The Transformers: The Movie

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A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

The Transformers: The Movie

Production info Production companies Sunbow Productions Marvel Productions Distributor De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Release date August 8, 1986 Screenplay by Ron Friedman Directed by Nelson Shin Edited by David Hankins Cinematography by Masatoshi Fukui Music by Vince DiCola Animation studio Toei Executive producer Tom Griffin Joe Bacal Continuity Generation 1 cartoon continuity Running time 85 minutes Budget $5–6 million Box office $2.6–5.8 million Credits

The Transformers: The Movie is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on Friday, August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the Transformers cartoon. It introduces a planet-sized Transformer called Unicron who eats other planets, and is approaching Cybertron. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a fierce battle on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into Galvatron. Starscream (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, Hot Rod recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons, the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. Of particular note, Optimus Prime and Starscream are both destroyed during the course of the film.

Synopsis

That's no moon.

A mechanical planet travels through the depths of space, attacking a metal planet which has robotic inhabitants. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year 2005, and the Decepticons are now in control of Cybertron. The Autobots are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a shuttle to pick up a final shipment of energon from Earth before they strike.

Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans. And bring me the passengers; I want them alive!

Plans for the attack are overheard by Laserbeak, who reports back to Megatron. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet and Brawn). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, Autobot City, before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the battle at Autobot City, both Optimus Prime and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of others are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots is severe.

If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to Ultra Magnus and gives him the Matrix of Leadership. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our darkest hour." He then gives the oath, "'Til all are one", and dies. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, the monstrous planet, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard Astrotrain, but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest, including the mortally wounded Megatron. Too injured to save himself, Megatron is tossed out into space by Starscream, who claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Into the garbage chute, flyboy.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. After some coercion on the planetoid's part, Megatron agrees, and is reformatted into Galvatron. The other Decepticons are turned into Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps. Unicron provides them with a ship, and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.

Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet (Quintessa), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, Hot Rod, Kup, and the Dinobots, find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of Allicons and taken before a Quintesson judge and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from Kranix, a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls Lithone. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named Wheelie who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' Sharkticons. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a Quintesson Cruiser.

What an incredible smell you've discovered!

The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet Junkion to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—Perceptor, Blurr, Springer, Arcee, and Spike's son Daniel—are then ambushed by Junkions, the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the universal greeting they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix and destroy Unicron.

Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.

Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron and force his master into submission, but is unable to open it. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a planet-sized robot. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. Shockwave scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

Use the Force, Luke.

In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including Bumblebee and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

'Til all are one.

Featured characters

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Credited and appeared, but had no speaking lines.
2. ↑ Credited, but may or may not have appeared through an animation error.
3. ↑ Credited, but did not appear.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.

Quotes

It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.

"Now all we need is a little energon and a lot of luck."
"More than you imagine, Optimus Prime."

—Optimus Prime and Megatron tempt fate.

"Such heroic nonsense."

—Megatron coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"First, we crack the shell... then we crack the nuts inside."

—Rumble bravely raids Autobot City.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"

—Springer, telling it like it is.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."

—Optimus Prime uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"Why throw your life away so recklessly?"
"That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron."

—Megatron and Optimus Prime, about to engage in one last battle to the death.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff."

—Optimus Prime's trash talk is actually a lot cooler than it sounds.

"I would have waited an eternity for this! It's over, Prime."
"NEVER!"

—Megatron is about to learn that a wounded Optimus Prime has enough strength left for one good hit.

"Until that day...'til all are one..."

—Optimus Prime's final words.

"Oh, how it pains me to do this."
"Wait! I still function!"
"Wanna bet?"

—Starscream fights back the tears as he throws Megatron out of Astrotrain.

"Soundwave superior, Constructicons inferior."

—Soundwave insults the combiner team.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose."
"Nobody summons Megatron!"
"Then it pleases me to be the first."

—Unicron shows Megatron who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?"
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy."
"Megatron? Is that you?"
"Here's a hint!"

—Galvatron drops "hints" for Starscream like others drop anvils.

"Oh shit! What are we gonna do now!"

—Spike says the movie’s most infamous line.

"Kup and Hot Rod just bought it!"
"I can't deal with that now!"

—Springer and Ultra Magnus assess the situation.

"Did we have to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?"
"Seeing as how they would have detonated four quarters, I think it was a good choice."

—Arcee and Springer, debating the launch of their emergency shuttle.

"Spare me this mockery of justice!"

—Kranix is upset at being found innocent.

"You check in, but you don't check out."

—Wreck-Gar making a reference to the tagline from the "Roach Motel." commercials

"For a time... I considered sparing your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its dismemberment!"

—Unicron really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny!"

—Unicron's final words.

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!"

—Rodimus Prime announces the end of the Great War...for now.

Season 5

When The Movie was broadcast in the fifth season of The Transformers, it was broken into 5 parts (designated "Days") and given new bookending segments with original story material.

Day One

You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on twelve systems.

Tommy meets up with Powermaster Optimus Prime in the barren wasteland and Prime is concerned with the black eye and many bruises Tommy is sporting. Tommy explains that some "big guys" at school tried to rough him up (and by all visual evidence, succeeded). Tommy asks Prime if he'd ever faced any "big guys" in his many adventures and Prime decides to tell him about the time he faced the "biggest guy" of them all, Unicron...

