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Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future

2025-07-26T21:09:01Z

Galvatron3454: An error that I spotted on rewatch

{{episode
|series=BMtoon
|ep=26
|series2=Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns
|next2=Where Is the Banana? R
|image=Endgame3 title.jpg
|caption=The Beast Era ends here... till [[Transformers, Beast Wars: The Gathering|the]] [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|comics]] come out.
|title="Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future"
|season=2
|season ep=13
|airdate=[[May 3]], [[2000]] (Canada) [[November 18]], 2000 (USA)
|written by=[[Bob Skir|Robert N. Skir]]
|directed by=[[William Lau]]
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuty=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}

'''As the last two living Transformers on Cybertron, Optimus Primal and Megatron stage their final battle.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:BMEndgame3 Optimus Megatron begin fight.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Round one. FIGHT!]]
As [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus]] lies defeated, [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] stands gloating over his nemesis. To add insult to injury, Megatron has taken a new body... Primal's Optimal body, minus the [[beast mode]]. And, to make it just right, Megatron then adds the [[spark]]s of the [[Maximal]]s to the [[spark containment unit]]. Enraged, Optimus fights back, but Megatron punches him through the wall to the outside of the [[Grand Mal|big floating head]]. Optimus manages to get in a few more shots, but stops, seeing the sparkless bodies of [[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. Megatron takes a moment to rub it in, then attacks.

Primal flees through the city scape, flying a merry little chase, until he reaches a power generator storage area. As Megatron temporarily loses track of his prey, Optimus comes up from behind and destroys several generators. The explosion engulfs Megatron and severs his left arm. Optimus barely manages to escape the inferno, as Megatron's arm is thrown out of the flames. After Primal makes a bad pun, Megatron emerges, kicks Optimus aside, and retrieves and reattaches his severed arm. As Primal jumps into a nearby river, he dives, only to have Megatron follow him in and shoot a hole in the ground, causing them to sink into a whirlpool.

As Optimus wakes up, he realizes he is in the [[Vector Sigma Chamber|chamber]] of the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]]. However, the [[technorganic orchard]] has been completely destroyed. Worse for Primal, he sees [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] and [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]]'s sparkless bodies, lying on the ground, with their hands stretched toward each other. Megatron then arrives, and takes him to the surface.

[[File:BMEndgame3 Sparks released.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|It's like Chinese New Year, only I'm using the souls of your friends as fireworks!]]
Heading toward the [[Council Citadel]], Megatron activates a throne built into the Citadel to appear, then opens the spark chamber, absorbing the sparks and preparing to ascend to supplant the [[Transformer afterlife|Matrix]] and achieve Godhood. As the sparks enter his body, Megatron grows in size. Primal tries to talk, saying that each spark is but a part of the Matrix and that together, they add to its totality. Megatron then activates the [[Key to Vector Sigma]], to be used against the [[organic core]]. However, Megatron cannot fully activate the Oracle, as he and Primal are linked. Megatron then severs the link, and Primal fears that he has failed.

[[File:The Fall NNNNNOOOOOOO.JPG|left|thumb|Left off the agenda: "Buy parachute."]]
However, the sparks of his comrades speak to him, inspiring him on. Shooting a beam at Megatron's throne, vines extend and grab Megatron's arms. Primal then tries to push him into the core. However, Megatron grabs hold of Optimus, who merely shoots off Megatron's fingers to sever the vine, allowing them both to fall into the core. As they plummet, Primal bids Megatron farewell. Upon impact with the core, both Optimus and Megatron [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|die]] in a flash of light. From space, a bright light rises, then begins to cover the surface of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]].

[[File:Maximals endofBMac.JPG|right|thumb|Auditioning for their next role as Easter Eggs in "Halo".]]
Waking up, the Maximals find themselves on a technorganic world, which they realize is Cybertron. Rattrap is somewhat worried, then Botanica appears, and he jumps into her arms. As Silverbolt sweeps Blackarachnia off her feet, [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] appears as a tiny, [[technorganic]] wasp, pissed that he's been screwed over again. Then, the Oracle shows [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] a vision of Optimus Primal's spark, flying away, telling him to "transform, and transcend". As it fades, Cheetor mutters that he understands. In the distance, the freed Transformers, their sparks once again in bodies, run over the horizon, ready to assume control of the newly technorganic Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] (1)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (4)
* [[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]] (5)
* [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] (7)
* [[Botanica (BM)|Botanica]] (8)
* [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] (9)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (10)

|h2=[[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]]|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (2)
* [[Diagnostic Drone]]s (3)
* [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]] (6)

|h3=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c3=
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (11)

}}

==Quotes==
"So, Optimus Primal, it all comes down to you and me. Or should I say, you and ''you''?"
:—'''Megatron''' notes the irony in fighting Optimus with a copy of his own previous body.

"My great ascension is finally complete! '''YEEEEESSSS!'''"
:—'''Megatron''' brings an old catchphrase back into style.

"What are you doing?!" 
"Planting the seeds of the future. We must seek the balance, Megatron. Not only between the organic and the technological, but the balance between eternal enemies. Between you and I!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Primal'''. One good thing about the last episode, no more Optimus speeches.

"The Great Transformation awaits, Megatron. Prepare to be... reformatted." 
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
:—'''Optimus Primal''''s and '''Megatron''''s last words. (Until ''Universe'', that is.)

[[File:Wazzpinator.jpg|right|thumb|Still better than being possessed by Starscream.]]
"The menace has passed. Now we can truly be together, dark venom of my heart." 
"Oh, of all the corny..."
:—'''Silverbolt''''s attempt to woo '''Blackarachnia''' almost fails until she realizes that she doesn't care.

"Waspinator want glory, Waspinator want power! And what does Waspinator get?! (Waspinator gets swatted away by Rattrap) Waspinator never gets what Waspinator wants!
:—'''Poor old Waspinator''', who for some reason is now the size of a regular wasp and has Thrust's head.

"At long last. Transform your destiny. Transform and... transcend." 
"I... understand."
:—The '''Oracle''' and '''Cheetor'''

==Notes==
===Technical and animation errors===
* When Megatron blows Optimus through the wall, all the debris is behaving really oddly – pieces keep sticking to the floor for a few frames, then abruptly disappear.
* The first time Megatron uses his jet mode, his spark is colored blue instead of red.
* When Megatron taunts Optimus while holding him in his grip, both animation models are low resolution.
* When he later throws Primal aside next to his throne, they are low-res again, and Optimus' shoulder-pad is clipping through his shoulder.
* Rattrap's model also turns low-res (note his hexagonal wheels) just before the Maximals wake up.
* As Silverbolt delivers his final line, his right pupil is strangely shifted to the side, giving him an awkward stare.
* The freed Transformers that appear at the end of the episode have pretty weird running animations. They are running forward, but their legs are moving as if they're running sideways.
* When the first freed transformer appears onscreen, its right hand clips into the sun.

===Continuity errors===
* When Megatron blasts Optimus out of the Spark Chamber room, the deactivated body of Thrust is seen right next to those of Silverbolt and Blackarachnia. The problem with this is that Silverbolt and Blackarachnia were deactivated ''outside'' of the base, whereas Thrust was deactivated by Cheetor inside the anti-gravity engine room in the previous episode.

===Continuity notes===
*Megatron's final plan involves the Key to Vector Sigma, which first appeared in "[[The Key]]".
*While in his [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s, Megatron stores his spark in his cockpit. This is the same place that Primal stored the original [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime's]] spark during "[[Optimal Situation]]".
*Megatron uses all of Optimal Optimus's modes (minus his removed beast mode) during this episode, arguably with greater efficiency than Primal did.
*Optimus notes that both of them share the Oracle now, following on from the events of "[[Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search|The Search]]."
*Optimus's final words bookend the Oracle's very first prophecy in "[[The Reformatting]]", as he tells Megatron to "prepare to be reformatted". As Optimus joins the Matrix, the Oracle tells Cheetor to "transform, and transcend".
*In a truly beautiful irony, Megatron's final word is "Noooo!"
* Gadgets and powers:
** Megatron uses wrist-mounted searchlights as he hunts for Optimus underwater. He can also fire torpedoes, a weapon that Optimus never displayed in ''Beast Wars''.
** Botanica can make plants grow instantaneously, creating a meadow of technorganic flowers.

===Real-world references===
*Optimus taunts Megatron by imploring him to bid "{{w|Farewell to Arms|farewell to arms}}".

===Trivia===
*Technorganic Cybertron apparently has non-Transformer animals on it; a flock of birds can be seen flying above the reformatted [[Cybertropolis]].
*[[Bob Skir]] wanted to depict [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]] and [[Strika (BM)|Strika]]'s return to Cybertron after the Great Transformation; they would remain the only purely mechanical Transformers on the planet as penance for their actions. This scene was ultimately cut for time before it could be animated.
*The Oracle makes contact with Cheetor towards the end of the episode. This is later played on in the [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''Universe'' comics]], which would establish Cheetor as a [[Matrix Templar]], and in the [[Transformers: Wings Universe|''Wings'' continuity]], where Cheetor becomes the successor to [[Alpha Trion]].
*Waspinator laments that "Waspinator never get what Waspinator wants!" an ironic echo of his last line in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]", where he claimed to be "happy at last".
*The very last line spoken is by Cheetor. Cheetor also got the very first line in ''Beast Wars'', so this works as a bookend to the entire Beast Era, as well as signifying Cheetor's progression from naive rookie to capable commander.
*The series closes out on another bookend, focusing in on a [[technorganic]] variation of the organic flower that appeared in the very first shot of "The Reformatting".

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Bataille Finale (Partie 3)'''" ("Final Battle (Part 3)")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der letzte Kampf'''" ("The Final Battle")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 27]], [[2000]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Fine del gioco (terza parte)'''" ("End of the game (third part)")
::*There was a bit of confusion in the dub of the scene in which the Maximals talk to Optimus: in fact, Nightscream's line: «Don't give up, Optimus!» in voiced by Rattrap's actor, while Rattrap's line: «Don't forget what the Oracle said» is voiced by Botanica's actress (thus looking like a single sentence together with her next line).

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mirai no Yukue'''" (未来の行方, "The Course of the Future")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 30]], [[2005]]
::*The events of the ''[[Beast Wars Reborn]]'' text stories continue the tale of Optimus and Megatron after their deaths (in Japanese continuity, anyway).

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Konets Igry (Chast 3): Semena Budushchego'''" ("End of the Game (Part 3): Seeds of the Future")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Wèilái de Zhǒngzǐ '''" (未来的种子, "Seeds of the Future")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Fim de Jogo Parte 3: As Sementes do Futuro'''" ("Endgame Part 3: The Seeds of the Future")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Juego Final Parte 3: Las Semillas del Futuro'''"
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2005 — ''Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns'' — Volume 7 ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Geneon Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2006 — ''Beast Machines: Transformers'' — The Complete Series ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — The Complete Series ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — Season Two: Volume One ([[Sony]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — Complete Season Two (Sony) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2009 — ''Transformers: Beast Machines'' — Intégrale Saison 2 (Sony) — French audio only.

[[Category:Beast Machines episodes]]

Alliance

2025-07-09T23:23:05Z

Galvatron3454: /* Animation and technical errors */ Just rewatched the episode and noticed that part of the ring is missing in the shot when the maw of Unicron's planet mode closes.

