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'The Transformers: The Movie'

Why I Loved It and Still Do

By Alan HiscuttPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
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The Transformers have been around for what seems like forever. Back in 1984, I was just 3 years old, but when the reruns hit the British screens in the late 80s, I was hooked. I lived on a TV diet of those cartoons that made the improbable come alive. MASK, Star Com, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Centurions, and GI Joe all embedded themselves into the brain of young me. For a long time I assumed the catchy theme tunes and over the top non-violent violence were the selling points. One thing the characters in these shows all had in common was the obvious training they undertook from the Stormtrooper academy from Star Wars. Accuracy in the 80s was not, how do you say, impressive?

Atop the mountain of these cartoons stands The Transformers. No doubt the excellent voice acting from the cast had something to do with it. Peter Cullen was Optimus Prime. So much so that when Micheal Bay and the studio decided to cast another actor when the live action movies were being born, public outcry was so widespread that popular demand left no choice but to bring Peter Cullen back to the franchise. Perhaps the best thing that has ever happened in the Bayiverse.

The TV show (and I'm talking G1 here, none of this beast wars or armada hoohaa that exists today) was iconic. It told the classic tale of good vs evil and had robots that turned into trucks and planes and tanks and guns; a fact 8 year old me was obsessed with. All of the other toys in my room suddenly had the ability to morph into anything I wanted them to be. Hotwheels? You bet they became robots and I gave them typically Transformer-ish names. The Black Thunderbird became Night Car, the green Jaguar became Jagatron (Hey I was 8!) and my brother and I would watch every episode with anticipation. I was always a fan of Prime but my heart belonged to Starscream. I loved Jets. He was so cool, even if he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. My brother was part of the "Jazz Band" and would not have a bad word said against him. Week in and week out, we would absorb those tales of good triumphs over evil. We nearly lost our minds when we heard there was a movie. It had been and gone in the movie theatres by this point, but it became our holy grail. For those of you who remember the Video Man in the UK, those Friday aftermoons were like torture. Waiting to see if he had that piece of cinematic treasure in his car. Weeks went by and we always told "Sorry boys, someone else has it this week."

The time ticked on, and then one day, I remember it well. It was a Friday. My mum was in the kitchen. She called me and my brother in and said she was going out that evening but our Auntie would be babysitting. This was terrible news. Our Auntie would bring our cousin with her. Jack. Jack was a baby. He did nothing but scream and puke. After hearing our moans of anguish, she smiled and said, "After your dinner, you can watch the video you've been waiting for." We stopped dead. Our Mum was suddenly the most amazing and brilliant lady to ever walk the earth. There was only one video that she could mean. We ran to the living area and there was the case. It looked a little rough but there sat next to the TV was the holy grail. Finally, we would see that masterpiece.

As we settled down that night in the living room, Jack screaming in the dining room as my Aunt tried her best to calm him down, My brother and I hit that play button. For the next 84 minutes, I was oblivious to anything else. My brother likewise.

If you haven't seen this film by now, then I apologise, spoilers will follow... if you can spoil something 30 odd years old that is.

Firstly, this film was beautiful to look at. Something even 9 years old me could see. The colours were vivid and bright and the effects were, to me, out of this world. From the early minutes this film packed everything that was great about the TV show into its content. Then, out of nowhere, things got serious.

Megatron and his Decepticons attack a supply ship on its way to Earth (Nothing out of the ordinary there, this was standard for bad guys in cartoons. Attack the supply ships, steal cargo, or sneak into the good guys base). Then, accompanied by a rock track that just compliments the action so brilliantly, within seconds, the Decepticons killed, yes KILLED, half the main cast from the TV show! (We already left wondering if the guys on the moon base were dead but being a cartoon, we assumed they would live... this was the 80s. No one dies in a cartoon!) I remember my brother actually yelling when Ironhide got blasted. The cry of "NOOOOOO" from the 7 year old boy to my right would signal the end of our childhood as we knew it. It marked a watershed in our young lives. Suddenly the notion of good always being triumphant was questioned. No longer would the world seem the same.

I could go on and give a full review on the film, but that's for another day. Transformers taught me more about mortality than I ever learned at school. Optimus Prime was the pinnacle of nobility and sacrifice. (I'm sure theres a book about this out there with a guy and a beard as the main character but I'd prefer the robot version any day.)

The film was hard hitting for those of us under 12, and although it was blatantly a 90 minute advert to promote the new toy line coming post movie, it had all the elements of classic good vs evil tales. Hot Rod underwent the well established hero's journey. The Bad Guy was given a shot at redemption but shunned it. The Underdogs won. I loved it. Oh and Optimus Prime died. That wasn't so cool, but looking back, I cant see how else that movie could have played out. As an adult, I love tragic stories. New ones and old. I quite like it when a hero dies only to see an unsung hero rise up and take up the mantle. It's very Star Wars-y (Obi Wan and Luke? I'm well aware I'm going off piste a little here and I apologise. Please remember I'm not a professional writer.)

This movie was, as I said, a watershed for me. It introduced me to the notion of death and mortality, which for a child is much easier to digest when its a giant robot truck, rather than a person.

I wanted you to know why I loved this movie, and with everything I have mentioned, there is so much more, like the look and feel of the movie. The explosions had an almost holographic effect to them, the music was like nothing I had ever heard before. Heavy rock was new to me. It started me on a path of listening to bands like Metallica, Guns N' Roses later in life and it likely all stemmed from that soundtrack. Sure the dialogue was a little corny at times, but that's what makes it work. I've heard people claim the story lacks cohesion and is too abstract at times and at others is too fast paced. Maybe there is some truth to that, but in reality, the people who went nuts over this film were those who were invested in the TV show and that made following the story easy. There was no ambiguity to 9 year old me. Giant Robot Planet wants to destroy the Matrix. Bad Robots want to kill good robots. Good Robots have to run away and regroup after leader dies. Giant Planet teams up with Bad Robots. Good Robots defeat combined bad guy army. New hero is born. Have I missed anything? Doesn't seem that hard to follow.

I watched this film again last week, just to get my bearings, it still moves me. I still wince when Prowl is killed and he burns from the inside out. I still got a rush of adrenaline when Prime takes out half the Decepticons accompanied by Stan Bush's epic song. I still laugh at the ridiculous lines Grimlock spouts. I can also appreciate the satire with the court scene. I still cant forgive Hot Rod for getting Prime killed. I still love Weird Al's song. This was a film I should have long forgotten, but I haven't and I don't think I will. As Rodimus says, "It sparks a new age" in kids who saw it. I have adult friends who had never seen it, and after they do, want to know why this hasn't been made into a live action film yet? We can but hope.

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About the Creator

Alan Hiscutt

Bit of a geek really. Love anything that doesn't seem to be have any basis reality.

Spend way to much playing games and reading. Currently working as a Training manager and Investigations Officer for a health care agency.

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