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| Source: DEG / Hasbro, The Transformers: The Movie, 1986 |
I am definitely an 80s kid, born in 1981 to be exact. Growing up with Saturday morning cartoons at Sky Channel’s Fun Factory. With the likes of Masters of the Universe, Inspector Gadget, and, of course, The Transformers!
Now imagine going from episode 65 - B.O.T. (The Transformers cartoon, season 2), where all the characters that you learned to love since the beginning of the show are present. Then, directly switching over to Five Faces of Darkness Part 1 (episode 66, season 3), with zero knowledge of anything that played out during the movie. That is what happened specifically for Dutch kids growing up in the 80s. Of course, it must have been very traumatic seeing Optimus die on the big screen. Let’s not diminish that. But being unaware of what happened to him, and not knowing why or how he is not present in episode 66, makes it equally as bad. After watching Five Faces of Darkness Part 1, I had so many questions. Who’s this purple Megatron? Why are we in space? Who are all these new characters? Where are all the cars and jets? But above all, why is this Rodimus Prime leading the Autobots right now? You have to take into account that in those days, hardly any information was leaked or shared. Plots weren’t spoiled like nowadays. Information did not travel that fast. There was no internet, of course, so the accessibility and availability of content was very limited.
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| "Does Prime die?!" Source: DEG / Hasbro, The Transformers: The Movie, 1986 |
This article perfectly blends two of my favourite passions into one. Movies and Transformers. It was only a matter of time before I would write about both. I just needed to find the right angle. In conjunction, this year also celebrates the 40th Anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie. So everything falls into place.
Let's start! The first question that arises. Why was the movie never released in Dutch cinemas? To answer that, we need to go back to the movie and its initial release in the US.
Even though the movie is praised and loved these days by Transformers fans and cartoon enthusiasts, including me. It was not quite the case during its first run in American cinemas in the summer of 1986. As is widely known, the theatrical release of The Transformers: The Movie was a box office bomb. It was a huge failure; it was very unsuccessful in terms of revenue. It got a lot of negative reviews from the press, as well as a lot of backlash from the initial audience that saw it. Parents were mad because their kids came traumatized out of the cinemas.
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| Source: Unknown. Spoilers ahead ;) |
The details
The following section gets a little data-heavy:
The Transformers: The Movie
Release date, August 8, 1986.
US (domestic) all-time gross of $5,849,647.
The movie was distributed by DEG (De Laurentiis Entertainment Group). A fairly small and new company in the movie industry at the time, which released multiple box office failures. Their biggest movie release was probably Raw Deal (June 6, 1986).
In its opening weekend, the most important moment for a movie, it only did $1,779,559, at rank 14 on the US box office. The movie played at 990 (prints) theatres. The second weekend it dropped -48%! Only to make another $925,247. It was a huge disappointment at the box office for a movie that cost around $6 million to make. Opening on spot 14 for a new movie can be classified as a failure.
In its opening weekend, the most important moment for a movie, it only did $1,779,559, at rank 14 on the US box office. The movie played at 990 (prints) theatres. The second weekend it dropped -48%! Only to make another $925,247. It was a huge disappointment at the box office for a movie that cost around $6 million to make. Opening on spot 14 for a new movie can be classified as a failure.
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Other new releases that week were One Crazy Summer (#4), A Fine Mess (#9), Stand By Me (#18), and She’s Gotta Have It (#19).
With Aliens (in its fourth week) still dominating the box office that weekend, followed by The Karate Kid Part II (week 8), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (week 2), and Top Gun (week 13), to name a few. A disaster was waiting to happen for the theatrical run of The Transformers: The Movie.
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| Source: Box Office Mojo, weekend of August 8, 1986 |
Earlier that year, another big Hasbro cartoon franchise saw its theatrical release, also distributed by DEG. My Little Pony: The Movie. Unfortunately, that movie underwent the same fate; it became a huge financial fiasco. It did very similar numbers to The Transformers.
Releasing June 8, 1986. It opened at the number 10 spot with a weekend box office of $416,108. Released at 421 sites, which is already a sign that it's a relatively smaller release.
