The Transformers: The Movie is set between the second and third seasons of the iconic 1980s cartoon series, The Transformers. It is the year 2005, and two species of robots have been engaged in a civil war over their home planet of Cybertron. As the film opens, the Decepticons, under the leadership of the evil Megatron (Frank Welker), have managed to defeat the Autobots and have taken control of Cybertron. But Autobot leader Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) has established a secret base on one of Cybertron’s two moons, and is preparing to launch an assault to retake their home planet. However, Megatron has well-planted spies and learns of the planned attack, and plans his own assault on Autobot City on Earth. This leads to a massive and deadly battle, resulting in severe casualties on both sides.
In addition to being the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime is the guardian of The Matrix of Leadership, which holds a great power as well as the combined knowledge of all of the past Primes. It must be protected at all costs, and so he puts Ultra Magnus (Robert Stack) and Hot Rod (Judd Nelson) in charge of safeguarding it. However, as this battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons wages on, an even bigger threat looms. A monster planet known as Unicron (Orson Welles) has been making its way across the galaxy devouring everything in its path as it makes its way towards Cybertron, including other planets. Megatron, who has been badly wounded in the battle, decides to strikes a deal with Unicron. In exchange for rebuilding him into the more-powerful Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy), Megatron will find and destroy The Matrix of Leadership—the one thing that proves a threat to Unicron.
As the Autobots attempt to flee from the powerful new Galvatron, they become separated across many neighboring planets and moons, where they face many new hostile threats and forces, such as the Quintessons and their executioners, the Sharkticons. However, the Autobots also find some new allies, such as the odd-talking Wreck-Gar (Eric Idle) and his fellow Junkions. The Autobots are going to need to runite and combine their forces if they have any hope of stopping Galvatron and Unicron, and saving Cybertron. In the process a new leader will rise, finding a strength he never knew he had, to guide the Autobots to victory.
While I owned several Transformers toys and regularly watched the cartoon series as a kid, I somehow had never seen this feature film until now, 35 years after it was released! The Transformers: The Movie is larger in scope and detail than the original animated series ever was. It features a more complex storyline, more detailed animation, big name stars providing the character voices, and an amazing rock soundtrack. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, which holds up extremely well. It’s got lots of fast-paced action, introduces some great new characters, and has loads of humor. But what was really surprising was the real stakes and drama. Iconic characters from the first two seasons of the animated series are literally killed off (this would have been devastating for 10-year-old me had I seen this in the theater, so I’m kind of glad I didn’t!) As an adult watching this film, it is so obvious that one of the major goals of this movie was to sell toys. There are so many different lines of Transformers introduced in this film, with each character mentioned by name, to ensure kids will want to collect them all. The reason for killing off so many of the original characters became clear as I made my way through this Blu-ray’s bonus material—one of the goals of this film was to clear out the 1985 toy line, and introduce a whole new set of characters (aka toys), and so this was the main motivation for the plethora of new Autobots, Decepticons, and other robot species introduced in the film, and the reason for eliminating a lot of the older characters. However, despite the motivation, the film is still thoroughly entertaining.
The action of the film is constantly jumping around to different combinations of Autobots and/or Decepticons as they face some new threat or danger, or plot some attack on the other group. It’s interesting and amusing to see how different these two species are in the way they approach not only the battle, but also honoring their fallen soldiers. Eventually, all of these disparate groups manage to come together for the big epic final battle. The film has both the nostalgia factor for the older fans, but also still feels quite fresh, exciting and fun for new audiences.
While Shout! Factory had previously done a 4K restoration of the film for the 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release, this new 35th anniversary release has been mastered from a brand new 4K transfer of the original film elements. The 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release included two Blu-ray discs, one with the film in Widescreen (1.85:1) and the other with the film in Full Frame (1.33:1). In this 4K Steelbook release (and the upcoming standard packaging 4K release), the widescreen version is only offered on the 4K disc while the Full Frame version is only offered on the Blu-ray disc. Both versions of the film look stunning. The picture is clean and clear with a natural level of film grain. This film is hand-drawn, and so there’s only so much sharper and cleaner the animation is going to get. However, where the difference really lies is in the colors. The 4K release features Dolby Vision HDR, which helps to really accentuate the film’s vast color palette. While previous HD versions were a bit dark, flat and hazy, the 4K release features brighter and bolder colors. This is especially noticeable in things like the glow of The Matrix of Leadership. The HDR also helps keep the darkness of space looking nice and black. There were only a few seconds of the film that looked a bit blurry to me, when we first see Hot Rod on Earth fishing with Daniel, but it seems like this is just how the film has always been. The new HD Blu-ray presentation of the film is also quite satisfying for those wishing to check out the Full Frame version of the film.
Both discs offer the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 track as the previous 30th anniversary release. The track is more than sufficient, providing clear dialogue, nice sound effects (it was like a flashback to my youth hearing that transforming sound effect again), and an amazing soundtrack/score. However, the surround channel is a bit underutilized and the track lacks that fully-immersive feeling of a more-modern film. Going back to the soundtrack and score—these alone instantly tell the viewer that this is most certainly a 1980s film, in the best possible way. I have had “The Touch” and “Dare” stuck in my head for days, and I don’t want them to leave. The music and score of this film are so delightful, combining 80s rock and power ballads with the excitement of watching sentient robot species battle it out in an interplanetary war!
