Transformers - The Movie the 1986 animated film
Transformers - The Movie is a 1986 sci-fi animated film based on the Transformers television series. It was released on DVD in North America on 8 August 1986 and in the UK on 12 December 1986. It was co-produced and directed by Nelson Shin, who also produced the television series. The screenplay was written by Ron Friedman, who created The Bionic Six a year later.
The film features the voices of Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Casey Kasem, Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, John Moschitta Jr., Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, and saw the latest film roles of Orson Welles, who died before the end. of the film. release and Scatman Crothers who died after the movie was released. The soundtrack includes electronic music composed by Vince DiCola and songs by rock and heavy metal bands including Stan Bush and “Weird Al” Yankovic.
The story is set in 2005, 20 years after the second season of the TV series. After a Decepticon assault devastates Autobot City, Optimus Prime wins a deadly one-on-one duel with Megatron, but ultimately suffers fatal wounds in the encounter. With Megatron badly injured, the Decepticons are forced to retreat, saving the Autobots. The Autobots are hunted across the galaxy by Unicron, a planet-sized Transformer who intends to consume Cybertron and who transfigures Megatron to become the enslaved Galvatron.
Hasbro's agenda focused exclusively on toys required a product update, to be invented by the on-screen extermination of the protagonists, against the protest of some creators of the film and the TV series. The slaughter of the characters, especially Optimus Prime, inadvertently shocked the young audience.
The film was a box office failure, having been released in a season full of blockbuster films and having a young, failing distribution company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG). Contemporary critics were generally negative, perceiving a subtle plot of blatant publicity and violent action that only children liked. The film gained cult classic status decades later with many home reissues and film screenings, most notably coinciding with Michael Bay's live-action series in the 2000s. Several critics greatly prefer the original over live-action films. ; Den of Geek remembered it as "The Great Toy Slaughter of 1986" which "traumatized a generation of children with a series of startling deaths" and as "a milestone in the history of animation".
History
In 2005, the evil Decepticons took over the Autobots' homeworld of Cybertron. The heroic Autobots, operating from the two moons of Cybertron, prepare a counter-offensive. Autobot leader Optimus Prime sends a shuttle to Autobot City on Earth for supplies. However, their plan is discovered by the Decepticons, who kill the crew (Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet, Brawn) and hijack the ship. In Autobot City, Hot Rod, while relaxing with Daniel Witwicky (son of Spike Witwicky), sees the hijacked shuttle and a deadly battle ensues. Optimus arrives with reinforcements just as the Decepticons are close to victory. Optimus defeats several of them and then engages Megatron in a brutal fight, leaving both of them mortally wounded. On his deathbed, Optimus passes the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus, telling him that his power will illuminate the Autobots' darkest hour. He falls from Optimus' hands and is captured by Hot Rod, who hands him to Ultra Magnus. Optimus Prime's body loses color as he dies.
The Decepticons retreat from Autobot City into Astrotrain. To save fuel upon returning to Cybertron, they throw the wounded overboard and Megatron is discarded by his treacherous second-in-command Starscream. Adrift in space, the wounded are found by Unicron, a sentient planet that consumes other worlds. Unicron offers Megatron a new body in exchange for destroying the Matrix, which has the power to destroy Unicron. Megatron reluctantly agrees and is transformed into Galvatron, while the corpses of other abandoned Decepticons are converted into his new troops: Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps. On Cybertron, Galvatron interrupts Starscream's coronation as leader of the Decepticons and kills him. Unicron then consumes Cybertron's moons including secret bases with Autobot and Spike. Regaining command of the Decepticons, Galvatron leads his forces in search of Ultra Magnus in the ruined city of Autobot.
The surviving Autobots escape in separate shuttles, which are shot down by the Decepticons and crash into several planets. Hot Rod and Kup are taken prisoner by the Quintessons, a group of tyrants who hold kangaroo courts and execute prisoners by feeding them to the Sharkticons. Hot Rod and Kup learn about Unicron from Kranix, a sole survivor of Lithone, a planet devoured by Unicron at the beginning of the film. After Kranix is executed, Hot Rod and Kup escape, aided by the Dinobots and little Autobot Wheelie, who helps them find an escape ship.