{{disambig3|Alliance}}

{{episode|
|series=Armada
|ep=49
|prev=Cramp
|next=Union
|title="Alliance"
|furigana=ゆにくろん
|japanese=覚醒
|romaji=Unicron
|translation=Awakening: Unicron
|image=Unicronalliance.jpg
|caption=
|production code=TF: A-49
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]]
|writer=[[Isao Shizuya]]
|director=[[Masayuki Motsumoto]]
|animation studio=[[Actas Inc.]]
|airdate=[[September 30]], [[2003]] (English, United Kingdom) [[December 5]], 2003 (Japanese) [[December 9]], [[2003]] (English, United States)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy]]
}}

'''Starscream's sacrifice spurs the Autobots and the Decepticons to join forces. But Unicron awakens...'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Sshot-arm-494-remains.jpg|left|thumb|You failed, your highness. I'm a Jedi, like my father before me...yeah...]]
[[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] is astonished to hear about the truce between the two armies and asks if [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] is functioning. [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] is disgusted that they're doing this simply because the traitorous [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] asked that they do it, but then suggests that they simply use the idea of a truce to ambush the [[Autobot]]s. Outraged, Galvatron makes Cyclonus respect his authority with the usual amount of physical punishment. Galvatron is upset at how poorly things have turned out, but Starscream's sacrifice has convinced him: they're going to ally with the Autobots...for now in order to stop [[Unicron]]. Galvatron went far stating of the reasons of why Starscream rebelled against him in the first place, calling him a true soldier.

[[File:Sshot-arm-491-ships.jpg|thumb|Not all Autobot spaceships know how to swim.]]
Seeing Galvatron's point of the crisis, the rest of the [[Decepticon]]s agree to the truce, except for Cyclonus, who is still disgusted by this. Inside of Unicron, [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] and [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] plan their inevitable victory and conquest of the universe. The power of the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]] allows Unicron to shed the remains of his moon-disguise shell. The dark god hovers over [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], sucking up parts of the terrain. Both armies evacuate the surface, assisted by the [[Mini-Con]] swarm.

In a ceremonial procedure, Galvatron and his Decepticons meet with [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots for a handshake to seal the truce. The leaders shake hands, and [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]] also grabs on as his way of representing the allegiance of the Mini-Cons. The kids observe this, astonished that it's actually happening. [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] begins to tear up and when [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] asks her if she's all right, she says she was just remembering Starscream and how he would have loved to see this happening for himself. Forming a single front, the Autobot/Decepticon [[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|armada]] heads towards Unicron. The first volley of fire does no damage against their enemy. Two larger ships perform reconnaissance and are blasted, so a team of [[Hot Shot (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Hot Shot]], [[Side Swipe (Armada)|Side Swipe]], Demolishor, and Cyclonus (and some others) are sent in, based on a theory that smaller ships will elude Unicron's detection. On Unicron's surface, Cyclonus and the generics fly away to break stuff, and Demolishor leaves to avoid Hot Shot, leaving the two Autobots by themselves.

[[File:Alliance Redshirts.jpg|thumb|left|Balls of DOOOOM!!!!]]
Unicron's geography shifts and folds, disturbing his visitors and causing Demolishor to lose [[Blackout (Armada)|Blackout]]. From the base, Galvatron suggests another attack, which Optimus Prime makes sure won't harm the recon crew, who have their hands full fighting against swarms of [[Dead End Drone]]s. Demolishor saves Cyclonus from falling into a fissure, while the Autobots assist their begrudging allies. Demolishor saves Side Swipe from falling into another fissure, and Hot Shot thanks the Decepticon by re-uniting Demolishor with Blackout—a tender moment. Optimus and Galvatron arrive to bring the group home.

From a distance, the armada witnesses Unicron complete his transformation into [[robot mode]], ready to devour the planet.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] (17)
* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (18)
* [[Side Swipe (Armada)|Side Swipe]] (19)
* [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Hoist]] (20)
* [[Blurr (Armada)|Blurr]] (21)
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Hot Shot]] (22)
* [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] (23)
* [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (25)
* Generic Autobots

|c2=
* [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] (2)
* [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (3)
* [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] (4)
* [[Wheeljack (Armada)|Wheeljack]] (5)
* [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]] (6)
* Generic Decepticons

|c3=
* [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] (9)
* [[Rad White|Rad]] (13)
* [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] (14)
* [[Fred (Armada)|Fred]] (15)
* [[Billy (Armada)|Billy]] (16)

|h4=[[Mini-Con]]s|c4=
* [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] (10)
* [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] (11)
* [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (12)
* [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]] (24)
* [[Blackout (Armada)|Blackout]] (26)
* [[Dead End Drone]]s (27)

|h5=Other|c5=
* [[Unicron]] (1)
* [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] (7)
* [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
[[File:Jetfire Shake Hands.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Believe it or not, this ''is'' the correct [[scale]] between the two characters.]]

"Right now, all I can think about is the comrade we lost. Sure, he challenged my authority in a failed coup attempt, and even though Starscream was a traitor, he never lost sight of his oath to the Decepticons. He was a true soldier, unlike most of ''you''!"
:—'''Galvatron''' defends Starscream's memory from the jibes of the other Decepticons.

'''Demolishor:''' "I'm only doing this because I'm following Galvatron's orders." 
'''Cyclonus:''' "Ha! I can't believe I'm fighting for harmony! What a load of bunk! I'm a lean, mean, fighting machine! Hahahaha!" 
'''Side Swipe:''' "I gotta work with this guy? I'm not so sure about this."
:—The truce gets off to a shaky start.

"Tidal Wave..." 
"Uh...nice meetin' ya."
:—'''Tidal Wave''' and '''Jetfire''' shaking hands.

"I can't believe I just saved Prime!"
:—An incredulous '''Galvatron''' after he destroys a cannon targeted at Optimus Prime.

'''Rad:''' "I've never seen anything like it... it's like I'm staring into the face of pure evil..." 
'''Everyone at once:''' "He's gigantic!"
:—'''The kids''' are definitely going to need therapy when this is all over.
{{--}}

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Legends of the Microns''===
*At the start of the episode, Demolishor and Cyclonus question Galvatron's decision to join the Autobots without moving their mouths. This is due to the dub extending their lines, as in the original they didn't speak during the shot where their faces are shown.
*The original has Demolishor lamenting Starscream's death, while in the ''Armada'' he claims he was a traitor who got what he deserved.
*In ''Armada'', Hot Shot tells Demolishor to be quiet even though the latter just says he doesn't want to get shot by Unicron. ''Legends of the Microns'' just has Demolishor's saying that the Autobots sound overly optimistic, with Hot Shot's responding with "What was that?!"

===Animation and technical errors===
*Strangely, some errors present are exclusive to ''Legends of the Microns'', whereas ''Armada'' actually fixes them. Granted, it's a ''very'' small number and the episode is otherwise the same animation wise, but still odd, especially since it's ''always'' the opposite. This is the only episode of the entire cartoon that has this quirk, so guess someone must've messed up which version to broadcast. This includes:
**When Galvatron delivers his speech after punching Cyclonus, Wheeljack is colored like [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]]. ''Armada'' has him colored properly (albeit with the red eyes remaining). However, in a later shot when the Decepticons are running, Wheeljack is once again incorrectly colored with Sparkplug's palette.
**When Galvatron shoots at Unicron, his blaster is incorrectly colored white. ''Armada'' fixes this by making it the proper black dark gray and yellow.
** In two shots while in planet mode, Unicron is missing one of his arms.
**When the Autobots and Decepticons go to Unicron with their pods, the former faction seemingly stop in the air when they are trying to land. ''Armada'' fixes this by making them actually land on the ground.
*At several points throughout the opening scene, the Decepticons are all drawn with hideously faulty character models with poor proportions and lack of detail.
*As the Decepticons prepare to launch the ship to escape from Unicron's gravitational pull, generic Decepticons using [[Inferno (Armada)|Inferno]], [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]], and the [[Air Military Mini-Con Team]]'s [[character model]]s are standing in the ship's hangar bay.
*The [[Race Mini-Con Team|Race Team Mini-Con]] Mirage appears among the Mini-Cons there, but he should be with Thrust inside Unicron by now, as the traitorous Decepticon had stolen the [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]] several episodes earlier. However, this could be just another case of model reuse.
*In the same scene, Wheeljack has been colored as Sideways.
*Several of the Mini-Cons protecting the ''Axalon'' and the Autobot fleet during the lift-off from Cybertron use Generation 1 character models instead of Mini-Con character models.
*The four generic Decepticons on the mission to Unicron change colour between each shot.
*When Unicron begins to transform,part of the ring that surrounds his planet mode is missing.
*When Jet Optimus attacks the Dead End Drones surrounding Hot Shot and Demolishor's recon team, the laser blast comes from in front of the first drone destroyed, rather than behind (the direction from which Prime is coming).
*Unless [[size changing]] occurs when Galvatron and Tidal Wave combine, there's no way Galvatron should be able to pick up Demolishor and Cyclonus with each hand.
*When shaking hands with Tidal Wave, Jetfire's wings are shortened to just above his head. This is possibly to continue the tradition of exaggerating Tidal Wave's size.
**Oddly, despite the change in length of his wings, the characters are drawn to be in accurate [[scale]] with one another.
*When Optimus gives the order to fire only on Unicron's northern hemisphere, the very next shot shows Unicron being fired upon all over his planet mode.

===Continuity notes===
*Despite destroying Starscream for firing upon him in the previous episode, Unicron doesn't seem to mind Galvatron doing exactly the same thing.
*Assuming the episode was entirely in real-time, Unicron's transformation took close to seven minutes.
*The three Mini-Con super weapons are used to fully restore Unicron's power. Guess the Mini-Cons really are Unicron's cells.
*Unicron's innards appear to be [[technorganic]].
*Gadgets and powers:
**Unicron fires lasers from the chunks on the right side of his planet mode (the ones that house the Mini-Con gimmick to fire the leg missiles on the toy).
**Unicron's surface can deploy drones to attack any unwanted guests, specifically the Autobots and Decepticons.
**Mid-transformation, Unicron uses his shoulder/planet horns to fire an energy beam at Jet Optimus.
**The inside of Hot Shot's shin apparently has hollow space, big enough to store a Mini-Con. As an added piece of toy acurracy, his shins open on the transformation hinges of his toy.
**Unicron has a surface-based turret he uses to try to shoot Optimus in the back.

===Continuity errors===
*Cyclonus is in danger of falling into a hole, having apparently forgotten that ''he can fly'', which he was doing ''moments before''. It's possible that he's just that stupid, but not likely.

===Transformers references===
*Several parts of Unicron's transformation sequence are a visual homage to his transformation in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.