It went up against Raw Deal (#2, 1,731 sites), SpaceCamp (#6, 979 sites), and Invaders from Mars (#7, 1,212 sites). Even though the movie went up in revenue in its second playweek (+62,2%), as well as the number of prints (+313). It still ended poorly, doing only $5,958,456 in total. These are very similar to the numbers that The Transformers: The Movie did.
It went up against Raw Deal (#2, 1,731 sites), SpaceCamp (#6, 979 sites), and Invaders from Mars (#7, 1,212 sites). Even though the movie went up in revenue in its second playweek (+62,2%), as well as the number of prints (+313). It still ended poorly, doing only $5,958,456 in total. These are very similar to the numbers that The Transformers: The Movie did.
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| Source: Box Office Mojo, weekend of June 8, 1986 |
The year of the Mouse
What other animated movies were released in 1986?
1986, in general, wasn’t the best year for animated movies. Only two movies managed to be a decent success that year. Incidentally, both had mice as their lead characters. Firstly, Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective. Released on the 4th of July, 1986. The opening weekend did $3,220,225 at rank 9. It ended up doing $25,336,794 in total at the box office. A lot more than The Transformer: The Movie. But compared to other Walt Disney Animation Studios releases, it was one of their smaller titles. Oliver & Company (1988, $74,151,346) and The Little Mermaid (1989, $111,543,479).
The title for the most successful animated movie that year went to another little mouse called Fivel. In An American Tail.
Release date: November 21, 1986
BO: $47,483,002
Theatres: 1.249
The movie opened at the number two spot, with a weekend box office of $5,234,446. That’s almost as much as The Transformers: The Movie made in its whole run.
BO: $47,483,002
Theatres: 1.249
The movie opened at the number two spot, with a weekend box office of $5,234,446. That’s almost as much as The Transformers: The Movie made in its whole run.
Other animated movies that were released in 1986.
The Transformers’ direct competitor, GoBots, also had their theatrical premiere. With GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords. It was an even bigger disaster than the Transformers movie.
Release date: March 21, 1986
BO: $1,338,264
Theatres: 1.045
Release date: March 21, 1986
BO: $1,338,264
Theatres: 1.045
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, the sequel to the 1985 movie, was released within a year. It did way worse than its predecessor ($22,934,622).
Release date: March 21, 1986
BO: $8,540,346
Theatres: 1.476
Heatcliff: The Movie
Release date: January 17, 1986
BO: $2,610,686
Theatres: NA
It seemed that a lot of 80s cartoon broadcasters tried to amplify their weekly small-screen success to the big screen in 1986. Heatcliff, Gobots, Care Bears, My Little Pony, and The Transformers all tried to take a shot in the same year, and all failed miserably. It shows that a 20-minute children’s cartoon does not easily transfer to a larger cinematic experience. Especially if it’s treated like an extended toy commercial that’s trying to sell/market the newest product.
Europe
How was the situation in other European countries at that time?
How was the situation in other European countries at that time?
Some European countries did get a theatrical release, but later than the US release (August 8, 1986), of course. Two to be exact. Only the United Kingdom and France released the movie in theatres. Interestingly, both countries have their own uniquely designed Movie Posters.
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| Source: TFRaw. UK Quad movie poster. Rank Film Distributors |
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| Source: TFRaw. French movie poster. Les Films Number One / CDA / M.G. Distribution |
The UK, for obvious reasons, was the first to get the movie in cinemas, and not that much later than the US. Released by Rank Film Distributors on December 12, 1986. After that, the French Les Films Number One / CDA / M.G. Distribution released it on April 8, 1987. The reason why it was much later than the UK or the US is because of dubbing. What is dubbing? Dubbing is re-recording dialogue in a different language, replacing its original audio track. All dialogue needed to be redone into French. Which, at that time (the analog age), took a lot longer and was a lot more costly than these days. Europe has a history of dubbing its content. Most Western European countries dub all their international movies. Especially France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. The Netherlands really stands out here. Most movies are released in their original language. Children’s movies are the exception to this rule and mostly get dubbed.
