I personally would've preferred the original art from the US movie poster, but whatevs. Just happy to have this masterpiece on Blu-ray finally with hopefully a superb transfer and all the bells and whistles.

 

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Agree.

 

Consider me one who is not a fan of the Livio artwork. Ok, that's an understatement.

All that said, I am VERY happy that Shout undertook this project and put the effort they did into it. That is very appreciated.

As to Steelbook vs regular release, I just don't get the draw of steelbook cases. I also hate the "Eco-case". I'm a huge fan of the Disney reg blue quality cases with beautiful slipcovers.

 

I saw Flint Dille at a local convention this weekend and was able to chat with him briefly at the end of the day. He said he had received his copy of the new Blu Ray version of the movie, and he gave some interviews/commentary so we will get to hear him "drone on" (his words) about the movie. I told him I was excited to get the new version. Wish we could have talked longer, but it was the end of the day and we were being ushered out.

 

People have been waitng for an official BR release for years. It could have had anything on the cover and it will have sold. I refuse to but the steelbook because I hate the artwork and if the regular edition wasn't reversible I'd be finding a customs leave to replace it.

 

Well I don't care about the artwork but that's not why i'm not getting the steelbook. I just don't care about steelbooks and don't really get them unless they are a gift.

As for other forums the only one I know talking about it is the Blu-ray.com forums and they hated the artwork and torn it apart! They cheered when the japan art was shown and yes some got upset it wasn't on the steelbook. Others on the site didn't care as long as they got the movie.

I don't care as long as I get the movie also but will display the japan art hands down!

Here is the site talking about it.

The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (30th Anniversary Edition) - Shout! Factory - Blu-ray Forum

 

The problem isn't with the illustration itself. In another context, I would like it. It almost feels like if Phil Noto started drawing robots. It's just nonsensical as an attempt to represent the movie it's supposed to be a cover for.

To be fair, Figueroa's 20th anniversary cover was just as bad, and people don't even hate him.

 

Good question. And one I can answer, which actually may shed a little light.

When you're reissuing a property, you have to be careful about the cover art you use. You can't have it look TOO similar to something that's already been released, because it creates confusion within the marketplace.

Note: This has nothing to do with hardcore fans. I get that you'd all know the difference between the 30th anniversary set and the original Rhino DVD release, which used the original US poster.

However, RETAILERS and CASUAL FANS/CUSTOMERS need to see the difference. This especially includes Amazon, because of the thumbnail system. If Joe/Jane Doe goes to Amazon and looks up a movie, they need to instantly recognize the edition they're looking for. Otherwise, they're looking at multiple thumbnails that all use the same or similar cover art and they're expected to dig deeper to find out which one they want. This isn't good for retailers who just want you to quickly click and move on to filling your cart with more stuff.

In the case of The Transformers: The Movie, the U.S. poster has been used. A lot. It was used for the original soundtrack, the home video release and the original DVD release. The 20th anniversary DVD release used new art, with a VERY familiar scene--Autobots grouped together, looking upward at Unicron, who's coming down on them. It's very similar to the original poster, but with a twist on the angle, who's present and what they're doing. The artist/Sony Wonder decided to represent the shift in the cast with a lenticular cover (which means we couldn't). That means Prime had to hold the Matrix up, so that when you shifted it and saw Rodimus holding it up it all made sense. Yes. We know Optimus never held the Matrix up in that fashion. But Ultra Magnus never gathered the team together to shoot upward at Unicron, either. It's all just representation of a bigger story. We ask that fans go with us on this kind of liberty.

We could've done yet ANOTHER take on the exact same poster, but at this point, it's been done. Even IDW did an alternate angle of the original poster with their 20th anniversary special edition comic.

The Japanese art has never been used (to the best of my knowledge) for anything official in the U.S. as cover art. We get that you have the original U.S. poster. You probably have the aforementioned CD soundtrack(s) and all of the VHS/DVD releases. But you may not have the Japanese poster as part of that cover art collection. So we decided to give you the option of adding it by reversing the cover. We knew, however, that we couldn't use that art on the front because it HAS been used in other regions. Again, market confusion. So we couldn't use the original poster. We couldn't use the Japanese poster.

