Many toy lines and cartoons have had movies: Care Bears, Go-Bots, GI Joe. I’m sure you can name others right off the top of your head. But none have been as iconic as Transformers the Movie. The original series has a devout fan base adding new members as parents induct their progeny into the club and others find it through the present-day cartoons. Those fans are as devoted to the movie if not more so than the show.

 

What makes this so interesting is that the movie is fraught with problems. Mistakes abound in character designs, changing colors, vanishing elements, characters that appear out of nowhere or disappear mysteriously, dead characters that appear in later scenes, transformations that are never the same twice, and size ratios that are constant only in their continuous fluctuations. Plot holes, weak links in the chain of the story: this movie has every conceivable issue. Yet fans take all this in stride and shout the praises of what the movie makers got right.

 

For starters, though the story has its problems as I’m sure many of the series episodes do, it’s far more challenging than many kids’ shows. Have you tried to watch Go-Bots as an adult? It’s mind numbing. The concepts are so simplistic that they barely captured the minds of the young and had no hope of sticking. Transformers takes war and conflict to a level that adult fans can still appreciate which was likewise more substantial to us as less mature viewers.

 

By the way, since we’re past the 20th anniversary of the movie, I’m going to assume that you know some of the plot points already. I won’t give it all away just in case, but if you don’t want to know ANYTHING about who dies and who doesn’t you might want to skip a few paragraphs. There are multiple continuities and contradictions between cartoons, comics, and countries so I won’t dwell much on the backgrounds outside of the movie.

 

Megatron is the ruler of the Decepticons, a war-like race of mechanical beings from the planet Cybertron. They are bent on total control of the Transformers as a race. The Autobots prefer peace and harmony but are committed to resisting the tyranny Megatron would like to impose. The Autobot champion is Optimus Prime. The Decepticons have severely weakened the Autobots who are so low on energy that they have been crippled. Using masterful subversion Megatron leads a sneak attack that crushes the Autobot energy production on Earth. Facing what could be their final push, Optimus goes for the kill resulting in a battle that leaves both leaders mortally wounded. The loss of Megatron is enough to push the Decepticons back, but the loss of Optimus leaves the Autobots in a stronger position only because they have a home field advantage. With their ranks decimated the Autobots are about to face a threat that makes the entire Decepticon force look like a fun pastime.

 

Unicron is a robotic planet that survives by consuming other celestial bodies. When he consumes the Autobot bases there are no escapees. With all of Cybertron in danger and the miniscule forces that remain on Earth separated by Unicron’s henchmen lead by Galvatron, the Autobots face their darkest hour and total annihilation.

 

Kind of heavy for a kid’s show? You bet. There were kids that couldn’t deal with watching Optimus Prime die, and though his is the most intense death it’s not the only one. Many well known characters die and some of them rather graphically. It’s why you’re as likely to find this movie in the sci-fi section as the children’s of the local video store, but it’s also why you can find 2 disc DVD of it while Go-Bots hasn't been released at all last I checked.

 

One issue I have is that so few of the known characters have substantial roles. Optimus has a visible role but dies early. Most of the other established Autobots that show up at all are killed off quickly. Only the Dinobots have any sort of presence from beginning to end. The rest are characters being introduced for the first time. The Decepticons stay a little more familiar though they have many new characters for a good portion of the film, also. Megatron dies as early as Optimus, but Starscream, Soundwave, Rumble, the Constructacons, and others show up in several scenes. It’s a little disappointing to not see Mirage, Hound, or Wheeljack, and so little of Bumblebee, Jazz, and Ironhide. Still, Hot Rod, Arcee, Springer, Kup, Blurr, and Ultra Magnus are great once you get used to them being the team.

 

It’s great to see the Dinobots go head to head with Devastator (whose transformation remains one of my favorite moments in the whole movie), the triple-changers cycling through their modes, Soundwave and his cassette minions (all the familiar ones with the addition of Ratbat) facing off against Blaster’s troops, and other such geek-pleasing moments. These go a long way to draw in the fans.

 

One reason these are so great is the unbelievable voice acting talent. I think this is one of the main reasons the series and the movie have fans today. The fan pressure on the makers of the live-action film landed Peter Cullen the role of Optimus Prime. Frank Welker didn't get the role of Megatron, but it wasn't for a lack of fans wanting him. These two actors captured the characters so perfectly that the fans do not want anyone else attempting to fill their shoes. Frank voices several of the other characters as well, yet each one is distinctive: the calm cunning of Soundwave, the ignorant but comical brashness of Rumble, and others.

 

So many of the characters are instantly recognizable, Jazz’s energetic slang, Grimlock's oafish innocence, Starscream’s bullyish whine, etc. The likes of Scatman Crothers (Hong Kong Phooie), Kasey Kasem (Shaggy), Don Messick (Scooby Doo), Chris Latta (Cobra Commander), and others make this possible. If all these characters had sounded or acted the same the show never would have succeeded, but brought to life with such impressive talent they tend to stick in the mind of the viewer.

 

Other impressive talent was brought in for the movie: Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, John Moschitta (the fastest talking man in the world), Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, Eric Idle, and the legendary Orson Welles in his final role. These guys add even more credibility to the acting and are much more than famous names to put butts in theater seats.

 

The music is nothing like what had ever been tried in a kids cartoon, either. For starters was Vince DiCola creating one of the best synthesized scores I’ve ever heard. Most of those kinds of scores are forgettable at best. Vince’s is worth hearing apart from the movie. In addition are a rock/metal version of the Transformers theme done by Lion, Stan Bush’s “The Touch,” Weird Al’s “Dare to be Stupid,” and other rock songs mixed in perfectly to enhance the respective scenes. “The Touch” in particular continues to be a favorite among children of the 80's and even had a new recording of it released for some of the music simulation games.

 

Despite all the flaws I mentioned, the animation is impressive by the standard of the time. The detail is rich. Lighting and shadows provide a visual depth other cartoons of that day couldn’t even dream of. Unicron’s transformation is complex with many inner workings that other shows would have just passed over quickly. The smashed teeth of a Sharkticon and shredded robotic face falling away are nice touches that didn’t have to be there. It might not be quite so impressive by today's standards since it can't match the flawless computer animation of a Pixar movie, but fans of classic animation will appreciate what Transformers has to offer.

 

I still love the Transformers movie and would suggest it to any fan of adventure cartoons like Batman, Spider-Man, or any conflict-based sci-fi Saturday morning show.