Transformers:The Movie (1986)*spoilers I guess*

[noleafclover1980]

How many of you all had your minds blown as a kid that they killed off a bunch of Autobots along w/ Optimas Prime like 20 minutes in? I know I did. Funny to find out later it was a way to introduce new toys and replace the discontinued action figures.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

I didn't see this until adulthood. I thought for years that the Return of Optimus Prime was the movie...I had it taped on a VHS off of TV.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

I couldn't watch that movie for a few years after the first time I saw it, the others, ok, but Prime dying made me cry lol.

[Push R Truth]

YOU GOT THE TOUCH

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Loved it, it was my favourite movie for years. Watched it last night, in fact, still looks fantastic.

[Sir Woodrow]

Aug 9, 2010 5:53:53 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

YOU GOT THE TOUCH

YOU GOT THE POWER!

[Doctor Tull-eus S. Venture]

Not that Prime's death wasn't upsetting, but Ironhide getting freakin' mutilated really made me sad as a kid.

And that's the final cut of the film. If anyone here finds the original storyboards/script notes (theyre on the interwebs somewhere), it was supposed to be even more disturbing (Brawn gets held down by the Constructicons while Mixmaster dumps acid on him and dissolves him, Prowl gets his head blown off, Ultra Magnus gets Drawn and Quartered on Junk, etc.)

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Prowl's death was bad enough, he's the first one you seen turn grey and has fire coming out of his mouth, maybe his eyes too, can't remember exactly.

[wildojinx]

So did brawn or shockwave die? (remember, brawn just got shot in the arm, he could have survived, and im unclear whether shockwave survived)

[Stu]

Shockwave's death was deleted. He was supposed to have been killed after being crushed by Unicron.

As for all the deaths, I don't think any of them traumatized me. If anything, I remember being surprised that Starscream died, but I didn't go home and have nightmares.

[Macho Dude Handy Damage]

Well, I'm one of those people who didn't see this until adulthood as well, so the killing off of so many autobots, including Optimus Prime, didn't affect me. And I knew about that in advance. Heck, I didn't even KNOW about this movie until I happened to stumble across AVGN's (or Cinemassacre really, as he wasn't doing it in his Nerd persona) review of this back in 2007, around the time the first live action Transformers movie came out.

[CMWaters]

This movie is one of my favorites, if just for the music alone. Didn't see it until I was in High School though.

Also, good thing about this movie: When Megatron gets upgraded to Galvatron, he finally gets a cool alt-mode.

I HATE Megatron's G1 Alt mode. Turning into a handgun is not something a leader like him should have. Turning into a giant space cannon, on the other hand...now THAT'S cool.

[Soultastic]

Aug 9, 2010 6:06:41 GMT -5 Sir Woodrow said:

Aug 9, 2010 5:53:53 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

YOU GOT THE TOUCH

YOU GOT THE POWER!

DARE TO BE STUPID!

wait...

[Deleted]

The original deaths would have been traumatizing. I didn't go home crying, nor do I remember seeing any kids leaving crying either. I also went on a Saturday afternoon after the movie had been out for awhile though.

[mrmulluk]

I rented this movie from the video shop repeatedly until my dad eventually caved in and hooked up two vcrs to bootleg it. (When copying films was the stuff of sorcery, rather than something to do online between pleasuring yourself and talking about wrestling.)

I still listen to the soundtrack, and walk along saying the appropriate lines over it. It wasn't until later though that I really realised how they brutalised half the cast.

It just makes me love it more now.

[CMWaters]

Oh, and fun continuity thing:
In the 2006 comic of this movie released by IDW, they explained where the non-Devastator gesalts (as well as Omega Supreme) were during the raid on Autobot City.

[Stu]

It's nice that they addressed their absence from a story perspective. Of course, we all know the movie was filmed before they'd even debuted. Regardless, I remember thinking it would've been cool to have them all there in the movie.

[CMWaters]

Aug 9, 2010 14:42:24 GMT -5 Stu said:

It's nice that they addressed their absence from a story perspective. Of course, we all know the movie was filmed before they'd even debuted. Regardless, I remember thinking it would've been cool to have them all there in the movie.

Not only they explained their absence, they explained what the hell was going on at The Ark during the movie.

Yeah, Omega and the other gesalts could be explained that way (though IIRC, Omega WAS in the Season 2 opening credits), but why didn't they show any of The Ark during the movie always puzzled me.

[Sir Woodrow]

[CMWaters]

Aug 9, 2010 17:02:34 GMT -5 Sir Woodrow said:

You know, as much as Starscream's death was blah...

The main thing that clip does for me is make me wish they could have gotten Nimoy to voice Galvatron for the rest of G1's run.