STACK #264 October 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

DVD

Blu-ray

4K

Transformers: The Movie is out Dec 2

Pre-order now!

a generation of young viewers, transforming a familiar Saturday morning hero into a piece of childhood history. It was a movie unafraid to take risks. Along the way came a spectacular roll call of new Autobots and Decepticons, including Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Arcee, Springer, Kup, Cyclonus, and Scourge, while the voice cast featured Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, and Robert Stack, alongside many of the series' returning performers. And then there was the soundtrack. Featuring songs from the likes of Stan Bush, Lion, and Spectre General, it gave The Movie an unmistakably '80s rock'n'roll attitude, with The Touch becoming an enduring anthem for Transformers fans. 40 years later, Transformers: The Movie remains a remarkable time capsule of the decade and a landmark moment in the franchise. It was bigger, louder, and more ambitious than anything the TV series could deliver, and for a generation of fans, it was their first taste of just how spectacular Transformers could be. Now it's ready to transform your home entertainment setup once again, with its arrival on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.

Forty years after it first transformed the big screen, Transformers:The Movie is ready to roll out again. Words Glenn Cochrane

F or a lot of Gen Xers, Saturday mornings were spent watching the Transformers animated series. And then there was Transformers: The Movie , a cinematic event that would have kids talking in schoolyards for months. Released in 1986, the movie arrived at a pivotal point in the animated series, effectively bridging

It was also considerably darker than the series that preceded it. The arrival of Unicron, a planet sized Transformer voiced by screen legend Orson Welles, provided an enormous threat, but it was the fate

the gap between its second and third seasons. Rather than simply giving fans a feature-length version of the TV show, The Movie expanded the Transformers universe, jumped the story forward to 2005, and introduced a whole new generation of characters.

of Optimus Prime that left the deepest mark. His death was an extraordinary moment for

imagination long before you see them on a screen. A toy can become the starting point for an entire adventure, with the transformation itself becoming part of the storytelling. And the formula is remarkably flexible. Change the setting, redesign the characters, introduce a new generation

of robots and suddenly Transformers feels fresh again without losing what made it special in the first place. For longtime fans, there's also the joy of rediscovery. A familiar character can bring back memories of childhood, while a new design or new interpretation can offer something completely different to appreciate. You can be in it for the nostalgia, the collecting, the stories, the engineering, or simply the sheer spectacle. Perhaps that's the real reason Transformers has lasted. It doesn't ask you to choose between being a fan of toys, movies, animation, or comics. It gives you an excuse to enjoy all of them. They're robots. They transform. They look incredibly cool. Sometimes, that's all you need.

There are plenty of toy franchises that have come and gone over the decades, but Transformers has managed something remarkable: it has remained just as much fun to play with as it is to watch, read about, and collect. And perhaps the secret is right there in the name. There's something so satisfying about taking a vehicle, aircraft, or other piece of machinery and, with a few twists, turns, and clicks, revealing the robot hidden inside. It's part puzzle, part magic trick, and part action figure, all rolled into one. Better still, you get to perform

the transformation yourself. In playground speak, that's "epic!" But Transformers isn't simply about the mechanics. The toys become more engaging because they have personalities. A figure isn't just a cool-looking robot on a shelf, it's Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Starscream, or Grimlock. You can recreate a favourite scene, invent a new battle, or simply transform the figure back and forth because, well, it's incredibly satisfying. That's where Transformers has always had an advantage. The characters can exist in your

OCTOBER 2026

jbhifi.com.au

6