That brings us back to the first question: Why did the movie not get a theatrical release in the Netherlands?
The Netherlands
I have been working in the Dutch film industry for almost 25 years, so you could argue that I should be familiar with how the system works. I will try to explain the process.
The Netherlands is a very small country, 14,5 Million inhabitants around 1986. Since the movie had failed at the box office in all the countries that received a theatrical release, it would have been very hard to justify a release in the Netherlands. At that time, up until around 2009, movies were printed on 35mm celluloid film stock. A very costly, time-consuming, and delicate process, especially in those days.
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| Source: TFRaw. The Transformers: The Movie 35mm trailer |
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| Source: TFRaw. The Transformers: The Movie 35mm trailer |
For a movie to be released in cinemas, a (Dutch) movie distributor needed to buy the rights for the Dutch market, like they did for the UK and France. In this case, directly from the DEG group. No company dared to take that risk. Before it could be shown in cinemas, a high investment needed to be made. Buying the distribution rights in the first place. Dubbing it in Dutch with a voice-actors cast in a recording studio, lab costs for printing it on 35mm film material, and a big marketing budget (p&a; print and advertisement budget). All those steps are necessary before it can even be released in the cinema and start to recoup some money.
Dutch Mice
As for the other 1986 animated movies that got released in cinemas in the US, which ones made it to Dutch theatres?
Obviously, Walt Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective (Dutch title: De Speurneuzen) was released in Dutch cinemas. More than half a year later, after the US release, on December 18, 1986. Since it was released by a big studio, Walt Disney Pictures. Distributing it worldwide was different compared to the situation of The Transformers: The Movie, because Disney already owned the rights for all territories worldwide. Unfortunately, no data on the Dutch box office exists.
The same goes for An American Tail (Dutch title: Een Avontuur met een Staartje, July 16, 1987. Released almost 7 months later. Also, Fivel was distributed by a big studio, Universal (in the Netherlands at that time, United International Pictures, UIP).
The other DEG release, My Little Pony: The Movie (Mijn Lieve Pony: De Film), did get a Dutch release in cinemas almost two years after the US, on June 30, 1988. It was dubbed in Dutch by PJP Filmstudio. It’s unknown who distributed it or what box office numbers it did. But it’s very likely it also tanked over here.
Also, the Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (Dutch title: De Troetelbeertjes II: Een Nieuwe Generatie) was released in Dutch cinemas. April 9, 1987. Distributed by Columbia International Film. Box office numbers are unknown.
Unfortunately, like The Transformers, the Gobots, and Heatcliff underwent the same fate. No theatrical releases for those movies.
The windows
In 1986, nearly as many movies were released in cinemas as these days (2026). With the digital age, it is a lot more cost-effective to make and distribute a movie compared to the analog age of the 1980s. Also, our accessibility to content is way different than in those times, of course. Now we have all these possibilities, with devices (computers, phones, tablets, television) and the internet (streamers, piracy, physical media) to consume content compared to the straightforward ways in the 80s.
The life cycle of a film was so much slower-paced and linear than these days. It took so much longer before movies were available after their previous release window. What is the movie window? It's the scheduled period of time during which a film is exclusive to a specific distribution channel. In the 80s, you could either go to the cinema, wait 6 months to a year for a VHS rental, or buy. Then, two to three years after the theatrical release, it probably aired on (free) television. As you can tell, that’s a lot longer than these days.
Straight to TV
Because no Dutch film distributor dared to take the risk of buying the distribution rights for the Netherlands and releasing it in cinemas. The movie skipped cinemas completely over here. It was a Dutch television broadcaster, VOO (Veronica Omroep Organisatie), that bought the rights to the movie for television. So Instead the film got a TV premiere on October 18, 1989. More than three(!) years after its original US release in cinemas. The movie was presented in its original language version. No dubbing of the voices was done, but they did include Dutch subtitles. Again, to save costs as much as possible. There was no Dutch movie poster or trailer available to promote the movie. Maybe a Dutch television promo, that’s all unknown, unfortunately. Most likely, it just got released without being a big event. It just was there; it came and went. Only a small mention in the Dutch TV guides.
