Transformers 35th Anniversary
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It’s hard to believe 30 years have passed since Transformers: The Movie first rumbled onto screens. The morphing robot series was in its prime back in 1986, but when the film hit that summer, fans of Optimus Prime, Megatron and their respective Autobot and Decepticon crews didn’t exactly flock to theaters. Transformers’ first on-screen incarnation wound up losing millions of dollars for Hasbro and De Laurentis Entertainment Group, but its animated TV series counterpart kept chugging along. Once the franchise’s first film hit home video, though, like many other '80s films, it grew a cult following.
In honor of Transformers: The Movie, the epic automotive struggle will receive a 30th anniversary edition from Manga Entertainment, Hasbro Films, and Shout! Factory, including a major makeover to its film quality. Get ready for the original animated Transformers in 4K!With such talent and amazing artistry, as well as a dedicated fan-base, modern devotees of the franchise might be surprised that Transformers: The Movie didn’t clean up at the box office. One of the reasons the otherwise entertaining film may have tanked 30 years ago was its kill-happy plot which devastated the Autobots’ ranks. A battle for their home planet of Cybertron slaughtered or wounded many of Autobots and Decepticons, including fan favorite Optimus Prime. In the course of events, Megatron was damaged and received a new body by world-devourer Unicron, becoming Galvatron. Fan favorite Hot Rod survived as well, transforming via the Matrix of Leadership into Rodimus Prime. A whole new cast of characters were introduced as well and intended to replace many of the classic shape-shifting robots.
Little did fans flocking to the would-be summer blockbuster realize that Hasbro’s toy execs were about to introduce a whole new line of Transformers toys for the next TV (and holiday) season. Wiping out dozens of characters which the show had developed over the past two seasons backfired, at least as far as Transformers: The Movie's cinematic draw was concerned. The backlash against killing Optimus Prime was so great that the animated series included a two-part episode resurrecting him the following season. Aside from the legions of teary-eyed whelps clutching their Autobots, the franchise endured, though. It eventually spawned Michael Bay's CGI-heavy blockbusters.