The Transformers Movie Guide is published by Dorling Kinderlsey and written by long-time Transformers writer Simon Furman. The book was released in 2007 with an RRP of GBP £12.99
When I first saw the Transformers Movie Guide I was really exicted to find out what it contained. The cover features a fantastic lenticular cover, featuring the face of Optimus Prime (from the Transformers Movie) and the Autobot logo (also from the Transformers Movie). The cover itself is almost reason enough to buy the book, let alone the information it contains inside.
So let's talk about that information.
The book consists of 72 pages of information and uses a layout which is quiet standard for the Dorling Kindersley reference books (I already own several Dinosaur books from that publisher). The book is written by Simon Furman, who was given access to the Transformers Movie script by writers John Rogers, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci. The book is broken down into 34 sections, covering Information, Robot Mode, Alternative Mode and Weapon for each Transformers character as well as an article on The Allspark cube and Trans-Scanning / Protoforms. Having said that, the book does not contain entires for Starscream, Ironhide, Brawl / Devastator and Bonecrusher. This is a shame, and the only thing we can think of is that this is due to the little airtime the characters receive in the Transformers Movie.
The characters included in the book are: The Allspark, optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Barricade, Frenzy, Blackout, Scorponok, Jazz, Ratchet and Trans-Scanning (which speaks about the Protoforms). Each character (other than Frenzy, Scorponok. the Allspark and Protoforms, which have 2 pages), are given 6 pages of information, with various nice images of the characters in both robot and vehicle mode. The book starts with a nice opening statement which appears to have been taken from the opening speach Optimus Prime makes at the start of the Transformers Movie, introducing you to the history of The Allspark.
Each characters section starts with a quote directly from the Transformers Movie, which is a pretty nice touch. You then get a look at the robot mode, with various snippets of information, facts and statistics (height, weight, strength, vehicle form). The book gives little bits of details about parts of the Transformers, similar to the Bio's on the Action Masters toys cards (which were in addition to their Profiles and Tech-Specs). The next two pages are very similar, but cover the Transformers alternative forms and the final two pages consist of a double page image of the Transformer in "attack mode" with their wepaons outs, detailing information on them. All images look like official Dreamworks images, several have been used elsewhere but the majority seem unique to this book.
Although the book doesn't contain any behind-the-scenes information, Transformers fans may like the fact that the book also doesn't cover any of the human characters (though in many ways that would have added to the book). It is presented really well, and looks just like one of Dorling Kindersley's factual reference books. I also really liked the lenticular cover, I can't express how much. Fans of the film will love the book, as it gives a little more character information on the Transformers which perhaps did not come across in the film. The target audience will love it, though the missing characters and some incorrect information detracts from the book. I'd rate it as a 3/5.
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