The other Autobots land on the trash planet where they are attacked by the native Junkions, who then hide from Galvatron's incoming forces. Ultra Magnus protects the remaining Autobots as he attempts and fails to release the power of the Matrix. He is destroyed by Galvatron who takes possession of the Matrix, now intending to use it to control Unicron. The Autobots befriend local Junkions, led by Wreck-Gar, who rebuild Magnus. They are joined by the Autobots of the planet of Quintessons. Assuming that Galvatron has the Matrix, the Autobots and Junkion (who have their own ship) fly to Cybertron. Galvatron attempts to threaten Unicron, but like Ultra Magnus, he cannot activate the Matrix. In response to Galvatron's threats, Unicron transforms into a colossal robot and begins dismembering Cybertron. When Galvatron attacks him, Unicron swallows him and the entire Matrix.
The Autobots crash their spaceship outward through Unicron's eye and melt as Unicron continues to battle Decepticon, Junkion, and other Cybertron defenders. Daniel saves his father Spike from Unicron's digestive system and the group saves Bumblebee, Jazz and Cliffjumper. Galvatron attempts to form an alliance with Hot Rod, but Unicron forces him to attack. Hot Rod is nearly killed but, at the last second, he recovers and successfully activates the Matrix, thus becoming Rodimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots. Rodimus launches Galvatron into space and uses the power of the Matrix to destroy Unicron, then escapes with the other Autobots. With the Decepticons in disarray from Unicron's attack, the Autobots celebrate the end of the war and the recapture of their homeworld as Unicron's severed head orbits Cybertron.
Production
The film arrived in Italy in 1988, with a huge delay compared to Season 3 of the TV series. The adaptation was not very faithful to the original and it was never known which dubbing studio actually made it. This first version was edited by DVDStorm in a few copies in 2003, later in 2007 DVDStorm revived it using the remastered version of the film. Both editions contained the English version and subtitles. Also in 2007, the remastered version was re-edited under the double Medusa / MTC brand with a new adaptation, more faithful to the original in the dialogues, which also had some television passages on Cooltoon. Curiously, however, for some characters the Italian names are used (Commander instead of Optimus Prime, Astrum instead of Starscream, etc.) and for others the original ones are used (Decepticons, Rodimus Prime, etc.). This new adaptation was harshly criticized by Italian fans due to the too literal and in some places quite questionable translation. In addition, this edition lacks English dubbing and any type of subtitle.
The Transformers television series began airing in 1984 to promote Hasbro's Transformers toys; The Transformers: The Movie was conceived as a commercial link to promote the 1986 toy line. The TV series featured no deaths, and the writers had already deliberately assigned familiar identities to characters that young children could associate with; however, Hasbro ordered the film to kill several existing characters to update the cast.
Director Nelson Shin recalled, “Hasbro created the story using characters that could be better marketed for the film. Only with this consideration could I have the freedom to change the plot ". Screenwriter Ron Friedman, who had written for the TV series, advised against killing Autobot leader Optimus Prime. He said in a 2013 interview: “Removing Optimus Prime, physically removing Dad from the family, wouldn't work. I told Hasbro and their lieutenants that they should have brought him back, but they said no and they had 'big things planned'. In other words, they would have created new and more expensive toys. "
According to the writers, Hasbro underestimated the extent to which Prime's death would shock young audiences. Story Advisor Flint Dille said, “We didn't know he was an icon. It was a toy show. We were just thinking of eliminating the old product line and replacing it with new products. […] The children were crying in the cinemas. We have heard of people leaving the film. We were getting a lot of bad reviews about it. There was a little boy who locked himself in his bedroom for two weeks. " Optimus Prime was later revived in the TV series.
A scene where Ultra Magnus is drawn and quartered was scripted, but replaced with a scene where it was shot. Another unproduced scene allegedly killed "virtually the entire '84 product line" in an indictment against the Decepticons.
The film's budget was $ 6 million, six times that of the 90-minute equivalent of the TV series. Shin's team, made up of nearly XNUMX staff members, normally took three months to make an episode of the series, so the extra budget didn't help the considerable time constraints resulting from the simultaneous production of the film and TV series. Shin conceived of Prime's body turning gray to show that "the spirit had disappeared from the body".
