About Heroes

This review was submitted by Spider-ben
Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary DVD
Writer: Ron Freidman
Director: Nelson Shin
Voice Actors: Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Orson Welles, Lenard Nemoy, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, and Robert Stack

The Movie:
Enter the peaceful planet of Lithone. Robotic scientists conduct tests in their laboratories, while young children play in the streets. All is well until a huge, monstrous planetoid enters Lithone’s orbit. The planet shakes, glass cylinders break. Children and families scream and attempt to get to escape ships. “Arbulus, look! It’s Unicron!” With that statement, the terror bringer Unicron consumes the planet and its residents. A Legend is forged, and Transformers: the Movie has begun.

In case you have been living in a cave, or were not conceived back in the 1980’s, or were just plain drunk for over twenty years, the Transformers are a race of robotic warriors who can transform from vehicle to robot mode. There are two camps of the original Transformers. The heroic Autobots are led by Optimus Prime, while the deceiving Decepticons are led by the maniacal Megatron. For over two years the forces of good and evil clashed on television screens everywhere, and in August 1986 they hit the big screen.

I won’t spoil the movie for those who have not seen it yet. I will say this about it and then let you go buy the movie ASAP. The movie starts off in the future, the year 2005. The Decepticons have conquered Cybertron, and the Autobots are ready to reclaim their home world. Megatron and his forces decide to attack Autobot City on Earth, and our heroes are taken by surprise and massacred. Within the first twenty minutes of the movie, the regularly featured heroes of the television series are killed off. It is up to Optimus Prime to save the day, yet all are blind to the coming of Unicron.

Without spoilers from this point out, a new generation of Autobots arises to face their greatest challenge. A Legend falls and a new hero arises, while Megatron and his troops also receive powerful new forms courtesy of Unicron. The Matrix is the most powerful force of energy and wisdom, and it is the key to defeating Unicron. Planets are destroyed, new friends and foes gather to enter the battle, and the new leader of the Autobots must arise and fulfill his destiny to save not only Cybertron and his friends, but also save the galaxy against the threat of Unicron himself.

The DVD:
Fans are treated to a two disc set, with a beautiful holographic cover courtesy of hot TF artist Don Figuera. On disc one the movie is presented in widescreen form, and also has commentaries by Director Nelson Shin, Story consultant Flint Dille, and Autobot actress Susan Blu. There is also original TV spots and contest promos, along with the original theatrical trailer. This is a very kick ass first disc to this amazing set.

Disc two has the movie in full screen format. On both discs the movie has been digitally re-colored and it looks incredible! Disc two also provides three new featurettes: Death of Optimus Prime, Intro of new characters and their voice actors, and a Q&A with the producers and creators. Disc two also contains the Japanese episode “Scramble City” featuring Ultra Magnus working alongside the G1 Transformers cast prior to the movie. There are also toy commercials (from Japan and the US) and a few other surprises.

All in all, the TF movie is one of my favorite animated movies ever. This new DVD is a real treat to die hard Transformers fans, and a wonderful tribute to a sensational film. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will rock to the incredible soundtrack featured within the movie. My only complaint about the DVD is they did not include Stan Bush’s “You’ve got the Touch” music video. Other than that, this DVD set gets a solid A+! Check it out today, it’s worth the time and money.