Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron (RTL plus) Transformers (DVD) |
| Original title | The Transformers: The Movie |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1986 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Nelson Shin |
| script | Ron Friedman |
| production |
Joe Bacal Tom Griffith |
| music | Vince DiCola |
| cut | David Hankins |
| occupation | |
| |
Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron (originally The Transformers: The Movie ) is an American cartoon from 1986 based on Hasbro's toy series Transformers . In the USA, the film represented a transition between the second and third season of the Transformers cartoon series . In Germany, the film was never shown in cinemas, but was only shown in 1994 on RTL plus . The film was also released on DVD in both the USA and Germany .
background
As early as 1984, during the development of the original Transformers toy and cartoon series , Hasbro planned to bring animated films based on the three toy series GI Joe , My Little Pony and The Transformers to theaters. Like the animated series, the film was to be produced by Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions, a company belonging to Marvel Comics . As in the case of a large part of the episodes of the first two seasons of the animated series, the animation should come from Toei Animation . The script was written by Ron Friedman, and Nelson Shin , one of the producers of the animated series, was hired to direct.
The aim of the film was to get rid of the characters whose toys came on the market in 1984 and to make room for new characters. While the toy figures that Hasbro published from 1984 to 1986 were still based on figures that had already been published previously by the Japanese partner company Takara (now TakaraTomy ) as part of the Diaclone and Microman toy series , or at least originally intended for them, the The characters appearing in the film and the toys that go with them are being developed from scratch for the first time for the film.
Filipino artist Floro Dery, who was already involved in developing the animation designs for the characters in the series, was tasked with developing the new characters, which Hasbro and Takara could then use to make new toy characters - an absolute novelty at the time. However, this meant that the aesthetics of the figures differed greatly from those of the figures published so far, for example, the realistic vehicle shapes were replaced by futuristic fantasy models. The only exception was the figure of the Ultra Magnus, whose toy figure was based on a Diaclone version of the same figure that had also served as a model for Optimus Prime.
The remaining figures on the Autobot side were the veteran Kup, the fast Blurr and the young Hot Rod, as well as his improved form, the new Autobot leader Rodimus Prime, the "Triple Changer" Springer, who could transform himself into two different forms , the rhyming Wheelie and a female Autobot named Arcee, while the Decepticons were joined by the new leader Galvatron and his henchmen Cyclonus and Scourge. Other characters from the film were the garbage collectors known as "Junkions", whose leader Wreck-Gar also appeared as a toy figure - for the sake of clarity as an "Autobot" - as well as the inhabitants of the planet Lithone, the world devourer Unicron and the Quintessons and their henchmen who have favourited Sharkticons. A toy figure called "Gnaw" appeared from the latter, which in turn was marketed as the "Decepticon" for reasons of clarity. The residents of Lithones, the Quintessons as well as Unicron and Arcee did not appear as toys, although prototypes were developed by the latter two.
The original screenplay, written by Ron Friedman, was called "incomprehensible" by Flint Dille, script coordinator for the animated series' upcoming third season, and artistic director, Jay Bacal (of Sunbow). Under the working title "The Secrets of Cybertron" a competing screenplay was written by the two. Comics writers Roger Slifer , Steve Gerber, and Frank Miller were also involved in the alternate script . In return, Dille contributed a few ideas to Miller's comic Batman - The Return of the Dark Knight , which he was working on at the same time. Nevertheless, Friedman's script is retained in the finished film and only he is named as the scriptwriter, while Dille only received a credit as a "script consultant".
Due to the long pre-production of the film, there were numerous content-related conflicts with the cartoon series. It turned out in the film that Optimus Prime carried the "matrix of leadership", an object with special properties, in his chest, although this was never mentioned in the first two seasons of the series. Also, many of the 1986 toy characters that were introduced during the second season of the animated series did not appear in the film itself.