Optimus leaves off at the point during the Battle of Autobot City when Megatron broke their defenses to let the slaughter begin. Optimus gruesomely teases his own death scene to a very confused and concerned Tommy, but reassures him that until he can be revived as a Powermaster, the Matrix must be passed on to someone else who is worthy. Tommy wants to hear all about it, but Optimus doesn't have the time. Apparently, he needs to meet up with Joyride and help him repair the Space bridge. Tommy asks if he can tag along and Optimus tells him that if he can lift one of their two-ton screwdrivers, he can even help. They summarily blast off into space.

Day Two

I've lost R2!

Tommy and Optimus meet up in the barren wasteland, though Prime isn't sure what Tommy wants. Tommy reminds him that he promised to tell him more about Unicron and Prime concedes that he's been having trouble with his memory chip, lately. Tommy tells him all about the Battle of Autobot City, but none if it rings a bell for Optimus. Prime asks Tommy to open up an access panel in the back of his head and check the circuit. Tommy repairs the circuit, jogging Prime's memory...

Prime leaves off at the point where Jazz and Cliffjumper are eaten by Unicron. Tommy demands to hear more of the story, but Prime's memory chip explodes and smoke pours from the side of his head. All he sees are brief flashes of the further adventures of Hot Rod and the rest. The furthest he can see, though, is the "death" of Ultra Magnus when his shuttle is blown up by Galvatron. Tommy expresses discontent, citing that the Autobots are "too cool to die". Prime says he knows there's more to the story, but with his faulty memory chip, he can't access the details. Tommy insists they get his chip fixed and so they blast off into space to do just that.

Day Three

I can't even see. How am I supposed to fight?

Tommy finishes the repairs on Prime's memory chip, much to Prime's relief. Tommy asks Prime to test it out by continuing his story about the battle against Unicron. Prime indulges Tommy's request...

Prime leaves off at the point where Kup and Hot Rod are taken to the Sharkticon pits and watch as the survivors of Lithone are executed. Tommy begs Prime to stop, claiming that the story thus far is too intense and depressing for him to handle. Prime asks if he wants to hear about how Kup and Hot Rod are fed to the Sharkticons, how the Autobots are menaced by "aliens made of junk" or how Ultra Magnus is blown to pieces by Galvatron. Tommy suddenly changes his mind and demands to hear all the gory, macabre details. Prime sets Tommy back down in the barren wasteland and promises to return soon to transform his day into an adventure. He then blasts off into space.

Day Four

If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from.

Tommy and Optimus meet up once again in the barren wasteland. Tommy asks why Prime is so late for their appointment and Prime confesses that Grimlock took a wrong turn on the way over. Prime wishes he hadn't let the Dinobot fly the shuttle. Tommy asks if Prime has enough time to tell him more of the story and Prime assures him there's time enough...

Prime leaves off at the point where the Autobots team up with the Junkions to battle Unicron. Tommy is incredulous, wondering what a bunch of aliens made of junk could possibly contribute to the battle against Unicron. Prime informs him that great adversities often bring out the best in people, citing Hot Rod as an example. Tommy begs to hear how the story ends, but Prime says that he must first take Grimlock to have his "brain circuits" upgraded. Setting Tommy down, Prime promises to be back soon to transform his day into an adventure. Then he blasts off into space.

Day Five

He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help you.

Meeting again in the barren wasteland, Optimus asks Tommy if he's ready to hear the end of the story. Contrary to all the enthusiasm Tommy has shown during past storytimes, the human child laments that he's forgotten most of the tale thus far (offering the flimsy excuse that his lack of an electronic brain makes remembering so many details impossible). Prime gives him "a quick rundown" (that takes four minutes) and then proceeds to finish the epic yarn...

Prime finishes the story with the destruction of Unicron, the ascension of Rodimus Prime and the exile of the Decepticons. Prime asks Tommy if he's satisfied, but Tommy just has more questions. Like what was up with the Quintessons? Did they drop Grimlock on his head when he was a kid? And how did they ever bring Prime back to life? Prime tells Tommy to slow down. He has to attend an interstellar peace conference, but until he returns, he leaves Tommy with... THE TOUCH!!!

