Movies The Transformers Movie (1986 Cartoon) Will Be Rereleased in Theaters For 2 Days Only

[Bobby Boulders]

He was basically a Gundam toy incorporated into Transformers. Great character though.

He came with battle armor. Pretty cool.

 

[Cold187um]

Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong

 

[ChickenBrother]

It would have been sorta funny if he'd actually died, given all the hype they'd given for the toy. Do you remember the short cartoon commercials they made for him? Those extra-pissed me off as a kid because it seemed like he was stealing Optimus's thunder, though in hindsight, there wasn't really anything like that going on.

The Ultra Magnus toy was pretty damn cool (as were a lot of the new toys from the movie). He was basically albino Optimus Prime with an extra power suit to make him even bigger and tougher. But in the movie he was mostly a can, like most of the other characters in general. As a kid, the characters' portrayal in the cartoon or the movie had a huge influence on whether you wanted the toy or not. The most overpowered characters were Bumblebee, Optimus, Megatron and Soundwave's cassettes (all of them). Also Devastator and the Dinobots.

The most ridiculous thing was Ironhide being Optimus' "bodyguard" according to his toy profile. Based on his portrayal in the cartoon, a bodyguard was the last thing Optimus needed. Reminds me of the opening scene of Batman Begins - Optimus should have been in solitary confinement for protection... for the other guys.

He was basically a Gundam toy incorporated into Transformers. Great character though.

The Jetfire toy was extremely cool - probably the best G1 Transformers toy hands down. Almost all metal with fully bendable arms and legs.

But the cartoon character and the toy were kind of disconnected. The cartoon featuring the "Skyfire" character had already been made (same voice actor who voiced Grimlock LOL). The "Jetfire" toy was a recolor of the same toy from Macross - what became known as the Veritech from Robotech but looked pretty different from the cartoon version. It was also able to transform into "guardian" mode - half jet, half robot like the veritech in robotech but they weren't allowed to showcase that for legal reasons.

Apparently Takara was pissed at Hasbro using a competitor's toyline and pushed back on featuring the character so for legal reasons they had to downplay the character and change his name.

 

[Cantalope]

The Netflix Transformers series is actually pretty good. Way better than the Michael Bay crap.

 

[Max Power]

Even as a grown ass adult this movie holds up. The battle scene when Optimus Prime cuts through all the other Decepticons to get to Megatron still gives me chills.

A classic scene indeed.

 

[ChickenBrother]

It does look awesome, straight out of the cartoon, basically. I'd honestly buy both of them, except I have a feeling they are like, 100 dollars each or something crazy.

A lot more than that unfortunately. IIRC the original Masterpiece Megatron MP-05 from around 2008 went for $130 and I almost went for it

The more recent MP-36 looks even more amazing (as you say he looks straight out of the cartoon) is around $400, much more articulated but slightly smaller

The current masterpiece Optimus is >$600. But mechanically, making Optimus look like the cartoon isn't really a stretch. Incredible how they reverse engineered the Megatron robot to look like that and still transform into a P-38 pistol. Look at all those tiny movable panels they had to implement:

The original G1 toy in robot form looked like f'ing Ron Jeremy...

But at these prices, none of them are in the cards for me. My 5 year old would probably have them lose a fight with his Paw Patrol mighty jet and I'd be out hundreds of dollars.

 

[Bacco]

It's actually awesome. Way better than any of that Michael Bay bullshit.

He had the theory that give us the fantasy of stand-bang prime Megan Fox from behind would have positive effect on his robots movies, and he was abdolutely right

We should give him credit for that

 

[sleepwalk]

Idk anything about Jetfire. But I'm about to go look.

He was basically a Gundam toy incorporated into Transformers. Great character though.

The Ultra Magnus toy was pretty damn cool (as were a lot of the new toys from the movie). He was basically albino Optimus Prime with an extra power suit to make him even bigger and tougher. But in the movie he was mostly a can, like most of the other characters in general. As a kid, the characters' portrayal in the cartoon or the movie had a huge influence on whether you wanted the toy or not. The most overpowered characters were Bumblebee, Optimus, Megatron and Soundwave's cassettes (all of them). Also Devastator and the Dinobots.

The most ridiculous thing was Ironhide being Optimus' "bodyguard" according to his toy profile. Based on his portrayal in the cartoon, a bodyguard was the last thing Optimus needed. Reminds me of the opening scene of Batman Begins - Optimus should have been in solitary confinement for protection... for the other guys.