Because no Dutch film distributor dared to take the risk of buying the distribution rights for the Netherlands and releasing it in cinemas. The movie skipped cinemas completely over here. It was a Dutch television broadcaster, VOO (Veronica Omroep Organisatie), that bought the rights to the movie for television. So Instead the film got a TV premiere on October 18, 1989. More than three(!) years after its original US release in cinemas. The movie was presented in its original language version. No dubbing of the voices was done, but they did include Dutch subtitles. Again, to save costs as much as possible. There was no Dutch movie poster or trailer available to promote the movie. Maybe a Dutch television promo, that’s all unknown, unfortunately. Most likely, it just got released without being a big event. It just was there; it came and went. Only a small mention in the Dutch TV guides.
Broadcast on Wednesday, October 18, 1989, at 4pm.
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| Source: Leidse Courant. Tuesday, October 17, 1989 |
The Comic adaptation
The closest thing that we got to the movie release was the comic book adaptation. I unfortunately never had that as a kid.
The closest thing that we got to the movie release was the comic book adaptation. I unfortunately never had that as a kid.
The comic in the US was released by Marvel Comics and was a spin-off from the ongoing series of The Transformers. The Transformers: The Movie was a limited series consisting of three issues. The first was released in December 1986. Which is 4 months after the theatrical release. The Dutch version was a translated version of these comic books, and was released in October 1987 by JuniorPress. Almost a year after the American version. The three parts were combined into one big Special.
The Toys
What about the toys? Some of the movie toys were available in the Netherlands around 1986. With the likes of Kup, Blurr, Scourge, and Cyclonus. But like a lot of Transformers releases in Europe, not everything got released in sync with the US. Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Wreck-Gar, Galvatron, and Gnaw (possibly in France only) were released the next year, in 1987. Still, the toys would be available a year before the movie was broadcast on Television.
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| Source: Boonsart |
The funny thing is, the character that got the most hate/backlash from the movie, yes, of course, I am talking about Hot Rod. Was not available in Mainland Europe during its initial release. In the Netherlands, we had to wait until 1987 to get the Targetmaster version.
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So did I eventually get to see the movie?
When they finally premiered the movie on Dutch television, I was 8 years old. The Transformers were replaced by other popular 80s toy franchises. At that point, I was far more interested in the new hypes of the moment. The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and my Nintendo 8-bit (NES).
A buddy of mine saw the television premiere and vividly remembered it. Stefan (Killbison): “I saw it back then. Yes, it was in English, on Veronica. There was also a picture of the movie in the Veronica TV guide at the time, in the daily guide.”
A buddy of mine saw the television premiere and vividly remembered it. Stefan (Killbison): “I saw it back then. Yes, it was in English, on Veronica. There was also a picture of the movie in the Veronica TV guide at the time, in the daily guide.”
I came to know about the existence of the movie around 1999, I would say. At the beginning of the Internet and file sharing. So, more than 10 years after the first Dutch release of the movie in 1989 on television, it was my first encounter with the movie!
The Return
The absence of the movie in my childhood is probably the reason why I got so much love for the two-parter The Return of Optimus Prime (episode 94 + 95, season 3). Besides it being one of the greatest comebacks of all time, it also really felt like a closure of the series, the grand finale. For me, The Transformers ended here on a very high note. Prime was BACK! How was not important. He restored the peace in the universe, he got rid of the hate plague, and led the Autobots once again. It couldn’t have been a better ending for me. Luckily, I didn’t know there were three monstrosities of episodes after season 3, with the likes of Rebirth part 1-3, in season 4. Because that would not have been the ending I wanted for my favourite childhood series.
The absence of the movie in my childhood is probably the reason why I got so much love for the two-parter The Return of Optimus Prime (episode 94 + 95, season 3). Besides it being one of the greatest comebacks of all time, it also really felt like a closure of the series, the grand finale. For me, The Transformers ended here on a very high note. Prime was BACK! How was not important. He restored the peace in the universe, he got rid of the hate plague, and led the Autobots once again. It couldn’t have been a better ending for me. Luckily, I didn’t know there were three monstrosities of episodes after season 3, with the likes of Rebirth part 1-3, in season 4. Because that would not have been the ending I wanted for my favourite childhood series.