While the characters who had previously appeared in the series continued to be set to music by the established speakers, many of the new characters were cast with well-known film and television actors. For example, Galvatron was voiced by Leonard Nimoy , while Unicron was the last work of Orson Welles , who died before the film was even finished . Contrary to rumors to the contrary, Welles was able to record all dialogue before his death and did not have to be replaced by Nimoy in some places.
content
The film is set in 2005, twenty years after the end of the second season of the Transformers cartoon series. Megatron and his Decepticons have conquered Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers, while Optimus Prime and his Autobots have retired to bases on the two moons of the planet and plan to recapture their homeworld from there. In addition, the Autobots established a city on Earth called the Autobot City. The Autobots' human friend, Spike Witwicky, has grown up with a son named Daniel.
The plot of the film begins with a major attack by the Decepticons on Autobot City, in the course of which numerous Autobots are killed. There is a duel between the two arch-rivals Optimus Prime and Megatron, which ends with both opponents being seriously wounded. While the Decepticons begin their retreat to Cybertron, Optimus Prime dies of his wounds and gives his successor Ultra Magnus the "Matrix of Leadership".
On the way back to Cybertron, Megatron's deputy starscream, who had previously tried several times to seize command of the Decepticons himself, exposes Megatron himself and several other seriously wounded Decepticons in space. There they meet the planet destroyer Unicron, who devoured the planet Lithone at the beginning of the film. Unicron transforms Megatron into Galvatron, places the new warriors Cyclonus and Scourge at his side and gives him the task of destroying the matrix of the Autobots.
Galvatron's first act is to kill Starscream, who has since declared himself the new leader of the Decepticons. He then attacks Autobot City again and puts the Autobots to flight. One of the Autobots' ships crashes on the planet Quintessa, where Kup, Hot Rod and the Dinobots meet the five-faced Quintessons, who hold bizarre legal proceedings with all of their victims. With the help of the rhyming wheelie, the Autobots manage to escape from Quintessa.
Meanwhile, the second Autobot ship with Ultra Magnus, Springer, Arcee, Perceptor and Daniel has crashed on the planet Junk. After Galvatron has cut Ultra Magnus into pieces and taken the matrix from him, the remaining Autobots encounter the inhabitants of the planet, the junkions. After a few misunderstandings, Kup and Hot Rod, who have now also landed on Junk, succeed in convincing the Junkions to repair Ultra Magnus.
Galvatron has meanwhile returned with the Matrix to Unicron, who has in the meantime devoured the moons of Cybertrons. When he tries to use the matrix against Unicron, the latter turns into a gigantic robot, devours Galvatron and then sets out to devour Cybertron as well.
Shortly afterwards, Hot Rod and the rest of the Autobots arrive on Cybertron and immediately penetrate the interior of Unicron. While Daniel rescues his father Spike and a few other Autobots that have been swallowed by Unicron along with the moonbases, Hot Rod tracks down Galvatron and engages him in a duel. Finally, Hot Rod succeeds in removing the matrix from the latter, whereupon it transforms him into Rodimus Prime. Thereupon he throws Galvatron into space, opens the matrix and with its help destroys Unicron.
The film ends with Rodimus Prime, as the new leader of the Autobots, proclaiming a new era of peace on Cybertron while Unicron's head orbits Cybertron as the new moon.
reception
In the US, Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron premiered in theaters on August 8, 1986. Contrary to Hasbro's expectations, however, the film turned into a downright box office disaster and grossed less than $ 6 million. The film was almost always panned by the critics. Among other things, it was criticized that the film required knowledge of the cartoon series and the main characters appearing in it as basic knowledge and was therefore not very easy for beginners. Many other aspects of the film were also criticized as incomprehensible, for example the complete lack of any recognizable motivation for Unicron. Charles Solomon wrote in the Los Angeles Times : “ Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. "(Eng .:" Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing better to do. ")
Obvious similarities with the Star Wars trilogy were also frequently criticized. Carrie Rickey Knight-Ridder summed this up in the Dallas Morning News with the words “ Essentially a cartoon Star Wars about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away ” (German: “Basically a cartoon version of Star Wars from a far, far away Toy box galaxy ") and also called the film" utterly uninspired entertainment "(Eng .:" completely uninspired entertainment ").