Production timeline

• First script outline by Ron Friedman: revisions from 15th August 1984 to 19th September 1984
• First draft script by Ron Friedman: submitted November 12th 1984. Revised February 13th 1985.
• Reference photos of Powered Convoy toy designated as Ultra Magnus, provided to Ron Friedman: Taken 18th March 1985
• Second script outline by Ron Friedman: revised 28th March 1985
• Second draft script by Ron Friedman: completed 27th April 1985. Revised 2nd May 1985
• Model sheets approved 14th June 1985: Cyclonus, Galvatron (Marvel model with revised head), Hot Rod, Kranix (the pre-final model, can be seen with Granix name on it), Quintesson Judge (colour approved on 18th November 1985 by J. Bacal), Rodimus Prime, Scourge/Sweep, Sharkticon, Unicron robot mode, Wheelie, Wreck-gar
• Model sheets approved 24th June 1985: Ultra Magnus robot mode(first Powered Convoy version)
• Model sheets approved 2nd July 1985: Ultra Magnus (Initial Toei design. Colour revised on 20th July 1985)
• Model sheets approved 19th July 1985: Arblus robot mode, Spike (final model), Ultra Magnus vehicle mode(first Powered Convoy version)
• Model sheets approved 29th July 1985: Quintesson Prosecutor (a.k.a Quintesson leader. Approved by J. Bacal on 18th December 1985)
• Model sheets approved 31st July 1985: Arblus spaceship mode
• Model sheets approved 6th September 1985: Rewind flip side of the cassette mode
• Dialogue recording (main sessions): 10th and 11th September 1985
• Model sheets approved 3rd October 1985: Rewind and Eject
• Model sheets approved 8th October 1985: Lithonian Scientist, Lithonian Woman no.1

• Storyboard sequence 1 (Attack on Lithone): Final 31st October 1985
• Storyboard sequence 2 (Title sequence): Final 31st December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 3 (2005): Final 31st October 1985
• Storyboard sequence 4 (More Than You Imagine): Final 31st October 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985.
• Storyboard sequence 5 (Attack On The Shuttle): Final 31st October 1985
• Storyboard sequence 6 (Gone Fishin'/Dare): Final 4th November 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 7 (Battle Of Autobot City, part 1): Final 14th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 8 (Battle Of Autobot City, part 2): Final 31st October 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 9 (Death Of Optimus Prime): Final 7th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 10 (Witness To A Funeral): Final 7th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 11 (Contest For Leadership): Final 4th November 1985. Revised Final 13th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 12 (Transformation): Final 11th November 1985. Revised Final 26th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 13 (Coronation): Final 10th December 1985. Revised Final 18th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 14 (Destruction Of Moonbase One): Final 10th December 1985. Revised Final 19th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 15 (Escape): Final 16th December 1985. Revised Final 24th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 16 (Pursuit): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 17 (Nothin's Gonna Stand In Our Way): Final 11th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 18 (Arrival On Junk): Final 12th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 19 (Unwelcome Visitors): Final November 14th 1985. Revised Final 27th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 20 (The Matrix Survives): Final 12th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
• Storyboard sequence 21 (An Unexpected Friend): Final 18th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 22 (Destruction Of Moonbase Two): Final 17th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 23 (Ambush): Final 11th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 24 (Judgement/Rescue): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 25 (Another Leader Dies): Final 9th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 26 (Unusual Allies): Final 19th December 1985. Revised Final 31st December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 27 (The Enemy Revealed): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 28 (Confrontation): Final 19th November 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 29 (United Against The Enemy): Final 20th November 1985. Revised 4th December 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 30 (In The Belly Of The Monster): Final 20th November 1985. Revised 3rd December 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
• Storyboard sequence 31 (Their Darkest Hour): Final 2nd December 1985. Revised 19th December 1985. Revised Final 31st December 1985

Animation errors

We’re doomed.

• When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a cel stacking error results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, making Unicron look very tiny in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
• The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
• When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
• Coloring errors:
  • When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
  • Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot aboard the shuttle.
  • Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to robot mode.
  • In the big lineup of firing Decepticons in Autobot City, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
  • When Blaster asks Perceptor "What's shakin'?", a Dirge-colored Seeker flies by the window. However, it appears to be the standard Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp design, instead of having Dirge's unique wings.
  • As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
  • Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
  • When the Dinobots jump out of Optimus Prime's Shuttle, the shuttle is colored like the first shuttle, which Megatron boarded, instead of red-highlighted scheme of Prime's shuttle.
  • When Prime says "No matter the cost", the shuttle is painted completely orange, when the front should have red and white highlights.
  • When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's helmet is purple instead of yellow. Prime's trailer is missing its Autobot symbol as well.
  • After Megatron asks, "Why throw away your life so recklessly?", Optimus' left hand is colored red instead of blue when he replies "That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron".
  • The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
  • Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
  • Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over the fallen Megatron.
  • As Starscream prepares to toss Megatron out the door, Soundwave's eyes are painted white like his mask rather than red. (Maybe he was sleeping, his excuse for not stopping Starscream)
  • Starscream's cockpit shell nearest his head is colored like a canopy rather than gray, as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
  • The red stripes on Starscream's wings are noticeably absent during most of the Coronation scene.
  • When dragging Arcee into the shuttle and two shots later when flying into space Magnus's Shuttle has Blue highlights instead of Red.
  • After Springer runs past him, Perceptor's gun changes from red to white for a few frames.
  • When Cyclonus is strafing what appears via editing to be Hot Rod's shuttle, it has red highlights instead of blue.
  • When Hot Rod's ship is being watched by Galvatron trailing smoke it has red highlights instead of blue.
  • In the shot after Magnus announces that he cannot deal with that now, his ship has blue highlights instead of red.
  • Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
  • When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is colored black.
  • After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
  • As the Autobots fly through space after exiting Unicron's eye, Rodimus is painted in Ultra Magnus' colors (inverted).
• When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
• When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream moves back to avoid the Autobots' fire, and a second Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this was probably meant to be Skywarp, as he flies into the shuttle and takes a seat at the controls once the Autobots are defeated). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray.
• When Brawn is shot, it can be seen for one frame that he is initially hit in the top of his chest. As he falls, the wound has moved to the front rounded part of his chest. Additionally, the wound changes from black to red for one frame.
• Per his standard cartoon appearance, Ratchet should have a Red Cross symbol on each shoulder. When he turns in his seat as Brawn is shot down, we can see one on his right shoulder, but when he stands to return fire on the Decepticons, the right shoulder's cross has vanished, and he's only got one on his left shoulder. Then, when he falls, the cross is missing from both shoulders.
• When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls:
  • All of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down.
  • Ironhide's chest is completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
  • Prowl, who turned gray as he fell (evidently dead before he even hit the floor) seems to be back in his normal colors.
• The reflections of Hot Rod and Daniel in the lake rarely line up with where they should be.
• When Hot Rod catches a fish, it is barely the size of his finger. When he releases it, it's suddenly huge.
• Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
• When Hot Rod begins to shoot at the hijacked Autobot shuttle, the yellow light on his forehead is misaligned.
• When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's animation model, in Bluestreak's gray and black colors.
• Hound and Sunstreaker appear in Kup's group at the foot of Lookout Mountain as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
  • In the movie's storyboard, only Hound is shown present with Kup during the roadblock scene. Sunstreaker's only appearance in the storyboard is when he exits the shuttle, meaning that his presence during the roadblock scene is purely an animation addition. Hound being in both places is, however, an error in both the movie and the storyboard—unless, Optimus Prime and the Dinobots picked up Hound and Sunstreaker from Lookout Mountain enroute to Autobot City? Now there's an idea for the old headcanon!
  • In a deleted scene from the storyboard that would've shown Hot Rod and Kup meeting up with Ultra Magnus inside Autobot City, Sideswipe is shown running alongside Wheeljack in the background. However, Sideswipe is mistakenly referred to as "Sunstreaker" in the script (how ironic). Whether this mislabelling had any bearing over Sunstreaker being present with the roadblock crew is anyone's guess.

