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Author Topic: A ploy that backfired.
Puffy Treat
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I came across the 1980s Transformers animated movie playing on a local channel last night. Right during the infamously gruesome, explicit fight sequences.

The idea was the movie would introduce the brand new toyline, getting kids acquainted with and excited for all the new characters. There was an awareness that kids who followed the series had a great affection for the older characters, so the movie's makers had the intention of explaining why any pre-movie character not getting a toy in the new batch would mysteriously disappear from the syndicated cartoon.

They decided the robots not getting new toys had died. Violent, terrible, nightmare-fuel deaths. The faces of the Autobots during the first Decepticon attack said it all:

"What the heck, why do blasts suddenly HURT now?!?"

And it only got more in-your-face from there. Weeping Autobots walking over robot corpses. Prime's death. Robots screaming as they're melted down, faces slowly distorting and drooping...

I remember in school after that weekend, lots of boys who were expecting to rave about the film spoke to each other in hushed, saddened tones. [Wink]

It explained where all the discontinued characters had gone, alright. It also lead to the movie being a financial flop during its original release, if planting seeds for it later becoming a cult favorite.

To this day, there are some fans who will use "The Movie" as exhibit A in how allegedly adult and intense the original cartoon was in contrast to the numerous revivals.

All in all, I have to wonder if they shouldn't have just said over half the Autobots and Decepticons were just put on a bus.

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Sean Monahan
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Puffy, that link you have provided has now taken up about 5 hours of my time. I don't know whether to thank you or curse you.
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Puffy Treat
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That site is so insidious. I feel compelled to spread it.
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Sterling
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I came to the TvTropes page by way of a video game trope link posted somewhere. It's definitely an amusing way to kill some time, but I wish there was an easier way to search for "Is there a name for the trope when 'x' happens"?
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Lyrhawn
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quote:
I remember in school after that weekend, lots of boys who were expecting to rave about the film spoke to each other in hushed, saddened tones.
I can't remember all the names of the dead Autobots from The Movie, but Prime and Ironhide left a semi-truck shaped hole in my heart. The rest of the movie was pretty awesome, so I got over it, and killing Prime really didn't bother me as much as Ironhide. Why Ironhide? Now who's going to give the rousing speech about 'bustin Decepti-chops'? It was a sad moment for all us young Transformers fans. I didn't quite get why all of a sudden they were unfixable, especially given the fact that later in the movie Ultra Magnus is ripped limb from limb and is magically repaired (and waxed!) but two or three blaster shots that never hurt before are death knells now. And apparently ONLY to Autobots, since Prime's gigantic blaster took out a half dozen Decepticons in Autobot City, seemingly all of whom survived to escape the planet.

I'd still like to see The Movie made into a live action movie as is.

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neo-dragon
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The Transformers Animated Movie traumatized a generation. I suspect that prior to the movie their lasers were on a lower setting in order to conserve energon. Either that, or they just finally found the 'kill' setting.
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Puffy Treat
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quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:


I'd still like to see The Movie made into a live action movie as is.

Oddly, Arcee is allegedly one of the new Autobots appearing in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Rise of the Return of the Renewal of the Reprise of the Fallen Robot Guys.
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Lyrhawn
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Arcee was supposed to be in the first one, or so I've read, so her being in the second isn't a surprise.

I've heard anything from the Dinobots to an aircraft carrier as characters in the next movie.

Personally I'm rooting for a Dinobots vs. Constructicons battle, and a Blaster vs. Soundwave battle.

It'd be suh-weet!

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Puffy Treat
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Personally, I'm worried that the cast list on the wiki still lists far too many main human characters. Hopefully they're getting a lesser role this time.

Like, maybe major characters like Starscream will get more than two brief lines? [Wink]

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Lyrhawn
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And they won't be in Cybertronian.
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Seatarsprayan
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Ah, yes. The 1986 movie that traumatized me. Prowl. Brawn. Ratchet. Ironhide. Murdered before my eyes.

The suits probably thought it didn't matter because they were robots. Yeah, robots with feelings and emotions we've spent 2 years getting to know and love at this point!

