Today’s episode is beyond good, beyond evil, beyond your wildest imagination … because it looks at the seminal 1980’s animation classic Transformers: The Movie! Like Pennywise luring so many children to their unsuspecting doom, this beautiful & enticing film shattered the innocence of so many childhoods. But unlike that hellish clown, this film does have many virtues that Greg has brought Chad Bowers and Tom Scioli on board to celebrate for the film’s 35th anniversary.
Does the movie still hold up? What made it look so different than the cartoon that spawned it? Which soundtrack hit almost ended up in another 80’s film? How could the filmmakers misjudge their audience’s attachment to these toys so badly? Answers to questions like this and more, plus a broader discussion of seminal deaths & resurrections in genre franchises: who are we glad came back, and who should have stayed in the grave?