The Jetfire toy was extremely cool - probably the best G1 Transformers toy hands down. Almost all metal with fully bendable arms and legs.

But the cartoon character and the toy were kind of disconnected. The cartoon featuring the "Skyfire" character had already been made (same voice actor who voiced Grimlock LOL). The "Jetfire" toy was a recolor of the same toy from Macross - what became known as the Veritech from Robotech but looked pretty different from the cartoon version. It was also able to transform into "guardian" mode - half jet, half robot like the veritech in robotech but they weren't allowed to showcase that for legal reasons.

Apparently Takara was pissed at Hasbro using a competitor's toyline and pushed back on featuring the character so for legal reasons they had to downplay the character and change his name.

The legal/business quagmire that Jetfire/Skyfire caused for Hasbro, the Transformers cartoon and the Robotech cartoon in the US was fascinating.

 

[sleepwalk]

He had the theory that give us the fantasy of stand-bang prime Megan Fox from behind would have positive effect on his robots movies, and he was abdolutely right

We should give him credit for that

That movie reminded me of Stripes: a pretty good comedy in a serious backdrop that morphed into a meh action movie by the end.

 

[crabmeat]

The legal/business quagmire that Jetfire/Skyfire caused for Hasbro, the Transformers cartoon and the Robotech cartoon in the US was fascinating.

Matchbox didn't have a transforming Veritech fighter for their toy line. The damn centerpiece. Whomever inked that deal at Matchbox didn't have a clue. It wasn't as bad as the Dune toy line, but they had similarities in total failure of market research.

 

[ChickenBrother]

That movie reminded me of Stripes: a pretty good comedy in a serious backdrop that morphed into a meh action movie by the end.

You have a more charitable take on Michael Bay than I do. That movie reminded me of a steaming pile of shit that just kind of sat there in the sun, occasionally speaking with Optimus Prime's voice.

 

[Kforcer]

The Ultra Magnus toy was pretty damn cool (as were a lot of the new toys from the movie). He was basically albino Optimus Prime with an extra power suit to make him even bigger and tougher. But in the movie he was mostly a can, like most of the other characters in general. As a kid, the characters' portrayal in the cartoon or the movie had a huge influence on whether you wanted the toy or not. The most overpowered characters were Bumblebee, Optimus, Megatron and Soundwave's cassettes (all of them). Also Devastator and the Dinobots.

The most ridiculous thing was Ironhide being Optimus' "bodyguard" according to his toy profile. Based on his portrayal in the cartoon, a bodyguard was the last thing Optimus needed. Reminds me of the opening scene of Batman Begins - Optimus should have been in solitary confinement for protection... for the other guys.




The Jetfire toy was extremely cool - probably the best G1 Transformers toy hands down. Almost all metal with fully bendable arms and legs.

But the cartoon character and the toy were kind of disconnected. The cartoon featuring the "Skyfire" character had already been made (same voice actor who voiced Grimlock LOL). The "Jetfire" toy was a recolor of the same toy from Macross - what became known as the Veritech from Robotech but looked pretty different from the cartoon version. It was also able to transform into "guardian" mode - half jet, half robot like the veritech in robotech but they weren't allowed to showcase that for legal reasons.

Apparently Takara was pissed at Hasbro using a competitor's toyline and pushed back on featuring the character so for legal reasons they had to downplay the character and change his name.

Ultra Magnus was literally Powermaster Optimus with a different paint job. And yet, he just wasn't. That paint job and different head piece for the giant mode made all the doggone difference. As a kid, I was cognizant of the fact that they were essentially the same, but the fact is that Powermaster Optimus was the most awesome present I ever got, whereas if I got Ultra Magnus, well, first off, I was gonna just pretend he was Optimus and secondly, there's no way I would have lost my mind the same way.

Did you ever read Dreamweave, the first company to resurrect G1 Transformers after the property had been dormant for years? It was kinda funny and awesome; they had a dramatic scene where Ultra Magnus's outer shell crumbled away to reveal the albino Optimus form. Dreamwave folded, but their G1 Transformers comic was the #1 comic in America according to Diamond, at least for a while. They also had a cool styles-make-fights thing, where Shockwave seemed able to beat Optimus and Ultra Magnus but was nearly torn to pieces by an angry Grimlock and was straight-up afraid of him. I liked the comics a lot, but they didn't pay people or something and ended up folding.