Why not have a Smurfs movie where Gargamel bits off Papa Smurfs head and blood spews everywhere? It wouldn't be the tiniest bit worse.

Ironhide wasn't even killed during a firefight. He was visciously slaughtered as he lay wounded.

Wheeljack and Windcharger's corpses are later seen being dragged by Arcee during the battle of Autobot City.

We find in a later episode ("Dark Awakening") that Huffer died as well. His death was never even shown.

Prime's death was at least heroic and in battle and such. Starscream, though a villain, died gruesomely and suddenly as well. Decepticons Megatron, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Bombshell, Shrapnel and Kickback are reformatted into new characters, which is grotesque but not as disturbing, I suppose. Actually after Megatron's evil I wanted him to die but instead he gets reborn as Galvatron and becomes more powerful?! But he goes bonkers in season there so I guess that's some karma.

Anyway, I felt so strongly about the carnage that when I wrote the parody version of the movie for the Transformer's themed radio station, Radio Free Cybertron, I made sure they lived.

In fact, there has been some controversy over whether Brawn actually died or not. He was shot in the shoulder, which you wouldn't think would be fatal, and his grave is not seen in Dark Awakening when Ironhide's and others are.

Check out the Radio Free Cybertron parody version of The Transformers: The Movie.

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Puffy Treat
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quote:
Originally posted by Lyrhawn:

I'd still like to see The Movie made into a live action movie as is.

Depending on what happens in Season 3, I'd kind of like to see Transformers Animated Season 4 tackle (roughly) the events of "The Movie."
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Telperion the Silver
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I remember the thing that really got to me was the destruction of the planet Linthra and the extiction of that one cyborg/transformer race, especially the killing of the last survivor by the Quintessons (oddly enough the creators of all transformer races).

Mmmm... Unicron, the planet killer.
Freaking love this movie.

And the tragedy of the deaths of all these charactures gives respect to the significance of these stories on our lives as youngsters.

A good mature send off. Long live Anime!

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Puffy Treat
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quote:
Originally posted by Telperion the Silver:

A good mature send off. Long live Anime!

Except, the characters weren't killed off for reasons of maturing stories and a classy send-off. They were killed off in order to make room for new toys. Long live the marketing plan! [Big Grin]

And (showing my geek stripe) the planet destroyed in the movie's first scene by Galac-....uhm, by Unicron was called "Lithone."

(I'm sort of ashamed that I know that.)

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PSI Teleport
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quote:
And (showing my geek stripe) the planet destroyed in the movie's first scene by Galac-....uhm, by Unicron was called "Lithone."

I also find it difficult to keep my planet-annihilating super-villains straight.
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Scott R
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The Transformers Movie Soundtrack was the first music I'd ever bought with my own money.

It rocked.

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Seatarsprayan
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Did you ever see the music video for "The Touch"? They split the movie up into 5 episodes for syndication, but it wasn't long enough for 5 full episodes, so they tucked in Stan Bush's music video.

He performed in front of scenes from the movie, and when animated laser blasts came from off screen he deflected them with his guitar! When all hell breaks loose, Stan rides the eye of the storm!

You can see it here, it has some creepy stop-motion Optimus Prime introduction from the so-called "fifth season" of G1.

I couldn't stomach watching the whole thing, though I do love that song. I did get to see Brawn murdered though, in a *music video*, for crying out loud, so beware.

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Scott R
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Um...wow. It's really...lost something over the years.
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Nighthawk
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quote:
Originally posted by Scott R:
Um...wow. It's really...lost something over the years.

Good lord, you aren't kidding.
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Puffy Treat
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Of course, the graphic character deaths alone weren't the most traumatizing thing about the movie.

That honor goes to Wheelie, especially once fans caught on he was meant to be a series regular. [Angst]

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PSI Teleport
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quote:
Stan rides the eye of the storm!
Oh, is that what it really says? I always thought it was "you'll be right in the eye of the storm."

Which, thinking of it twenty-ish years later, makes absolutely no sense.

Ah, childhood. Some delusions are so difficult to be rid of.

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