The Transformers: The Movie Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Beyond good. Beyond evil. Beyond your wildest imagination.
It is the year 2005. The war between The Autobots and Decepticons has escalated all the way to Cybertron, which the Decepticons have reclaimed. The Autobots, without Optimus Prime after a conflict on Earth takes his life, must now face a destiny they know nothing of. Megatron and a group of forsaken Decepticons have been reformed by the ultimate transformer, a planet consuming demon known as Unicron into even deadlier warriors. Now Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus must destroy The Autobot Matrix of Leadership for Unicron's glory or suffer the horrific destruction of Cybertron. However, Optimus Prime has decreed that an Autobot will rise from his rank and use the power of The Matrix to light the darkest hour of the Autobots. With Hot Rod facing responsibility for Prime's death, he feels he may be able to use the power of the Matrix to turn the tide of the Cybertronian Wars and stop Unicron. Until all are one, the future of the Autobots and Decepticons is uncertain.
| Norman Alden | Kranix, Arblus |
| Jack Angel | Astrotrain |
| Michael Bell | Prowl, Scrapper, Swoop, Junkion |
| Gregg Berger | Grimlock |
| Susan Blu | Arcee |
| Arthur Burghardt | Devastator |
| Corey Burton | Spike, Brawn, Shockwave |
| Roger C. Carmel | Cyclonus, Quintesson Leader |
| Nelson Shin |
7.20 out of 10 (15238 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Either tap in or get lost. You'll be missing a great film if you don't though.
posted on 25 Aug 2009I'm biased. There's no two ways about it. They could have gotten two six years olds to draw the cels, a troop of monkeys to write the dialogue and then printed the film upside down and full of static and I'd still have loved it (if anybody out there says 'Didn't they do that anyway?', I'll thump them.) I am one of a dying but suprisingly populous breed: the Tranformers fan, and to me this film is like the Holy grail.If you think I'm going to get all gooey and teary-eyed then go into nostalgia overload then forget it because I'm not. I say this with a straight face and a critic's eyes: this is a good film. It may be a two hour toy commercial. It may have made zip at the box offce. It may get bad press from idiotic fossils that just aren't prepared to make the effort to tap into the universe the film is set in. But the fact remains that to anybody that's grown up with Transformers, this film is marvelous. Why? Because it does it right! The characters act right. The style is right. It's all done so perfectly that no right minded Transfan could possibly complain. How many Batman fans (and I mean real Batman fans) can honestly say the same thing about their film franchise.It's easy to get preachy about the violence in a film aimed at kids. It gives the moral majority something to do other than examine each Disney film for subliminal messages. I found it refreshing to actually see this kind of film refuse to pull its punches. It's an action film without tapping into the over-sentimental gushy stuff that usually turns kids off anyway. This is a war. Death and violence are part of it. Will it effect the children that watch it. Maybe, but I don't know which way. I saw first saw the film when I was 7. I saw all of my favourites get blown apart. I saw my absolute, total, complete and utter hero, the person that personified all that was good and noble to me (you know who I mean) get killed saving his friends in an ultimate display of bravery and courage. I cried. My mum cried. I still do. I think that one moment made me more afraid and ashamed of death and destruction than a dozen Private Ryans.The animation is top notch, there's an amazing soundtrack and the voice talent is good too. Not perfect, but Nimoy's portrayal of Galvatron is incredible. Espicially when you consider that it was probably done as a 'For the money not the art' job. The script isn't bad either. It has a host of sharp, quotable one-liners that would put Bruce Willis to shame ("I've got better things to do tonight than die.") The story is a rip off of Star Wars but what isn't and who cares? It's cool. The animation is superb. I said that earlier but I really do believe that it's better than Disney at some points. Certainly better than the average output at the time. It doesn't compare with today's graphics but it hasn't aged badly at all. The sountrack can sound a little too cheesy at times but the energy and verve of the film is there and it backs up the visuals with ease.In the end it won't matter. This film won't mean a thing to anybody that doesn't know who Jazz, Bumblebee and Soundwave were to begin with. They won't watch it. They won't like it. And you know what? We don't care. Those of us that can name all five mebers of the Stunticons know better. They gave us what we wanted. And we remain eternally grateful.
