Happy 30th Birthday, Transformers: The Movie

Thirty years ago today (ish), I remember watching Transformers: The Movie on the big screen.This [...]

By Russ Burlingame

TransformersTM 600a

Thirty years ago today (ish), I remember watching Transformers: The Movie on the big screen.

This is actually saying something; my parents would occasionally take me to the movies as a kid, but there are very, very few of them that I remember distinctly and unless my timelines are jumbled, I believe Transformers to be the first I remember.

In spite of being six at the time, I don't remember being particularly scarred by the death of Optimus Prime (spoilers!) at the end of the first act. I remember loving Hot Rod and being somewhat disappointed when he transformed into Rodimus Prime at the end, both because it meant Optimus wouldn't come back right away (HA!) and because it meant my favorite new character had been transformed from a hip young guy meant for we kids to relate to, to an old guy in the span of his first-ever appearance.

And I remember very distinctly standing in the theater, watching those closing credits, as Unicron's head floated through space. Of all the things I remember about that day close to thirty years ago (close because, let's face it, my parents didn't bring six-year-old me and my four-year-old brother to opening night), that image of Unicron's head still sitting on the screen as the house lights started to come up mid-credits to try and convince parents and kids to clear out is crystal clear.

Three decades after I stood in the theater watching that head float by, Transformers: The Movie is still generally understood to be the best Transformers movie -- which, while a lot of people complain about the live-action "Bayformers" films, it's not fair to assume that everyone hates a franchise that's made billions of dollars over the course of about ten years now.

The animation was top-notch, a marked improvement over a TV series which was already one of the best-animated shows appearing on American television at the time. The soundtrack was so awesome, so inspiring, and so totally '80s that it not only became a hot seller at the time, but has continued to be a popular item ever since.

And it was the first movie I remember being aware of having moments. There were big, exciting, inspiring moments. There were frustrating, heartbreaking, and even annoying moments...but those didn't ruin the film. Rewatching it fairly recently, I was surprised by how well it held up -- and by Ultra Magnus swearing. That was weird.

There's a new, 30th anniversary Blu-ray coming out. It's got a host of new special features, new cover art, and has even been remastered in 4K. I'll be checking it out and likely writing a full review at the time -- but for now, Happy Birthday, Transformers: The Movie. You've been pretty good to me for all this time.

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