Caryn James criticized in the New York Times that the film was " not for anyone too grown-up " (Eng .: "nothing for someone who is too old [to still belong to the target group]"), the plot " a variation on a standard plot ”(Eng .:“ a variation of a standard story ”), the animation“ not spectacular enough to dazzle adults ”(Eng .:“ not spectacular enough to dazzle adults ”), and the Transformers themselves would have “ Few truly human elements to lure parents along ” (German: “ few truly human elements to lure parents along ”).
For fans of the series, on the other hand, the sudden death of almost all well-known characters, who were then replaced by completely unknown characters, was a big problem. In particular, the death of Optimus Prime was perceived by many children as a downright traumatizing experience. Years later, the film would develop into a subsequent success as a result of various video and DVD releases.
The commercial failure of Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron meant, among other things, that another cartoon based on a Hasbro toy series, namely GI Joe: The Movie , no longer ran in theaters at all, and instead appeared on video.
The events of the film had a major impact on the further course of the animated series. Rodimus Prime, who was often the focus of the plot as the new leader of the Autobots in the third season of the series, was rejected by many fans. Since many parents at Hasbro complained about the death of Optimus Prime, he finally returned to life in a two-part series at the end of the season, although he was no longer available as a toy figure at the time.
Television broadcasts
In the USA
In the United States, Transformers: The Movie was first shown on television in December 1988 as part of the so-called "fifth season" of the animated series, which consisted entirely of episodes from previous seasons. To this end, the film was split into five parts, which aired as Transformers The Movie: Day One through Transformers The Movie: Day Five .
In Germany
Although the Transformers toy series was published in Germany from 1985, the cartoon series, on the other hand, was not broadcast on RTL plus until April 1989 . The Transformers: The Movie itself was never shown in cinemas in Germany, but only premiered on RTL on April 24, 1994 under the title Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron . The only repetition on television so far was on May 1, 1995.
For RTL, the film was a “pilot film” for the series “ Transformers: Generation 2 ”, a new edition of the original series with additional effects and a new opening credits, which in turn was intended to advertise the toy series of the same name. Accordingly, in the fight for Cybertron , it was not the speakers from the German dubbed version of the original series that were used, but those who could also be heard in the Generation 2 series.
A rumor has it that the RTL version of the film was cut, so Starscream's death scene is said to be missing. However, this is refuted by the still existing video recordings of the RTL broadcast.
Video and DVD publications
In the USA
Transformers: The Movie was first released in 1987 by Family Home Entertainment on VHS and Laserdisc . To make the movie more “family friendly”, Spike Witwicky's “Oh Shit!” Exclamation was removed. In 1991 the film was re-released on VHS by Avid Home Entertainment, followed by a re-release by Kid Rhino in 1999. Kid Rhino also released the first DVD release in November 2000, including digitally reworked images and Volume. In November 2006, Sony BMG released another revised version on DVD for the 20th anniversary of the film, which was released under the title The Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD .
In Great Britain
The first time was Transformers: The Movie released in the UK in 1987 Releases Video Gems on VHS. in 2001, Maverick Entertainment released the film on VHS and DVD in parallel. In 2005 Metrodome brought out a revised version under the name Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed , followed in 2007 by another revised version under the name Transformers: The Movie: Ultimate Edition . In October 2007, Metrodome also released the film for the first time on Blu-ray Disc .
In Germany
In Germany, the film was released on DVD in August 2004 by Best Entertainment / Carol Media . The DVD was simply titled Transformers , and neither the illustrations used on the cover, which come from the cartoon series itself, nor the blurb, which merely summarizes the initial situation of the first two seasons of the cartoon series, could be seen that it was is a movie.