We've picked up a new group of signals... enemy fighters heading your way.

• In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
• When Shrapnel and Kickback are eating the door, Shrapnel only has one antenna.
• A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.

What about that blue one? We'll take that one.

• When Soundwave sends out his cassette troops, Rumble is the same color as Frenzy.
• Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left again to shoot Ravage.
• As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in the red, white and blue color scheme of Smokescreen - who, in the storyboards of this sequence, was intended to be the one lying there dead.
• While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
• During Devastator's combination sequence in Autobot City, his chest plate, portions of his pelvis, his forearms, and Bonecrusher's treads are all green. The chestplate and pelvis should be purple, as should Bonecrusher's treads (they're normally green when Bonecrusher is separate, but they turn purple when he combines), and his forearms should be black.
• For almost the entirety of his screen time during the battle in Autobot City, the "jet engine" on top of Devastator's chest plate is misinterpreted as a trapezoidal block. The only time it appears in its proper shape is when he high-kicks Grimlock. It appears as it should during the scuffle on Astrotrain.
• While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
• Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
• Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
• The gun Megatron fires uses the same sound effect as his fusion cannon.
• When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, the animators forgot to remove the cel of the Matrix inside his chest, as it's still in there even as he's holding it in his hands. Since it's not supposed to be there, the luminous effect for the Matrix's core is missing from the duplicate in his chest, creating a visual trick that makes it look like Optimus might just have removed the core itself. (The Universe comic would later use this error as a springboard to reconcile the visuals of Optimus's chest interior with their depiction in Beast Wars.)
• When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
• As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
• The voice that says, "Brothers! Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
• When Megatron says "Nobody summons Megatron" his chest emblem is colored gray like his chest. It looks like it should have been painted as a darker shade of purple, as it's the shadowed section. But was painted gray instead.

*trumpet fanfare*

• Even after the Battle of Autobot City, characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on Junk is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
• In the establishing shot of Starscream's coronation, there are only five Constructicons (Bonecrusher had better things to do tonight) and they are miscolored as purple and white rather than their usual purple and green color scheme.
• Hook has two eyes instead of his normal visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
• An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and only two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
• When Galvatron introduces himself to the Coronation party, Soundwave's chest window is drawn far too small.
• When Galvatron says "Decepticons, to Earth!", aside from his mouth being partially open, his mouth doesn't move. I guess being reformatted by Unicron gives you the ability to talk without moving your mouth?
• In the scene where Bumblebee and Spike are in the Autobot frigate and escaping Moonbase Two's destruction, when the two are cheering after believing that Unicron has been destroyed, Bumblebee's on the left side of Spike's seat. However, after Spike expresses his "colorful" reaction to Unicron remaining completely unscathed, and when the frigate is about to get sucked into Unicron, Bumblebee is on the right side of Spike's seat.
• When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
• During the wide shot of the Autobots in the crashed ship on Junk, Blurr's entire head is white. Also so is Daniels head, which is drawn as an indistinct incomplete circle.
• Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
• Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
• The pistol Ultra Magnus fires uses the same sound effect as Optimus Prime's rifle.
• During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down. And his head then flickers between colors when mounting Junkyard.
• When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.(Probably intentional expression)
• As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner spikes, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the spike, but is layered above it instead.
• Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
• As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact. (The left one had at this point been shattered.)
• The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

Continuity errors

He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.