That means we needed new artwork done. Livio was selected because, from the very beginning, we knew we'd be doing a Steelbook and if you've ever been to Livio's table at Comic-Con (or BotCon), you'll know that he has some stellar metal prints. So we knew his artwork looked good when printed on metal. We also liked his grittier take (i.e. dents, scratches, etc. that shows wear and tear on their bodies), since it enhances the look of the standard G1 characters. It basically says, "this isn't just a cartoon. This is more detailed." Again, we know YOU know the movie. But these kinds of subtle messages are geared toward people who aren't you guys and girls.

I'm sure this comes as no shock to those of you that know the ins and outs of freelancing, but Livio wasn't given a blank slate to do whatever he wanted and simply turned in a final piece. There were elements we knew we wanted. And because of the fact that we knew we were creating it specifically for Steelbook, we knew there was a certain amount of negative space we wanted. We knew there were certain characters (and objects) that we wanted presented, with other characters scaled back in order to best utilize Steelbook's printing styles. This was all decided upon with Livio and a core team at Shout, with consultation by the great folks over at Steelbook.

In our conclusion, what NEEDS to be on the cover of The Transformers: The Movie? Optimus Prime. You have to have him. It's not The Transformers without him. We have to represent the new cast. Arguably, the most important member of that new cast is Hot Rod. Done. You have to have Optimus' nemesis, Megatron. BUT... You also have to have the character that would eventually become Rodimus' arch nemesis, Galvatron. Yes. We know they're the same character. However, this cover--again--is telling a bigger story that isn't meant to be taken literally. Two sides: old and new. What else do we need on the cover? The Matrix of Leadership. But we can't give it to Hot Rod. I'm very anti spoiler-y images and by slapping a big image of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime holding the Matrix on the cover, it literally gives away the ending of the movie to those who've--gasp--never seen it. And let's be honest; part of the joy of movies like this one is showing people who've not yet seen it. So... Optimus Prime HAS to hold the Matrix. The final element is, of course, Unicron. But, as I mentioned before, we've seen him approaching from above. It's been done. So we decided to have him approaching from behind. And, because we knew we'd be doing it with a special print treatment on metal, we knew he'd be scaled back pretty dramatically. At this point, he's more of an ominous threat than anything else, emerging from darkness, but emitting a very powerful light. So... There's our cover.

There's a lot that goes into the decision to do these. Has it been out before? Can we get away with using the same art or could that be confusing to retailers and customers? Do we want to do something special by creating our own cover and/or special packaging? What do we want on the cover? Who do we want to illustrate it? Is the rough sketch approved? Are the pencils approved? Are the colors approved? Finally, is the cover approved? And these conversations take place within Shout, but also at Hasbro. It's a joint effort.

Some of you like the art. Some of you don't. But, hopefully, you have a better understanding of what goes into it and this answers your question.

 

When does this come out?

 

This is great insight into the process of this release. Thank you.

With that said, I still can't shake the feeling like it was a gigantic swing of the bat and a colossal whiff! You spoke a lot about collectors and the general audience. Is it possible to find out the percentage breakdown you are forecasting sales for each group? Based on your posts, I'm inferring that you believe the casual movie purchaser will be making up the majority. Therefore you made decisions on this release accordingly.

Buy what if those forecasts were wrong? It would be like making the wrong decision on step 2 of a 20 step math problem. Sure you did plenty of work but you ultimately arrived at the wrong answer.

I believe this 30th anniversary release of a cartoon movie based on a line of children's toys from the 80's will be overwhelmingly purchased by fans. Those who have purchased the same movie and same soundtracks a half a dozen times each...or more.

I have no doubt the Steelbook will sell well as there are Steelbook collectors/resellers running through the doors at Best Buy every Tuesday morning at 10 am. But please don't be fooled into thinking that translates into satisfaction with the package that this outstanding movie sits in.

But what do I know? I'm just a 40 year old with a room full of toys discussing said toys on an Internet message board dedicated to said toys.

Crazy, right?

 

Without polling everyone who buys the Blu-ray, there's really no way to know the ratio of hardcore collectors to people who simply like the movie or others who are buying it for someone who they know likes the movie.

But I believe you may be inferring incorrectly. When I use the term "casual," it simply means they're not necessarily here. It doesn't mean they're just random movie buffs who feel the need to own anything and everything. I'm talking about people, like myself, who grew up with the movie and love it, but don't keep up with or buy all the toys or read all the comics or go to conventions or have an account to discuss their love of The Transformers here. You guys are at the core of the fan base. But the majority of Transformers fans out there in the world aren't necessarily hardcore collectors. The ocean is simply too vast and that requires any business to cast a wide net. And, so far, it's done pretty well for us.

