It has become pretty common for animated films to traumatize the young audiences watching them, but back in 1986, it wasn’t something people were used to. In the back half of the ’80s and beyond, there are tons of examples of animated movies that didn’t shy away from breaking the hearts of their audience. The Lion King killed Mufasa in devastating fashion, Up made people cry before the first 10 minutes had concluded, The Land Before Time is a crushing film, and Coco hits hard emotionally in its climax. That said, a traumatizing event isn’t something children were expecting when they watched the first film adaptation of one of the most beloved and iconic animated series of the ’80s.
At the time, fans were used to low stakes in fun episodes where not much about the status quo actually changed, yet one major adaptation in 1986 did just that and altered the future of the long-running franchise. Just about two years into its run as a hugely popular TV series, Transformers released its first feature film, The Transformers: The Movie. Set 20 years after the events of the show, it still featured the characters who kids had come to love, so it was truly unexpected when a major character died in the first 20 minutes.
The Decepticons and Autobots fight almost immediately at the start of The Transformers: The Movie. It leads to a big showdown between Megatron and Optimus Prime, complete with an epic use of “The Touch” by Stan Bush. A distraction allowed Megatron to shoot Optimus multiple times, and though both are heavily damaged in the fight, the film revealed that Optimus succumbs to his injuries and dies. In a franchise like Transformers, this is the kind of thing that never happens, so this shocked and traumatized kids everywhere.
The Autobots and Decepticons fought, much like G.I. Joe and Cobra, yet there were never any lasting casualties. This movie’s choice to kill off a character was stunning on its own, but the fact that it was Optimus Prime, the series’ protagonist, was unfathomable; it just wasn’t something that was done. The Transformers: The Movie gave Optimus a heroic death and passed the torch onto Hot Rod, capping a really fun, albeit devastating, film. It was a bold move that made fans wonder how the series could continue without its star.
People wondered why The Transformers would pull off such a daring and risky move. Eventually, it came out that Hasbro, the owners of the franchise, demanded that the movie introduce new characters. The idea was that new characters, or new versions of existing characters like Hot Rod becoming Rodimus Prime, meant that fans would have to go out and purchase new toys. Reportedly, the team behind the film and the show were against this concept, yet Hasbro insisted, and they went through with it.
To whit, they even killed off other popular Autobots like Ratchet and Ironhide. Alas, Hasbro’s plan backfired. Reception to the film was poor (though it has become a cult favorite in the time since), and there was public outcry from fans about these deaths. Hasbro’s mail was flooded with handwritten complaints about their decision, and eventually, Optimus had to be revived in the television series. Even now, anniversary re-releases of the film lean into apologizing for Optimus Prime’s death.
There weren’t any big screen adaptations of Transformers until Michael Bay brought them to live-action in 2007. While his movies were blockbuster hits at the box office, they mostly received poor reviews from critics and even some longtime fans. In the years since he directed those films, Bumblebee and Transformers One were better received, yet none have been able to match what The Transformers: The Movie did. As controversial as it was to kill Optimus, the epic tragedy of the scene can’t be denied.
The music swells as Optimus steps up to face his greatest foe. Their clash is as good as it gets for the series at the time, and it ends in a stalemate since both are left for dead. If a character like Optimus has to die, he needs to go out like a hero, which the film accomplished. The live-action Transformers never lived up to that, even though Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tried. The film kills off Optimus early on and then resurrects him by the conclusion, yet it never felt like as big a deal as it should have.
The only film that has matched or even bested the moment of Optimus’ death is Transformers One. The underrated animated movie has a tremendous scene where D-16 becomes Megatron and allows Orion Pax to fall to his death, only for the Matrix to revive Orion as Optimus Prime. It feels like an epic moment in a great movie and is fitting of the franchise’s greatest hero.