 

[Kforcer]

You have a more charitable take on Michael Bay than I do. That movie reminded me of a steaming pile of shit that just kind of sat there in the sun, occasionally speaking with Optimus Prime's voice.

Yeah, it sorta proves that it takes more than copy and pasting quotes from a good movie to make a good movie. I hated the character designs. And I have no idea what was up with the treatment of Jazz. Or why every car had to be GM.

 

[Kforcer]

Matchbox didn't have a transforming Veritech fighter for their toy line. The damn centerpiece. Whomever inked that deal at Matchbox didn't have a clue. It wasn't as bad as the Dune toy line, but they had similarities in total failure of market research.

Can you imagine the hardcore rumbles we could have had as kids, with a transforming Veritech fighter to go up against the Transformers?

 

[crabmeat]

Can you imagine the hardcore rumbles we could have had as kids, with a transforming Veritech fighter to go up against the Transformers?

Yeah, Jetfire (Skyfire) was one of the big guys on the block at the time for the Transformers. He was just a armored Veritech in the Macross world. Then came Constructacons. Devastator fell apart when you actually played with it. One a week, my mother would drink coffee with a friend. Her kid had everything.

Wish I had all that stuff when I was a kid. My father refused to buy me toys.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Matchbox didn't have a transforming Veritech fighter for their toy line. The damn centerpiece. Whomever inked that deal at Matchbox didn't have a clue. It wasn't as bad as the Dune toy line, but they had similarities in total failure of market research.

Can you imagine the hardcore rumbles we could have had as kids, with a transforming Veritech fighter to go up against the Transformers?

I remember seeing the Matchbox veritechs on the shelves back in the 80's. Did these not actually transform? If so that is unforgivable. But the matchbox line was totally inferior to the real deal Japanese transforming versions from the Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeada lines (the 3 Japanese series they combined to make Robotech). That's the toy veritech that Jetfire was a recolor of.

My buddy had the Scott Bernard mospeada cyclone and that thing was incredible.

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

Hollywood’s latest effort to capitalize on the current trans movement.

 

[ChickenBrother]

Ultra Magnus was literally Powermaster Optimus with a different paint job. And yet, he just wasn't. That paint job and different head piece for the giant mode made all the doggone difference. As a kid, I was cognizant of the fact that they were essentially the same, but the fact is that Powermaster Optimus was the most awesome present I ever got, whereas if I got Ultra Magnus, well, first off, I was gonna just pretend he was Optimus and secondly, there's no way I would have lost my mind the same way.

Did you ever read Dreamweave, the first company to resurrect G1 Transformers after the property had been dormant for years? It was kinda funny and awesome; they had a dramatic scene where Ultra Magnus's outer shell crumbled away to reveal the albino Optimus form. Dreamwave folded, but their G1 Transformers comic was the #1 comic in America according to Diamond, at least for a while. They also had a cool styles-make-fights thing, where Shockwave seemed able to beat Optimus and Ultra Magnus but was nearly torn to pieces by an angry Grimlock and was straight-up afraid of him. I liked the comics a lot, but they didn't pay people or something and ended up folding.

Wait, Powermaster Optimus was just a recolor of Ultra Magnus? Didn't Magnus have a different looking trailer? Is this the Powermaster Optimus you had?

That would have been awesome as a kid to get a regular transforming Optimus... that can transform into a bigger version of Optimus.

Never got into the comics but had some friends who did. I understand Grimlock had a bigger role than he did in the cartoons. Hasbro really missed the boat by not having the Dinobots combine into a giant robot like they did with the Predacons.

 

[Amerikuracana]

This movie was so damn awesome. Regardless who your parents voted for, if you were a kid in the 80's in the U.S. and had a pulse, this scene would have given you goosebumps. It's still awesome today.



Fucking Hot Rod LOL. Right after the movie came out I remember seeing a full aisle of Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime toys at Toys R Us that no one wanted to buy. I thought they looked pretty cool and wondered why no one wanted one. Then I saw the movie and understood why LOL.

I had hot rod lol

 

[Amerikuracana]

I also had the constructacon set.

...And the GI Joe aircraft carrier.

I could have a lot of money from the toys I had around in the 80s.