'80s Animated Transformers, G.I. Joe Headed for DVD Release
Episodes from popular 1980s animated series THE TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE will soon debut on DVD, thanks to a deal from Shout! Factory and Hasbro.
The deal also includes the direct-to-DVD animated feature MY LITTLE PONY: TWINKLE WISH ADVENTURE, as well as the possibility for future PONY films.
"We've wanted this for years," said Shout! Factory president Garson Foos to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. "These are all iconic pop-culture brands. I think one of the things that attracted Hasbro to us was they knew we could move fast on these DVDs, but not sacrifice quality."
TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE remain popular with twenty-somethings who remember the shows on TV, and with both properties receiving big screen treatment this summer, the time was right.
Shout! will release THE TRANSFORMERS: The Complete First Season -- 25th Anniversary Edition as a three-disc DVD set on June 16, a week before the bow of sequel TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. It will include all 16 episodes of the 1984 season in story order, with remastered picture and a new stereo soundtrack from the original audio. Extras will include featurette "Triplechanger: From Toy to Comic to Screen: The Origins of the Transformers," printable script, public service announcements, toy commercials, concept art and a limited-edition Autobot magnet.
The show was originally released to DVD by Rhino, with incomplete work prints of episodes and modified sound effects, yet still sold beyond expectations, Foos said.
Rhino lost the rights to the property before releasing all episodes of G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO, so some will be brand-new to DVD.
Shout will release the complete series of THE TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO later in the summer.
-- By News Editor Annemarie Moody