|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 Transform into victory! Nov 29, 2008
After twenty years of the many various cartoon shows, specials, toys and an animated feature-length motion picture, Sony BMG Entertainment proudly revises Transformers The Movie for the 21st century.
Backed with a way cool DVD cover art (via the various artists at Dreamwave Productions) and tons of special features on a 2-disc set, the movie continues to tell the exploits of Optimus Prime and the heroic Autobots who battle valiantly against the forces of Megatron and the evil Decepticons. The story definitely had a utter shock for all fans when it was released in 1986. Some fans didn't like back then, but you'll have to look at the special features to see why they (the movie's crew....and even Hasbro) did that.
It stars a cavalcade of 1980's voice acting superstars, such as Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime and Ironhide), Frank Welker (Megatron, various other Transformers), Dan Galvezan (Bumblebee) and Susan Blu (Arcee). It also features guest stars Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), the late actors Robert Stack (Unsolved Mysteries), Lionel Stander (Hart to Hart), Scatman Crothers (Hong Kong Fooey) and Orson Wells (Citizen Kane).
It also has a ton of special features goodies for any TF:TM fan:
-Widescreen and full screen presentations on 2 discs
-Digitally color corrected and remastered
-Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound
-Interviews with director Nelson Shin, producers Jay Bacal and Tom Griffin, story consultant/writer Flint Dille and voice actress/director Susan Blu (who provides the voice of Arcee)
-Original "Scramble City" episode that premiered in Japan (now with fan commentary)
-Promo and theatrical teasers and trailers
-TV and contest spots
-Transformers toy commercials from the U.S. and Japan
-Credit screen tests
-Storyboard/script comparisons
-Photo galleries
-Transformers Trivia FanFacts (displayed through the movie)
-DVD-ROM movie content
-*Hidden Easter eggs on both discs
The only thing extra that they could've put on this was the interview with the film's composer, Vince DiCola. It was included when Rhino Home Video released it first on DVD. I guess that was the only thing that Sony BMG had missed the mark on, but other than that, overall satisfaction!
A definite must for your DVD library, especially those of us who are die-hard Transformers fan from day one. It's "more than meets the eye!"
Transformers, transform and roll out!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
THE Movie!!! May 12, 2008
This is the title that was the trend setter above all else.Not perfect,but by no means lacking either,Hell!!!, it even had a curse word in it!The true standard bearer.A must for any and all fans!!!
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 DID THAT AUTOBOT JUST USE THE 'S' WORD? May 06, 2008
My son and I watched this movie together for our weekly boys' night ritual and both of us enjoyed the non-stop action and mildly amusing humor sprinkled here and there. The dialogue isn't great and the animation is not very fetching in some scenes, but for the most part it kept our attention and fed my son's appetite for every thing 'Transformers'. The one troubling moment happens in the first 1/3 of the movie when one of the autobots delivers a shocking expletive. In the 20 years since this movie debuted animated shows like South Park have elevated the swear word to an art form, but I wasn't quite prepared for that particular word to appear in this 1980's cartoon movie. It is a bit awkward. At least if it had been a bad guy I could have turned into a moral lesson about making bad choices; instead I was left to hope the boy had completely missed that line. This isn't to say my son hasn't watched a movie here and there with questional language, but if he repeats the robot potty words in front of my wife I'm the one who is going to be in for it. Just a word of warning, this is a great little flick but there are a couple of lines of surprise verbage mixed in with all the violence and it may not be right for the youngest among us.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Transformers The Movie (1986) is a beloved classic of mine Apr 04, 2008
I was a HUGE fan of the Transformers (G1) when I was a kid and I'm no less of a fan of the series (and the movie) now than when it was released into the theaters back in 1986. However, the movie ended up being a DRAMATIC departure from the more "kid-friendly" TV series, as was made painfully clear during the first 30 minutes of the film when several beloved Autobot characters die VIOLENT deaths at the hands of Megatron and the Decepticons, including, most sadly, Optimus Prime. The main plot of the movie revolves around the struggle between the Transformers and a giant planet-eating monster named Unicron, who initially forms a tentative alliance with a dying Megatron, later rebuilt by Unicron into Galvatron (essentially Megatron with a new body), in order to help him destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership from the Autobot's new leader, Ultra Magnus, one of many new characters introduced in this film. In a plot somewhat derivative of Star Wars, one of the main characters ends up unlocking the power of the Matrix and leading the Autobots to victory against Unicron and the Decepticons. Although there are a small number of cheesy scenes in the movie (i.e. the characters dancing with the Junkions), the movie, by far, was extraordinarily entertaining and the first 30 minutes were simply spellbinding to watch starting with Unicron mercilessly devouring an entire planet, the Decepticons launching an all-out assault on the Autobots' new base on Earth, and Optimus Prime and Megatron finally having THE ULTIMATE FIGHT TO THE DEATH that I had long been waiting to see. The action in the movie is complemented by the excellent guest voice talents of Robert Stack, Judd Nelson, Lionel Stander, LEONARD NIMOY, and Eric Idle, as well as the original voice talents of Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) and Frank Welker (Megatron) from the series. I thought that the dialogue in the movie was also written extremely well with many memorable lines that are too numerous to mention here. The animation in the movie is also quite superb, particularly when contrasted with the animation in the TV series.