===Trivia===
[[File:Armada decepticons alliance.jpg|thumb|Galvatron...Emperor Palpatine...What's the difference?]]
*The English version of "Alliance" first aired in the United Kingdom. It aired in the United States on [[December 9]], 2003.
*Various cameos appear in the hand-shaking scene, including [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and a palette-swapped [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] of the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].
*The generic Decepticons sent to Unicron to assist the named characters have Generation 1 character models (namely [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] and [[Buster (G1)|Buster]]) but with radically different color schemes. They totally {{w|Redshirt (character)|all died}}.
*Various [[generic]] Mini-Cons use the Generation 1 [[Throttlebot]] designs.
*Unicron's transformation sequence, while homaging the Generation 1 version of the sequence, also transforms accurately to the toy.
*Yes, the combined forces of Autobots, Decepticons, and Mini-Cons is what the "Armada" in the title of the series stands for.
*According to ''[[Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003]]'':
**Cyclonus saying that fighting is the only thing makes him feel alive might be one of his few highlights.
**The time during the making of these last episodes were particularly difficult. Everyone was desperate for the final episode to be finished and only such a difficult thing was remembered.
***[[Munetaka Abe]] was busy with animating Starscream's death in "[[Cramp]]", Unicron's transformation in this episode, Overload's robot mode in "[[Union]]", and being the animation director for "[[Mortal Combat]]". When commenting on Unicron's transformation, Abe stated he used quite a bit of motion tweeks so that the animation didn't take too much time to work on. It was hard but he had a lot of fun.
***[[Hidehito Ueda]] was troubled with the storyboards for "[[Portent]]", "[[Union]]", and "[[Mortal Combat]]", while [[Takeshi Sano]] and [[Masami Nagata]] worked as the storyboarder and animation director respectively for "[[Drift (episode)|Drift]]" and "[[Origin]]".

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mit vereinten Kräften'''" ("With Joint Forces")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 13|13 January]] [[2004]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Felderítés'''" ("Recon")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Alleanza'''" ("Alliance")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Aliança'''" ("Alliance")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Legends of the Microns'' — Volume 13 ([[Columbia Music Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2006 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Season One: Part Two ([[Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Volume Two ([[New KSM]]) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — The Complete Series ([[Shout! Factory]])

[[Category:Armada episodes]]

The Transformers: The Movie

2025-06-10T01:30:12Z

Galvatron3454: /* Notes */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}
{{movie|
|seriess=[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]
|prev=B.O.T. (episode)
|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|seriess2=[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]
|prev2=Scramble City: Mobilization
|next2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|title=''The Transformers: The Movie''
|image=Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg
|caption=A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....
|production code=4034
|production companies=[[Sunbow Productions]] [[Marvel Productions]]
|distributor=[[Dino De Laurentiis|De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]]
|executive producer=[[Tom Griffin]] [[Joe Bacal]]
|screenplay by=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|cinematography by=[[Masatoshi Fukui]]
|edited by=[[David Hankins]]
|music by=[[Vince DiCola]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|runtime=85 minutes
|budget=$5–6 million
|box office=$2.6–5.8 million
|credits=The Transformers: The Movie/credits
}}
{{quote|Conceived in the epic tradition of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''...|[[Victor Caroli]] ain't just whistling Dixie|[[The Transformers: The Movie promo|''The Transformers: The Movie'' promo]]}}

'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original ''Transformers'' toyline. It was released in the United States on Friday, August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers]]'' cartoon. It introduces a [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on [[Earth]] which sees both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into [[robot mode]] and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons, the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. Of particular note, Optimus Prime and Starscream are both destroyed during the course of the film.

{{quote|The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen.|Orson Welles<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KlqsYy512WIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Orson Welles: A Biography"] page 522</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
[[File:TFTM Unicron Lithone.jpg|left|thumb|That's no moon.]]
[[Unicron/Generation 1|A mechanical planet]] travels through the depths of space, attacking [[Lithone (planet)|a metal planet]] which has [[Lithone (species)|robotic inhabitants]]. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year [[2005]], and the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

[[File:Tftm1986a.jpg|thumb|Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans. And bring me the passengers; I want them alive!]]
Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]], who reports back to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the [[Battle of Autobot City|battle at Autobot City]], both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of others are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots is severe.

[[File:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]
Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, the monstrous planet, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest, including the mortally wounded Megatron. Too injured to save himself, Megatron is tossed out into space by [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], who claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

[[File:TFTM Starscream chucks Megatron.jpg|thumb|Into the garbage chute, flyboy.]]
Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. After some coercion on the planetoid's part, Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]]. Unicron provides them with a [[Revenge (G1)|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[File:Tftm1986c.jpg|left|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]
Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa (planet)|Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, Hot Rod, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup battle a [[Sea squid|giant squid]], are captured by a pack of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson#Judges|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix (G1)|Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[File:Tftm1986d.jpg|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]
The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—[[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike]]'s son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]]—are then ambushed by [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix and destroy Unicron.

[[File:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|left|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron and force his master into submission, but is unable to open it. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[File:Tftm1986e.jpg|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]
In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime]] ([[Judd Nelson]])
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] ([[Robert Stack]])
*[[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] ([[Lionel Stander]])
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]] ([[Paul Eiding]])
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] ([[Buster Jones]])
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (Neil Ross)
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (Peter Cullen)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (Michael Bell)<ref group="fc" name="crednolines">Credited and appeared, but had no speaking lines.</ref>
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] ([[Scatman Crothers]])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Casey Kasem]])
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] ([[Don Messick]])<ref group="fc" name="creduncertain">Credited, but may or may not have appeared through an animation error.</ref>
*[[Auto-combatant]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Eject (G1)|Eject]]
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]<ref group="fc" name="crednoapp">Credited, but did not appear.</ref> ([[Walker Edmiston]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] ([[Chris Latta]])
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Devastator (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (Michael Bell)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (Neil Ross)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (Neil Ross)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (Don Messick)<ref group="fc" name="appearnocredit">Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.</ref>
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] ([[Hal Rayle]])
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] ([[Clive Revill]])
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ([[Jack Angel]])
*[[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] (Corey Burton)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])<ref group="fc" name="crednolines"/>
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] (Chris Latta)<ref group="fc" name="appearnocredit">Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.</ref>
*[[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ravage]] (Frank Welker)<ref group="fc" name="appearnocredit">Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.</ref>
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]]
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]
*[[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]]
*[[Cyclonus's Armada (G1)|Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] (Bell)
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] (Welker)
*[[Rubbish]]
*[[Re-Cycle]]
*[[Trashbin]]
*[[HAZMAT]]
*[[Ashtray]]
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]]
*[[Greasestain]]
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (Corey Burton)
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix (G1)|Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]]

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson Prosecutor|Quintesson leader]] (Roger C. Carmel)
*[[Quintesson Judge (G1)|Quintesson Judge]] ([[Regis Cordic]])
*[[Quintesson Executioner (G1)|Quintesson Executioner]]
*[[Quintesson Bailiff]]
*[[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<references group="fc"/>

==Quotes==
[[File:TFTM European intro.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.4|It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.]]
"Now all we need is a little energon and a lot of luck." 
"More than you imagine, Optimus Prime."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron''' tempt fate.

"Such heroic nonsense."
:—'''Megatron''' coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"First, we crack the shell... then we crack the nuts inside."
:—'''Rumble''' bravely raids Autobot City.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"
:—'''Springer''', telling it like it is.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"Why throw your life away so recklessly?" 
"That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron." 
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''', about to engage in one last battle to the death.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of '''''sterner stuff'''''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s trash talk is actually [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/sterner-stuff a lot cooler than it sounds].

"I would have waited an eternity for this! It's over, Prime." 
"'''''NEVER!'''''"
:—'''Megatron''' is about to learn that a wounded '''Optimus Prime''' has enough strength left for one good hit.

"Until that day...'til all are one..."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''{{'}}s final words.

"Oh, how it ''pains'' me to do this." 
"Wait! I still function!" 
"Wanna ''bet''?"
:—'''Starscream''' fights back the tears as he throws '''Megatron''' out of Astrotrain.

"Soundwave superior, Constructicons inferior."
:—'''Soundwave''' insults the combiner team.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose." 
"Nobody summons Megatron!" 
"Then it pleases me to be the first."
:—'''Unicron''' shows '''Megatron''' who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?" 
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy." 
"Megatron? Is that you?" 
"Here's a hint!"
:—'''Galvatron''' drops "hints" for '''Starscream''' like others drop anvils.

"Oh shit! What are we gonna do now!"
:—'''Spike''' says the movie’s most infamous line.

"Kup and Hot Rod just bought it!" 
"I can't deal with that now!"
:—'''Springer''' and '''Ultra Magnus''' assess the situation.

"Did we ''have'' to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?" 
"Seeing as how they would have detonated ''four'' quarters, I think it was a good choice."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Springer''', debating the launch of their emergency shuttle.

"Spare me this mockery of justice!"
:—'''Kranix''' is upset at being found innocent.

"You check in, but you don't check out."
:—'''Wreck-Gar''' making a reference to the tagline from the "Roach Motel." commercials

"For a time... I considered ''sparing'' your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its ''dismemberment''!"
:—'''Unicron''' really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny!"
:—'''Unicron'''{{'}}s final words.

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!" 
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' announces the end of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]...for now.

==Season 5==
When ''The Movie'' was broadcast in [[The Transformers (cartoon)#Season 5|the fifth season]] of ''The Transformers'', it was broken into 5 parts (designated "Days") and given new bookending segments with original story material.

===Day One===
[[File:TommyPrimeSeason5BumperMovie.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on twelve systems.]]
[[Tommy Kennedy|Tommy]] meets up with [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] in the barren wasteland and Prime is concerned with the black eye and many bruises Tommy is sporting. Tommy explains that some "big guys" at school tried to rough him up (and by all visual evidence, succeeded). Tommy asks Prime if he'd ever faced any "big guys" in his many adventures and Prime decides to tell him about the time he faced the "biggest guy" of them all, [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]]...

Optimus leaves off at the point during the [[Battle of Autobot City]] when Megatron broke their defenses to let the slaughter begin. Optimus gruesomely teases his own death scene to a very confused and concerned Tommy, but reassures him that until he can be revived as a Powermaster, the Matrix must be passed on to someone else who is worthy. Tommy wants to hear all about it, but Optimus doesn't have the time. Apparently, he needs to meet up with [[Joyride (G1)|Joyride]] and help him [[Space bridge technician|repair]] the [[Space bridge]]. Tommy asks if he can tag along and Optimus tells him that if he can lift one of their two-ton screwdrivers, he can even help. They summarily blast off into space.
{{-}}

===Day Two===
[[File:PrimeExplodingMemoryChip.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|I've lost R2!]]
Tommy and Optimus meet up in the barren wasteland, though Prime isn't sure what Tommy wants. Tommy reminds him that he promised to tell him more about Unicron and Prime concedes that he's been having trouble with his memory chip, lately. Tommy tells him all about the Battle of Autobot City, but none of it rings a bell for Optimus. Prime asks Tommy to open up an access panel in the back of his head and check the circuit. Tommy repairs the circuit, jogging Prime's memory...

Prime leaves off at the point where [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] and [[Cliffjumper (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cliffjumper]] are eaten by Unicron. Tommy demands to hear more of the story, but Prime's memory chip explodes and smoke pours from the side of his head. All he sees are brief flashes of the further adventures of [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] and the rest. The furthest he can see, though, is the "death" of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] when his shuttle is blown up by [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Tommy expresses discontent, citing that the Autobots are "too cool to die". Prime says he knows there's more to the story, but with his faulty memory chip, he can't access the details. Tommy insists they get his chip fixed and so they blast off into space to do just that.
{{-}}

===Day Three===
[[File:TommyKennedyTraumatized.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|I can't even see. How am I supposed to fight?]]
Tommy finishes the repairs on Prime's memory chip, much to Prime's relief. Tommy asks Prime to test it out by continuing his story about the battle against Unicron. Prime indulges Tommy's request...

