GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
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| GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords | |
|---|---|
 The US theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Ray Patterson |
| Produced by | Kay Wright |
| Written by | Jeff Segal |
| Starring | Margot Kidder Telly Savalas Roddy MacDowall Michael Nouri Lou Richards Bernard Erhard Frank Welker |
| Distributed by | Clubhouse Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  May, 1986 |
| Running time | 71 Min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords was an animated movie based on the Gobots toy and TV franchise. This movie was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions (the same company responsible for the Challenge of the GoBots series) and released in 1986. It featured the first appearance of the Rock Lords who were given their own toyline after the movie. These new characters featured the guest voices of Margot Kidder, Telly Savalas and Roddy McDowall. The TV series regulars all reprised their usual roles.
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[edit] Box office and critical response
The film performed poorly, pulling in about $US1.5 million domestically. When released in Australia (as Machine Men: Battle of the Rock Lords, to tie in with the line's name in that territory), only a few independent cinemas carried the film, rather than the major chains.
Several critics (Leonard Maltin amongst them) have suggested that Transformers: The Movie was made to "cash in" on the release of the film.[citation needed] While Battle of the Rock Lords was released six months before Transformers, the latter film had been in production for the better part of two years, well before Battle of the Rock Lords began production.
[edit] Reception
The film retains a cult status and it currently has a "C-" (which is a low, but not a bad grade at all) at Box Office Mojo.
[edit] Plot
The Guardian Gobots are continuing their work on rebuilding their home planet of Gobotron when a mysterious ship crashes on the planet. Leader-1, Turbo and Scooter investigate, and find it to be occupied by a pair of transforming rocks - Solitaire and her valet Nugget. They have come seeking the Guardians' help to save their planet from the evil Rock Lord Magmar, who is killing the other Rock Lords in order to take their power sceptres. He places these in a machine designed to channel all their power into his own sceptre.
The Guardians agree to help, but the conversation is spied upon by the Renegade Fitor. Gobotron is soon attacked by the Renegade fleet, and Cy-Kill and a team of Renegades capture Solitaire, Small Foot, Nick and A.J. With Nugget as their guide, Leader-1, Turbo and Matt set off on a rescue mission. Back on Quartex, the only obstacle facing Magmar is Boulder's group of Rock Lords, who set off to draw Magmar into battle.
Meanwhile, Cy-Kill attempts to get information out of Solitaire, and despite her best efforts manages to link up with Magmar and strike an alliance, turning the battle against Boulder. The good Rock Lords flee, and after their defeat at the hands of the Renegades are initially very skeptical about the Guardians' intentions when they land on Quartex. However, they too form an alliance, and march on Magmar's headquarters. However, when they get there Magmar is able to take Boulder's sceptre from him, and activate the machine. Cy-Kill betrays Magmar, taking the weapon for himself, but is defeated by Leader-1, and the power is dissipated. The Renegade prisoners are released, and the Gobots return to Gobotron.
[edit] Cast and characters
- Margot Kidder as Solitaire: A good female Rock Lord.
- Telly Savalas as Magmar: Leader of the evil Rock Lords.
- Roddy MacDowall as Nugget: Solitaire's assistant, strikes up a quick friendship with the Gobot Scooter.
- Michael Nouri as Boulder: Leader of the sole remaining group of good Rock Lords, and an ally of Solitaire.
- Lou Richards as Leader-1: The Guardian leader, who transforms into an F-15 Eagle.
- Frank Welker as Scooter: The Guardians' chief engineer, who transforms into a scooter.
- Bernard Erhard as Cy-Kill: The Renegade leader, who transforms into a motorcycle.
- Darryl Hickman as Marbles: A young good Rock Lord who appears to have some form of psychic powers. His name is derived from marble.
- Michael Bell as Granite: A good Rock Lord. As his name implies, he is very tough.
- Phillip L Clarke as Crackpot: A good Rock Lord.
- Frank Welker as Pulver-Eyes: A rather manic good Rock Lord. his name is a pun on the word pulverise.
- Michael Bell as Slimestone: An evil Rock Lord.
- Foster Brooks as Stoneheart: An evil Rock Lord.
- Peter Cullen as Tombstone: An evil Rock Lord.
- Peter Cullen and Frank Welker as Sticks 'n' Stones: An evil Rock Lord who seems to be a conjoined twin. For comedic effect, the two heads (each voiced by a different actor - ironically, Cullen and Welker are arguably best remembered as the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron, opposing leaders in the original Transformers cartoon) regularly argue with each other. the name derives from the old saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.".
- Richard Gautier as Brimstone: An evil Rock Lord.
- Arthur Burghardt as Turbo: A Guardian warrior who travels to Quartex with Leader-1. Transforms into a concept car.
- Marilyn Lightstone as Crasher: A Reneagde warrior who travels with Cy-Kill, she transforms into a Porsche 956.
- Peter Cullen as Pincher: A Renegade mutant who travels with Cy-Kill, he transforms into a spaceship.
- Darryl Hickman as Hornet: A Renegade mutant who travels with Cy-Kill, he transforms into a spaceship. The film represents Hornet's debut, the character having not appeared in the TV series.
- Richard Gautier as Klaws: A Renegade mutant who travels with Cy-Kill, he transforms into a tank.
- B. J. Ward as Small Foot: A Guardian captured along with Solitaire, she transformed into a Toyota Hilux.
- Morgan Paull as Matt Hunter: A UNICOM astronaut and their liaison with the Guardians, Matt travels with Leader-1 to Quartex.
- Leslie Speights as A. J. Foster: A UNICOM cadet kidnapped by Cy-Kill.
- Ike Eisenmann as Nick Burns: A UNICOM cadet kidnapped by Cy-Kill.
- Several over Gobots have cameo or walk-on scenes during the early stages of the film, including Fitor, Dr. Go, Heat Seeker, Tork, Sparky, Rest-Q, Professor Von Joy Zeemon, Twin Spin, Twister and Major Mo.
[edit] DVD release
The film has never been released on DVD. A number of the trademarks used (including 'Gobots', 'Cy-Kill' and 'Leader-1') were taken over by Hasbro when they purchased Tonka, the manufacturer of Gobots, in 1991. Hasbro is unlikely to approve the release of the film on DVD as it would not be in the interest of promoting their Transformers brand. The film has been released on VHS in America, the UK and Australia amongst others, although it has long been deleted.
