Voltron Fleet of Doom DVD Cover
Fleet of Doom: A Voltron Movie Special features Lion Voltron and Vehicle Voltron teaming up to defeat the combined forces of Viceroy Throk and King Zarkon. It was originally broadcast in 1986.
Unlike regular episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, this special contains some original animation in addition to re-purposed footage from the Japanese sources. As the Lion Force and Vehicle Force were based on entirely unrelated Japanese shows, there was no pre-existing footage of the two Voltrons working together.
Similarly, because this special does not fit the continuity of either Beast King Golion or Armored Fleet Dairugger, it has never been broadcast in Japan.
Runtime: 48 minutes
Plot Summary
"Robeast combined!"
The Galaxy Garrison's energy base has been discovered! King Zarkon and Viceroy Throk have joined forces to create a "Fleet of Doom" to devastate the base, as its destruction will (somehow) spell the end of the Galaxy Garrison. The Lion Force and Vehicle force are immediately called to come to the base's defense.
While en route, the Castle of Lions (in spaceship mode) is stealthily boarded by Haggar who uses her magic to steal Princess Allura's soul away to a dimension where fear and imagination define reality. Keith vows to rescue her, and aided by the ghost of King Alfor, travels to the fear dimension to rescue her. Keith confronts the demons of his childhood to confront Haggar, but it is ultimately Princess Allura who appeals to the hidden goodness inside Haggar to set them free and return them to the Castle of Lions, which has arrived at the energy base. The blue and black lions join the others in battle with multiple robeasts. Even after combining into Voltron, they're getting beat pretty badly.
The blazing scimitar
Meanwhile, the Stellar Ship Explorer encounters a meteor storm that slows them down. Finally, the Vehicle Force arrives at the energy base and forms Voltron immediately after deploying. They help the Lion Force get the upper hand, until Prince Lotor unveils a secret feature of his robeasts...
The robeasts combine to form their own super robot! And it can form its own "blazing scimitar"!
The combined efforts of the two Voltron forces take it down.
The two teams hang out after a well-earned victory.
Production Details
In 1986, World Events had Toei Animation produce some additional footage to create this crossover television special, which had entirely new animation, containing very little recycled Golion and Dairugger footage. Made for the international markets, this special has not been released in Japan.[citation needed]
This special is the only instance in the original series where both Voltron incarnations appear together.
While not named in the film, Lotor's combining robeast has retroactively been called Lo-tron. Jeremy Corray has said the name Doom-tron also works. [1]
DVD Details
There were three DVD releases of Fleet of Doom
- The first was a Voltron.com exclusive, released on Region 1 DVD in early 2007. It was published by World Events Productions and was distributed exclusively online via Voltron.com for $19.95. This initial run had compatibility problems with older DVD players. It is not known how large this run is, but according to WEP's Jeremy Corray, it was a "very small run"[2].
- After selling through this run, 1000 more copies were created, with improvements that fixed some of the earlier compatibility problems. These copies were also sold through Amazon.com's Advantage system (with price increased to $24.99, though you could still buy it from Voltron.com for $19.95).
- Another DVD release of Fleet of Doom went to traditional retail on July 28, 2009[3] with new cover art. It contained fewer Special Features than previous releases (three minutes of "Animation Bloopers" and the first episodes of both Lion Force and Vehicle Force Voltrons). It also contained trailers for Alteil, Galaxy High, and Giant Robo, as well as one for GoLion which emphasized its uncensored nature.
In late summer of 2009, Voltron.com began offering the DVD free with any order. It is unknown which release will be shipped.
Special Features
- Character Art Slide Show (89 slides, shown for 5 seconds each with Voltron soundtrack playing in background)
We need some info! The second WEP release had more slides than the first. Which one has 89 slides and what amount did the other have? |
- Original Series Openers - theme sequences for both Lion Voltron and Vehicle Voltron
- Man-on-the-Street interviews - "Jeremy from Voltron.com" accosts people in downtown St. Louis
- Voltron Fan Films
- Includes a fan-made theme sequence for the planned-but-never-produced Albegas Voltron
- W.E.P. Cartoon Previews
Trivia
- When Prince Lotor combines his robeasts, he recites the same lines spoken by Keith when the Lion Force forms Voltron.
- The Monsterpocalypse Voltron: Defender of the Universe Battle Miniatures Game is loosely based upon this film. It is more chess-like in that each side has an equal number of Doom or Galaxy Alliance ships, that the five Voltron Lions on one side are counterbalanced by Lotor's robeasts on the other, and that each side can utilize all of its Lions or robeasts to form Voltron or Lo-Tron respectively for a fairly evenly-matched duel. This does however mean that Vehicle Voltron is absent and that Lion Voltron can dispatch Lo-Tron/Doom-tron with one stroke of Blazing Sword (and a very good attack roll) to win even if the entire Galaxy Alliance is wiped out and Fleet of Doom otherwise virtually untouched.
References
- ↑ http://forums.voltron.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/329103823/m/7763924557?r=2473945557#2473945557
- ↑ Voltron: Defender of the Universe - DVD news: Announcement for Voltron - Fleet of Doom:Limited Edition, 2008-02-26, accessed 2009-06-21
- ↑ BestBuy.com store listing, accessed 2009-06-21