The animated Transformers movie is one big gloryfest of 80's camp, an over-the-top presentation of hair metal, bright colors, and popular toylines wrapped around The Hero's Journey. This isn't a condemnation of it, however; quite the opposite. It's fun precisely for these features, a classic Guilty Pleasure for viewers both in Transformers fandom and out.
TFTM shakes up the setting of Transformers by rotating in a new cast for Season 3 (often by removing the old cast, sometimes with a fusion cannon) and sets the scene for a rookie hero to be taken through a path that leads through most of the classic Hero's Journey steps. The mix of characters sometimes borders on the excessive, but by centering focus on Hot Rod—by design, no doubt—the film manages to play all of these characters against each other and have a few enjoyable scenes along the way, such as a memorable moment where the Dinobots loudly disrupt the proceedings of a Kangaroo Court.
The animated movie certainly has a lot going for it—its animation quality was the highest the franchise had seen to that point and would see for years after, and the music was classically 80's, featuring Lion and Stan Bush's music backing a lot of Autobots, Rock Out! moments. "The Touch," arguably the most iconic song of the movie, would go on to become a Transformers fandom touchstone as a result of it being played during the climactic battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron, and later Hot Rod and Galvatron. The movie itself would be the source of dozens of Homages down the line in later Transformers media.
Its flaws are inherent to its design; the Hero's Journey is well known, and its cast is made up of new and largely Flat Characters that don't receive much of an arc during the course of the movie. Ultra Magnus is a stolid supporter, Springer is the wise-cracking rogue, Kup is the old mentor type, and so on. Only brash hero Hot Rod gets much development, which is unfortunate; at times the cartoon managed to do a lot with a 22-minute episode, and the movie only does marginally more with almost four times as much runtime.
It's corny, cheesy, and not for everyone but TFTM has aged surprisingly well. Still, for those who want an action film for the kids or pine for the nostalgia of that era, it still functions.note "Wanna bet?"
Dated and formulaic, but still enjoyable.
The animated Transformers movie is one big gloryfest of 80's camp, an over-the-top presentation of hair metal, bright colors, and popular toylines wrapped around The Hero's Journey. This isn't a condemnation of it, however; quite the opposite. It's fun precisely for these features, a classic Guilty Pleasure for viewers both in Transformers fandom and out.
TFTM shakes up the setting of Transformers by rotating in a new cast for Season 3 (often by removing the old cast, sometimes with a fusion cannon) and sets the scene for a rookie hero to be taken through a path that leads through most of the classic Hero's Journey steps. The mix of characters sometimes borders on the excessive, but by centering focus on Hot Rod—by design, no doubt—the film manages to play all of these characters against each other and have a few enjoyable scenes along the way, such as a memorable moment where the Dinobots loudly disrupt the proceedings of a Kangaroo Court.
The animated movie certainly has a lot going for it—its animation quality was the highest the franchise had seen to that point and would see for years after, and the music was classically 80's, featuring Lion and Stan Bush's music backing a lot of Autobots, Rock Out! moments. "The Touch," arguably the most iconic song of the movie, would go on to become a Transformers fandom touchstone as a result of it being played during the climactic battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron, and later Hot Rod and Galvatron. The movie itself would be the source of dozens of Homages down the line in later Transformers media.
Its flaws are inherent to its design; the Hero's Journey is well known, and its cast is made up of new and largely Flat Characters that don't receive much of an arc during the course of the movie. Ultra Magnus is a stolid supporter, Springer is the wise-cracking rogue, Kup is the old mentor type, and so on. Only brash hero Hot Rod gets much development, which is unfortunate; at times the cartoon managed to do a lot with a 22-minute episode, and the movie only does marginally more with almost four times as much runtime.
It's corny, cheesy, and not for everyone but TFTM has aged surprisingly well. Still, for those who want an action film for the kids or pine for the nostalgia of that era, it still functions.note
"STARSCREAAAM!"