Prime leaves off at the point where [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] and Hot Rod are taken to the [[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticon]] pits and watch as the survivors of [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]] are executed. Tommy begs Prime to stop, claiming that the story thus far is too intense and depressing for him to handle. Prime asks if he wants to hear about how Kup and Hot Rod are fed to the Sharkticons, how the Autobots are menaced by "aliens made of junk" or how Ultra Magnus is blown to pieces by [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Tommy suddenly changes his mind and demands to hear all the gory, macabre details. Prime sets Tommy back down in the barren wasteland and promises to return soon to transform his day into an adventure. He then blasts off into space.
{{-}}

===Day Four===
[[File:PrimeTommyStopMotion.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from.]]
Tommy and Optimus meet up once again in the barren wasteland. Tommy asks why Prime is so late for their appointment and Prime confesses that [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] took a wrong turn on the way over. Prime wishes he hadn't let the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] fly the shuttle. Tommy asks if Prime has enough time to tell him more of the story and Prime assures him there's time enough...

Prime leaves off at the point where the Autobots team up with the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion]]s to battle Unicron. Tommy is incredulous, wondering what a bunch of aliens made of junk could possibly contribute to the battle against Unicron. Prime informs him that great adversities often bring out the best in people, citing Hot Rod as an example. Tommy begs to hear how the story ends, but Prime says that he must first take Grimlock to have his "brain circuits" upgraded. Setting Tommy down, Prime promises to be back soon to transform his day into an adventure. Then he blasts off into space.
{{-}}

===Day Five===
[[File:StanBushTheTouchMusicVideoRecordLabelNotes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help you.]]
Meeting again in the barren wasteland, Optimus asks Tommy if he's ready to hear the end of the story. Contrary to all the enthusiasm Tommy has shown during past storytimes, the human child laments that he's forgotten most of the tale thus far (offering the flimsy excuse that his lack of an electronic brain makes remembering so many details impossible). Prime gives him "a quick rundown" (that takes ''four minutes'') and then proceeds to finish the epic yarn...

Prime finishes the story with the destruction of Unicron, the ascension of Rodimus Prime and the exile of the Decepticons. Prime asks Tommy if he's satisfied, but Tommy just has more questions. Like what was up with the [[Quintesson]]s? Did they drop Grimlock on his head when he was a kid? And how did they ever bring Prime back to life? Prime tells Tommy to slow down. He has to attend an interstellar peace conference, but until he returns, he leaves Tommy with... [[The Touch|THE TOUCH!!!]]
{{--}}

==Production timeline==
* First script outline by Ron Friedman: revisions from 15th August 1984 to 19th September 1984
* [[The Transformers: The Movie (first draft)|First draft script]] by Ron Friedman: submitted November 12th 1984. Revised February 13th 1985.
* Reference photos of Powered Convoy toy designated as Ultra Magnus, provided to Ron Friedman: Taken 18th March 1985
* Second script outline by Ron Friedman: revised 28th March 1985
* [[The Transformers: The Movie (second draft)|Second draft script]] by Ron Friedman: completed 27th April 1985. Revised 2nd May 1985
* Model sheets approved 14th June 1985: Cyclonus, Galvatron (Marvel model with revised head), Hot Rod, Kranix (the pre-final model, can be seen with Granix name on it), Quintesson Judge (colour approved on 18th November 1985 by J. Bacal), Rodimus Prime, Scourge/Sweep, Sharkticon, Unicron robot mode, Wheelie, Wreck-gar
* Model sheets approved 24th June 1985: Ultra Magnus robot mode(first Powered Convoy version)
* Model sheets approved 2nd July 1985: Ultra Magnus (Initial Toei design. Colour revised on 20th July 1985)
* Model sheets approved 19th July 1985: Arblus robot mode, Spike (final model), Ultra Magnus vehicle mode(first Powered Convoy version)
* Model sheets approved 29th July 1985: Quintesson Prosecutor (a.k.a Quintesson leader. Approved by J. Bacal on 18th December 1985)
* Model sheets approved 31st July 1985: Arblus spaceship mode
* Voice actor auditions for Wheelie: 4th September 1985
* Model sheets approved 6th September 1985: Rewind flip side of the cassette mode
* Dialogue recording (main sessions): 10th and 11th September 1985
* Model sheets approved 3rd October 1985: Rewind and Eject
* Model sheets approved 8th October 1985: Lithonian Scientist, Lithonian Woman no.1

* Storyboard sequence 1 (Attack on Lithone): Final 31st October 1985
* Storyboard sequence 2 (Title sequence): Final 31st December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 3 (2005): Final 31st October 1985
* Storyboard sequence 4 (More Than You Imagine): Final 31st October 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985.
* Storyboard sequence 5 (Attack On The Shuttle): Final 31st October 1985
* Storyboard sequence 6 (Gone Fishin'/Dare): Final 4th November 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 7 (Battle Of Autobot City, part 1): Final 14th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 8 (Battle Of Autobot City, part 2): Final 31st October 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 9 (Death Of Optimus Prime): Final 7th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 10 (Witness To A Funeral): Final 7th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 11 (Contest For Leadership): Final 4th November 1985. Revised Final 13th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 12 (Transformation): Final 11th November 1985. Revised Final 26th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 13 (Coronation): Final 10th December 1985. Revised Final 18th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 14 (Destruction Of Moonbase One): Final 10th December 1985. Revised Final 19th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 15 (Escape): Final 16th December 1985. Revised Final 24th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 16 (Pursuit): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 17 (Nothin's Gonna Stand In Our Way): Final 11th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 18 (Arrival On Junk): Final 12th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 19 (Unwelcome Visitors): Final November 14th 1985. Revised Final 27th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 20 (The Matrix Survives): Final 12th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 21 (An Unexpected Friend): Final 18th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 22 (Destruction Of Moonbase Two): Final 17th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 23 (Ambush): Final 11th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 24 (Judgement/Rescue): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 25 (Another Leader Dies): Final 9th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 26 (Unusual Allies): Final 19th December 1985. Revised Final 31st December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 27 (The Enemy Revealed): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 28 (Confrontation): Final 19th November 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 29 (United Against The Enemy): Final 20th November 1985. Revised 4th December 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 30 (In The Belly Of The Monster): Final 20th November 1985. Revised 3rd December 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 31 (Their Darkest Hour): Final 2nd December 1985. Revised 19th December 1985. Revised Final 31st December 1985

==Animation errors==
[[File:TFTM Unicron Small.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|We’re doomed.]]
*When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a [[Animation error#Sizing errors|cel stacking error]] results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, [[Distribution|making Unicron look very tiny]] in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
*The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
*When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
*Coloring errors:
**When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
**Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot aboard the shuttle.
**Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to [[robot mode]].
**In the big lineup of firing Decepticons in Autobot City, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
**When Blaster asks Perceptor "What's shakin'?", a Dirge-colored Seeker flies by the window. However, it appears to be the standard Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp design, instead of having Dirge's unique wings.
**As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
**Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
**When the Dinobots jump out of Optimus Prime's Shuttle, the shuttle is colored like the first shuttle, which Megatron boarded, instead of red-highlighted scheme of Prime's shuttle.
**When Prime says "No matter the cost", the shuttle is painted completely orange, when the front should have red and white highlights.
**In the shot of Decepticons running in Autobot City prior to them being crashed through by Optimus, Ramjet can be seen sporting Dirge's wings, albeit in red just like Ramjet's. Or maybe this is Dirge incorrectly painted in Ramjet's colours. Who knows?
**When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's helmet is purple instead of yellow. Prime's trailer is missing its Autobot symbol as well.
**After Megatron asks, "Why throw away your life so recklessly?", Optimus' left hand is colored red instead of blue when he replies "That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron".
**The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
**Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
**Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over the fallen Megatron.
**In the shot of the Decepticons jettisoning Thundercracker, Skywarp and the Insecticons from Astrotrain, Ramjet and Dirge have their colours swapped.
**As Starscream prepares to toss Megatron out the door, Soundwave's eyes are painted white like his mask rather than red. (Maybe he was sleeping, his excuse for not stopping Starscream)
**Starscream's cockpit shell nearest his head is colored like a canopy rather than gray, as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
**The red stripes on Starscream's wings are noticeably absent during most of the Coronation scene.
**When dragging Arcee into the shuttle and two shots later when flying into space Magnus's Shuttle has Blue highlights instead of Red.
**After Springer runs past him, Perceptor's gun changes from red to white for a few frames.
**When Cyclonus is strafing what appears via editing to be Hot Rod's shuttle, it has red highlights instead of blue.
**When Hot Rod's ship is being watched by Galvatron trailing smoke it has red highlights instead of blue.
**In the shot after Magnus announces that he cannot deal with that now, his ship has blue highlights instead of red.
**Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
**When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is colored black.
**After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
**As the Autobots fly through space after exiting Unicron's eye, Rodimus is painted in Ultra Magnus' colors (inverted).
*When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
*When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream moves back to avoid the Autobots' fire, and a ''second'' Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this was probably meant to be Skywarp, as he flies into the shuttle and takes a seat at the controls once the Autobots are defeated). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray.
*When Brawn is shot, it can be seen for one frame that he is initially hit in the top of his chest. As he falls, the wound has moved to the front rounded part of his chest. Additionally, the wound changes from black to red for one frame.
*Per his standard cartoon appearance, Ratchet should have a [[Red Cross]] symbol on each shoulder. When he turns in his seat as Brawn is shot down, we can see one on his right shoulder, but when he stands to return fire on the Decepticons, the right shoulder's cross has vanished, and he's only got one on his left shoulder. Then, when he falls, the cross is missing from ''both'' shoulders.
*When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls:
**All of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down.
**Ironhide's chest is completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
**Prowl, who turned gray as he fell (evidently dead before he even hit the floor) seems to be back in his normal colors.
*The reflections of Hot Rod and Daniel in the lake rarely line up with where they should be.
*When Hot Rod catches a fish, it is barely the size of his finger. When he releases it, it's [[Scale|suddenly huge]].
*Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
*When Hot Rod begins to shoot at the hijacked Autobot shuttle, the yellow light on his forehead is misaligned.
*When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's [[Character model|animation model]], in Bluestreak's gray and black colors.
*Hound and Sunstreaker appear in Kup's group at the foot of Lookout Mountain as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
**In the movie's storyboard, only Hound is shown present with Kup during the roadblock scene. Sunstreaker's only appearance in the storyboard is when he exits the shuttle, meaning that his presence during the roadblock scene is purely an animation addition. Hound being in both places ''is'', however, an error in both the movie and the storyboard—''unless'', Optimus Prime and the Dinobots picked up Hound and Sunstreaker from Lookout Mountain enroute to Autobot City? Now there's an idea for the old [[Personal canon|headcanon]]!
**In a deleted scene from the storyboard that would've shown Hot Rod and Kup meeting up with Ultra Magnus inside Autobot City, Sideswipe is shown running alongside Wheeljack in the background. However, Sideswipe is mistakenly referred to as "Sunstreaker" in the script (how ''[[Sideswipe (G1)#Notes|ironic]]''). Whether this mislabelling had any bearing over Sunstreaker being present with the roadblock crew is anyone's guess.
[[File:ShockwaveBattleAutobotcity.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|We've picked up a new group of signals... enemy fighters heading your way.]]
*In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
*When Shrapnel and Kickback are eating the door, Shrapnel only has one antenna.
*A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
[[File:TFTMRumbleFrenzytwored.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[FIRRIB|What]] about that [[R2-D2|blue one]]? We'll take that one.]]
*When [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] sends out his cassette troops, [[FIRRIB|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].
*Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage.
*As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in the red, white and blue color scheme of Smokescreen - who, in the storyboards of this sequence, was intended to be the one lying there dead.
*While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
*During Devastator's combination sequence in Autobot City, his chest plate, portions of his pelvis, his forearms, and Bonecrusher's treads are all green. The chestplate and pelvis should be purple, as should Bonecrusher's treads (they're ''normally'' green when Bonecrusher is separate, but they turn purple when he combines), and his forearms should be black.
*For almost the entirety of his screen time during the battle in Autobot City, the "jet engine" on top of Devastator's chest plate is misinterpreted as a trapezoidal block. The only time it appears in its proper shape is when he high-kicks Grimlock. It appears as it should during the scuffle on Astrotrain.
*While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
*Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
*Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
*The gun Megatron fires uses the same sound effect as his fusion cannon.
*When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, the animators forgot to remove the cel of the Matrix inside his chest, as it's still in there even as he's holding it in his hands. Since it's not supposed to be there, the luminous effect for the Matrix's core is missing from the duplicate in his chest, creating a visual trick that makes it look like Optimus might just have removed the core itself. (The [[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|''Universe'' comic]] would later use this error as a springboard to reconcile the visuals of Optimus's chest interior with their depiction in ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.)
*When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
*As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
*The voice that says, "Brothers! Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
*When Megatron says "Nobody summons Megatron" his chest emblem is colored gray like his chest. It looks like it should have been painted as a darker shade of purple, as it's the shadowed section. But was painted gray instead.
[[File:TFTMStarscreamCoronationErrors.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4| *''trumpet fanfare''*]]
*Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
*In the establishing shot of Starscream's coronation, there are only five Constructicons (Bonecrusher had better things to do tonight) and they are miscolored as purple and white rather than their usual purple and green color scheme.
*Hook has two eyes instead of his normal visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
*An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and ''only'' two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
*When Galvatron introduces himself to the Coronation party, Soundwave's chest window is drawn far too small.
*When Galvatron says "Decepticons, to Earth!", aside from his mouth being partially open, his mouth doesn't move. I guess being reformatted by Unicron gives you the ability to talk without moving your mouth?
*In the scene where Bumblebee and Spike are in the [[Autobot frigate]] and escaping Moonbase Two's destruction, when the two are cheering after believing that Unicron has been destroyed, Bumblebee's on the left side of Spike's seat. However, after Spike expresses his "colorful" reaction to Unicron remaining completely unscathed, and when the frigate is about to get sucked into Unicron, Bumblebee is on the right side of Spike's seat.
*When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
*During the wide shot of the Autobots in the crashed ship on Junk, Blurr's entire head is white. Also so is Daniels head, which is drawn as an indistinct incomplete circle.
*Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
*Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
*The pistol Ultra Magnus fires uses the same sound effect as Optimus Prime's rifle.
*During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down. And his head then flickers between colors when mounting Junkyard.
*When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.(Probably intentional expression)
*As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner spikes, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the spike, but is layered above it instead.
*Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
*As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact. (The left one had at this point been shattered.)
*The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[File:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.]]