• The Dinobot Snarl is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots—in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
  • On the other hand, the original production storyboards for the scene where Snarl first appears in the movie only mentions "the Dinobots", not a specific amount of them. Additionally, Snarl also seems to have been in the scene with Kup telling the Dinobots a story in at least one version of the film; the Japanese trailer for the movie has finished footage of this scene...but it's very different from the one in the film; the Dinobots are all in their robot modes, and Snarl is present in the scene instead of Slag. It's completely unknown why Snarl's appearance in this scene was cut.
• Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
  • Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
  • Grapple is seen very briefly during the battle for Autobot City. Or maybe it's Hauler.
  • The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
  • Tracks, Red Alert and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
• Devastator is treated as the ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being severely diminished, presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The Transformers: The Animated Movie adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to retcon the problem away.)
• Possibly the biggest example of the film's tonal shift from the cartoon, shots from firearms that would previously knock another character down at best have since become lethal, best demonstrated when Brawn and Prowl are each killed with a single shot by the Decepticons during the movie's first act.

We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.

• The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious at best.
  • On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever. Even after it got knocked out of Earth's orbit.
  • On the other hand, Megatron does refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "Microbots", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he might have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
  • The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
• During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him?
• So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
• The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is noticeably inconsistent: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him. Perhaps he continued expanding when transforming from train to shuttle mode?
• Speaking of which, Astrotrain's entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. While we applaud the toy-accuracy, the Decepticons inside probably didn't.
• Soundwave is loyal enough to pick up a wounded Megatron and save him, but then votes "aye" to jettisoning the wounded Decepticons, and when Starscream goes to throw Megatron out, Soundwave doesn't try to intervene. He even tries to steal the leadership once Megatron is gone. The "loyalty" attribute that has pertained so strongly to Soundwave seems to be alienated from the character in this scene.
• The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and his armada") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least seven new characters are shown at one point, created from only six Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.
• How can the Constructicons blow on those trumpets? Only three of them have mouths.
• Given his relative position, Starscream's single shot through the trumpets defies all geometry.

"I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
"Yes, I bet you have."

• Galvatron is capable of reducing Starscream to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small planets and being able to take down Omega Supreme with one shot from his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "The Burden Hardest to Bear" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. Marvel Comics bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2". Who knows.
• Why didn't the Autobots notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons? Why doesn't Shockwave, who is on Cybertron, react until after Unicron has eaten these moons, transformed into a giant robot, and smashed his hand into the planet's surface?
• Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions.
• How did Hot Rod and Kup know to fly from Quintessa to Junk?

This is either Starscream or his stunt double; hard to tell.

• When the Decepticons on Cybertron launch a counterattack on Unicron, all three of the first-year Seekers are seen fighting alongside the Coneheads. Given that all three were either explicitly killed earlier in the movie (Starscream) or have been turned into Galvatron's troops by this point (Thundercracker and Skywarp), they're obviously not supposed to be around in these forms anymore; of course, they could also just be generics reusing their colors...but, as noted above, Thundercracker and Skywarp also appear at Starscream's coronation.
• Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover.
• It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
• It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out that many Decepticons?
• Unicron's invincibility is extremely inconsistent; Moments before becoming Galvatron, Megatron creates visible damage to Unicron's horns simply by attempting to hold into something. Later, he doesn't suffer even a dent when one of Cybertron's moons is detonated in his mouth. Near the end, the Dinobots are capable of punching their way through his "skin", and Rodimus Prime just casually throws Galvatron into space through Unicron's side. Even without the Matrix, the small group of Autobots did pretty well against him.

Not necessarily errors

• Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some mass", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
• Springer escapes from Unicron's eye by transforming into helicopter mode and flying through outer space, where there shouldn't be an atmosphere for his rotors to provide lift. Maybe Unicron was still within Cybertron's atmosphere?

Continuity notes

• The Transformers: The Movie has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of Transformers are:
  • The notion that Cybertron has moons.
  • The Matrix as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the Marvel comics. Even the Marvel comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
  • Autobot City.
  • Unicron.
  • The notion of Megatron becoming Galvatron.
  • The idea of "Prime" being a rank rather than simply a given name.
  • And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool!
• Cybertron's appearance in the post-titles establishing shot shows some major changes to the planet since our last look at it in Season 2. Many of the same buildings from the cartoon's stock image of the planet are there, but the giant pit near the planet's equator is mostly covered over, and the shredded portion of its southern hemisphere has been completely rebuilt.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
  • Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
  • Megatron uses an "Energy Dagger"^[2] during his one-on-one battle with Optimus Prime.
  • Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
  • Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2".
  • Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
  • Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to shoot lasers from his fists.
• < < What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's dead almost dead!

Real-world references and Easter eggs

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

• When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards shows, for a split second, what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings. These images look to be recycled background paintings from Fist of the North Star, a film Toei had animated the same year. Regardless of animation efficiency/corner-cutting, the flashing images of ruined civilizations are eerily appropriate for Unicron.

Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them.

• When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in Looney Tunes fashion.
• Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel Of Mice and Men, complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".
• The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
  • "Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show Let's Make a Deal and its host, Monty Hall.
  • "Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "Geronimo!" war cry, and the 1963 hit "Da Doo Ron Ron".
  • "You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for Roach Motel insect traps.
  • "Breep, drit, aw rootie!" - part of "Tutti Frutti, aw rooty!", from the 1955 song.
  • "Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company Esso.
  • "Kill the Grand Poobah!" - a satirical term originating from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, likely referencing its use as the title of leaders of pseudo-Masonic lodges in The Flintstones and Happy Days.

Easy? You call that easy!?

• The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris strongly resembling several mobile suits from 1985 Japanese animation Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
• Star Wars sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
  • The Millennium Falcon engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.
  • Luke Skywalker's deactivating lightsaber is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
  • Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.
  • An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
  • An AT-AT foot stomp sound is heard as the Autobot shuttle crash lands on Junk.
  • The whir of an AT-AT's leg hydraulics can be heard part way through Unicron's transformation.
• The Star Trek sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his iPhone mini-TV.
• The sound used for the communicators on Star Trek is used when Daniel activates his blaster to save Spike.

Adaptations

• A comic adaptation of the movie was published by Marvel Comics in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in issue #4 of the Transformers Universe series.
• A storybook adaptation was released in the UK by Ladybird Books.
• A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by IDW Publishing, as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled Transformers: The Animated Movie to differentiate it from the Michael Bay live-action film. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

Soundtrack

Main article: The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Promotions

• Early in the movie's production, a promotional trailer was made to sell the project to potential investors.
• The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the Decipher the Decepticon Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
• The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV commercials, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.
• Ziploc sandwich bags featuring an iron-on patch in boxed to advertise the movie. Each box contained one of eight potential characters.

In the comic continuity

The Marvel UK comic made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However, there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

• The comic always dates the movie to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all Simon Furman had when he wrote "Target: 2006".
• In "Target: 2006", Cyclonus states that he was previously "Life Spark".
• The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
• Brawn and Wheeljack both survive the events, both later appearing in "Space Pirates!" (set in 2008).

In addition, Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "Rhythms of Darkness!" and "A Savage Circle". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005, though Prowl's death was overlooked. Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.

• The US version of the future story "The Big Broadcast of 2006" implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

Edits

Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

• In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("Star Wars style") which provides backstory.
• In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with a narrator reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
• Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered especially offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
• In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
• The original FHE video release of the film painted out all instances of Megatron's green-colored "bleeding" from the end of the battle of Autobot City up to his meeting with Unicron.
• Instead of DEG, the Rank Film "Gongman" appears before the British release of the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors. Ironically, the DEG logo at the beginning uses the "Gongman" sounds, rather than its own fanfare, possibly due to a plastering mistake.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

• Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding. This also explains why the Junkions only have to put his limbs back on to repair him.
• A number of other sequences were illustrated as storyboards but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
  • A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through huge chunks of ice from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
  • An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
  • A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
  • The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
  • The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
  • Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.

Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.

• Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes.^[3] No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits of any storyline or character importance are those listed in this section.

For further information, see: Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie

Reception and box office

The Transformers: The Movie was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his 1987 Movie & Video Guide, regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial".

Caryn James of the New York Times admitted in the August 9, 1986, edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the Transformer toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults.

Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults or children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the Dallas Morning News chided the film in the August 13, 1986, issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon Star Wars about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the Montreal Gazette verbally disemboweled the film in the August 23, 1986, edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But The Transformers: The Movie does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It's title? Dare to be Stupid." Ouch.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986, edition of the Toledo Blade claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the August 22, 1986, edition of the Palm Beach Post gave the film a whopping one star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever that means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's The Fly one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986, edition of the LA Times, critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of Transformers fans, particularly among children of the '80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand. The Transformers: The Movie currently holds a 60% "fresh" rating based on 25 professional reviews at online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.^[4] In response to the film's cult following, several reviewers have compared the film in a favourable light to the live-action films (prior to the unprecedented critical success of Bumblebee), stating that they lack the heart or nostalgia of the '86 movie.^[5][6][7]

Box office

An August 30th, 1987 Los Angeles Times article on the decline and fall of the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group listed The Transformers: The Movie as grossing $2.6 million in the United States on a $5 million budget.^[8] Both it and My Little Pony: The Movie (which earned $2.8 million on a $5.5 million budget per that same article) were financial failures, together losing Hasbro about $10 million in an otherwise profitable year.^[9]

Confusingly, in comparison to the Los Angeles Times article, modern box office tracking sites^[10][11] list The Transformers: The Movie as having made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with the other online box office takes from animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords^[12] ($1,338,264) and Heathcliff: The Movie^[13] ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the 1986 My Little Pony movie^[14] ($5,958,456) and the second Care Bears movie^[15] ($8,540,346). Bringing up The Great Mouse Detective^[16] ($25,336,794) and An American Tail^[17] ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

