5 Things that The Transformers The Movie has in-common with Star Wars Movies

Have you ever noticed how many things that The Transformers the Movie has in common with Star Wars? In this article I’ll explore those commonalities. With no further ado, and in no particular order:

1) Lightsabers!

Yes, the iconic weapon from Star Wars that everyone wants whether they’re willing to admit it or not, inspired a couple of weapons that were used in our favorite movie about sentient transforming robots. In the epic battle between leaders Optimus Prime and Megatron in Autobot city, Megatron wields a very Lightsaber-like energy sword, which he uses to cut a gash into Optimus’s mid-section. Later in the movie, Hot Rod is doing some training with what I can amusingly only describe as a “droid”! In this scene, Hot Rod like Megatron earlier, is using a very Lightsaber-like laser sword.

2) Scrolling Text

This one may be a surprise to some people, because it’s not on every edition of the movie. But if you originally watched the movie in the 80’s in the UK, you will have seen a Star-Wars style scrolling text scene after the introduction of Unicron, which provided information about the backstory. Instead of “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”, we get: “There’s an evil new force in the universe”. I actually really like this scene, it does a great job of setting the scene for the rest of the movie. The difference from the scrolling text on Star Wars though, is that the text in The Transformers The Movie is also narrated superbly by Victor Caroli.

3) A Young, Brash Main Character Who Ultimately Becomes a Leader

Luke Skywalker. Young, brash. Hot Rod. Young, brash. I can’t help but see similarities between these two characters. They are central figures in their respective movies. They’re both hot-headed and quick to act initially, but eventually become tempered by experience and evolve into leaders. You could make the case that Anakin Skywalker also fits this mold, as he was young and hot-headed, a central character, and would also evolve into a leader of sorts-although not the supreme leader of his faction.

4) A Story Of Redemption

Hot Rod is blamed by many for the death of Optimus Prime. Whether he’s ultimately to blame is up for debate, as Optimus hesitated and Megatron ultimately pulled the trigger. But there’s no doubt that Hot Rod was involved in that fatal final incident. However, throughout his journey, he grows and shows strength and courage under pressure. His bold and courageous actions would ultimately lead him to fighting Galvatron in the depths of Unicron and being Transformed by the Matrix of Leadership into Rodimus Prime-anointed by the spirit of Optimus Prime himself.

Similarly, in the Star Wars prequel movies Anakin Skywalker causes much carnage and chaos. His actions all but wiped out the Jedi order and led to him becoming one of the most feared villains in the galaxy. Like Hot Rod, his mistakes came out of a desire to help. Hot Rod wanted to help Optimus Prime, Anakin wanted to keep his beloved Padme safe and protected from his fears. It was twisting these fears that Palpatine would use to turn him to the dark side. Ultimately though Anakin would be redeemed. His action in return of the Jedi of helping Luke defeat the Emperor brought balance to the Force and confirmed Luke’s feelings that there was still good in him.

I see both Hot Rod and Anakin as figures who went through a story of tragedy and loss but were ultimately redeemed by their action and the faith in them of the people/bots who cared about them and saw their inner potential.

5) A Journey Across Space

Naboo, Tatooine, Coruscant, Dagobah, and Geonosis are just some of the many planets visited in the Star Wars movies.  The scenes and action shift across space. Similarly, the action in The Transformers the Movie isn’t static either. We’re already familiar with Earth and Cyberton, but as well as these two planets, the movie also takes us to Quintessa (although we wouldn’t learn its name until season 3), the Planet of Junk (known as Junkion in season 3), and in the movie’s opening scene, we see the planet of Lithone devoured by Unicron.

Honorable Mention: Destructive Planets

Ok, the Death Star was a star, right? It’s in the name! Well, we know at least that it was “no moon”. But it was, big, round, and planet shaped, with the destructive power to destroy a planet. Sound familiar? Unicron was described as a “monster planet”. But he was big, round, planet shaped, with the destructive power to destroy a planet. It’s the technicality of the Death Star’s name that kept me from putting this in the top 5 list, but the similarities between the two are definitely there!

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What do you think about my list? Anything you agree or disagree with? Any of these similarities that you hadn’t noticed before? Feel free to let us know in the comments! If, like me, you’re a Transfomers fan who also enjoys Star Wars, why not check out one of our favourite sites at the moment, Plays.org. This has both Star Wars and Transformers games to play online. The games are licenced, and best of all-completely free to play! Some of my favourites right now are Star Wars X-Wing Fighter and Transformers Titans Return but there are many more to choose from and I’ll be looking at a lot of the Transformers ones in more detail in the coming months!

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About Steve Shreeve 68 Articles
When he isn't writing about Transformers, Steve runs Shreeve Health and Fitness, using his online training service to train people in any location. Steve loves Transformers and Star Trek, retro toys and cartoons, sharks, and nature.