much more interesting to watch, as there is always something happening on screen. Whilst the writers have been brave in attempting to introduce new characters and phase out old characters, whilst also exploring several different narratives, the films structure could also be its biggest downfall. The magnitude of the opening twenty minutes and the deaths of so many loved (and loathed) characters so early on make the rest of the film pale into insignificance compared to its beginning. That is not to say the end is disappointing, but the shocking beginning could never be bettered, which may be a hindrance to the enjoyment of the rest of the film. Another problem with the film is the number of characters and subplots the audience has to contend with. Whilst it is fine for a fan of the series to watch and to place all the new characters in to the Transformers universe, I do believe someone without prior knowledge of the franchise may struggle. There are far too many characters to become acquainted with in one movie, and to further understand their relationships with one another would take at least another full length feature film. So whilst this film is perfect for fans of the series, I would advise caution for those without prior knowledge of the characters.

Visually the film is still excellent today, and considering the movie was produced in 1986 that is an achievement in itself. There are better looking films with flashier and smoother effects and animations, but the film captures the atmosphere of the series perfectly, whilst making it a little darker in the process, which fits in with the story. There are the occasional imperfections, and the animation is not always the smoothest, but on the whole it is very effective. The biggest criticism with the animation is the omission of certain characters when they should clearly be in the shots. Whilst it may appear pedantic and a little anal that they miss out the Dinobot Snarl from all but one scene, to a fan of the series it is quite a large mistake. Considering the film was predominantly made for fans of the show and toys it was rather careless to ignore this character.

The audio is straight out of the 1980's and is all the better for it. The film features music from the likes of Weird Al Yankovich and features many soft rock tunes that seemed to accompany most films of the period. It does fit in perfectly with the story and the visuals though, and it helps heighten tension and emotion in the audience in all the right places. Coupled with a more beefy version of the theme tune the soundtrack is a resounding success and a perfect nostalgia trip back to your childhood. The sound effects are slightly tweaked versions from the TV show, with more powerful sounding laser pistols, and the grin inducing noise of the transformation processes of each robot.
The vocal talent for the film is exceptional and is further testament to how popular the series was and how good it must have been to secure the likes of Orson Welles, Eric Idle, and Leonard Nimoy to do voiceover. I can't think of any other film based on a cartoon series that managed to get well established and regarded actors to do the voices of characters.

Transformers the Movie is an impossible film to watch and review without wearing rose tinted glasses. This film takes me back to my childhood and as such will always be fondly remembered. That is where the problem lies though. This is a film for fans of the TV series and toys, and them alone. It is not accommodating to an audience unfamiliar to the Transformers universe and therefore I would recommend people who have not followed the series to avoid seeing the film as it would pose more questions than answer them. However to all those that remember Transformers I urge you to get hold of the film again and recapture a part of your youth as you will not be disappointed in the slightest as the film is still as good today as it was when I saw it in the late 1980's. So to all the fans of Transformers I say Bah weep granah weep nini bong, and to all those that are not, what are you doing reading this review anyway it wasn't for you in the first place?

-- Adam Cook 23rd May 04

Transformers the Movie Images