Why wasn't there TFTM:2 and What would it have been about?

[Shockprowl]

I'm sure this must have been discussed right across the fandom many many times... But it only just occurred to me-

Why wasn't there a Transformers The Movie 2?

With or without season 3.

Maybe the box office wasn't good enough? I dunno, caused a stir at the time, and Hasbro could've decided to go 'all in' and plumped for another movie.


And if they had, what could/should it have been about?

[Toph]

It was a box office bomb.
And they weren't sequel crazy in the mid to late eighties, the way they are now.

[Pinwig]

It didn't do well commercially, which I think prompted Hasbro to turn the following GI Joe film into a video release instead of cinema as planned. But it's also true that Hasbro were rethinking their approach to marketing. By the end of 1987 Sunbow had stopped producing cartoons, the last one to air was the final episode of Jem in May 1988 (until they came back out of mothballs in the 90s). Jem also only made it that far because of the show's ratings, it outlived the toy line. Really by the time we were on Rebirth Hasbro weren't interested.

[Pinwig]

As for what it would have been about, it would have been about selling toys. We know the production process for TFTM started around Feb/March 85 for a film that debuted in August 86 to promote the autumn toy line. A sequel may not have taken quite so long, but it seems a bit tight to think that if the film had made millions and a sequel green-lit off the back of that in autumn 86 that it would have been about the Headmasters. Unless it was a Five Faces quality thing, or Hasbro had already put the wheels in motion before TFTM came out. If you follow this line of thinking, then the film would probably have been about Optimus becoming Powermaster Prime. The problem is by that point Galvatron was gone and Scorponok was old hat - so there wasn't really a lead Decepticon. It would need another non-toy baddie like Unicron.

There's lots of ways to think about it though If Hasbro's intent had remained and a second film had gone into production before the first one came out, then it could easily have been Rebirth done cinema style with a full series following in autumn 87.

[Shockprowl]

Wow. I'd no idea TF:TM bombed that bad...

[The Huff]

We could have had a Movie version of Carnage In C-Minor!
Transformers The Musical.

[The Doctor]

May 1, 2020 21:56:00 GMT Shockprowl said:

Wow. I'd no idea TF:TM bombed that bad...

Yup. For many years it was the very definition of a cult film. Home video releases and The Internet later brought it a wider audience, arguably peeking in general interest mid-to late last decade. Back in the day it came and went quickly with little fuss.

-Ralph

[Pinwig]

These days we're used to Hasbro trying to create media to rival Disney and failing, remember the Hasbro shared universe of a year or so back. They seem to have this thing about wanting people to see them as being Marvel or Disney but failing with IP that doesn't really match up. It probably wasn't any different then. TFTM cost six million dollars and made just less than that, whereas other animated films that year made vastly more. The Great Mouse Detective made 23 million and An American Tail made 43 million. If they were looking to compete in that market then TFTM can only be seen as a fail. The Pony movie also only made six million, so those two together probably made Hasbro think they were doing the wrong thing.

Incidentally though, Highlander also made six million and that went on to have a long heritage, similarly through cult status like the Transformers did.

[greebtron]

May 1, 2020 21:10:24 GMT Pinwig said:

It didn't do well commercially, which I think prompted Hasbro to turn the following GI Joe film into a video release instead of cinema as planned. But it's also true that Hasbro were rethinking their approach to marketing. By the end of 1987 Sunbow had stopped producing cartoons, the last one to air was the final episode of Jem in May 1988 (until they came back out of mothballs in the 90s). Jem also only made it that far because of the show's ratings, it outlived the toy line. Really by the time we were on Rebirth Hasbro weren't interested.

Well, sort of. Hasbro and the other major toy companies were pulling out of funding cartoons because the retail orders had gone in the toilet at Toyfair '87. Taking Jem to 65 and doing the 13 of Visionaries only happened because those contracts were locked in shortly beforehand. The final episode of Jem was in fact the only one left to write when the official toyline cancellation came down. Hence why they spent so many episodes preparing for a 1988 toyline that would then never come.

Back to the subject of movies. External to Hasbro properties' issues, the one that had really kickstarted the rush to do animated movies was the Care Bears movie in early 1985, making $34 million. They had two sequels, the one in 1986 did $12 million and the one in 1987 barely made back it's budget at $6 million. The law of diminishing returns was kicking in hard.