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| “It’s true, our leader is back.” Yes, HASBRO… and this time no force in the universe can stop me!” Source: Sunbow / Marvel / Hasbro, Ep. 94: The Return of Optimus Prime |
Since it is the 40th Anniversary of the movie, Fathom Entertainment and Hasbro are bringing the movie back to the big screen in its full glory. With screenings in the US and UK already confirmed. Hopefully, the Netherlands will not be skipped for a second time, and I will finally be able to experience it in a Dutch cinema as it was meant to be.
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| Source: Fathom Events/Hasbro, 40th Anniversary movie poster |
...Till all are one.
Thanks for reading,
Kees
I want to give a special thanks to TFRaw for letting me use some of his amazing pictures. Please go visit his awesome website.
Greeting from Monterrey, MX. I was born at the end of 1980. So I can relate to that time. My father got one of those big consumer satellite dishes that were everywhere in the States. So that was my main source of Transformers episodes and I think they did transmit the movie eventually, but I remember that I started watching right in the middle so not everything was clear of what was happening, first of all I thought it was another season episode since I didn't see any announcements made for it and I believe I never catched it again, so that mysterious "chapter" (in my head) where Optimus Prime died was a big WHAT? in my mind and watching the next seasons kinda bummed me out, although I did keep watching the series, afterall it has been my favorite series of all times, but yeah the idea of Hot Rod and then Rodimus Prime I don't know it never stuck with me. I guess we owe it to Peter Cullen's awesome voice adaptation for Optimus Prime, whatching the japanesse voices makes me cringe.
ReplyDeleteThe series did show in Spanish in the local TV, at that time the chain was called Imevisión and later on in the 90s became what Today is TV Azteca. Anyways, to watch a cartoon series here in Mexico was a nightmare... why? Later in my adulthood I learned that TV networks here paid licensing for a number of episodes I guess they wanted to see if they were really popular or were concerned only on releasing a few of them, enough for the children to buy their toys. So when and if you were seeing the episodes in order sometimes they got to a point in the middle of the season where they reverted back to episode one!
So the blessed satellite dish antenna was my savior (joke) because not only I could watch the episodes with the American voice actors, I got to watch more episodes than I would ever watch in the Mexican TV network, at the momment.
Then they started scrambling the content and in the 90s, the satellite dish transmitions decayed horribly. I guess we would've had to pay other services that were given here like Direct TV et al, but my family contracted a cheap cable TV provider, which was content made for people here in the Country, commercials in spanish as well as shows and they weren't dubbed they were subtitled but clearly all of the content had passed through filtering and was not on date with their releases. It never rose to the par with the content that I got to see in the Satellite Dish during the 80s.
Anyways, I can feel your pain and understand completely the situation that you lived with the Movie never showing over there. Without the internet how could we? If we were lucky maybe a stand in a flea market had a VHS of content they somehow acquired from who knows where, but I was too young to know about and to go buying those in the 80s.
We ourselves for many years didn't get Cinema movies, generally speaking, that came out in the States until like 3 months after! That started changing bit by bit when DVDs came out. Because eventhough our local DVDs where region 4, since we're like 300 kms. from the border they sold also the region 1 DVDs so by the time the movie was coming out in the movie theaters, some people had already bought or rented the region 1 disc and watched it at home. I guess movie theaters started noticing that and either paid more to have the movies already subtitled/dubbed maybe a week after it was shown in the US but it was a BIG improvement for us. Just to give you an idea some friends went to the States to watch StarWars Episode 1, because it wouldn't run until 3 months after it came out over there, here in Mexico. I think when the Lord of the Rings movies came out they did come out at par or near their launch dates. So in between 1999 and 2001 something happened to the movie industry here in Mexico that started showing cinema movies closer to their release date in the States.
... Till all are one.