The entire film was re-dubbed for the DVD release, as the original dubbed version of the RTL television broadcast could not be found. It later turned out that the latter was filed under the title "Battle for Cybertron". The DVD synchronization managed without known dubbing voices and also had numerous errors in content, language and craftsmanship. The English-language original soundtrack was advertised as a "special feature".
In November 2006 the DVD was released again under the label "Great Movies". Even the blurb was adopted without any changes. The only difference in this case put the DVD case is that this time pictures from the environment of various Transformers -Comic- and animated series, -Videospielen and the title logo of Transformers -Kinofilms used in 2007, which allowed even less to draw conclusions about the content of the DVD .
Soundtrack
Various rock and metal bands contributed pieces to the background music , such as Instruments of Destruction by NRG or the songs Nothing's Gonna Stand in Our Way and Hunger by the Canadian band Kick Ax, which are based in the USA for legal reasons "Specter General" called. The guitarist and singer Stan Bush, in turn, provided the pieces The Touch and Dare , the comedian Weird Al Yankovic the song Dare to be Stupid , and the title track, based on the theme of the animated series written by Anne Bryant, was by a band called Lion. The background music itself came from Vince DiCola.
All the songs and three pieces from Vince DiCola's film music were also included on the official soundtrack album, which was initially released as a long-playing record and then on CD in the 1990s . In 1997, as part of the BotCon Convention, a double CD entitled Til All Are One was offered, with the first of the two CDs containing additional pieces from Vince DiCola's film music. Together with the original soundtrack CD, the complete musical background for the film was released on CD.
synchronization
| role | Original speaker | Dubbed version 1994 | Dubbed version 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autobots | |||
| Optimus Prime | Peter Cullen | Thomas Rau | |
| Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime | Judd Nelson | Crock Krumbiegel | |
| Arcee | Susan Blu | Christine Stichler | |
| Blaster | Buster Jones | Willy Schäfer | |
| Blurr | John Moschitta | Bernd Simon | |
| Bumblebee | Dan Gilvezan | Ulf-Jürgen Wagner | Heiko Grauel |
| Cliffjumper | Casey Kasem | Ulrich Frank | |
| Grimlock | Gregg Berger | Gerd Rigauer | |
| jazz | Scatman Crothers | Tonio von der Meden | |
| Kup | Lionel Stander | Christoph Lindert | Aart Veder |
| Perceptor | Paul Eiding | Claus Brockmeyer | |
| Jumper | Neil Ross | Frank Muth | |
| Ultra Magnus | Robert Stack | Fritz von Hardenberg | |
| Decepticons | |||
| Megatron | Frank Welker | Manfred Erdmann | Achim Barrenstein |
| Galvatron | Leonard Nimoy | Manfred Erdmann | Achim Barrenstein |
| Blitzwing | Ed Gilbert | Thomas Rauscher | |
| Bonecrusher | Neil Ross | Thomas Albus | |
| Cyclonus | Stan Jones | Gerd Rigauer | |
| Devastator | Arthur Burghardt | Werner Abrolat | |
| Frenzy | Frank Welker | Claus Brockmeyer | |
| Hook | Neil Ross | Claus Brockmeyer | |
| Kickback | Clive Revill | Thomas Albus | |
| Rumble | Frank Welker | Gerd Wiedenhofen | |
| Scavenger | Don Messick | Thomas Rauscher | |
| Scourge | Stan Jones | Thomas Albus | |
| Scrapper | Michael Bell | Tonio von der Meden | |
| Shockwave | Corey Burton | Claus Brockmeyer | |
| Shrapnel | Hal Rayle | Tonio von der Meden | |
| Soundwave | Frank Welker | Thomas Rauscher | |
| Starscream | Chris Latta | Bernd Simon | Heiko Grauel |
| People and others | |||
| teller | Victor Caroli | Fabian von Klitzing | |
| Daniel Witwicky | David Mendenhall | Florian Beba | |
| Spike Witwicky | Corey Burton | Crock Krumbiegel | |
| Quintesson judge | Regis Cordic | Gerd Wiedenhofen | |
| Quintesson Enforcer | Roger C. Carmel | Thomas Albus | |
| Unicron | Orson Welles | Werner Abrolat | |
| Wreck-Gar | Eric Idle | Ulrich Frank | |
Comic adaptations
Transformers - The Battle for Cybertron has been implemented as a comic twice.
