This section is for reviews of Transformers cartoons and movies on DVD. This exciting format gives us a chance to see or favorite episodes in amazing sound and picture quality, well in most cases...

Transformers: The Movie (Canadian Release)

If there is one thing I can remember about my childhood, its watching this movie over and over again. There was just something about Transformers the Movie that drew me to it. It might have been the great animation or maybe it was just seeing Grimlock slap Wheelie upside the head, but I watched this movie constantly! Unfortunately, I never went to see this movie in the theater, and my VHS and Beta copies of it were far from perfect. So I've been really looking forward to getting a copy of it on DVD. To finally see the movie with a clear crisp picture and great sound, was something I've been waiting for. And I'm still waiting...As you are about to read the Canadian DVD fell very short of my hopes, and left me ready to import a good version from the States. Well at least buying this DVD wasn't in vain, because now I have the chance to spare any other Canadians who are thinking of buying it from the pain. MOVIE It is the year 2005. The treacherous Decepticons have conquered the Autobots home planet of Cybertron. But, from secret staging grounds on two of Cybertron's moons the valiant Autobots prepare to retake their home land... So begins this chapter in the Transformers saga. This movie was intended to be an epic film, very Star Wars like, unfortunately it wasn't quite as epic nor as popular. But it was something completely different at the time, an animated movie that graphically portrayed war, death, and 80's rock. Of course it was essentially a 90 minute commercial to sell toys, but its still very entertaining! In the name of marketing the movie introduces a ton of new characters, unfortunately it kills off a lot of old favorites in order to make room. Still, its a very action paced movie with great animation and some big name voice actors. The movie takes place about two decades after the second season of the TV series. A lot has changed, Spike has grown up and has a kid, the Autobots have lost the battle for Cybertron. Some things remain the same however. Megatron goes about plotting against the Autobots to destroy them once and for all, and yes this time there shots can kill each other! The beginning of this movie is simply remarkable. With the intro of a planet-like robot named Unicron completely consuming a small planet and then the action quickly switches to an all out battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. It is a pretty fast paced movie, with only a few scenes of strait dialog. Some good plot might have been sacrificed because of this but its still really fun to watch. Towards the second half of the movie the focus switches almost completely to all new characters. The characters end up in some pretty interesting worlds fighting bizarre creatures, and in the end they all converge for one climatic battle! The version of TFTM on this DVD is the unedited version. So yes it includes Spike's swear, and also doesn't have those annoying Star Wars credits or mention of Optimus Prime coming back at the end. On the technical standpoint of this movie, the animation is top notch. Back in 86' this was probably the some of the best cel animation seen in the North America. There are some scenes where the animation is completely remarkable, and would probably never be attempted without the aid of computers today. The movie does take a few unneeded turns, introduces a few annoying characters, but we all love it just the same. Its Transformers at its best; dynamic, action packed, and funny in its own way. Its a true classic, and in the world of Transformers, this is one of the top dogs... OUT OF FIVE Video I didn't expect this DVD to look re-mastered, but they could have cleaned it up a little bit. The colors look very dull, and just plain wrong. The picture is still grainy, with only a slight improvement over the VHS version. It basically looks like they took the a copy of the video an burned it onto a DVD, there is almost no improvement in quality. Another problem is that it doesn't appear in Letterbox format. The Rhino version didn't either, but this movie did appear in theaters and you would think somewhere they would have kept a copy of original film. You do however, get the usual bonus options of DVD, like being able to get a pretty clear frame by frame look at the movie. The menu system is extremely simple. The image from the cover appears in the background, and there are 3 options you can select. You can choose to play the movie, select a chapter, or view the credits. This menu system looks like it was slapped together in about ten minutes, but it gets the job done. OUT OF FIVE Audio This is where the DVD really suffers. Finally hearing TFTM in proper sound and without static was what I was looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, Sevile figured there was no point in making this DVD any better then the video, so the sound remains the same. That's right no Dolby Surround Sound, hell its barely in Stereo! I was so disappointed in the sound the first time I watched it, that I stopped 10 minutes into it and put on Beast Wars instead. The music track in this movie includes a pretty good instrumental score by Vince D'cola and a ton of 80's glamour rock, most of which is better left forgotten. But even tracks by Stan Bush would be better if there was a boost sound quality. A horribly done audio track, without a single redeeming quality. OUT OF FIVE Extras Nothing, not a single thing. On the back of the box they list Special Features as: The English language track and interactive menu...Ummm...No. Having a DVD in English is not an extra feature, and I'm surprised there was no french language track on this DVD because it was a Canadian release. As I said above there is a very poor menu system on this DVD and you can barely call it interactive. The final option on the menu which you may consider an extra feature is the credits. It lists less than ten people involved in the movie and the company that made the movie, this feature is absolutely outstanding! (note sarcasm) Sorry there is so much potential for extra features for this DVD, but no effort was put into it, whatsoever. 0 OUT OF FIVE Overall I'm sure you've gotten an impression by now on my feelings of this DVD. I love TFTM, and I'm very disappointed in how this version was handled. If they weren't going to make a DVD that reaches the minimum standards of DVD technology, they shouldn't have even bothered. In short if you want Transformers the movie on DVD, go for the Rhino version, it can be found at most Suncoast stores in the States. For those of you in Canada, it can be found at Amazon.com for a pretty reasonable price. OUT OF FIVE

Transformers The Movie Canadian Release Release Date 2000 Distributer Sevile Rating PG Running Time 90min Sound Stereo(Barely) English Aspect Ratio Unknown Screen capture images courtesy of Seibertron.com they are from the Rhino DVD release.

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