One of my beloved Childhood films.
posted on 19 Aug 2009This has to be one of my most favorite childhood movies of all time. I am 21 and I still enjoy this film. I have it on DVD. The music was top notch. The battles were great. Spike even said. "Oh s***! What are we gonna do now?"I loved it!I remember seing this film in the threaters as child. I still have my Transformers move sound track also. The Classic Transformers shall never die...Mr. Stander was a great voice actor for Kup, as well for Orsen Wells doing Unicron.Too bad that Optimus Prime died. That was one of the most tratic deaths of a hero in a film I have seen. This ranks up with the Gi Joe Movie.My nephews love this movie also. I hope they release a 20th anniversery edtion of this great film.Planet Eaters will steal your souls!
Basically just the best animated movie based on a tv series to make it to the big screen!
posted on 10 Aug 2009This movie at the time was practically perfect. Although their were some flaws, the movie itself was way ahead of it's time. Since there is not much for me to say good that has not already been said , i'll try and focus on the little things I thought otherwise dissapointing. First i think i'd like to list the flaws.1.)Why is devastator the only giant(gestalt) robot in the film. By the time the movie came out, the series had produced several other more popular giant(gestalt) robots:Superion,bruticus,Menasor are just examples but there were more albeit powerful gestalts at that time. Not to say I don't like devastator, because he was the first, and my alltime favorite so it's good to see him get credit in the movie, but for him to be the only gestalt in the movie was ridicoulous. They could have at least thrown in his main rival Omega supreme(non-gestalt i think). But instead we get to see him pick apart the dino-bots. Like we have not seen that one before in the cartoon series. Gestalts were the second coolest thing about the caroon series in general up to that point after Optimus Prime himself. So for fans to get only the one gestalt who gets pummeled by rumble and frenzy later on in the movie is just retarded, and makes the movie look inconsistent just a tad bit.2.)The end of the movie was rushed. I'll tell you why I know this. Unicron in his robot mode is a hell of a lot smaller than in his planet eating form. Several autobots are seen propelling themselves out of his right eye in the end. A good comparison would be myself jumping out of the statue of liberty's right eye. Mind you the statue of liberty is a giant statue standing on a very big planet earth. If unicron is planetary(earth/cybertron) size why then can we see the autobots crashing through his eye? They should big like microsized nothings to his eye. At least that's what I think. Another problem is with the autobots in general attacking unicron from the outside. The dinots breathe fire/laser beams on his butt, and he feels it, and tries to swat them in that area. It's just not feasable to think a planetary sized unicron would feel anything like this at all. Even at the age of 11 when I first saw the movie I was questioning this stuff. The only explanation I can think of is that unicron like megatron can make himself larger in his non robot mode. You notice in the cartoon series megatron could transform into a gun which could be big enough for a transformer to use, or if he wanted small enough for a human to use also. This would clear things up about the whole unicron size issue for me at least.Well all in all it was a great great great animated film. The best ever released in america to date. Yes Yes it was even better than the lion king. I can say that with confidence since the animation at the time TTM came out was way ahead of it's time. Lion king's animation was right on time for when it came out, but not wayyyy ahead.
Ahhhh...
posted on 07 Aug 2009First off, as a movie, THIS IS BAD. This is Ator bad. Bad Bad Bad.As a person who grew up on the show, this is one of the greatest films ever released since Kubrick's 2001. This is the invention of sliced bread of animation. Sick violence, swearing and adult themes for children. THE OPENING SCENE IS SO POWERFUL IT'S NIGHTMARE-ISH! Quality Goods!Unicron Forever!
The novelty, the action, the music. mmmm, nice.
posted on 07 Aug 2009As a longtime fan of transformers, I was gleeful to get my hands on a copy of the video as an 18 year old. The first thing to note about this film is the beauty of the concept behind transformers. robots turning into vehicles etc is a perfect source of amusement for both little and big kids alike. However, leaving aside the novelty value, I still feel it's a fantastic film. Despite the dialogue being aimed at children's vocabularies, there are many strong characters developing, and dying through the film.Most noteworthy for me, however, is the way in which the rock score has been tied in to the on screen action in a number of scenes. Firstly showing the youthful exuberance of Hot-Rod, then as the Autobot city comes under attack, and as Optimus Prime comes to the rescue, all early on in the film, the music is perfectly balanced to the excitement, and triumph of good. Again, towards the end the same tunes, by Stan Bush, are used to excellent effect as the autobots attack Unicron and Galvatron, and to mark Hot-Rod's ascension to leader of the Autobots. Basically it rocks, and the combination of perfect 80's rock music, and transforming action is yet to be bettered, even by the mighty Star Wars.