*The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots—in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
** On the other hand, the original production ''storyboards'' for the scene where Snarl first appears in the movie only mentions "the Dinobots", not a specific amount of them. Additionally, Snarl also seems to have been in the scene with Kup telling the Dinobots a story in at least ''one'' version of the film; the Japanese trailer for the movie has finished footage of this scene...but it's very different from the one in the film; the Dinobots are all in their robot modes, and Snarl is present in the scene instead of Slag. It's completely unknown why Snarl's appearance in this scene was cut.
*Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
**Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
**Grapple is [[:File:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City. Or maybe it's [[Hauler]].
**The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
**[[:File:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:File:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] (who was shot in the back by the Constructicons; his gun is the one Megatron uses against Optimus), and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger, Wheeljack instead surviving the battle and being part of a scrapped Earth-based subplot) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
*Devastator is treated as ''the'' ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being [[Starscream's Brigade|severely diminished]], presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to [[retcon]] the problem away.)
*Possibly the biggest example of the film's tonal shift from the cartoon, shots from firearms that would previously knock another character down at best have since become lethal, best demonstrated when Brawn and Prowl are each killed with a single shot by the Decepticons during the movie's first act.
[[File:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.]]
*The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious ''at best''.
**On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever. Even after it got knocked out of Earth's orbit.
**On the other hand, Megatron ''does'' refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "[[Microbots]]", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he ''might'' have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
**The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
*During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him?
*So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
*The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is [[scale|noticeably inconsistent]]: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him. Perhaps he continued expanding when transforming from train to shuttle mode?
*Speaking of which, Astrotrain's entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. While ''we'' applaud the [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], the Decepticons inside probably didn't.
*The damage suffered by Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the Insecticons basically appears out of nowhere when it's time for them to be jettisoned. While Shrapnel and Kickback are shown taking a beating early on, they appear shiny and new later in the battle, as do the two Seekers.
*Soundwave is loyal enough to pick up a wounded Megatron and save him, but then votes "aye" to jettisoning the wounded Decepticons, and when Starscream goes to throw Megatron out, Soundwave doesn't try to intervene. He even tries to steal the leadership once Megatron is gone. The "loyalty" attribute that has pertained so strongly to Soundwave seems to be alienated from the character in this scene.
*The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and [[Cyclonus's Armada|his armada]]") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least ''seven'' new characters are shown at one point, created from only ''six'' Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.
*How can the Constructicons blow on those trumpets? Only [[Hook (G1)|three]] [[Bonecrusher (G1)|of]] [[Mixmaster (G1)|them]] have mouths.
*Given his relative position, Starscream's single shot through the trumpets defies all geometry.
[[File:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yes, I bet you have."]]
*[[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] is capable of reducing [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small ''[[Thrull|planets]]'' and being able to take down [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] with one shot from his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. [[Marvel Comics]] bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]". [[To sell toys|Who knows.]]
*Why didn't the Autobots notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons? Why doesn't Shockwave, who is ''on Cybertron,'' react until after Unicron has eaten these moons, transformed into a giant robot, and ''smashed his hand into the planet's surface?''
*Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions.
*How did Hot Rod and Kup know to fly from Quintessa to Junk?
[[File:TFTMStarscreamVsUnicron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Let me see your identification.]]
*When the Decepticons on Cybertron launch a counterattack on Unicron, all three of the first-year Seekers are seen fighting alongside the Coneheads. Given that all three were either explicitly killed earlier in the movie (Starscream) or have been turned into Galvatron's troops by this point (Thundercracker and Skywarp), they're obviously not supposed to be ''around'' in these forms anymore; of course, they could also just be [[generic]]s reusing their colors...but, as noted above, Thundercracker and Skywarp ''also'' appear at Starscream's coronation.
*Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover.
*It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
*It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out ''that'' many Decepticons?
* Unicron's invincibility is extremely inconsistent; Moments before becoming Galvatron, Megatron creates visible damage to Unicron's horns simply by attempting to hold into something. Later, he doesn't suffer even a dent when one of Cybertron's moons is detonated in his mouth. Near the end, the Dinobots are capable of punching their way through his "skin", and Rodimus Prime just casually throws Galvatron into space through Unicron's side. Even without the Matrix, the small group of Autobots did pretty well against him.

===Not necessarily errors===
*Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some ''mass''", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
*Springer escapes from Unicron's eye by transforming into helicopter mode and flying through outer space, where there shouldn't be an atmosphere for his rotors to provide lift. Maybe Unicron was still within Cybertron's atmosphere?

==Continuity notes==
*''The Transformers: The Movie'' has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' are:
**The notion that [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] has moons.
**The [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|comics]]. Even the Marvel comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
**[[Autobot City (disambiguation)|Autobot City]].
**[[Unicron]].
**The notion of [[Megatron (disambiguation)|Megatron]] becoming [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|Galvatron]].
**The idea of "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]]" being a rank rather than simply a given name.
**[[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool]]!
*Cybertron's appearance in the post-titles establishing shot shows some major changes to the planet since our last look at it in Season 2. Many of the same buildings from the cartoon's stock image of the planet are there, but the giant pit near the planet's equator is mostly covered over, and the shredded portion of its southern hemisphere has been completely rebuilt.
*Gadgets and powers:
**Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
**Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
**Megatron uses an "[[Lightsaber|Energy Dagger]]"<ref>[https://twitter.com/walruslaw/status/1204860124898181123 Reference sheets for various weapons used or planned for use in ''The Transformers: The Movie''] - TFRaw.com on Twitter</ref> during his one-on-one battle with Optimus Prime.
**Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
**Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
**Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
**Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to [[GoBots|shoot lasers from his fists]].
*'''[[The Revenge of Bruticus|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's <s>dead</s> almost dead!

==Real-world references and Easter eggs==
[[File:TFTMUnicronSkyscrapers.jpg|thumb|I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.]]
*When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards shows, for a split second, what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings. These images look to be recycled background paintings from ''{{w|Fist of the North Star (1986 film)|Fist of the North Star}}'', a film [[Toei Animation|Toei]] had animated the same year. Regardless of animation efficiency/corner-cutting, the flashing images of ruined civilizations are eerily appropriate for Unicron.
[[File:TFTM Sludge Devastator.jpg|thumb|Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them.]]
*When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''{{w|Looney Tunes}}'' fashion.
*Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''{{w|Of Mice and Men}}'', complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".
*The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
**"Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]'' and its host, [[Monty]] Hall.
**"Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "{{w|Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!}}" war cry, and the 1963 hit "{{w|Da Doo Ron Ron}}".
**"You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for {{w|Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel}} insect traps.
**"Breep, drit, aw rootie!" - part of {{w|Tutti Frutti (song)|"Tutti Frutti, aw rooty!"}}, from the 1955 song.
**"Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Esso]].
**"Kill the Grand Poobah!" - a {{w|Grand Poobah|satirical term}} originating from {{w|Gilbert and Sullivan}}'s ''{{w|The Mikado}}'', likely referencing its use as the title of leaders of pseudo-Masonic lodges in ''{{w|The Flintstones}}'' and ''{{w|Happy Days}}''.
[[File:Tftm rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg|thumb|Easy? You call that ''easy!?'']]
*The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling [[:File:Tftm rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg#parts|several mobile suits]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''{{w|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam}}''.
*''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
**The ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.

**[[Luke Skywalker]]'s deactivating [[lightsaber]] is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
**Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.

**An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
**An AT-AT foot stomp sound is heard as the Autobot shuttle crash lands on Junk.
**The whir of an AT-AT's leg hydraulics can be heard part way through Unicron's transformation.
*The ''[[Star Trek]]'' sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his <s>iPhone</s> mini-TV.
*The sound used for the communicators on ''Star Trek'' is used when Daniel activates his blaster to save Spike.

==Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel comic)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in issue #4 of the ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' series.
*[[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|A storybook adaptation]] was released in the UK by [[Ladybird Books]].
*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (film)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Soundtrack==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}}

==Promotions==
*Early in the movie's production, a [[The Transformers: The Movie promo|promotional trailer]] was made to sell the project to potential investors.
*The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
*The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV [[commercial]]s, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.
*[[Ziploc]] sandwich bags featuring an iron-on patch in boxed to advertise the movie. Each box contained one of eight potential characters.

==In the comic continuity==
The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However, there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the movie to [[2006]], following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote "[[Target: 2006]]".
*In "Target: 2006", [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "[[Life Spark]]".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in "[[Space Pirates!]]" (set in [[2008]]).

In addition, [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Shockwave]] definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]" and "[[A Savage Circle]]". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] from [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]], which is dated to 2005, though [[Prowl (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Prowl]]'s death was overlooked. [[Prowl (TM2)|Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.]]
*The US version of the future story "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]" implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

==Edits==
Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

*In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.
*In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with [[Victor Caroli|a narrator]] reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
*Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered especially offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
*In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
*The original FHE video release of the film painted out all instances of Megatron's green-colored "bleeding" from the end of the battle of Autobot City up to his meeting with Unicron.
*Instead of DEG, the {{w|Rank Organisation|Rank Film}} "{{w|Gongman}}" appears before the British release of the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors. Ironically, the DEG logo at the beginning uses the "Gongman" sounds, rather than its own fanfare, possibly due to a plastering mistake.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

*Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding. This also explains why the Junkions only have to put his limbs back on to repair him.
*A number of other sequences were illustrated as [[storyboard]]s but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
**A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through ''huge chunks of ice'' from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
**An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
**A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
**The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
**The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
**Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.
:Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.
*Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes.<ref>https://groups.google.com/g/alt.toys.transformers/c/B0ZMv7tdDMk?hl=en#8aee0b30765b2b4a</ref> No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits of any storyline or character importance are those listed in this section.
:{{see|Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie''}}

==Reception and box office==
{{quote|''The Transformers'', in which Orson Welles plays a planet, is pure headache material. Target audience of cartoon-watchers also will probably find the film unintelligible, noisy and unoriginal. Boxoffice prospects are dismal.|2=[http://books.google.com/books?id=DHNZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasbro+Transformers&dq=Hasbro+Transformers&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1983&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2005&num=50&as_brr=0&cd=69 Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19]}}

{{quote|Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own... provided by Orson Welles.) That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help. Little more than a feature-length toy commercial.|Leonard Maltin, ''1987 Movie & Video Guide''}}

{{quote|While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors. |2=[http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/09/movies/screen-transformers-animation-for-children.html The New York Times]}}

{{quote|Transformers -- The Movie, a feature-length animated film inspired by the syndicated TV cartoon series inspired by the Hasbro toy imported from Japan, is utterly uninspired entertainment. |2=[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE8EA8D40CCA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Dallas Morning News]}}

{{quote|If you can swallow, without gagging, a large measure of sentimental and offensive religiosity - lines like "Do not grieve. Soon I will be one with the Matrix," whispered by a failing hunk of Autobot metal - then you have a better than even chance of leaving the theatre on your own two feet. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=01kiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2445,1286000&dq=transformers&hl=en The Montreal Gazette]}}

{{quote|Everything is poorly drawn and - when it's in focus - one dimensional. It is terribly hard to separate the robots from the backgrounds, and there is no easy way to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In an earlier movie based on the same sort of robot toys - "Go-Bots: The Battle of the Rock Lords" - the good guys were either white or colorful and the bad guys were dreary, and they had distinct personalities. Not this movie; everyone looks and sounds alike, except one pink robot who is a female good guy. Her tin voluptuousness makes her stand out. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kw4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,6334152&dq=transformers&hl=en The Toledo Blade]}}

{{quote|Even with an all-star cast doing the voice overs... and a rock music score, this is still nothing more than a ripoff of a successful toy line. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AYckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4192,1494652&dq=transformers&hl=en The Palm Beach Post]}}

{{quote|The great animated villains, like the Wicked Queen in Disney's "Snow White," had motivations as compelling as any live-action character. Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. |2=[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/57996397.html?dids=57996397:57996397&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1986&author=CHARLES+SOLOMON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=8&desc=%60THE+TRANSFORMERS%27%3A+STRETCHING+A+POINT The LA Times]}}

{{quote|A surprisingly dark, emotional, and almost excessively cynical experience for Transformers fans.|2=[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_the_the_movie/ Rotten Tomatoes]}}

''The Transformers: The Movie'' was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his ''1987 Movie & Video Guide'', regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial".

Caryn James of the ''New York Times'' admitted in the [[August 9]], 1986, edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the ''Transformer'' toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults.

''Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 '' was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults ''or'' children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the ''Dallas Morning News'' chided the film in the [[August 13]], 1986, issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon ''Star Wars'' about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the ''Montreal Gazette'' verbally disemboweled the film in the [[August 23]], 1986, edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But ''The Transformers: The Movie'' does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It's title? ''Dare to be Stupid''." ''Ouch''.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986, edition of the ''Toledo Blade'' claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that ''[[GoBots]]: {{gb|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords|Battle of the Rock Lords}}'' was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the [[August 22]], 1986, edition of the ''Palm Beach Post'' gave the film a whopping ''one'' star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever ''that'' means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's ''[[Fly|The Fly]]'' one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986, edition of the ''LA Times'', critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of [[fandom|Transformers fans]], particularly among children of the '80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand. ''The Transformers: The Movie'' currently holds a 62% "fresh" rating based on 25 professional reviews at online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_the_the_movie/</ref> In response to the film's cult following, several reviewers have compared the film in a favourable light to the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]]s (prior to the unprecedented critical success of ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]''), stating that they lack the heart or nostalgia of the '86 movie.<ref>https://www.inverse.com/article/7309-6-enduring-legacies-of-1986-s-animated-the-transformers-the-movie</ref><ref>https://slate.com/culture/2007/07/transformers-why-the-original-animated-movie-is-still-the-best.html</ref><ref>https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Sorry-Michael-Bay-Why-1986-Transformers-Movie-Best-43582.html</ref>

===Box office===
An [[August 30]]th, 1987 ''Los Angeles Times'' article on the decline and fall of the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group listed ''The Transformers: The Movie'' as grossing $2.6 million in the United States on a $5 million budget.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-30-fi-5144-story.html</ref> Both it and ''My Little Pony: The Movie'' (which earned $2.8 million on a $5.5 million budget per that same article) were financial failures, together losing Hasbro about $10 million in an otherwise profitable year.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=... we just accidentally found the budget for The Transformers: The Movie while skimming a book about My Little Pony. Thanks, @sherilyn! https://t.co/epw3GW83lE|link=https://twitter.com/tfwiki/status/895169922678042625|name=TFWiki|site=Twitter|year=2017|month=08|day=09|(defunct=)}}</ref>

Confusingly, in comparison to the ''Los Angeles Times'' article, modern box office tracking sites<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm</ref><ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TRTM.php</ref> list ''The Transformers: The Movie'' as having made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with the other online box office takes from animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''{{gb|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords}}''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gobots.htm</ref> ($1,338,264) and ''Heathcliff: The Movie''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heathcliff.htm</ref> ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the 1986 ''[[My Little Pony]]'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm</ref> ($5,958,456) and the '''second''' ''Care Bears'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=carebearsmovie2.htm</ref> ($8,540,346). Bringing up ''The Great Mouse Detective''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm</ref> ($25,336,794) and ''An American Tail''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americantail.htm</ref> ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

==Significance in Transfandom==
''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The ''Transformers'' cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei Animation|Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the ''The Transformers'' cartoon had gone off the air. Only a [[Family Home Entertainment|handful of series episodes]] were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

Latter-day ''Transformers'' stories have made uncountable references (though [[The Transformers: The Movie/references|we're trying]]) to the movie, lifting or borrowing elements of its [[Minus One|dialogue]], [[The Transformers: Autocracy|fight sequences]], [[A Flash Forward|subplots]], [[Heavy Is the Head|details]], [[Less Than Zero|settings]] and more, as writers have discovered that a shout-out to the movie is a quick and easy way to win cheers from [[GEEWUN|some segments]] of [[Fandom|their audience]]. Even Hasbro and Takara themselves have gotten in on the act, producing a variety of toys based on the minutia of the film: [[Starscream (Armada)#Cybertron|Starscream's crown]], [[Galvatron (G1)/toys#United|Galvatron's creation]], the awakening of [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|Rodimus Prime]], and more. The fandom, for their part, pores over new ''Transformers'' fiction, often latching on to even the most tangential of details as a [[The Search for Alpha Trion#Quotes|"reference"]] to the movie, [[The Burden Hardest to Bear|coincidental or not]]. Call-outs, real or perceived, were once a rare treat - but now are so common that many fans are more likely to groan than cheer whenever some version of Optimus Prime declares that "[[One Shall Fall|One shall stand...]]" or a damaged character states that "[[Unfinished|I still function]]" or a vengeful blast is preceded by "[[The Illusion of Control|Here's a hint]]" or yet another Soundwave says yet another variation of "[[Human Error, Part II|Soundwave superior]]", or... well... this:

<center><gallery>
File:Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg|'86
File:TFTM1.jpg|'86 again
File:Botcon2000-movieposter.jpg|2000
File:TFvol1 31cvrRI.jpg|2010
File:Timelines10 diamonded.jpg|2014
File:Echoes and Fragments cover.jpg|2016
File:LL1 Riptcvr.jpg|2018
</gallery></center>

In 2016, thirty years after the release of the film, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]] gave us perhaps one of the most meta comeback lines in franchise history. When [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]] declares that "Today — one shall stand, and two shall fall!", Optimus simply punches him in the face with a flat "No cliches, Galvatron", voicing once and for all just how sick we've gotten of '86 quotes. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 6: No Fair Fights|No Fair Fights}}

{{quote|...wait, I only just noticed something. Did they actually manage to go the entire episode without quoting the 86 movie?|[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/94625-episode-65-beast-hunters-episode-13/page-4#entry2360303 Allspark poster Unit Eleven]}}

==Criticisms==
[[File:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|left|thumb|Only [[Stormtrooper (SW)|Imperial Stormtroopers]] are so precise.]]
All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way [[The Transformers (cartoon)/cast|beloved characters]] are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw, the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—[[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory ([[Call of the Primitives|until season 3]]) or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Optimus Prime's possession all along (even though Prime's open-chested repair scene in "[[Divide and Conquer]]" and his X-ray scene in "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[File:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]
The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels ([[Springer (G1)|Springer]] is a [[Han Solo]]-type and [[Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron/Generation 1|but it transforms!]]), and both feature a climactic battle where the [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|young hero]] hears the voice of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dead, wise mentor]] one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years' worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "[[King Arthur]]" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England]]'s need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].
{{--}}

==Formatting==
[[File:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right). Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them.]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.
{{--}}

==International versions==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie/dubs}}

