Transformers - The Movie (1986)

Goodness gracious me, how to speak about a film that has changed my life forever without sounding too biased... 

Not going to happen? You're probably right. But I did manage to warn you right here and now.

The toyline of the Transformers was a staple for kids during the 80s. We had other cool stuff, like 'GI Joe', 'Mask', 'Masters of the Universe' etc etc. Because of changing laws, the toy companies could now create cartoons in order to sell their product. But little did they realize that the people working on these cartoons often did their very best to give us memorable characters, engaging storylines and perhaps most important of all: massive backstories to our favourite playthings. 'Trasformers' was no different and ever since I discovered this at a very young age, I have been hooked. This might even explain my attraction to all things robotic. Years later, I would discover this was in fact Japanese and in Japan, giant robots and mechanization is pretty much a regular occurrence. 

To clarify my love for this material: I have the sigil tattooed on my right shoulder. Just so you know.

And then came the animated film. And it changed a lot of things forever.

The story picks up roughly where the second season of the TV-show ended. Cybertron is in hands of the evil Decepticons and the Autobots are trying to regain control. But little do both know that a massive mechanical planet that devours other planets is on its way. Meanwhile, after many disappointments, the Decepticons launch a successful attack on Autobot city on Earth, destroying many of the classic characters in one fell swoop. Even Optimus Prime falls, and Megatron and several other Decepticons are discarded in space. They are picked up by the planetary machine called Unicron, who gives them new bodies and instructs them to destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, because it is the one thing that can destroy him. After that, it is both a race and a cat-and-mouse game to stop Cybertron from being annihilated and to make sure Unicron gets his just desserts. 

There's a lot to take in and there is a ton of stuff happening at the same time. This might make first time viewers feel a little befuddled. Doubly so if you are not familiar with the source material and simply can't keep the robots apart. I admit, that is not easy to do if you are not steeped in the lore. Yet for all the insanity on screen, the story is fairly straightforward. The new characters are swiftly introduced and are the focal point of the story. Besides the Dinobots, there aren't a lot of 'older' characters, which fits in the idea that they wanted to introduce a new toyline. Nevertheless, it doesn't really feel forced. 

The animation is gorgeous, by the way. You can see they went all the way and it shows. The transformation scene where Megatron is changed into Galvatron is brilliant and a nice mesh of early computerized graphics and hand drawn animation. It's trippy as balls, but it remains awesome to this day. Sure, like in the cartoon, there are some animation flubs (although a lot less than in the series), but apparently, they all had to work at breakneck pace because Hasbro takes no prisoners. That they managed to create something looking this good is a testament to the people that animated this. The massive transformation of Unicron for example: it is epic. Most of the new characters are very distinct in look and colour, something which they also changed from before, so they are all easily recognizable. Just as a comparison, the series had the Seekers: three identical jets with different colour schemes. Everyone knows Starscream is the red one, but get confused as to who Thundercracker and Skywarp are. (the latter is the purple one, the former blue) 

The music is spot on, by the way. Not only did composer Vince DiCola create some very eerie or pumped up synthmusic, there's also a ton of 80s hairmetal. Robots kicking the crap out of each other and metal: it's a match made in heaven. If you can, see if you can find the soundtrack. It really is succulent. Especially the creepy theme song for Unicron that starts the film will haunt you in your sleep. 

Something that is also of note, is the abundance of big names for the voice acting. Judd Nelson is Hot Rod, the new kid on the block, but you also get Robert Stack as Ultra Magnus, Eric Idle as Wreck-Gar, Leonard Nimoy as Galvatron and probably most noteworthy of all: Orson Welles as Unicron. Sure, all accounts show that Welles couldn't give a shit about voice acting for 'a toy', but his disinterested voice makes Unicron and even more compelling villain, simply because he is so powerful, he would become bored and blasé. It sounds like a weird justification, but it is true: it does work. Everyone is on point, the original cast as well as the new recruits. Sure, some of the dialog is rather cheesy and occasionally stilted, but it doesn't detract from the rest.

Now onto the elephant in the room. 

Because the company wanted to introduce a new line of toys, they wanted to do away with the original robots, or at least with a lot of them. How do they pull this off? They just flat out murder most of them in the first 15 minutes! That takes balls, to simply kill off a bunch of characters so many people grew up with and grew to love. It's brutal, believe me. And maybe the biggest upset of all, was the fact that they even killed off Optimus Prime.

Yes, you read that correctly. The best known character of all, the one who is most loved because he was so just, so full of heart - in fact, probably one of those characters most of the kids I knew wanted to aspire to if you watched the show - that character was killed off in a scene that still makes me tear up inside. As a kid, I cried my heart out. That is great storytelling. 

Sure, they got so much backlash over this, they eventually brought him back in the series, but even so. And all that because the company didn't think kids would grow to have an emotional connection to characters they've been closely following for two seasons. Oh, you company buffs, you.

Watching it now, it is not without its faults, of course. It's a little frantic at times, there are plot holes and continuity errors and it feels like a Star Wars-inspired mess if you're not familiar with the source material, but you can honestly say and do what you like: you will never, ever get me to dislike this film. The animation is great, the soundtrack gets your blood pumping and it is just a wonderful slice of 80s nostalgia that never gets old. 

Heck, it still is the best 'Transformers'-film ever made by a wide margin. (even though 'Bumblebee' is close)