Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34517 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-11-26
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Animated, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 86 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Transformers: The Movie it's the year 2005, and the universe is going right down the toilet. Not only have the heroic Autobots lost their homeworld of Cybertron to the evil Decepticons, a giant metallic planet named Unicron is on the prowl, treating solar systems like a gigantic buffet and gunning for the Autobots' matrix of leadership. Fortunately, struggling against the odds is what heroes do best, and it is indeed hard to keep a good robot down. As the battle rages from space to earth and back into space again, characters die, others are reborn and, ultimately, good must face evil in a climactic battle for the fate of the universe. When this animated film arrived in American cinemas in the mid-1980s, the Transformers--both the robot toys and the television show--were at the height of their popularity. Transformers The Movie took these battling 'bots and, er, transformed them into film stars, albeit of the cult variety. The animation is a bit touch-and-go: at its best, it's up there with classic Japanese manga; at it's worst, it reeks of horrible 80s assembly-line productions. And the plot is little more than an advert for the (then) new toys, many of which show up as main characters in the film (Hot Rod, Kup, Ultra Magnus, Galvatron, etc). However, some of the action sequences are indeed spectacular--especially the battle for Autobot City--and the violence is a bit intense for what is, basically, a kid's film (they may just be robots, but they still die, apparently). What really makes this film more than meets the eye, though, is the names who show up as voices in the credits: Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, Robert Stack, Eric Idle and even Orson Welles, in one of his last roles, as Unicron.

On the DVD: In order to please the growing numbers of hardcore Transformers fans out there, the DVD version of Transformers: The Movie has been beefed up with loads of extra features: the original theatrical trailer, introductory footage taken from the BBC's I Love 1984 and a picture gallery with music are all excellent additions, but best of all is Takara's "The Four Soldiers from the Sky". Though the dubbing and translation are a bit poor, it's still a rare opportunity to see a Transformers episode that never aired outside of Japan.--Robert Burrow

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Special Introductory Footage
Soldiers From The Sky (first episode from Takara series)
Original Theatrical Trailer
Music Picture Gallery
English 5.1
Aspect Ratio: 4:3

Synopsis
In the year 2005, the Autobots and the Decepticons are still locked in battle, but a deadly new force enters the fray--a giant killer planet known as Unicron (voiced by film legend Orson Welles). The heroic Autobots must fight for their own survival and to save their home planet from destruction. A classic of 1980s animation, based on the popular TV series, TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE features a star-studded array of vocal talent, including Welles, Leonard Nimoy, Judd Nelson, Eric Idle, and Casey Kasem.

Customer Reviews

Me Grimlock want to munch metal!
This is quite simply the best animated movie ever made. It manages to appeal to both the adults of the Transformer generation and the kids of today (How they loved Grimlock, hehe). Transformers combines heavy action with some uncharacteristic themes for a children's film (Characters actually DIE. Watch Prime's death, it's pretty deep for a kids film). The film is all the better for it, though. Just watch the cartoons kids have to put up with today - pokemon, etc. Crap. Buy TF:TM and show them what a REAL cartoon with a REAL story is like. If they're not hooked on 80's synth/rock/heavy metal by the end of it, buy the soundtrack and they will be =)

I can't praise this film enough. And now it can live forever on DVD! Now all we need is the episodes released in chronological order so we can force kids to watch them and make the world a better place.

Look, just buy it, ok? And when you're done buy the toys. Now they were REAL toys back then. Why I remember.......

NOT TO BE MISSED
I have been a huge fan of Japanese Animation for 10 years now and I have got to admit that Transformers The Movie has got to be one of the best Japanese/American cartoon movies I have seen.
Everything about it is different from the tv series e.g. The drawings and animation is very detailed, the soundtrack is completely outstanding and very pleasantly surprising. An increase in violent content which was different and very interesting. The voice cast was brilliant, a host of new characters and the movie itself was exciting and entertaining from beginning to end.
A very well handled English Version which must have been a fantastic Cinema Experience back when it was first released.

Not so Special Edition
This is apparantly a collector's edition. I wouldn't say there is anything special about it though. Don't get me wrong the film is great. Always has been, always will be. It's just that the only extra is a very poorly dubbed episode of Headmaster:Transformers that wouldn't encourage you to watch the film in any way. It's also at the start of the video. So it seems like a good idea to watch it. However by the 50th time of being told the transformers live on 'Cyberton' thats 'ton' people you get a bit bored with it. Someone put this together without a lot of imagination. However the film still rocks even after all this time and is a must see for any fan.