Transformers 40th Anniversary Event

The Transformers 40th Anniversary Event was a theatrical event held on May 15, 18, and 19, 2024 and distributed by Trafalgar Releasing. In addition to screening the first four episodes of the 1984 The Transformers cartoon, the main feature was a table read of "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1," performed by members of the original cast and other Transformers alumni. A plethora of Transformers commercials and an exclusive clip for the second season of Transformers: EarthSpark was also shown.

40 YEARS. ONE LEGACY.press release

"More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" table read

The cast opened by discussing the legacy of Transformers, intercut with previous footage of them and clips from the cartoon (with a Teletraan 1-themed border) before introducing themselves and their major roles. Within a similar Teletraan 1 border, the episode played on the left and the actors' performance played on the right, with their role labelled underneath (with red or purple coloration). In front of them were toys of the characters they play.

The cast:

• Michael Bell: Prowl
• Frank Todaro: Reflector, Sparkplug Witwicky, Starscream, Wheeljack
• Arif S. Kinchen: Jazz
• Paul Eiding: Hound, Ratchet, Teletraan 1, Thundercracker
• Dan Gilvezan: Bumblebee, Crewman #1, Shockwave
• Peter Cullen: Ironhide, Optimus Prime
• Frank Welker: Megatron, Mirage, Rumble, Skywarp, Soundwave
• Gregg Berger: Cliffjumper, Decepticon Leader, Human Powerplant Worker #1, Human Powerplant Worker #2, Narrator, Spike Witwicky

After the read, a series of bloopers were played, intercut with Dan Gilvezan and Michael Bell reflecting.

Trivia

• Cullen, Welker, Gilvezan, and Bell reprise roles from the original series, and Kinchen and Todaro from later series. Eiding and Berger also return from the original, but as different characters, mostly covering for Corey Burton, Victor Caroli, and the late Casey Kasem, Don Messick, Ken Sansom, and John Stephenson. Berger also plays most of the generic characters, including those originally from Cullen and Gilvezan. Meanwhile, Todaro plays all of the roles belonging to the late Chris Latta.
• Vintage G1 Blaster and Retro Skywarp were placed in front of Kinchen, despite him not playing either and Blaster not even appearing in the first season! Retro Laserbeak was also incorrectly placed in front of Welker, though that is likely because he plays Soundwave.
• Two of Welker's readings have slight errors: Megatron's line, "Starscream, only a select few ever leave [lead]" and Soundwave's line, "We can concentrate the energy into Energon tubes [cubes] and store them in the new space cruiser."
• Jazz's line, "All systems go!", is not redubbed.
• Soundwave's lines, "Proceed, Thundercracker" and "Autobots are set to launch Megatron" are not redubbed.
• Ravage's animal effects are not redubbed.
• The commercial bumpers do not have narration.

Other episodes

"More than Meets the Eye, Part 2," "More than Meets the Eye, Part 3," and "Transport to Oblivion," played immediately after the table read, with the Teletraan 1 border and without the title sequence. Humorously, the end credits were sped up. Less humorously, these episodes used the lower quality Rhino Entertainment releases. The showing ended with the "Don't run away from home" public service announcement, followed by a memoriam for Scatman Crothers, Casey Kasem, Don Messick, Ken Sansom, John Stephenson, and Chris Latta.

International releases

Italy

The Italian version of the event lacked most of the pre-show commercials, with only the EarthSpark preview being shown. The first episode, the other segments involving the cast, and the PSA were shown in English with subtitles, while the other episodes received a brand new dub.

Germany

In Germany viewers were shown the Earthspark preview and the first episode script-reading with the cast and the PSA. The three other episodes received a brand-new German dub, too.

Trivia

• The existence of this event was revealed by Event Cinemas Australia on March 31, three days ahead of the official reveal.
• Megatron is drawn in the event poster with a gray cannon, which is coincidentally an animation error in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1."
• Theater showtimes named the event as "Transformers: 40th Anniversary Event."
• Hasbro Pulse ran a giveaway for two tickets to the event, along with a HasLab Deathsaurus.
• Beverage cups and popcorn buckets, with 1984 The Transformers package art, were sold at Regal and Cinemark theaters.
• Unfortunately, Crothers's name is misspelled as "Scattman Crothers." The screen also misspelled Bluestreak's name as "Bluestreaker," and misattributed Huffer to Sansom instead of Stephenson. Furthermore, Sansom and Latta were not credited for Hound and Sparkplug, respectively.