Long running war between Good and Evil. 'The Transformers, Robots in Disguise'..
posted on 04 Aug 2009Every Kid who grew up in the 80's would have heard of the Transformers. The war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has been raging for thousands of years. With the war having now reached Earth, the evil Decepticons want to bleed the planet dry of Energon taken from earths resources.Following their adventures from Television and comic books, this movie is a must for all Transformer fans, and great viewing for kids young and old. Even today this movie doesn't look out of place or dated. Time has been kind to it and its characters.I urge you to watch this movie because come 2007, Transformers will be hitting the big screen yet again with a Live Action Movie. Our Technology has finally caught up a little to be able to show Megatron and Optimus Prime in a true heavyweight battle. But first watch the original, watch the TV series on DVD and read the comics, because people..... This is a modern day classic in Animated Adventure, with a star studded cast doing the Voices of the Robots.Sit back and relax because the Autobot are about to 'Roll Out'.
A real triumph of 80's animation
posted on 29 Jul 2009As a transformers collector, I am a little biased in my opinions, but this is the best 80's animation available. A working, intelligent plot, well placed humor, and good animation set this miles away from any animation of the time. This is one movie I recommend seeing. This movie is about the transformers, a group of intelligent, living machines with the ability to change into other machines by rearanging their external parts. The transformers are divided into two groups, the power hungry decepticons, and the goodwilling autobots. They are both faced with the same problem, a planet sized robot, unicron, appears and threatens their homeworld just as the autobot's leader, Optimus Prime, Is shot to death by the decepticons' leader, megatron. Then, as all hope is lost, the autobot's matrix of leadership surfaces, and is in the control of the famed Ultra Magnus, who is promptly killed. The matrix is passed onto Hot Rod, who is unwilling to use it, even if it means that Cybertron will be destroyed. As all of this is happening, several of the Decepticons are upgraded by unicron, and are much more powerful.
"Until All are One."
posted on 23 Jul 2009First off, I'd like to begin with saying that I am a collector of the Transformers toys and they've always been a very big part of my life. That being said.. it's true, I'm partial.. but, hey, I'm also somewhat of an expert. Anyways, I'll try to keep my review as factual as I possibly can. But I'm not guaranteeing anything. The Transformers movie was unique in many ways. It had a major impact on toy-to-movie lines. More directly on the GI Joe movie, but also, for a movie based on a toy line, it stayed true to the idea that a movie about war is going to have some violence in it. So, the movie scores realism points. The movie also had very good animation for a mid eighties movie. Most assuredly superior to that of the Transformers cartoon. So that was a plus as well. Also, the movie featured a great caliber of actors. Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, Robert Stack, Orson Welles, and the Not-quite-as-brave as Sir Lancelot, Eric Idle. All performed exceptionally, in my opinion. Another high point of this movie was that it stayed true to the Transformer toys... Many characters were included, and not so many were left out. However, one may wonder why there are characters from the 1984-85, and 1987 series of Transformers... what about the ArialBots and Predacons?! The reason behind this is that the 1987 characters in the Trans Movie were made for the movie, and the toys modeled after them. Like Blurr, HotRod, Kup and Galvatron. Since the movie was in production during 1985 to 1986, the majority of '86 characters were not included. Aside from leaving out the 1986 figures, much to the regret of many fans, lots of Decepticons and Autobots meet their fates in the movie. There is, however, a reason behind this. Hasbro.. the toy company who made both lines, had a major say in what characters to use(what toys to make:) and what characters to kill off (i.e. older figures not available anymore, that's why Starscream gets it, Chris). It is also why Optimus Prime dies in the movie, which in itself made changes in the GI Joe movie. Duke, a main character in GI Joe, was supposed to be killed in their movie; however the Death of Optimus Prime had such a negative impact on the Transformer movie turnout that Hasbro and the movie producers quickly changed the end of GI Joe to make Duke live. Doesn't sound good that they killed off the characters for toys, I know, but the movies plot makes up for it. They're covered up and play into the realism of the war based movie. All and all the Transformers Movie is a great movie to take a look at. And between myself and all the other big screen + surround sound owners, buy the DVD. Go ahead... splurge, it's worth it... besides, you get to hear the human character Spike say a naughty word. Heck, if I were about to get eaten up by a giant monster planet, I'd probably say worse.