==Commercial releases==
[[File:TFTM LaserDisc cover.jpg|thumb|The cover image from the original Japanese home media release of the movie.]]
*The movie was originally released in North America on VHS and Beta on [[September 17]], 1987<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19870911&id=YhAuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ls8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3198,2881581</ref> by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Just days before, on [[September 14]], 1987<ref>https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003579/19870910/016/0016</ref>, it was released in the UK by [[Video Gems]]. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, [[Sohbi Kikaku|Hill Crane]] released a {{w|LaserDisc}} version alongside a VHS copy, both sporting a gorgeous painted cover that decorated many a fan's desktop back in the day.
*The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. [[Malofilm]] released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of LaserDisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Rhino Entertainment|Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]], distributed by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
*In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of the ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as ''[[Stan Bush|The Touch]]'' music video and 80s TV spots.
[[File:Tftm uk covers.jpg|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]
*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a [[PlayStation|UMD]] of the same version.
*In 2005, Metrodome released ''Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed'', a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound & Video]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, a looped version of the Lion ''Transformers'' theme on the main menu, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[File:Tftm sony covers.jpg|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]
*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony|Sony BMG]] released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, TV spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. Also very notable is that this version includes an actual deleted scene from the animated film as an extra, though it is more of interest as a curiosity than anything it actually contains, being an approximately 2-second-long aerial view of the Autobots running towards the critically damaged Optimus Prime. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.
[[File:Tftm madman covers.jpg|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]
*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (film)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and [[posters]] from Woolworths and [[Toys"R"Us]]. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.
[[File:ShoutFactory TFTM BluDVD.jpg|thumb|Shout! Factory's 2016 Blu-ray cover.]]
*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with curse words.
*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.
*For the film's 30th Anniversary, and after being out of print in the US for 10 years, the film was rereleased on Region 1 DVD and given its first Region A Blu-ray release on [[September 13]], [[2016]] by [[Shout! Factory]]. Both versions are sourced from a brand-new 4K transfer which underwent extensive color-correction and remastering, and a Steelbook packaging variant of the Blu-ray was also made available.<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/action-adventure/the-transformers-the-movie-limited-edition-30th-anniversary-steelbook The Transformers: The Movie Limited Edition 30th Anniversary Steelbook]</ref> The Steelbook Blu-ray was released in the UK by [[Manga Entertainment]] as a limited edition on December 12, 2016, followed by a standard edition release a year later.
*On September 27, 2018, Fathom Events screened the movie at select theaters in the United States. The movie was preceded by an interview with [[Travis Knight]] and [[Hailee Steinfeld]] and a preview of a scene from ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'', and followed by a short featurette of Stan Bush discussing the music he contributed to the movie and performing acoustic versions of ''The Touch'' and ''Dare''.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/08/01/1986-transformers-movie-hitting-theaters-one-night-only-369314 1986 Transformers Movie Hitting Theaters One Night Only!]</ref> Cineplex would later show the movie in Canadian theaters on October 4.
*For the 35th anniversary, Shout! Factory produced the first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of the movie — presented in widescreen only — and a remastered fullscreen 1080p Blu-ray. Feature-length storyboards and the Stan Bush featurette from the 2018 Fathom Events screening were added as new bonus features. The two discs were first made available in a limited edition SteelBook with four art cards on [[August 3]], [[2021]]<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-limited-edition-steelbook?product_id=7636 The Transformers: The Movie [35th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook]]</ref>; a wide release in standard packaging followed on [[September 28]]<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-edition?product_id=7668 The Transformers: The Movie [35th Anniversary Edition]]</ref>, as did a third set comprised of the new fullscreen Blu-ray and a widescreen DVD<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-edition-1?product_id=7667 The Transformers: The Movie [35th Anniversary Edition]]</ref>. Cover art for the new releases was created by [[Matt Ferguson]].
**Region B versions of the Shout! Factory 35th Anniversary discs were distributed by Funimation and released on [[October 25]], and an additional collector's edition set was made exclusive to Zavvi, packaging the 4K and Blu-ray discs with an art book, poster and six art cards.<ref>[https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-zavvi-exclusive-4k-ultra-hd-limited-collectors-edition-includes-blu-ray/13169855.html The Transformers: The Movie 35th Anniversary - Zavvi Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Limited Collectors Edition (Includes Blu-ray)]</ref> Zavvi also partnered with Ferguson to release a line of art prints and apparel featuring his cover art.
*Fathom Events once again returned the film to select theaters on [[September 26]]–[[September 27|27]], 2021, accompanied by a set of [[The Transformers: The Movie 35th Anniversary Stop Motions|stop-motion comedy videos]] inspired by the film.

==Television broadcasts==
Following a segmented, five-part broadcast during [[The Transformers (cartoon)#Season 5|the fifth season of ''The Transformers'']], the complete feature film was aired on American television in 1989 via Fox stations. Air dates and times were June 17 at Noon, July 30 at 11 A.M. and September 2 at 10 A.M. Of course, this was the language-edited video release from Family Home Entertainment.

The movie was aired on [[Hub Network|The Hub]] on February 18, 2012, following [[Orion Pax, Part 1|the Season 2 premiere]] of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' on what was called "Transformers Mega Saturday". Uniquely, this version combined the European opening narration with the US scrawl-free opening credits, muted the two swear words (rendering the lines as "It isn't even dented! ...What do we do now?!" and "Open... ''Open!''"), used the European closing narration at the end, and sped up the scroll of the end credits to cut it down for time, ending the lyrics of the [[theme song]] around the beginning of its second verse ("Strong enough to break the bravest heart..."). Subsequent re-airings on The Hub aired this version of the movie.

The American television airing of the feature film adds one extra sound effect, and it has never been heard in any other release. During the scene when Arcee is racing to jump aboard the departing Autobot shuttle, there is a distinctive sound effect when she jumps. In all other releases there is no sound effect.

A July 4, 2014 Hub broadcast of the movie markets it as ''Transformers: The Animated Movie'', distinguishing it from that computer animation/live action [[Transformers (film)|hybrid film]] with the similar title made two decades and one year later.

==Notes==
*According to [[Buzz Dixon]], Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] in ''{{w|G.I. Joe: The Movie}}'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20151215034944/http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

*After reading [[Ron Friedman]]'s [[The Transformers: The Movie (first draft)|first draft]] of the movie's script, [[Flint Dille]] and [[Jay Bacal]] hastily wrote and proposed a script of their own, "[[The Secret of Cybertron]]", which later informed the cartoon five-parter "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]". Elements of this script also supposedly made it into the finished film, but no copy of the script has ever surfaced.

*This film was the last professional performance by [[Orson Welles]], who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on [[September 10]] and [[September 11|11]] of 1985. Welles died on [[October 10]] of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].<ref>http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally-burr-3.html</ref>
[[File:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!]]

*With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. Regardless, Shockwave was originally intended to appear in the immediate post-movie story "Five Faces of Darkness", serving in the role that was ultimately given to Blitzwing, before an internal [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]] memo clarified that his character had been dropped from the series.<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bid3TK_q2HxH7NR5MDAlGsKe5AlcbBnU/view Partial outline of "Five Faces of Darkness", covering Parts 3 to 5]</ref> Shockwave does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

*Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots — [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)#Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cliffjumper]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] — are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: [[Scatman Crothers]] passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem [[Casey Kasem#Notes|quit the show early in the third season]]. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

*The Dinobots spend the majority of the film in their dinosaur modes, a practice that would eventually carry into season 3 of the cartoon. Swoop is the only one to spend extended amounts of time in robot mode, due to the anatomical issues of walking in a flight-based mode. However, there are some instances where they're briefly shown in robot mode for blink-and-you-miss-it moments, for no reason whatsoever. Additionally, despite his constant presence among the Dinobots, Sludge has no lines in the film at all.

*Unicron's roars in the movie were stock vocalizations originally created for Marvel Productions' 1982 ''The Incredible Hulk'' animated series and performed by voice actor Bob Holt, who voiced the [[Hulk]] in that show. Holt otherwise never voiced a character in the Marvel/Sunbow Transformers series (although he was a regular member of the ''{{gb|Challenge of the GoBots (cartoon)|Challenge of the GoBots}}'' cast as the original voice of [[Cop-Tur (GoBots)|Cop-Tur]]), and had passed away the year before ''The Transformers: The Movie'' was released in 1986. Thus, Unicron has the distinction of featuring ''two'' posthumous performances for the same Transformers character in a single production.

*[[:File:TFTM-MaybeBeachcomber.jpg|A robot resembling Beachcomber]] appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]".

*Pieces of music from the movie would later be used in the [[Commodore 64]] version of ''Turrican''. For instance, basically unaltered bits of "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWFx-Go6Y6A Escape]" make up [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6jjpwpDVNY Subsong Two of the game's title theme].
*The shot of Unicron slamming his hand onto the surface of Cybertron would later be used for the toy commercial of his Armada self.
{{--}}

===Foreign names===
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Der Kampf um Cybertron''''' ("Transformers: The Battle for Cybertron", TV airings only)
*''French:'' '''''La Guerre des Robots''''' ("The War of the Robots")
*''Japanese:'' '''''トランスフォーマーザ・ムービー''''' ("Transformers: The Movie")

==External links==
*[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3212281345/weekend/ ''The Transformers: The Movie''{{'}}s box office domestic gross]
*[https://sunbowmarvelarchive.blogspot.com/p/mp-4034-transformers-movie-sunbow.html ''The Transformers: The Movie'' outlines, scripts, storyboards, concept art and model sheets]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20211021062746/http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/movie/movie.html ''The Transformers: The Movie'' Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie] (archived)
*[http://zobovor.tripod.com/transformers_the_movie_bloopers.html ''The Transformers: The Movie'' bloopers]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Alliance

2025-06-10T01:24:07Z

Galvatron3454: /* Animation and technical errors */ Watched the episode and saw two shots where Unicron is missing an arm while in planet mode.

{{disambig3|Alliance}}

{{episode|
|series=Armada
|ep=49
|prev=Cramp
|next=Union
|title="Alliance"
|furigana=ゆにくろん
|japanese=覚醒
|romaji=Unicron
|translation=Awakening: Unicron
|image=Unicronalliance.jpg
|caption=
|production code=TF: A-49
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]]
|writer=[[Isao Shizuya]]
|director=[[Masayuki Motsumoto]]
|animation studio=[[Actas Inc.]]
|airdate=[[September 30]], [[2003]] (English, United Kingdom) [[December 5]], 2003 (Japanese) [[December 9]], [[2003]] (English, United States)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy]]
}}

'''Starscream's sacrifice spurs the Autobots and the Decepticons to join forces. But Unicron awakens...'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Sshot-arm-494-remains.jpg|left|thumb|You failed, your highness. I'm a Jedi, like my father before me...yeah...]]
[[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] is astonished to hear about the truce between the two armies and asks if [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] is functioning. [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] is disgusted that they're doing this simply because the traitorous [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] asked that they do it, but then suggests that they simply use the idea of a truce to ambush the [[Autobot]]s. Outraged, Galvatron makes Cyclonus respect his authority with the usual amount of physical punishment. Galvatron is upset at how poorly things have turned out, but Starscream's sacrifice has convinced him: they're going to ally with the Autobots...for now in order to stop [[Unicron]]. Galvatron went far stating of the reasons of why Starscream rebelled against him in the first place, calling him a true soldier.

