History Trivia / TheTransformersTheMovie

*** After Rumble & Frenzy forcibly disassemble Devastator, Blitzwing would've proclaimed that he should be the ruler, as a being a Triple-Changer makes him worth two Decepticons.

** Orson Welles's seeming apathy to the film being a result of [[AnimationAgeGhetto apparent dislike of the property being "for kids"]] has been a popular myth; in reality, Orson Welles was ''actually'' interested in being in an animated feature given his preference in approaching different developing mediums, a combination of his ailing health and lack of understanding about the franchise ''is'' what ended up creating the common belief that his performance as Unicron was "bored".

* Reportedly, Creator/LeonardNimoy was so embarrassed by his participation that he avoided talking about it. Nowadays, it's remembered as one of his better (and few) villain roles, even by Nimoy himself, who was quoted around the time of ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen Revenge of the Fallen]]'' as wanting very much to be a part of ''Transformers'' again. The opportunity finally arose with ''[[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon Dark of the Moon]]'', wherein he plays Sentinel Prime.

* OldShame: Reportedly, Creator/LeonardNimoy was so embarrassed by his participation that he avoided talking about it. Nowadays, it's remembered as one of his better (and few) villain roles, even by Nimoy himself, who was quoted around the time of ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen Revenge of the Fallen]]'' as wanting very much to be a part of ''Transformers'' again. The opportunity finally arose with ''[[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon Dark of the Moon]]'', wherein he plays Sentinel Prime.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $6 million. Box office, $5,849,647. This along with the failure of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986'' cost Creator/{{Hasbro}} a combined $10 million. It being put against a largely negative critical reception (one review even rating both it and the otherwise better-received ''Film/TheFly1986'' one star in the same breath) and backlash about it being a ripoff of ''Film/ANewHope'', its FamilyUnfriendlyDeath scenes, the uneven look of its {{Animesque}} style and animation quality, and cynical view of its own toyline and characters as disposable would help seal its fate.

** Shockwave was to die by Unicron's hand (literally) when he comes to Cybertron, thus explaining his absence in Season 3. The scene was never animated, making it ambiguous if he survived or not. IDW, however, added Shockwave's death into its adaptation of the movie (though rather than being crushed, he gets disintegrated by Unicron's eye beams).
** Likewise, the earlier drafts of the films featured many, many different elements, and some pretty [[CruelAndUnusualDeath nasty and violent deaths]]. In one revision, Windcharger was to be flown up and torn apart by Cyclonus, his remains falling down on a shocked Blaster. Another version described Ironhide and Ratchet's deaths as them being fused together from all the laser blasts, then blown apart. Yet another described Gears being blown apart in a carpet-bombing run by Scourge and the Sweeps.

** Story editor Flint Dille disliked the original script so much that he hastily wrote another one, titled ''The Secret of Cybertron'', featuring Optimus journeying to find the Transformers' origins. This is where the idea of a transforming Cybertron originated from. Also, Unicron would have been a pawn of the Quintessons. The execs, however, quickly dismissed the script.

** Orson Welles's seeming apathy to the film being a result of [[AnimationAgeGhetto apparent dislike of the property being "for kids"]] has been a popular myth; in reality, Orson Welles was ''actually'' interested in being in an animated feature given his preference in approaching different developing mediums, a combination of his ailing health and lack of understanding about the franchise ''is'' ended up with the presentation that his performance as Unicron was "bored".

* UncreditedRole: Creator/DonMessick as Scavenger, Chris Latta as Laserbeak and Frank Welker as Ravage.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: There have been quite a few myths and misconceptions surrounding the movie, such as an ultra-violent, ultra-profane cut of the film existing, as well as a scene of Optimus Prime crumbling to dust after his death (often confused with the scene where Starscream ''does'' crumble when Galvatron kills him), and that the film coined the term "ginormous".

* DuelingWorks: With ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'', the ''other'' animated film about giant transforming robots released in 1986. Both were {{Box Office Bomb}}s but ''The Transformers: The Movie'' still made more money overall and is still a major part of the Transformers brand over 30 years after its release, so it's clearly the winner in this duel.

* EasterEgg:
** Inside Unicron after he eats Lithone, there are frames inside him with a post-apocalyptic backgrounds inside him, which are no doubt from Toei's movie adaptation of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', as this movie was made after.
** Pause during the scene in the Quintessons' jail cells and you'll see remains of some destroyed robots. Look closely and you can see that the [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=File:Tftm_rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg mangled bodies]] on the floor are actually miscolored [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Mobile Suits]], mostly from ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam.''