The Steelbook case itself is beautiful featuring Rodimus on the front and Galvatron on the back. The Blu-ray and 4K discs are packaged overlapped on pegs on the right side of the Steelbook case, while the left side holds a cardboard envelope containing four 4.25×5.5″ carboard art cards. As for bonus material, the 4K disc only contains the audio commentary that was originally recorded for the 20th Anniversary DVD release. The Blu-ray disc includes the same commentary, plus a pair of features that are new to this release—feature-length storyboards containing deleted, alternate and extended sequences, and a featurette originally created for Fathom Events’ 30th Anniversary theatrical release of the film, which contains excellent acoustic performances of “The Touch” and “Dare” by Stan Bush. The Blu-ray disc also ports over nearly 90 minutes of interviews, deleted scenes, trailers and TV spots from previous releases. However, this does not include everything from the 30th Anniversary release. There is no digital copy included.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:25:05)
- 4K Disc:
- 2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
- Dolby Vision, HDR10
- Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- 1080p / Full Frame 1.33:1
- Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras:
While the film features a brand new 4K transfer of original film elements, most of the bonus material has been ported over from Shout’s previous 30th anniversary Blu-ray release. The only bonus feature available on the 4K disc is the commentary—everything else can only be found on the Blu-ray disc. Items marked with a * are exclusive to the Limited Edition SteelBook and 4K UHD releases.
- ‘Til All Are One: Retrospective Documentary (46:32)
This was previously produced for Shout’s 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release. The cast and creators give a retrospective look back at the film. Topics include how the film’s primary purpose was to launch the 1986 toy line, coming up with the story, the decision to kill Optimus Prime, how the script changed, the recording sessions and working with Orson Welles and the rest of the amazing voice cast, working with demanding voice director Wally Burr, the production differences between the TV show and the movie, the film’s soundtrack and score, seeing their work on the big screen for the first time with an audience, and more. Includes clips, storyboard images, and interviews with story consultant Flint Dille, Transformers comic book artist Livio Ramondelli, director Nelson Shin, singer/songwriter Stan Bush, composer Vince Dicola, and stars Dan Gilvezan (“Bumblebee”), Neil Ross (“Springer”), Gregg Berger (“Grimlock”) and Susan Blu (“Arcee”). - Audio Commentary (1:25:05)
Originally recorded for the 20th anniversary Special Edition DVD, director Nelson Shin, story consultant Flint Dille, and star Susan Blu provide an entertaining and informative commentary throughout the film. The participants share lots of behind-the-scenes stories about the production. - Featurettes
- 2016 Stan Bush Acoustic Performance (9:46)
Singer/songwriter Stan Bush talks about writing the song “The Touch”, how it ended up in the film, and the themes of this song as well as “Dare”. Also includes acoustic performances of “The Touch” and “Dare”. (New to this release, but originally created for Fathom Events’ 30th Anniversary release. Some of the interview footage is taken from the previous “‘Til All Are One” featurette.) - The Death Of Optimus Prime (5:02)
Originally recorded for the 20th anniversary Special Edition DVD, story consultant Flint Dille, star Susan Blu, producers Tom Griffin & Joe Bacal, and director Nelson Shin, discuss the decision to kill off the character of Optimus Prime, the surprising reaction from the fans, and why this may have contributed to the film’s staying power. Presented in 4:3 format. - Transformers Q&A (13:03)
Originally recorded for the 20th anniversary Special Edition DVD, story consultant Flint Dille, director Nelson Shin, star Susan Blu, and producers Tom Griffin & Joe Bacal discuss their favorite scenes from the movie, how the name “Transformers” was created, their favorite characters, what they would want to transform into, the rock soundtrack, the different types of voices Susan can portray (including a Mrs. Optimus Prime and Mrs. Megatron), the voice sessions, casting famous actors, Spike’s expletive in the film to get a PG rating, how the outcry over Opitmus Prime altered Duke’s fate in the G.I. Joe movie, the crossover between Transformers and G.I. Joe, the longevity of Transformers, and more.
- 2016 Stan Bush Acoustic Performance (9:46)
- Feature-Length Storyboards* (1:19:45)
Feature length version of the film presented in black and white storyboard format with full sound. This cut includes deleted, alternate and extended sequences. - Deleted Scenes (11:32)
Silent animated storyboard footage of 20 scenes not included in the film, placed in-between brief clips from the movie to show the context of where they would have taken place. - Original Theatrical Trailers (3:05)
Two theatrical trailers play back-to-back. - TV Spots (5:52)
Seven TV spots play back-to-back. Presented in 4:3 format. - Brand-New Cover Art Gallery by Matt Ferguson (2:06)
Slideshow of 23 photos of artwork and sketches auto-advances every 5 seconds.
Final Thoughts:
The Transformers: The Movie is a fun trip back to the 80s, with an interesting story, some big name voice talent, lots of great characters, action and humor, and an amazing soundtrack/score. The film still holds up quite well 35 years later. Shout! Factory’s new 4K release looks great, with bright, bold colors that really enhance the viewing experience. The release contains a lot of bonus material, however, most of it has been ported from previous releases, and these total contents are not comprehensive. That said, this is definitely the version to buy for those who don’t already own the movie, and a worthy picture upgrade for die-hard fans.