[[File:Sshot-arm-491-ships.jpg|thumb|Not all Autobot spaceships know how to swim.]]
Seeing Galvatron's point of the crisis, the rest of the [[Decepticon]]s agree to the truce, except for Cyclonus, who is still disgusted by this. Inside of Unicron, [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] and [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] plan their inevitable victory and conquest of the universe. The power of the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]] allows Unicron to shed the remains of his moon-disguise shell. The dark god hovers over [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], sucking up parts of the terrain. Both armies evacuate the surface, assisted by the [[Mini-Con]] swarm.

In a ceremonial procedure, Galvatron and his Decepticons meet with [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the Autobots for a handshake to seal the truce. The leaders shake hands, and [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]] also grabs on as his way of representing the allegiance of the Mini-Cons. The kids observe this, astonished that it's actually happening. [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] begins to tear up and when [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] asks her if she's all right, she says she was just remembering Starscream and how he would have loved to see this happening for himself. Forming a single front, the Autobot/Decepticon [[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|armada]] heads towards Unicron. The first volley of fire does no damage against their enemy. Two larger ships perform reconnaissance and are blasted, so a team of [[Hot Shot (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Hot Shot]], [[Side Swipe (Armada)|Side Swipe]], Demolishor, and Cyclonus (and some others) are sent in, based on a theory that smaller ships will elude Unicron's detection. On Unicron's surface, Cyclonus and the generics fly away to break stuff, and Demolishor leaves to avoid Hot Shot, leaving the two Autobots by themselves.

[[File:Alliance Redshirts.jpg|thumb|left|Balls of DOOOOM!!!!]]
Unicron's geography shifts and folds, disturbing his visitors and causing Demolishor to lose [[Blackout (Armada)|Blackout]]. From the base, Galvatron suggests another attack, which Optimus Prime makes sure won't harm the recon crew, who have their hands full fighting against swarms of [[Dead End Drone]]s. Demolishor saves Cyclonus from falling into a fissure, while the Autobots assist their begrudging allies. Demolishor saves Side Swipe from falling into another fissure, and Hot Shot thanks the Decepticon by re-uniting Demolishor with Blackout—a tender moment. Optimus and Galvatron arrive to bring the group home.

From a distance, the armada witnesses Unicron complete his transformation into [[robot mode]], ready to devour the planet.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] (17)
* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (18)
* [[Side Swipe (Armada)|Side Swipe]] (19)
* [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Hoist]] (20)
* [[Blurr (Armada)|Blurr]] (21)
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Hot Shot]] (22)
* [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] (23)
* [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (25)
* Generic Autobots

|c2=
* [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] (2)
* [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (3)
* [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] (4)
* [[Wheeljack (Armada)|Wheeljack]] (5)
* [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]] (6)
* Generic Decepticons

|c3=
* [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] (9)
* [[Rad White|Rad]] (13)
* [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] (14)
* [[Fred (Armada)|Fred]] (15)
* [[Billy (Armada)|Billy]] (16)

|h4=[[Mini-Con]]s|c4=
* [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] (10)
* [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] (11)
* [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (12)
* [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]] (24)
* [[Blackout (Armada)|Blackout]] (26)
* [[Dead End Drone]]s (27)

|h5=Other|c5=
* [[Unicron]] (1)
* [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] (7)
* [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
[[File:Jetfire Shake Hands.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Believe it or not, this ''is'' the correct [[scale]] between the two characters.]]

"Right now, all I can think about is the comrade we lost. Sure, he challenged my authority in a failed coup attempt, and even though Starscream was a traitor, he never lost sight of his oath to the Decepticons. He was a true soldier, unlike most of ''you''!"
:—'''Galvatron''' defends Starscream's memory from the jibes of the other Decepticons.

'''Demolishor:''' "I'm only doing this because I'm following Galvatron's orders." 
'''Cyclonus:''' "Ha! I can't believe I'm fighting for harmony! What a load of bunk! I'm a lean, mean, fighting machine! Hahahaha!" 
'''Side Swipe:''' "I gotta work with this guy? I'm not so sure about this."
:—The truce gets off to a shaky start.

"Tidal Wave..." 
"Uh...nice meetin' ya."
:—'''Tidal Wave''' and '''Jetfire''' shaking hands.

"I can't believe I just saved Prime!"
:—An incredulous '''Galvatron''' after he destroys a cannon targeted at Optimus Prime.

'''Rad:''' "I've never seen anything like it... it's like I'm staring into the face of pure evil..." 
'''Everyone at once:''' "He's gigantic!"
:—'''The kids''' are definitely going to need therapy when this is all over.
{{--}}

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Legends of the Microns''===
*At the start of the episode, Demolishor and Cyclonus question Galvatron's decision to join the Autobots without moving their mouths. This is due to the dub extending their lines, as in the original they didn't speak during the shot where their faces are shown.
*The original has Demolishor lamenting Starscream's death, while in the ''Armada'' he claims he was a traitor who got what he deserved.
*In ''Armada'', Hot Shot tells Demolishor to be quiet even though the latter just says he doesn't want to get shot by Unicron. ''Legends of the Microns'' just has Demolishor's saying that the Autobots sound overly optimistic, with Hot Shot's responding with "What was that?!"

===Animation and technical errors===
*Strangely, some errors present are exclusive to ''Legends of the Microns'', whereas ''Armada'' actually fixes them. Granted, it's a ''very'' small number and the episode is otherwise the same animation wise, but still odd, especially since it's ''always'' the opposite. This is the only episode of the entire cartoon that has this quirk, so guess someone must've messed up which version to broadcast. This includes:
**When Galvatron delivers his speech after punching Cyclonus, Wheeljack is colored like [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]]. ''Armada'' has him colored properly (albeit with the red eyes remaining). However, in a later shot when the Decepticons are running, Wheeljack is once again incorrectly colored with Sparkplug's palette.
**When Galvatron shoots at Unicron, his blaster is incorrectly colored white. ''Armada'' fixes this by making it the proper black dark gray and yellow.
** In two shots while in planet mode, Unicron is missing one of his arms.
**When the Autobots and Decepticons go to Unicron with their pods, the former faction seemingly stop in the air when they are trying to land. ''Armada'' fixes this by making them actually land on the ground.
*At several points throughout the opening scene, the Decepticons are all drawn with hideously faulty character models with poor proportions and lack of detail.
*As the Decepticons prepare to launch the ship to escape from Unicron's gravitational pull, generic Decepticons using [[Inferno (Armada)|Inferno]], [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]], and the [[Air Military Mini-Con Team]]'s [[character model]]s are standing in the ship's hangar bay.
*The [[Race Mini-Con Team|Race Team Mini-Con]] Mirage appears among the Mini-Cons there, but he should be with Thrust inside Unicron by now, as the traitorous Decepticon had stolen the [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]] several episodes earlier. However, this could be just another case of model reuse.
*In the same scene, Wheeljack has been colored as Sideways.
*Several of the Mini-Cons protecting the ''Axalon'' and the Autobot fleet during the lift-off from Cybertron use Generation 1 character models instead of Mini-Con character models.
*The four generic Decepticons on the mission to Unicron change colour between each shot.
*When Jet Optimus attacks the Dead End Drones surrounding Hot Shot and Demolishor's recon team, the laser blast comes from in front of the first drone destroyed, rather than behind (the direction from which Prime is coming).
*Unless [[size changing]] occurs when Galvatron and Tidal Wave combine, there's no way Galvatron should be able to pick up Demolishor and Cyclonus with each hand.
*When shaking hands with Tidal Wave, Jetfire's wings are shortened to just above his head. This is possibly to continue the tradition of exaggerating Tidal Wave's size.
**Oddly, despite the change in length of his wings, the characters are drawn to be in accurate [[scale]] with one another.
*When Optimus gives the order to fire only on Unicron's northern hemisphere, the very next shot shows Unicron being fired upon all over his planet mode.

===Continuity notes===
*Despite destroying Starscream for firing upon him in the previous episode, Unicron doesn't seem to mind Galvatron doing exactly the same thing.
*Assuming the episode was entirely in real-time, Unicron's transformation took close to seven minutes.
*The three Mini-Con super weapons are used to fully restore Unicron's power. Guess the Mini-Cons really are Unicron's cells.
*Unicron's innards appear to be [[technorganic]].
*Gadgets and powers:
**Unicron fires lasers from the chunks on the right side of his planet mode (the ones that house the Mini-Con gimmick to fire the leg missiles on the toy).
**Unicron's surface can deploy drones to attack any unwanted guests, specifically the Autobots and Decepticons.
**Mid-transformation, Unicron uses his shoulder/planet horns to fire an energy beam at Jet Optimus.
**The inside of Hot Shot's shin apparently has hollow space, big enough to store a Mini-Con. As an added piece of toy acurracy, his shins open on the transformation hinges of his toy.
**Unicron has a surface-based turret he uses to try to shoot Optimus in the back.

===Continuity errors===
*Cyclonus is in danger of falling into a hole, having apparently forgotten that ''he can fly'', which he was doing ''moments before''. It's possible that he's just that stupid, but not likely.

===Transformers references===
*Several parts of Unicron's transformation sequence are a visual homage to his transformation in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.

===Trivia===
[[File:Armada decepticons alliance.jpg|thumb|Galvatron...Emperor Palpatine...What's the difference?]]
*The English version of "Alliance" first aired in the United Kingdom. It aired in the United States on [[December 9]], 2003.
*Various cameos appear in the hand-shaking scene, including [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and a palette-swapped [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] of the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].
*The generic Decepticons sent to Unicron to assist the named characters have Generation 1 character models (namely [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] and [[Buster (G1)|Buster]]) but with radically different color schemes. They totally {{w|Redshirt (character)|all died}}.
*Various [[generic]] Mini-Cons use the Generation 1 [[Throttlebot]] designs.
*Unicron's transformation sequence, while homaging the Generation 1 version of the sequence, also transforms accurately to the toy.
*Yes, the combined forces of Autobots, Decepticons, and Mini-Cons is what the "Armada" in the title of the series stands for.
*According to ''[[Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003]]'':
**Cyclonus saying that fighting is the only thing makes him feel alive might be one of his few highlights.
**The time during the making of these last episodes were particularly difficult. Everyone was desperate for the final episode to be finished and only such a difficult thing was remembered.
***[[Munetaka Abe]] was busy with animating Starscream's death in "[[Cramp]]", Unicron's transformation in this episode, Overload's robot mode in "[[Union]]", and being the animation director for "[[Mortal Combat]]". When commenting on Unicron's transformation, Abe stated he used quite a bit of motion tweeks so that the animation didn't take too much time to work on. It was hard but he had a lot of fun.
***[[Hidehito Ueda]] was troubled with the storyboards for "[[Portent]]", "[[Union]]", and "[[Mortal Combat]]", while [[Takeshi Sano]] and [[Masami Nagata]] worked as the storyboarder and animation director respectively for "[[Drift (episode)|Drift]]" and "[[Origin]]".

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mit vereinten Kräften'''" ("With Joint Forces")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 13|13 January]] [[2004]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Felderítés'''" ("Recon")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Alleanza'''" ("Alliance")

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Aliança'''" ("Alliance")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Legends of the Microns'' — Volume 13 ([[Columbia Music Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2006 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Season One: Part Two ([[Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2009 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Volume Two ([[New KSM]]) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — The Complete Series ([[Shout! Factory]])

[[Category:Armada episodes]]