Have a go
posted on 02 Jul 2009I must admit, I don't remember much of the series from my childhood - but this feature length movie has always stuck with me.Why? Well, the good guys get such a battering, and things are really bad. I suppose it was the first time I saw a cartoon that not everthing goes the good guys way!Watching it recently, the animation is now quite dated, the the quirky and dark essence still remains, making it a must watch for anyone with more than a passing interest in those robots in disguise!Alex
New movie and sound FX....
posted on 23 Jun 2009Does anyone know how they made the sound fx for this show? Vocal patches and some cool stuff I am sure, but does anyone know exactly what was used? Also, I have noticed that a lot of the Sound FX were ports from the Star Wars sound bank. Did they get permission to use those, or were they purchased? Thanks! Hope the new movie rocks!BTW, watching the old show on DVD really brings back some memories of my youth. I only had one toy, but the TV show was entertaining enough.The theme song still makes me excited. Ahh...The good old days.
Hello mute button?
posted on 02 Jun 2009Very seldom has a film's soundtrack so annoyingly stood out in my mind (this coming from an avid collector of film scores.) While the synthetic non-lyrical score didn't bother me, and I took to the new rendition of the Transformers main theme, the rest of the lyrical music went above and beyond their scoring duties. If the point of a score is to underline the action, then the lyrical themes in Transformers underlines, bold prints, italicizes, and highlights the events on the screen so even the youngest and most intellectually challenged members of the audience get it. Any kind of sequence, and I mean any kind of sequence, that could get a pop song gets a pop song. I'll take a Franz Waxman score instead, thanks.With my most prominent thought (complaint) out of the way, I want to say I loved the Transformers when I was growing up. I watched the film when I was very young, and only recently caught up to it again . . . and I still feel Devestator is the baddest of the bad. Overall, I think it survived a little better in my memories, but now, years later, I'm attracted to completely different aspects of the film. Back then I liked the old-school Decepticons over the next generation, and my interest in the transformers series somewhat declined in the later seasons; now I have an equal fondness for the new wave of slicker and quicker baddies. Back then it was just a nifty cartoon with elements that were not available on the TV show (death and destruction!), and now I find it laced with a dark sense of humor too (Star Scream's death--'Megatron?' 'Here's a hint!' BAM!--classic) Still, then and now, Hot Rod is no suitable replacement for Optimus Prime. Optimus forever! I admire the film's ambition (for a 'kiddie cartoon'). Main characters drop left and right? Die StarScream! Die! Spock and Kane as Galvatron and Unicron respectively? Oh yes! Oh hell yes! Only Orson 'The Man' Welles could voice a planet-sized transformer.In closing, I'm tempted to complain about some jumps in logic that genuinely bug me now, but I remember the kid in me from 20 years ago didn't care about the silliness so I think I'll just hold my peace. I mean, it's a cartoon about giant robots that become cars and airplanes and boom boxes and yeah, that's not silly or illogical in the least . . .
