The Transformers The Movie Review (Anime)
Debuting in 1986, The Transformers The Movie is fondly remembered by many people and considered to be the best movie based on the series to date. Whilst it certainly has incredible animation and some enjoyable voice work, overall it failed to captivate me.
The war between the Autobots and Decepticons has culminated with Cybertron, the Autobots home planet, being overrun by the Decepticons and forced away from the planet. Looking to take back Cybertron, the Autobots prepare for a full assault on the Decepticons which leads both Optimus Prime and Megatron being fatally wounded and the war being far from over. With new leaders of both groups in place, the war continues with no end in sight. Of course, it does end but there’s a lot of work to be done, and it’s not particularly exciting to watch. If anything, it’s not an easy watch for adults — it’s a kid film and it does very well in being one, but there’s little for adults to enjoy and I lost attention several times.
Not particularly exciting to watch.
Transformers certainly looks brilliant when it comes to its traditional 2D art, boasting detail, smooth animation and a whole lot of robots transforming! Toei Animation were proving back in 1986 that they can produce some fantastic animation, and it’s oozing 80’s and 90’s sci-fi – this isn’t particularly my thing, but I appreciate it nonetheless! A varied colour palette, a large cast of your favourite transformers and some surprisingly brutal action make for something that’s a delight for the eyes — like I’ve mentioned earlier, it wonderfully 80’s/90’s!
The voice cast consists of quite a few greats including sci-fi legend Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame, Frank Welker who has voiced Scooby and Fred in the Scooby Doo series’ for decades, and Peter Cullen who voices series hero Optimus Prime and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. The voice-acting is a delight to listen to and is probably my favourite thing about the movie, and it’s something I can’t fault past some of the more childish characters being a tad too childish for me at my age — again though, I think it’s great for kids and don’t find this to be a fault. The soundtrack is great with some classics such as You’ve Got the Touch by Stan Bush being played a couple of times, and in general the soundtrack is catchy, electronic and, you guessed it, wonderfully nostalgic.
The voice-acting is a delight to listen to.
I can’t say that I’m particularly enamoured with The Transformers: The Movie and maybe I would’ve been as a child, but as an adult it doesn’t resonate with me. Whilst I think that it would be a great watch for a child, there isn’t very much that will excite adults and I found myself struggling to pay attention. It features brilliant animation and voice work that still impress today, although its story and characters aren’t quite as strong. If you’re a big Transformers fan then this is likely an easy buy for you, but for those who aren’t then it’s not something you’re missing out on.
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