I grew up with this movie, too. The movie was released four days after my ninth birthday and I made sure my parents knew that they'd be expected to take me. I saw it five times in theatres when it came out. I see it just about every time I see that some theatre in L.A. is playing it. I had a LARGE collection of toys, many of which are still in my possession. In fact, as I type this, my original Optimus Prime sits on my office shelf. Sadly, he's missing both of his arms. I rented the film countless times and sat down with a tape recorder to record the audio, so that I could listen to it whenever I wanted. I owned the cassette tape of the soundtrack and I bought the CD as soon as CDs overtook cassettes. I still own it and listen to it not all that infrequently. I've owned five different versions of this movie. I still have my original movie poster from 1986, which has been signed by members of the cast and crew. I still own and wear a t-shirt for the movie that I've had since I managed a Suncoast back in 1999 and Transformers became "cool" again. And I've wanted to work on this movie since I was fortunate enough to produce the television series' DVDs. I'm not some rando. I'm a legitimate fan of the movie.

So with that said, why does anyone's (subjective) opinion of art get to mean more than mine? Because I really like the art. I like Livio Ramondelli, as both an artist and a person. And nothing about this forum or this thread makes me regret having hired him to create the artwork. I've had many conversations with him about his love of The Transformers: The Movie. He's a legit fan, too. So why does anyone's (subjective) opinion of art get to mean more than his?

Is this why? Because that's what I'm inferring. You're not wrong for not liking the art. And I'm not wrong for liking it. That's the beauty of art. But, at the end of the day, this is the art we went with. You're not satisfied. I get it. But, as a fan of this movie and franchise, I'm highly satisfied with the cover and the work we all did to make the best version of the Blu-ray we could. And if, at the end of the day, you feel the need to create your own art for it, I say, "go for it." It won't hurt my feelings. And I want everyone to be happy with what they put on their shelves.

 

Well said. This is exactly what I meant. Although, I'd never think of or refer to you as "nuts."  

 

My opinion on the whole artwork thing. I'm getting this movie on DVD, I don't know if it has the reversible thing the blu-ray does. AND I DON'T CARE. I just want to own this movie on DVD cause I can't find it on TV and someone deleted it from my recordings. Why should the artwork of all things even matter! I swear, this fandom  

 

3rd party upgrade? LOL!

 

Didn't your parents ever teach you guys it's not what's on the cover of the Blu-ray, but what's inside that counts. What's wrong with you kids these days.

 

The art looked better in black and white without that graphic designers nightmare background and bizarre overall composition where the characters are just kind of floating there.
Thing that bugged me was the background and layout, not the illustration or who was in it.

Strange thing is same artist has loads of amazing art that doesn't break the same basic rules of graphic design, meaning probably someone clueless asked for it to be made a certain way, just guessing, but look at his deviant art gallery and tell me I'm wrong

 

Got the poster version at SDCC, and signed by Grimlock himself. So I went with the Standard Blu-Ray version for the reversible cover. The new art isn't horrible, but at least Shout gives us the option on the standard release to swap it around.

 

Preordered mine last night. So glad it's reversible. I did the same thing to my Benture Bros season 5 discs but I'm not sure they did that intentionly.

 

Yes, in at least once instance. Maybe not all--I don't know. But then again, even flucas was persuaded to do that at least once. Flubric had his removed footage intentionally destroyed.

I'm very satisfied with that explanation. Then again, I'm not one who ever hated the new art.

This might be slightly off-topic, but since we've got you here with us, can you shed some light on what the barriers are to getting high-definition versions of the TV series (not enough surviving film?) or Beast Wars (too expensive? Rainmaker won't do it/lost the assets?). What would it take to overcome these--or is it too impossible?

 

That was very cool of you to stop by and inform the fans of the process, seems to me some of the fans can have a stick up their *** about certain things. I'm sure TF fans are not the only ones that get bent out of shape over simple things, anyways the cover change makes sense when you spell it out like that. I wonder if Star Wars or Back to the Future fans got upset when the cover changed on those movie because it seems like they have about 10+ releases of each film.

I can't wait to check this out after it releases, I'm planning on getting a steelbook edition when the price drops some on Amazon.

I was little upset when I saw the fan commentary didn't make it over to this new release but I'm sure it was for a good reason.

Thanks again,
TB77