Before watching 86 movie, do you recommend any cartoon episodes for newbie?

[philby]

I got the anniversary blur-ray of the animated movie recently and my GF said maybe should would be interested in watching it with me. As she would have no idea on any of the characters or anything do you think there are any standout or appropriate episodes of the cartoon that might be useful to watch before the movie? Or just jump right in?

[griffin]

I think, since the movie was scripted while season 1 was being done, the first 3 episode story of the cartoon might give enough of an intro to most of the pre-movie characters they use in the movie.
The Dinobots and Constructicons are a major part in the movie, but I think their introductory episodes are unnecessary and honestly a little confusing.

[UltraMarginal]

that's an interesting question. It's now probably a decade since the last time I watched the G1 cartoons. I don't really recall there being any specific episodes that had anything to do with the movie.

Maybe you could pick the episodes where major characters have something important to do.
the More than meets the eye pilot would show the rough origins of the series and give a first look at cybertron.
the episode where prime and megatron fight on top of the Dam sets a precedent for energy weapons.
A couple episodes featuring Optimus prime would add more weight to his death scene.
same with ironhide and ratchet,
maybe the origin stories for the dinobots and the constructicons.
or the Omega Supreme story featuring the constructicons.

I don't think any of this is required viewing though. the movie stands out as the best animation and script that G1 had to offer and it's pretty much a standalone story set decades in the future from the end of season 2.

[tinyJazz]

I vote to just jump right in! That's what I did and I'm still here ten years on. :p

the movie got me interested in Transformers, after watching I wanted to learn more about the world these characters inhabited so I went straight to G1 episode 1 (by buying the box set haha). I think the interest the movie generated increased my tolerance of the goofiness of a lot of the G1 Eps.

The movie works fine as a standalone, and you get the impression that the cast and universe already has a background depth and history (even if Hot Rod, Magnus et al didn't have any "on screen" history at that point, their characters were well grounded in-universe)

[DELTAprime]

The Dinobots and Constructicons are a major part in the movie, but I think their introductory episodes are unnecessary and honestly a little confusing.

Not to mention the fact the Constructicons introduction has been written off by much of the fandom because it's pretty much retconned in season 2 to be non-canonical.

[Deonasis]

Jump in! It is stand-alone and simply the best. Watching anything first may backfire and honestly put her off seeing the movie.

[Paulbot]

I agree with that watch it first, but would suggest watch if with the scrolling text intro rather than the cast credits. It gives a bit more context to the whole thing. Not sure what's on that Bluray though or if it gives you an option.

However, if you're going to watch some of G1... In general you can't go wrong with the multi-part episodes (although I'd personally skip Ultimate Doom). Good stories, usually good animation, and some world building stuff.

If I was introducing someone to the G1 series I'd go with these 15 stories first:
More Than Meets The Eye, part 1-3
Transport to Oblivion
Roll For It
Fire in the Sky
S.O.S. Dinobots
Heavy Metal War
Dinobot Island, part 1-2
Megatron's Master Plan, part 1-2
Desertion of the Dinobots, part 1-2
The Golden Lagoon
Kremzeek!
The Search for Alpha Trion
The Key to Vector Sigma, part 1-2
Starscream's Brigade
The Revenge of Bruticus

[DarkHyren]

Not to mention the fact the Constructicons introduction has been written off by much of the fandom because it's pretty much retconned in season 2 to be non-canonical.I retconned that my own personal head canon by just changing Megatron's line "they were worth the time we spent building them in these caverns" to "they were worth the time we spent re-building them in these caverns" to imply that the Constructicon's had lost their original bodies at some point (similar to the Combaticon's G1 cartoon origin story). Simple little internal edit but makes the Constructicon's introductory episode remain canon.

Anyway on the topic at hand, if she's not a fan of transformers or cartoons it might be too much to ask her to watch episodes as well as the movie so I just wouldnt bother and would jump right in, it's fairly stand alone and if she is curious to find out backstory etc then you guys can go and watch the series.
Feeling that she needs to watch "a lot of episodes" first might end up being "too much work" to show an interest in "your silly toys", I know this from experience dealing with non fans that thought they were doing me "a favour" by pretending to be interested, so think about what she's like as a person rather then what gives the most information since if it's like the people I mentioned it's wasted effort.

[GoktimusPrime]

If your friend has a general or basic idea of what the Transformers are, then perhaps jumping straight in is fine. But if they have zero idea then I would recommend watching select episodes from Season 1.

Transformers The Movie assumes prior knowledge of the G1 cartoon and it can be quite confusing for people who come in with zero knowledge. This is why TFTM was a box office failure. The 2007 Transformers movie was much better in that you could walk into that film as someone who has never heard of the Transformers before and still enjoy that movie. If a person has never ever heard of TFs before then I'd be more likely to show them the 07 film. It's far more accessible.

[SoundwavePerth]

Jump straight in, its a stand alone movie. IF you really want a brief background, just watch the first couple of eps of series 1, which are good in themselves.

Kind of related, I'm having similar thoughts for my children, when to show them the movie. Both are suddenly heavily into transformers (not forced on them), but I think they need to be exposed to the g1 series, appreciate Optimus before they witness him killed off. I have showed them clips from the movie with Hot Rod as they like him, and they bloody love the song "The touch".