* SavedByTheFans: An indirect example. Bumblebee, Jazz, and Soundwave were some of the series' most popular characters, and as a result, their toys sold well enough to be shipped for another year. This granted them a reprieve from the KillEmAll edict that most of the original cast suffered in this movie.

* NoExportForYou: There was a very long pause of distribution for Japan, since while Creator/ToeiAnimation helped create the film, the movie did not get released until ''Anime/TransformersVictory'' aired. Because of this, several characters who should be dead (ex. Prowl) ended up being unintentionally SparedByTheAdaptation. Other media had to find ways to work around this - The Japanese dub of the cartoon would feature promotional materials by Studio OX telling a condensed version of events (with footage from the movie still being used in the cartoon itself); while ''[[Anime/TransformersTheHeadmasters The Headmasters]]'' had Optimus Prime die by a random Decepticon shot.

* NoExportForYou: There was a very long pause of distribution for Japan, since while Creator/ToeiAnimation helped create the film, the movie did not get released until ''Anime/TransformersVictory'' aired. Because of this, several characters who should be dead (ex. Prowl) ended up being unintentionally SparedByTheAdaptation.

* DuelingWorks: With ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'', the ''other'' animated film about giant transforming robots released in 1986. Both were {{Box Office Bomb}}s but ''The Transformers: The Movie'' still made more money overall and is still a major part of the Transformers brand over 30 years after its release, so its clearly the winner in this duel.

** Pause during the scene in the Quintessons' jail cells and you'll see remains of some destroyed robots. Look closely and you can see that the [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=File:Tftm_rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg mangled bodies]] on the floor are actually miscolored [[Franchise/MobileSuitGundam Mobile Suits]], mostly from ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam.''

** There is a long-prevailing myth among the fandom that Orson Welles died before the recording of Unicron's final lines and that Leonard Nimoy completed for them - with the recordings speeded down to match Welles' pitch. Voice director Wally Burr has since [[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally_burr_3.html debunked this in interviews]], however.

*** Ultra Magnus, Red Alert, Sideswipe, and Tracks would get a scene where they fight Devastator shortly before Optimus and Megatron's final battle, leading to Red Alert being shot to death by the Constructicons. This scene would have filled in some minor gaps in the flow of the sequence; the Constructicons chasing after Magnus, Sideswipe, and Tracks was the sight Megatron was smiling at before Optimus confronts him, while Red Alert's dead body was going to be seen during Optimus and Megatron's battle, and it was explicitly going to be his gun that Megatron used to fatally wound Optimus.

* NoExportForYou: There was a very long pause of distribution for Japan, since while Creator/ToeiAnimation help create the film, the movie did not get released until ''Anime/TransformersVictory'' aired. Because of this, several characters who should be dead (ex. Prowl) ended up being unintentionally SparedByTheAdaptation.

** Some reports indicate that Creator/OrsonWelles was displeased with his role as Unicron, derogatorily referring to the Transformers as "toys" and elaborating that "I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen." However, the film's director has gone on record to state that Welles had a special fondness for animated films and was ecstatic to take up the role.
*** It's worth mentioning that while Welles might have found the concept of the Transformers odd, lending his voice to an animated feature was definitely not, having voiced the narration to Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (animated by Chuck Jones) years earlier.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: There have been quite a few myths and misconceptions surrounding the movie, such as an ultra-violent, ultra-profane cut of the film existing, as well as a scene of Optimus Prime crumbling to dust after his death (often confused with the scene where Starscream ''does'' crumble when Galvatron kills him), and that the film coined the term "ginormous".

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $6 million. Box office, $5,849,647. This along with the failure of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986'' cost Creator/{{Hasbro}} a combined $10 million. It being put against a largely negative critical reception (one review even rating both it and the otherwise better-received ''Film/TheFly1986'' one star in the same breath) and backlash about it being a ripoff of ''Film/ANewHope'', its FamilyUnfriendlyDeath scenes, and cynical view of its own toyline and characters as disposable would help seal its fate.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $6 million. Box office, $5,849,647. This along with the failure of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie1986'' cost Creator/{{Hasbro}} a combined $10 million. It being put against a negative critical reception (one review even rating both it and the otherwise better-received ''Film/TheFly1986'' one star in the same breath) and backlash about it being a ripoff of ''Film/ANewHope'', its FamilyUnfriendlyDeath scenes, and cynical view of its own toyline and characters as disposable would help seal its fate.

* SavedByTheFans: An indirect example. Bumblebee, Jazz, and Soundwave were some of the series' most popular characters, and as a result, their toys sold well enough to be shipped for another year. This granted them a reprieve from the KillEmAll approach that most of the original cast suffered in this movie.