The soundtrack for the movie is simply outstanding, particularly songs such as "The Touch" and "Dare", both performed by a little known rock artist named Stan Bush. The synthesizer-laden instrumental score was composed and performed by another little known rock artist named Vince DiCola, who also scored Rocky IV, and is perhaps one of the best instrumental scores for a movie that I've ever heard with the possible exception of John Williams' score for Star Wars. Although some of Vince DiCola's magnificent score is available on the movie soundtracks that have been released (check out the 2007 release for more of the score and an alternate version of the main Transformers theme), the availability of any full-length recordings of his score has been exclusively limited to people attending past Bot-Con conventions and even Mr. DiCola himself reports that he is unsure of any future releases of the score (although albums containing score demos and outtakes are available on his record studio website). Hopefully, a full recording of the soundtrack will be made available someday. I listen to the soundtrack quite frequently even nowadays and it is one of the few albums that never really get tired of listening to but, of course, I definitely wish that more of the score was available. A remix of "The Touch" by Stan Bush and a Transformers-inspired song called "Til All Are One" were recently included on Stan Bush's latest album (In This Life). Both of these songs are definitely worth downloading.
There is not really too much about the movie that I didn't like other than the fact that it seemed like the directors killed off way too many Autobots (and not enough Decepticons), mostly classic first season characters (Ironhide, Ratchet, Brawn, Prowl, Wheeljack, Windcharger) and the movie was fairly limited in terms of the numbers of the characters, both Autobot and Decepticon, it showed considering the number of characters introduced throughout the series up to that point. Also, there were some continuity problems with the series although I don't really hold them against the movie. For instance, the Autobot Matrix of Leadership was never mentioned anytime during the series prior to the movie. Also, there was no explanation given for how the Decepticons ultimately conquered Cybertron, the existence of Cybertron's moons, and the creation of Autobot City. Optimus Prime's death was also really hard for me to deal with. How the writers thought that they could kill him off in the movie and NOT expect an angry backlash from ardent fans of the series is beyond me. It does help knowing (now anyway) that Optimus Prime DOES properly return towards the end of the 3rd season of the G1 series and is back in the truncated fourth season . However, when I was a kid, not knowing this, I remember being REALLY sad over his death and, in fact,I think that it was the only time I ever cried over a fictional character.
Overall, I must say that Transformers The Movie is probably one of my all-time favorite movies, eclipsed perhaps only by the Star Wars movies and is one of the few movies that I've seen that I could easily watch several times without ever really getting tired of it. It is definitely recommended for anybody who enjoyed any of the Transformers series, particularly the G1 series that it is based on. Sci-fi and anime fans will almost certainly enjoy it as well.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Transformer (Cartoon) Jan 12, 2008
I gave this product as a Christmas present and got a fantastic response. I have watched it and it is great. The cartoon is a great review and just plain fun to watch before or after watching the new "Transformers" movie.
DO ENJOY!!!!
|
| | |