The first version was released in 1986 parallel to the film's release in the United States as a three-part miniseries titled Transformers: The Movie by Marvel Comics . The adaptation was authored by Ralph Macchio, the preliminary drawings were by Don Perlin, and the ink drawings by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey. The adaptation was based on an early version of the script and therefore differed in many ways from the finished film.
In 2006, parallel to the release of the anniversary DVD by Sony BMG, a new comic adaptation of the film was released as a four-part miniseries entitled Transformers: The Animated Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition by IDW Publishing . This time, the author was Bob Budiansky, who in 1984 was largely responsible for the characterization of most of the original Transformers at Marvel and was also the editor of Marvel's original comic book adaptation of the film, while the drawings were by Don Figueroa. In April 2007 an anthology was published that contained all four issues.
So far, neither of the two comic adaptations has been published in German.
Web links
- Transformers - The War for Cybertron in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Transformers The Movie 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD , official Sony BMG website
- Early script draft published by Jim Sorenson
- Original storyboards from the film , including unused scenes
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dave Edwards: Interview with Floro Dery, Zobovor's Multi-Faceted Transformers Site, July 17, 2002. Accessed April 19, 2008 (page no longer available).
- ↑ Interview with Takara toy developer Kojin Ono, originally published in Transformers: Generations , Tokyo 2001. English translation ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at Planet Sabretron, 2003. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ a b Transformers Toy Figures of 1986 , Lukis Bros. Collectors' Site. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ Erik B .: History of Unicrons as a toy ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Transformersontheshelf.com. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ Rik Bakke: "The Flint Dille Interview" ( Memento of the original from February 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Cybertron Chronicle, June 9, 2005. Accessed December 10, 2010.
- Jump up ↑ Jake Coyle, “Transformers 'Trivia: Film Legend Orson Welles' Last Role Was In 1986 Animated Film,” Associated Press, June 23, 2007. Mirrored from Starpulse.com , accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ Interview with production manager Wally Burr ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The Cybertron Chronicle, June 1, 2005. Accessed December 22, 2009.
- ↑ The Transformers: The Movie at Box Office Mojo. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ^ Charles Solomon, The Transformers: Stretching a Point , Los Angeles Times, Aug. 8, 1986. Archived online edition, accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ Carrie Rickey Knight-Ridder, Transformers Gets Lost in Space , Dallas Morning News, August 13, 1986. Archived online edition, accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ Caryn James , Screen: 'Transformers,' Animation for Children , New York Times, August 9, 1986. Archived online edition, accessed April 19, 2008.
- ^ A b Lane Crockett: Hasbro Can't Toy with Optimus Prime. "Transformer" Hero Brought Back to Life , The Shreveport Times, March 28, 1987. Reproduced on Electric-Escape.com ( Memento December 28, 2007 on the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Jodie White: interview with Buzz Dixon, editor of the GI Joe -Zeichentrickserie , The Ultimate GI Joe Cartoon site. Accessed April 29, 2008.
- ↑ Aaron B. Marsh: US episode list including the "fifth season" ( memento of the original from August 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Aaron Marsh's Transformers Info Page. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ List of episodes for the Transformers cartoon series including a movie and German first broadcast dates ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Thetransformers.de. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ OFDB entry for Transformers - The War for Cybertron , OFDB.de. Accessed April 19, 2008.
- ↑ Official page for the Til All Are One double CD , BotCon.com. Accessed April 19, 2008.