An unfortunate 6--easily a 9 or 10 with an orchestral soundtrack instead of glam rock
posted on 27 May 2009But it _was_ a cheeserock soundtrack. That's the production choice that was made. And watching this over the years, I've failed at attempts to view it in its entirety. Recently I did make it all the way through. Animation is very loving, lots of hard work put into this film. The scene design and bot design were great, lots of beautiful hand-drawn special effects (certainly don't see a lot of that these days). Dialogue was clunky but that's just the way Transformers was during the G1 era.In the episodic daytime series, they used orchestral music with the occasional guitar/rock beat, but it was nowhere near the level of cheese the movie went for. This film was so dark, trippy, and incredible. It's just a shame it hasn't aged well at all due to the soundtrack choices. Fans of the current film should have been able to come back and enjoy it, but the incessant glam music is so distracting, the franchise I don't think will be earning any new fans from this film. It is only enjoyable to people who were already hooked.When I was 12, this film was so it. I couldn't believe a Transformers movie was actually coming out. I saw it, marveled at Unicron, my blood ran cold when Spike swore, and I was stunned and aghast at the orgy of robot carnage (most of the G1 characters are destroyed in this film). My musical tastes have evolved since then.You could just mute it and watch it subtitled, but that's a far cry from the best way to enjoy it. I so wish this film could be accessible to the newer generations of fans that are coming into the Transformers universe. I believe it would have aged much, much better with different soundtrack choices. It'd have flaws but it'd be enjoyable.What a shame.
give this one a break
posted on 15 May 2009It was 1984. I was a young lad of 8. Transformers had long been my favorite afternoon cartoon, then I went and seen the movie. Itwas friggan great. It was actually the first movie I can recall that I got to experience an on screen death of a character that I cared about. I remember almost shedding a tear at the death scene of Optimist prime, then the nail in the coffin. I heard one of the characters (brain fart, cant remember name.) say "Dammit". A tame word by todays standard, but enough back then to get a PG rating, and for a character in a cartoon that I had only known as squeaky clean to swear, made them seem more human to me than ever. great movie, the animation is dated, and the plot is alittle shaky by todays standard, but for its time, it was the most amazing thing American kids had ever seen.
Why throw away your life your life so recklessly?
posted on 03 May 2009Because this movie is simply dazzling! It's fun to watch! It's fun to look at! And it's just a grand old time in your tv! This movie was hated by every sinlge critic in the world, but you know what? Screw Them! They don't know doodly squat about what a classic is! And beside's, all you stupid critic's take note! This is the last film with Orsen Welle's!!!!!! Mr. Citizine Kane! There greatest movie! I can't even remember th first time I saw this movie it was so long ago! But I loved it then, and I love it now! Get the Special Edition DVD! IT put's back the infamous "Oh ****! What are we going to do know!?" line back in! How's that for a PG-rated kid film! And no! Optimous Prime doe's not turn to dust and blow away!
Transformers is an awesome movie!
posted on 24 Apr 2009This movie really beats the series, in my opinion. Being a movie, they can be more free to what they show. The movie is much darker, complex, and sinister than the series. ***SPOILERS*** Many Autobots are killed, showing the evil of the Decepticons. Starscream (my fav character) shows his true hatred for Megatron, and dumps him out into space. As someone else mentioned, it contains many quotable lines. "First we crack the shell-- then we crack the nuts inside!" Sure they use profanity, but tastefully. The animation is top-notch, in my opinion.This movie is rather violent compared to the series, as so many Autobots die, and Starscream even shoots his foot to get out of a serious predicament.Also, the Chinese-like gang of robots the Autobots meet up with are neat. They learned to speak English through television, and their speech is cluttered with advertisement-like jumbo. ie- "We repair your friends good as new! 90 day warantee!" or "We destroy Unicron, removes all toughest stains!"10/10.
I laughed, I cried, etc. etc.
posted on 10 Mar 2009I recall watching Transformers: The Movie at the theatre when it first came out in 1986. My dad dropped me off at the movies, and when he came back two hours later to pick me up, I was visibly shaken. There was just too much to handle. The stunning animation, the tragic death toll, and Spike and Ultra Magnus swearing a blue streak. That movie touched me in ways like no other movie before or since; I'm sure it had a lot to do with being ten years old, but when Optimus died -- I cried. Lord, how I cried. And his wicked-awesome action-stunts sequence immediately beforehand, where he transforms, does a flip through the air in slow motion, and (chuuga-chuuga! chugga-chugga!) blows the crap out of the Decepticons on the ground -- it left me breathless.I saw this movie again a few years ago, and I'm embarassed to admit it was still really, really cool. It has its faults, though. Firstly, the soundtrack, with the exception of Weird Al Yankovic's "Born to be Stupid" and that "You got the touch" number from the aforementioned sequence (which is necessarily cheesy), has to go. I wonder how hard it would be to re-mix everything with some sort of thumping techno action, which would be fitting considering the subject matter. Transformers and Autechre? How cool would THAT be!As well, I would have appreciated a more realistic job with Unicron. As he exists in the movie, he's no larger than Delaware, and even that's pushing it. It would have been way better if they concieved of a robot entity that actually was the size of a planet, with a head the size of Quebec. It would take several days to transform, even with parts moving at hundreds of miles per hour, and would have small moons orbiting it...My apologies. Still, a great movie. It probably had a greater effect on my early development than all of my gym classes combined.