Toei Animation Vice President Kozo Morishita spent a year in the United States during production. He oversaw the art direction, insisting that the Transformers receive multiple layers of shading and shadows for a dynamic, detailed look.
The Transformers: The Movie is the latest film starring Orson Welles. Welles spent the day on October 5, 1985, playing Unicron's voice on set, and died on October 10. Slate reported that his "voice was apparently so faint when he recorded his recording that the technicians needed to run it through a synthesizer to save it." Shin stated that Welles was initially pleased to accept the role after reading the script and had expressed admiration for animated films. Shortly before his death, Welles told his biographer Barbara Leaming: “Do you know what I did this morning? I interpreted the voice of a toy. I play a planet. I threaten someone called Something-or-Else. Then I am destroyed. My plan to destroy whoever it is is thwarted and they tear me apart on the screen. "
Technical data
Original title The Transformers: The Movie
Original language English
Country of Production USA, Japan
Year 1986
Duration 85 min
Relationship 1,33: 1 (original) / 1,38: 1 (cinema)
Gender animation, fantastic, action, science fiction, dramatic, adventure
Regia Nelson Shin
Subject Transformers (Hasbro)
Film script Ron Friedman
Producer Joe Bacal, Tom Griffin
Executive producer Margaret Loesch, Lee Gunther
Production house Marvel Productions, Sunbow, Toei Animation
Distribution in Italian Dvd Storm (2005), Dynit / Medianatwork Communication (2007)
Editor David Hankins
Special effects Mayuki Kawachi, Shōji Satō
Music DiCola wins
character design Floro Dery
Entertainers Nobuyoshi Sasakado, Shigemitsu Fujitaka, Koichi Fukuda, Yoshitaka Koyama, Yoshinori Kanamori and others
Wallpapers Kazuo Ebisawa, Toshikatsu Sanuki
Original voice actors
Peter Cullen - Optimus Prime, Ironhide
Judd Nelson: Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime
Robert Stack: Ultra Magnus
Dan GilvezanBumblebee
David MendenhallDaniel Witwicky
Corey BurtonSpike Witwicky, Brawn, Shockwave
Neil Ross: Springer, Slag, Bonecrusher, Hook
Susan Blue: Arcee
Lionel StanderKup
Orson Welles: Unicron
Frank Welker: Megatron, Soundwave, Wheelie, Frenzy, Rumble
Leonard Nimoy Galvatron
John Moschitta, Jr .: Blurr
Buster Jones: Blaster
Paul Eiding: Perceptor
Gregg BergerGrimlock
Michael Bell: Swoop, Scrapper
Scatman Crothers: Jazz
Casey KasemCliffjumper
Roger C. Carmel: Cyclonus
Stan Jones: Scourge
Christopher Collins: Starscream
Arthur BurghardtDevastator
Don MessickScavenger
Jack Angel: Astrotrain
Ed Gilbert: Blitzwing
Clive Revill: Kickback
Hal Rayle: Shrapnel
Eric Idle: Wreck Gar
Norman AldenKranix
Italian voice actors
First edition
Giancarlo Padoan as Optimus Prime
Elio Zamuto: Ultra Magnus
Toni Orlandi: Kup
Francesco Bulckaen as Falco (Ironhide)
Massimo Corizza: Astrum (Starscream)
Francesco PezzulliDaniel Witwicky
Giuliano SantiSpike Witwicky
Second edition (2007)
Pierluigi Astore: Commander (Optimus Prime), Convoy (Ultra Magnus)
Christian Iansante: Folgore (Hot Rod) / Rodimus Prime
Germano Basile: Beetle (Bumblebee), Bora (Springer)
Romano Malaspina: Megatron; Galvatron
Mario Bombardieri: Blitz (Kup)
Federico Di Pofi: Wreck Gar
Gabriele LopezRantrox (Shrapnel)
Gianluca CrisafiAtrox (Kickback)
Marco Mori: Astrum (Starscream), Supervisor (Perceptor)
Toni Orlandi: Memor (Soundwave), Reptilo (Swoop)
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Transformers:_The_Movie
