To celebrate the 1986 film, Hasbro rereleased Transformers: The Movie in 4K as part of its ‘Apology Tour’
The movie that ruined childhoods returns to the cinema, giving those who were too young — or unable to see it — the opportunity to see Transformers: The Movie. Brought back in 4K and digitally remastered, it also featured a post-credits short film titled, Optimus Prime: Awakening.
A Remastered Film and New Toys
After giving us two seasons of sentient robotic wars, Optimus Prime and Megatron took to the big screen to slug it out one last time… until season three. To see it on the big screen is not exactly a one-off or an exclusive, though this time is different.
After 40 years, Hasbro peddled ‘The Apology Tour’ as a way to sink into our wallets, producing a bunch of more faithful toy lines than the convenience-store looking knock-offs we got as kids.
And it worked! Here we are, after all our complaints about bad paint jobs and lacklustre quality control, stuffing our shelves with more plastic nostalgia.
The Verdict: A Bright Future?
What can I say? The movie is as good as ever, and the animation remains some of the franchise’s best to date, thanks to the team at Toei (responsible for Dragon Ball Z and more). While we all complained that we hated the film for killing off our beloved favourites, I do think Hasbro were right — it needed a refresh.
But that could have been rendered in several different ways, including switching animation studios. The movie showcased just how much a switch-up in the art department can do.
There is something about the movie that continues to draw audiences into the franchise, and Hasbro continues to either misread the room or fail to begin a new series at all.
If Transformers is to survive, we need new and more material beyond the comics and re-runs of G1 and Beast Wars. What we have right now just ain’t cutting it.
Need to Know
- 1986 worldwide box office: $5.88 million
- 2026 40th-anniversary worldwide box office: $5.02 million
- 1986 cinema count: 990
- 2026 cinema count: 1,454
- Newly restored in 4K
- Post credits short: Optimus Prime: Awakening
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