Superb cartoon movie based on the toy of the 80's
posted on 07 Mar 2009Transformers was without a doubt, one of the most popular children's cartoon and toy adventure epic of the 80's and the movie of the franchise was superb. The cartoon series was bright and full of friendly characters and no deaths ever occured, the movie however was very different. In the first half hour, we witness most of the main heroes and villans killed and introduced to new characters to set up a base for the new cartoon series set after the movie. In a nutshell, this is a dark, action packed cartoon that has excellent animation and superb fight sequences that should not be taken to seriously after all, it's only a movie.
Not the best, but far from the worst.
posted on 07 Mar 2009Probably the only movie I still watch from when I was two (I'm 14 now) as well as show my friends while not feeling embarrassed. Transformers: The Movie is NOT a cinematic masterpiece, but is still a damn good movie at that. The voice acting consists of stars from the 70's and 80's (Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack (Eliot Ness from The Untouchables), Orsen Welles (his last movie, I hope he died content), the ultimate Pythonite Eric Idle, John Mischitta, among others.). The music is quirky but manages to match the scene well, in the fact that it's a mix of techno-synthesized instrumentals and 80's rock music. The animation is actually high quality and goes pretty deep in detail.WARNING!! SPOILERS DOWN HERE!!! DON'T READ IF YOU WANT TO STILL ENJOY THE MOVIE!!!!
Transformers: The Movie has two low points that I can think of. The first being that most (if not all) of the classic Autobots, such as Ironhide, Wheeljack, Ratchet, Prowl, Brawn, and Optimus Prime, and are replaced by new characters. Unfortunately, the writers didn't think they the fans would MISS the Autobots. The other low point sticking out in my mind is how bland the newer characters are. Ultra Magnus (Magnus is Latin for "great." "Ultra Great????" What were they thinking?) is the Optimus wannabe, Kup is the veteran who is more intent on telling war stories than fighting for his cause (I thought all the Transformers were created around the same time.), Arcee is the only female Transformer (do robots have gender?), Blur is funny, albeit annoying as you can't understand a word he says, Wreck-Gar speaks only in messed up television quotes, Hot Rod is the only Autobot I've seen that acts like a teenager. Perceptor is a nerd. And Blaster is the only decent one.
Actually, my complaints seem to have taken up more room than my plusses for the movie, but that was because I was reiterating my points. The movie, overall is real good, despite the problems with the new characters, and I suggest this for fans of the Transformers, or people with weird interests.
Male bonding without the weeping
posted on 11 Feb 2009A friend once commented that all his male friends love TtM, but no women did. Duh! So what if it's a 90-minute toy commercial with a deafening rock score? This is a GUY movie. The horrors of war contrasted with the importance of fighting for freedom, the power of courage and integrity, an ancient relic you carry as a heart, a villain that EATS PLANETS (!), and let's not forget "...when all Hell's breaking loose, you'll be right in the eye of the storm." This is one big, bad, manly movie.
Long Live TF!
posted on 28 Aug 2009Having been a while since last watching Transformers (about 11 years), finding that my friend had the movie on DVD (the cleaned up, remastered US version) was just one excuse to revive memories of Saturday morning TV with a huge bowl of dry cereal. Watching the movie really made my week; the arrogance of Starscream, the harshness of Megatron's voice,and of course: Prime! What a bot! A love was rekindled as Blurr hyper-talked his way through his lines, and as for the finale: Wow, i tell you what, wow! The memorable quotes are great, the soundtrack fantastic, and any self-respecting TF fan should add this to their collection, unless you already have it, of course!