Significance in Transfandom

The Transformers: The Movie remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The Transformers cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio Toei, while most post-movie episodes were animated by AKOM.)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the The Transformers cartoon had gone off the air. Only a handful of series episodes were available on video, making The Transformers: The Movie the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a Transformers cartoon; this made it far more well known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic Transformers experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

Latter-day Transformers stories have made uncountable references (though we're trying) to the movie, lifting or borrowing elements of its dialogue, fight sequences, subplots, details, settings and more, as writers have discovered that a shout-out to the movie is a quick and easy way to win cheers from some segments of their audience. Even Hasbro and Takara themselves have gotten in on the act, producing a variety of toys based on the minutia of the film: Starscream's crown, Galvatron's creation, the awakening of Rodimus Prime, and more. The fandom, for their part, pores over new Transformers fiction, often latching on to even the most tangential of details as a "reference" to the movie, coincidental or not. Call-outs, real or perceived, were once a rare treat - but now are so common that many fans are more likely to groan than cheer whenever some version of Optimus Prime declares that "One shall stand..." or a damaged character states that "I still function" or a vengeful blast is preceded by "Here's a hint" or yet another Soundwave says yet another variation of "Soundwave superior", or... well... this:

In 2016, thirty years after the release of the film, Optimus Prime gave us perhaps one of the most meta comeback lines in franchise history. When Galvatron declares that "Today — one shall stand, and two shall fall!", Optimus simply punches him in the face with a flat "No cliches, Galvatron", voicing once and for all just how sick we've gotten of '86 quotes. No Fair Fights

Criticisms

Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.

All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as a vehicle for advertising toys, especially in the way beloved characters are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw, the poster at the top of this article features only new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—Unicron and the Matrix—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory (until season 3) or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy retcon. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Optimus Prime's possession all along (even though Prime's open-chested repair scene in "Divide and Conquer" and his X-ray scene in "A Prime Problem" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led Simon Furman to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and Primus in the UK comics run.

Your powers are weak, old man!

The movie bears many similarities to Star Wars: There are several character-parallels (Springer is a Han Solo-type and Arcee even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the Death Star... but it transforms!), and both feature a climactic battle where the young hero hears the voice of his dead, wise mentor one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to The Transformers: The Movie, however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years' worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to Star Wars. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, Arthur and his arch-enemy Sir Mordred deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will return when England's need is greatest.

Formatting

The "widescreen" picture (left) actually cuts off the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right). Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them.

Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and Metrodome which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually animated in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

International versions

Main article: The Transformers: The Movie/dubs

Commercial releases

The cover image from the original Japanese home media release of the movie.

• The movie was originally released in North America on VHS and Beta on September 17, 1987^[18] by Family Home Entertainment, minus Spike's swear. Just days before, on September 14, 1987^[19], it was released in the UK by Video Gems. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hill Crane released a LaserDisc version alongside a VHS copy, both sporting a gorgeous painted cover that decorated many a fan's desktop back in the day.
• The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. Malofilm released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of LaserDisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company Kid Rhino secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
• The 21st century's flirtation with The Transformers: The Movie started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by Sony Wonder, distributed by Maverick Entertainment. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
• In November 2000, The Transformers: The Movie got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with Vince DiCola. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
• In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the Omni Productions dub version of the Headmasters episode "Four Warriors Come out of the Sky" as an extra. This version (including the Headmasters episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
• The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by Madman Entertainment, using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by Don Figueroa, and special features not seen on other editions, such as The Touch music video and 80s TV spots.

The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).

• After acquiring the license to release Transformers DVDs in the UK, Metrodome focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.
• In 2005, Metrodome released Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed, a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from Magno Sound & Video, featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, a looped version of the Lion Transformers theme on the main menu, and a subtitled version of "Four Warriors Come out of the Sky".

Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.

• For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder Sony BMG released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, TV spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "Scramble City: Mobilization", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. Also very notable is that this version includes an actual deleted scene from the animated film as an extra, though it is more of interest as a curiosity than anything it actually contains, being an approximately 2-second-long aerial view of the Autobots running towards the critically damaged Optimus Prime. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.

Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).

• Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 live-action movie, Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with Flint Dille and Peter Cullen, and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by Andrew Wildman, with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and posters from Woolworths and Toys"R"Us. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.

Shout! Factory's 2016 Blu-ray cover.

