THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. To bring joy to thrill-seeking teenage boys

For a kid growing up in the early 90s, there was no better toy than Transformers. It was two-in-one. With just a few quick moves, a car, jet, or tank could transform into a powerful robot. After enjoying the toy, it was easy to get immersed in the entire universe built around Hasbro’s gadgets. You know the story of its development from the movies, but let’s go back to the beginning.

The success of films like “Bumblebee” showed that Transformers still hold potential, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, they are veterans of popular culture. We’ve been following their battles since the 80s, in television and movies, as well as in comics (including from the Marvel line). The first feature film starring these cosmic robots hit theaters in 1986, two years after the toy line’s release. “The Transformers: The Movie” serves as a narrative bridge between the second and third seasons of the popular “Transformers” series, which aired from 1984 to 1987 (so, years later, the film acts as a kind of “midquel”). Both the series and the film were directed by Nelson Shin.

Understandably, the movie features a classic reshuffling of the cast, where the old makes way for the new. Some characters are bid farewell, while others are introduced. The animation takes place in 2005, twenty years after the events of the second season. The devastating war between the Autobots and Decepticons is still raging. However, a new enemy looms on the horizon— the mighty Unicron (voiced by none other than Orson Welles). He wants to destroy the Matrix of Leadership, a relic that sustains the existence of the robots and is the only thing standing in his way to total power.

This description, however, can be simplified. Because, in truth, “The Transformers: The Movie” is another realization of the familiar theme of good versus evil. In one scene, the film highlights the difference in the approach to death between the two opposing robot groups. When one of the Autobots dies, the moment is solemn, respect is paid, and the characters experience sadness. It’s different for the evil Decepticons, for whom death is emptiness. In one scene, the “bodies” of fallen comrades are thoughtlessly discarded into space. In another scene, a Decepticon is killed with a snap of the fingers, just after he was about to assume leadership. This shows that, according to the creators of “The Transformers: The Movie”, the measure of good is respect for life, while the measure of evil is the disregard for its importance. The paradox is that it’s humanoid robots teaching this lesson.

Looking back, a few things about the story (and its form) don’t sit well with me. First, the symbolic role and involvement of humans in the robot conflict is minimal. From a distance, it seems at least strange that a race of robots that look and act somewhat like humans simultaneously pretends to have nothing to do with them”. Second, it’s very difficult to follow the plot without prior knowledge of the series. This ties into another issue: the action moves too fast, which affects the viewing experience. There’s simply too much going on, and the characters speak in shorthand, which might be understandable for a fan but not for the average viewer. It’s also undeniable that, despite my strong affection for the old, good Japanese animation style, the animation feels quite dated, especially in terms of the characters’ movements.

That said, it’s hard to consider the fast pace of the action as something that defines the entire film. What’s clear, and underscored by the rock soundtrack, is that the movie was meant to be dynamic. We should view “The Transformers: The Movie” as a production that aimed to fulfill one main goal and had only one target audience. Its purpose was to bring joy to thrill-seeking teenage boys. The idea was to breathe life into inanimate toys and turn them into vessels of universal messages. Paradoxically, though, neither parents, younger brothers, nor sisters had much reason to sit down for a shared viewing of this film. This specific, niche creation, with its strong fan-based appeal, must have caught the attention of Michael Bay, who years later opened a new chapter for Transformers. But you already know that story well.

If this is explained in the series or comics, I’d love to hear from an expert. Without that, it’s hard for me to understand why robots that transform into tools useful to humans (like cars) have nothing to do with humanity.