After the first animated series was complete, Marvel/Sunbow planned to release "G.I. Joe: The Movie" to theaters in 1987.

Much like the previous "Transformers" movie, it would be feature-length, have some casualties, and change the status quo forever. Sadly, the box-office failure of "Transformers" and Sunbow's "My Little Pony" movie resulted in the Joe movie going direct to video and TV.

Some alterations had to be made to the story as well. The original plan was to kill off Duke in the movie, and if you watch the movie it's fairly obvious, with all of the "Thank you big brother" comments from Lt. Falcon. (Interestingly enough, Lt. Falcon was originally intended to be the son of General Hawk.) Rumors still swirl about a Zarana nude scene but no proof has been seen of this to ever get past the planning stages.

The most spectacular part of the Movie is the opening credits as the Joes protect the Statue of Liberty. Personally it's one of the best animated sequences I have ever seen, and virtually every Joe up through 1987 makes an appearance (even a few who were left behind in "Worlds Without End," whoops!)

The movie also revealed that COBRA was actually a front for a civilization in the Himalayas known as Cobra-La. This kind of undermined the whole "human enemy" the Joes faced, which I think was a disservice. One might wonder why, if Golobulus and Cobra-La were able to plant the idea in Dr. Mindbender's head to create Serpentor, why they couldn't just create a B.E.T. themselves and be done with it.

Another sad aspect about the movie is that several action figures based on the movie did not come out, beyond the Sgt. Slaughter's Renegades and Cobra-La 3-packs. So, no Pythona figure was ever made. Big Lob, Cobra Commander w/Black Cape, or Snake Cobra Commander would also have been very interesting.

All things said, "G.I. Joe: The Movie" is still a lot of fun to watch and I recommend it. You can find it at most video-selling stores and on Amazon.com.

"At ease disease!"

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G.I. Joe Home * G.I. Joe Episode Guide
The MASS Device * Revenge of Cobra * Season 1 * Season 2
G.I. Joe: The Movie

G.I. JOE EPISODES AVAILABLE TO ORDER ON VIDEO THROUGH AMAZON.COM!
G.I. Joe: The Movie (DVD) * G.I. Joe: The Movie (VHS) * G.I. Joe Volumes 1-3 (3 Pack)
G.I.Joe Volumes 4-6 (3 Pack) * G.I. Joe Volumes 7-9 (3 Pack)