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    		•

    FILMS

    Transformers: The Movie (1986)
  • Voices of Corey Burton, Scatman Crothers, Peter Cullen, Eric Idle, Casey Kasem, Chris Latta, David Mendenhall, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Hal Rayle, Robert Stack, Frank Welker, Orson Welles

  • Directed by Nelson Shin

    • My friend Jeff Pfaff is into Transformers in a really big way. Truly a fan if there ever was one. If you meet him, ask him to tell you the story about the time he was in the toy store as a child, and was extremely excited about the Transformer toys. It's good for a laugh. At his expense, of course, but a good laugh nonetheless.

    A month or so ago, Jeff came over to visit and brought with him a pile of movies. Among them was Transformers: The Movie. He was itching to get me to watch it, and had been for months (or years, if memory serves correctly). When I was a child I wasn't into Transformers so much as I was GI Joe, so I had never bothered going to see this one in the theater, despite my friends (at the time) telling me that the movie actually uses the word "shit" (which was, indeed, a huge selling point among kids of that age).

    So, I humored Jeff. If the truth must be told, I was not terribly thrilled at the prospect of watching a movie that hadn't interested me enough 15 years ago, back when I had at least a passing interest in the toyline—much less now, when I hadn't even heard the names "Megatron" or "Optimus Prime" in years. But I acquiesced, figuring that it'd only be a little over an hour, and if it'd make a friend happy, well, where's the harm in that?

    But I liked the movie. I mean, I really liked it. Within the first five minutes (the film wastes no time getting to the good stuff) I was hooked. And hooked in a big way.

    Perhaps one of the reasons why is because Autobots and Decepticons actually die in this movie. It's nothing like the television show I remembered. On the Transformers and GI Joe television shows there would be huge explosions and gunfire, but no one ever got hurt. Understandably, it was intended for a young audience and blood 'n' guts ain't quite kosher with network's Standards and Practices. Nevertheless, the film is nothing like the television show.

    Explosions and fire-fights and goodguys and badguys kicking the bucket at every turn. In the first 10 minutes you've got the two heavyweights, Optimus Prime and Megatron, going mano a mano. I have one word to say to this:

    Kickass!

    A word of warning, though. Part of the reason why I enjoyed Transformers: The Movie so much is because I saw it with someone who was very excited about the film and his enthusiasm transferred to me (much in the same way as when I watched Lost Highway with Mike Gentry). So if you're not already a fan of Transformers then make sure you see this movie with someone who is. It could make all the difference in the world.

    (Fair spoiler warning: Stop reading if you don't want to know details of the plot.) Transformers: The Movie is a ultimately a story of passing on the leadership from one generation to the next. The younger Autobots need to carry on the fight against the nasty Decepticons. Optimus Prime kicks much ass during his brief time on film but, after a mortal wound from Megatron, hands over the Matrix of Leadership to trusted hands. Hot Rod is our hero who—and I agree with Jeff on this one—is sort of a big wussy. I'd much rather have had Optimus Prime be in the movie from start to finish, but that would take most of the plot out of the script. Hot Rod has grown on me a little, but there's no way he can fill Optimus' shoes.

    Note some of the heavy-weight voice talents they recruited for this movie: Scatman Crothers, Eric Idle, Casey Kasem, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, and Orson Welles. That's pretty impressive for a movie that is, ultimately, a very entertaining advertisement for a new line of toys. I like the animation and the story, so I can easily ignore the marketing aspect of Transformers: The Movie.

    Even if you weren't into the Transformers toys as a child, I'd recommend seeing this movie if you grew up during '80s. Watching it brought back many, many fond childhood memories. Memories that are completely un-Transformers related. This movie made me feel 11 years old again. For that, I should thank my friend.