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DiCola himself reports that he is unsure of any future releases of the score (although albums containing score demos and outtakes are available on his record studio website). I listen to the soundtrack quite frequently even nowadays and it is one of the few albums that never really get tired of listening to but, of course, I definitely wish that more of the score was available. It is definitely recommended for anybody who enjoyed any of the Transformers series, particularly the G1 series that it is based on. The animation in the movie is also quite superb, particularly when contrasted with the animation in the TV series. Sci-fi and anime fans will almost certainly enjoy it as well.
Optimus Prime's death was also really hard for me to deal with. It does help knowing (now anyway) that Optimus Prime DOES properly return towards the end of the 3rd season of the G1 series and is back in the truncated fourth season. However, the movie ended up being a DRAMATIC departure from the more "kid-friendly" TV series, as was made painfully clear during the first 30 minutes of the film when several beloved Autobot characters die VIOLENT deaths at the hands of Megatron and the Decepticons, including, most sadly, Optimus Prime. For instance, the Autobot Matrix of Leadership was never mentioned anytime during the series prior to the movie. I thought that the dialogue in the movie was also written extremely well with many memorable lines that are too numerous to mention here. A remix of "The Touch" by Stan Bush and a Transformers-inspired song called "Til All Are One" were recently included on Stan Bush's latest album (In This Life). The action in the movie is complemented by the excellent guest voice talents of Robert Stack, Judd Nelson, Lionel Stander, LEONARD NIMOY, and Eric Idle, as well as the original voice talents of Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) and Frank Welker (Megatron) from the series. The soundtrack for the movie is simply outstanding, particularly songs such as "The Touch" and "Dare", both performed by a little known rock artist named Stan Bush.
Also, there were some continuity problems with the series although I don't really hold them against the movie. However, when I was a kid, not knowing this, I remember being REALLY sad over his death and, in fact,I think that it was the only time I ever cried over a fictional character. Although there are a small number of cheesy scenes in the movie (i.e. Overall, I must say that Transformers The Movie is probably one of my all-time favorite movies, eclipsed perhaps only by the Star Wars movies and is one of the few movies that I've seen that I could easily watch several times without ever really getting tired of it. Although some of Vince DiCola's magnificent score is available on the movie soundtracks that have been released (check out the 2007 release for more of the score and an alternate version of the main Transformers theme), the availability of any full-length recordings of his score has been exclusively limited to people attending past Bot-Con conventions and even Mr.
There is not really too much about the movie that I didn't like other than the fact that it seemed like the directors killed off way too many Autobots (and not enough Decepticons), mostly classic first season characters (Ironhide, Ratchet, Brawn, Prowl, Wheeljack, Windcharger) and the movie was fairly limited in terms of the numbers of the characters, both Autobot and Decepticon, it showed considering the number of characters introduced throughout the series up to that point. Hopefully, a full recording of the soundtrack will be made available someday. The synthesizer-laden instrumental score was composed and performed by another little known rock artist named Vince DiCola, who also scored Rocky IV, and is perhaps one of the best instrumental scores for a movie that I've ever heard with the possible exception of John Williams' score for Star Wars. The main plot of the movie revolves around the struggle between the Transformers and a giant planet-eating monster named Unicron, who initially forms a tentative alliance with a dying Megatron, later rebuilt by Unicron into Galvatron (essentially Megatron with a new body), in order to help him destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership from the Autobot's new leader, Ultra Magnus, one of many new characters introduced in this film. the characters dancing with the Junkions), the movie, by far, was extraordinarily entertaining and the first 30 minutes were simply spellbinding to watch starting with Unicron mercilessly devouring an entire planet, the Decepticons launching an all-out assault on the Autobots' new base on Earth, and Optimus Prime and Megatron finally having THE ULTIMATE FIGHT TO THE DEATH that I had long been waiting to see.
Also, there was no explanation given for how the Decepticons ultimately conquered Cybertron, the existence of Cybertron's moons, and the creation of Autobot City. How the writers thought that they could kill him off in the movie and NOT expect an angry backlash from ardent fans of the series is beyond me. In a plot somewhat derivative of Star Wars, one of the main characters ends up unlocking the power of the Matrix and leading the Autobots to victory against Unicron and the Decepticons. I was a HUGE fan of the Transformers (G1) when I was a kid and I'm no less of a fan of the series (and the movie) now than when it was released into the theaters back in 1986. Both of these songs are definitely worth downloading.
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So for what it is, which is an old cartoon, put into a fairly ambitious cartoon movie for its time, it's awesome. If you're hoping to find something on par with the live-action movie, you'll be disappointed.
Sometimes when you go back to things like this, they aren't as good as you remember - this isn't the case.
I grew up with Transformers and saw the movie originally in the theater. I recommend it for true fans of Transformers old and new.
Yes, the dialogue is a little cheesy at times; yes, the plot is a little thin; but the artwork is great, and it's freakin' Transformers for crying out loud, and the story concept is pretty grand in scale. I assume if you're looking at this product, it's because you saw it back in the day, or you saw the new live-action movie (2007) and are catching up on old stuff.
I loved it.
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