Transformers: The Movie
D: Nelson Shin (1986); with Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Casey Kasem, Scatman Crothers, Orson Welles.
Action figures and popular children’s programming nearly always produce film versions. After all, the creators want to suck out every last penny before fads like He-Man and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers die out with their audience’s growing maturity levels. A few, like G.I. Joe, survive the toy-to-celluloid transition while others (the now seemingly chronic Pokémon craze) don’t wilt away quite soon enough. My mid-Eighties childhood obsession was with Transformers, everyday machines that turned into walking, talking, fighting robots, popularized by their catchy, self-esteem-building theme song: “More than meets the eye!” In 1986, Transformers: The Movie was released, a slick mix of Japanamation and science fiction with a soundtrack that would make even the most die-hard hair band fan let out a sarcastic giggle. In the distant future of 2005, the Autobots (good) and Decepticons (evil) are struggling for control of the universe. However, there is another force, something called Unicron (Welles in one of his final, odd voiceover performances), who devours planets and is determined to take over both the Autobots and Earth. The digital effects are up to par with Tron, and the animation is superb considering the tools available to director Shin and his team of animators are rather crude by today’s standards. Ron Friedman’s story is simple enough for a child’s mind yet entertaining for anyone who can take the film with a grain of salt. In fact, the most fun comes while trying to decipher the voices of Monty Python‘s Eric Idle, Robert Stack of Unsolved Mysteries fame, and various other Eighties celebrities whose names are now mostly distant memories or the punchlines of jokes. One could even stretch it a bit and call Transformers: The Movie a good film with subtle themes — like most children’s stories — a social commentary on how technology will take over our world and we should just accept it graciously. Then again, it may just be a movie appreciated purely for nostalgia’s sake.
This article appears in May 11 • 2001.