• The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with curse words.
• Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of Beast Wars. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of IDW's Transformers: The Animated Movie adaptation.
• For the film's 30th Anniversary, and after being out of print in the US for 10 years, the film was rereleased on Region 1 DVD and given its first Region A Blu-ray release on September 13, 2016 by Shout! Factory. Both versions are sourced from a brand-new 4K transfer which underwent extensive color-correction and remastering, and a Steelbook packaging variant of the Blu-ray was also made available.^[20] The Steelbook Blu-ray was released in the UK by Manga Entertainment as a limited edition on December 12, 2016, followed by a standard edition release a year later.
• On September 27, 2018, Fathom Events screened the movie at select theaters in the United States. The movie was preceded by an interview with Travis Knight and Hailee Steinfeld and a preview of a scene from Bumblebee, and followed by a short featurette of Stan Bush discussing the music he contributed to the movie and performing acoustic versions of The Touch and Dare.^[21] Cineplex would later show the movie in Canadian theaters on October 4.
• For the 35th anniversary, Shout! Factory produced the first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of the movie — presented in widescreen only — and a remastered fullscreen 1080p Blu-ray. Feature-length storyboards and the Stan Bush featurette from the 2018 Fathom Events screening were added as new bonus features. The two discs were first made available in a limited edition SteelBook with four art cards on August 3, 2021^[22]; a wide release in standard packaging followed on September 28^[23], as did a third set comprised of the new fullscreen Blu-ray and a widescreen DVD^[24]. Cover art for the new releases was created by Matt Ferguson.
  • Region B versions of the Shout! Factory 35th Anniversary discs were distributed by Funimation and released on October 25, and an additional collector's edition set was made exclusive to Zavvi, packaging the 4K and Blu-ray discs with an art book, poster and six art cards.^[25] Zavvi also partnered with Ferguson to release a line of art prints and apparel featuring his cover art.
• Fathom Events once again returned the film to select theaters on September 26–27, 2021, accompanied by a set of stop-motion comedy videos inspired by the film.

Television broadcasts

Following a segmented, five-part broadcast during the fifth season of The Transformers, the complete feature film was aired on American television in 1989 via Fox stations. Air dates and times were June 17 at Noon, July 30 at 11 A.M. and September 2 at 10 A.M. Of course, this was the language-edited video release from Family Home Entertainment.

The movie was aired on The Hub on February 18, 2012, following the Season 2 premiere of Transformers: Prime on what was called "Transformers Mega Saturday". Uniquely, this version combined the European opening narration with the US scrawl-free opening credits, muted the two swear words (rendering the lines as "It isn't even dented! ...What do we do now?!" and "Open... Open!"), used the European closing narration at the end, and sped up the scroll of the end credits to cut it down for time, ending the lyrics of the theme song around the beginning of its second verse ("Strong enough to break the bravest heart..."). Subsequent re-airings on The Hub aired this version of the movie.

The American television airing of the feature film adds one extra sound effect, and it has never been heard in any other release. During the scene when Arcee is racing to jump aboard the departing Autobot shuttle, there is a distinctive sound effect when she jumps. In all other releases there is no sound effect.

A July 4, 2014 Hub broadcast of the movie markets it as Transformers: The Animated Movie, distinguishing it from that computer animation/live action hybrid film with the similar title made two decades and one year later.

Notes

• According to Buzz Dixon, Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with G.I. Joe, as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of Duke in G.I. Joe: The Movie and both films were in production at the same time.^[26]

• After reading Ron Friedman's first draft of the movie's script, Flint Dille and Jay Bacal hastily wrote and proposed a script of their own, "The Secret of Cybertron", which later informed the cartoon five-parter "Five Faces of Darkness". Elements of this script also supposedly made it into the finished film, but no copy of the script has ever surfaced.

• This film was the last professional performance by Orson Welles, who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at BotCon 2000 by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for The Transformers: The Movie were done on September 10 and 11 of 1985. Welles died on October 10 of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly Nimoy—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director Wally Burr.^[27]

Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!

• With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. Regardless, Shockwave was originally intended to appear in the immediate post-movie story "Five Faces of Darkness", serving in the role that was ultimately given to Blitzwing, before an internal Sunbow memo clarified that his character had been dropped from the series.^[28] Shockwave does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

• Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots - Jazz, Cliffjumper, and Bumblebee - are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: Scatman Crothers passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem quit the show early in the third season. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

• The Dinobots spend the majority of the film in their dinosaur modes, a practice that would eventually carry into season 3 of the cartoon. Swoop is the only one to spend extended amounts of time in robot mode, due to the anatomical issues of walking in a flight-based mode. However, there are some instances where they're briefly shown in robot mode for blink-and-you-miss-it moments, for no reason whatsoever. Additionally, despite his constant presence among the Dinobots, Sludge has no lines in the film at all.

• Unicron's roars in the movie were stock vocalizations originally created for Marvel Productions' 1982 The Incredible Hulk animated series and performed by voice actor Bob Holt, who voiced the Hulk in that show. Holt otherwise never voiced a character in the Marvel/Sunbow Transformers series (although he was a regular member of the Challenge of the GoBots cast as the original voice of Cop-Tur), and had passed away the year before The Transformers: The Movie was released in 1986. Thus, Unicron has the distinction of featuring two posthumous performances for the same Transformers character in a single production.

• A robot resembling Beachcomber appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5".

• Pieces of music from the movie would later be used in the Commodore 64 version of Turrican. For instance, basically unaltered bits of "Escape" make up Subsong Two of the game's title theme.

Foreign names

• German: Transformers: Der Kampf um Cybertron ("Transformers: The Battle for Cybertron", TV airings only)
• French: La Guerre des Robots ("The War of the Robots")
• Japanese: トランスフォーマー ザ・ムービー ("Transformers: The Movie")

External links

• The Transformers: The Movie's box office domestic gross
• The Transformers: The Movie outlines, scripts, storyboards, concept art and model sheets
• The Transformers: The Movie Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle
• The Transformers: The Movie "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie (archived)
• The Transformers: The Movie bloopers

References