Older animations getting a full 4K restoration is pretty rare with the exception of a selection of Disney classics and some Japanese titles, so Hasbro, eOne and Shout! Factory are certainly pulling out all of the stops to ensure that the 35th Anniversary is a memorable one for The Transformers. Despite its enduring status as a longtime favorite among Transformers fans, the continuation of the zeitgeist-grabbing animated series bombed at the box office after getting lost in the shuffle during a crowded summer of 1986, while it even gained a level of infamy for upsetting younger viewers after Hasbro’s demands for a full product refresh saw the filmmakers mercilessly slaughter the majority of the most popular characters, including Optimus Prime.
The Movie is also notable for being the final role for both the legendary Orson Welles and The Shining’s Scatman Crothers, while Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy and Eric Idle were some of the other famous faces to step into the recording booth. Netflix’s War for Cybertron trilogy concludes this summer and Nickelodeon announced a new Transformers cartoon this February, but the animated OG is finally on its way to 4K on August 31.
This comes packed with special features including new storyboards, deleted, alternate and extended scenes from the film, an audio commentary with director Nelson Shin, story consultant Flint Dille and star Susan Blu, who voiced Arcee. On top of that, deep-dive documentary ‘Til All Are One looks back at the movie with cast members Gregg Berger, Neil Ross, Dan Gilvezan, composer Vince Dicola and songwriter Stan Bush all sharing their memories of their time spent on Cybertron.