My sister showed her son Transformers the movie and he loves it, but she wont show him the Lion King - as when Simba's dad dies its sad....

I personally think Transformers is a bit more full on!

[UltraMarginal]

Jump straight in, its a stand alone movie. IF you really want a brief background, just watch the first couple of eps of series 1, which are good in themselves.

Kind of related, I'm having similar thoughts for my children, when to show them the movie. Both are suddenly heavily into transformers (not forced on them), but I think they need to be exposed to the g1 series, appreciate Optimus before they witness him killed off. I have showed them clips from the movie with Hot Rod as they like him, and they bloody love the song "The touch".

My sister showed her son Transformers the movie and he loves it, but she wont show him the Lion King - as when Simba's dad dies its sad....

I personally think Transformers is a bit more full on!

a father figure dies in both movies...
I will be showing my kids the show before the movie, as that's how I saw them and I think the show is a little easier to digest as a kid.

[SharkyMcShark]

Definitely take this opportunity to mess with her.

Prime Target

Auto-bop

Hoist Goes to Hollywood

A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court

[philby]

haha cheers for all the opinions! I think we will just jump in. I don't want to make it feel like watching "homework" before. She has seen a few of the live movies so it won't all be completely foreign. She is obsessed with looking every detail up on IMDB while we watch anything together so if she wants more info she can find it hehe.

[UltraMarginal]

She is obsessed with looking every detail up on IMDB while we watch anything together so if she wants more info she can find it hehe.

That would drive me insane!!

[BigTransformerTrev]

Episodes 1 to 65 :cool:

[UltraMarginal]

Do tell us how it goes, we might need to welcome a new member to the board. :D

[Galvatran]

Episodes 1 to 65 :cool:
I'd give Carnage in C-Minor a miss.

(in my best fat lady opera voice... clears throat) Unless one is interested in picking out all the animation errors for laughs.

[GoktimusPrime]

Uh, Seasons 3 and 4 are all skippable if you're preparing someone for watching TFTM! And they should be skipped cos like... spoilers!

[Bidoofdude]

While there aren't really any plot points to cover and TFTM can act as a standalone film, a lot of the magic in the film probably does come from characters you had already formed a fondness for in the first two seasons and seeing them in action on the big screen.

Generating an acquaintance with the series' characters through a few episodes would almost certainly make the movie more enjoyable and invest them more.

[GoktimusPrime]

The basic premise of the Transformers is not explained in TFTM.

Who and what are the Transformers?
Who's piloting them?
Are they meant to be living robots?
Are they cyborgs?
What's a Cybertron?
Who are the Autobots and Decepticons and why are they fighting each other?
Why do they transform?
Why do they transform into Earth vehicles on another planet?
What's a Megatron?
Why are there Transformers already on Earth?
Why are the humans cool with them owning their own real estate?
Who's Devasta--- oh... why can those green guys join up? Why don't others do it?
There are dinosaur Transformers?! How?!?
Who's Optimus Prime? Why are people upset that he's dead when there were so many others that were also killed?
Wait... how can robots die?
There was a robot who became a jet and a tank... and a steam locomotive that became a shuttle... how many things can these Transformers transform into? Do they all have unlimited modes?
Does anything else happen in this story other than robots fighting? Why am I supposed to care about them?
...and so on, and so on...
And many of the reviews of TFTM at the time was pretty much like this. A lot of confusion from reviewers who had no idea what was going on.

I've shown TFTM to audiences who known next to nothing about Transformers, such as during a Non-Scripture class. ;)
https://image.ibb.co/b9WhzR/nonscript.jpg
TBH a lot of kids were pretty bored. Compare this with when I showed a same-age group of kids the Transformers Animated eps, "A Bridge Too Far." Even though these episodes (German dubs w/ English subtitles!*) don't provide a whole heap of exposition either (it assumes that you have been watching previous episodes), there was enough character drive in it to captivate the audience. The kids were emotionally invested in the story and some were even driven to tears when Omega Supreme sacrificed himself.

Sure, a lot of kids in the 80s were upset when Optimus Prime died in TFTM, but that's because we were already familiar with the character from beforehand. Animated Omega Supreme managed to elicit tears from an audience of adolescents who were unfamiliar with the character beforehand. Killing off a character that the audience doesn't care about won't provoke an emotional reaction -- like almost every TF death in Bayformers. TFTM doesn't really elicit much of an emotional response from an audience that doesn't have any knowledge of G1. Animated managed to get a reaction from an audience that had no knowledge of Animated. I literally had to pass around the tissue box! :eek:

-------------------------------------------
*It was an end-of-term German class. :)

[Paulbot]

Most of those questions are either irrelevant to understanding and enjoying the film, not explained by watching series 1 and 2 of the cartoon, or explained if you watch TFTM with the scrolling text introduction (as I advised).

[BigTransformerTrev]

I'd give Carnage in C-Minor a miss.

(in my best fat lady opera voice... clears throat) Unless one is interested in picking out all the animation errors for laughs.

That’s post movie dude ;)

[Galvatran]

That’s post movie dude ;)
... And that is why you were BOOTY 2016. :)

[BigTransformerTrev]

... And that is why you were BOOTY 2016. :)

And the level of pedantry I displayed shows why I got no BOOTY call 2017 :p