At 7:00 p.m. on September 17th 2026, my family and I sat in a near sold-out theater to be part of the 40th anniversary of the first Transformers animated movie. Of course, not the first time I saw it in theatres. The first was 40 years ago. The second was the 30th anniversary. I’ve seen the movie more times than I could recall. On VHS, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray. Maybe even on Beta.
The 40th-anniversary celebration began months ago with toys, shirts, and more merch. The gimmick was called the Transformers Apology Tour with the premise of traumatizing children with the death of Optimus Prime. The first time in American animated history for a main character to be killed on screen. Then, it took an unexpected and unfortunate turn.
Under a month ago, Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, passed away. When Mr. Cullen passed, the feel of the celebration changed. It hit fans hard. I have no shame nor fear of admitting I am among those who felt the hard gut-punch of disbelief. I cried when the news broke.
Watching the movie in a theatre, crowded with fans young and old, I cried again. I had my family with me. Four friends also came. All of them seemed to look over to check on me a few times during the movie. It makes sense. When it comes to Transformers, Optimus Prime, this is my number one hobby.
The movie itself, for those who haven’t seen it, is worth seeing. If you can this weekend in the theatre, do it. If you can’t, you can easily buy a DVD, Blu-ray, or pre-order the upcoming 4K Re-Master. It is an excellent movie. The animated action still holds up and looks better than some animated cartoons. Viewers could feel the action and enjoy the clever dialogue throughout.
Being in the packed theatre, where everyone reacted, laughed, cheered, and clapped, added to the special feeling of reliving childhood. Were there campy parts? Absolutely. Were there serious parts? You bet. Weird Al is in it! Eric Idle! Orson Welles! Leonard Nimoy! Judd Nelson! As Autobots and Decepticons fight to the bitter end, an even bigger threat looms to destroy them all. Fan favorites like the Dinobot run rampant. An old-timer Autobot tells war stories, the young upstart becomes a leader, and enemies close in with vengeance in mind. The story is an exciting escape, where characters feel bigger than life and become more than meets the eye.
My older kids enjoyed the movie yet again, and my youngest watched for the first time, reacting to the action and getting excited with each scene. Yes, a talker during the movie, but this was one time where it was accepted. The people in front of us couldn’t stop laughing. This movie is for all ages.
Now, after the movie was a 10-minute short film. A story about the Death of Optimus Prime. The animation was more modern, similar in style to Star Wars: Rebels. The final performance of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, together with longtime friend Frank Welker, reprising his role as the evil Megatron and other characters.
Without spoiling too much, this is a story of how Optimus confronts his death. Written by Rogue Sun sceenwriter Ryan Parrott, Optimus is challenged, presumably by the Matrix itself or an ancient entity. Brief glimpses of the future appear through scenes from the G1 animated series, and other media from other series appear as potential timelines and alternate universes. The main scene seems to take place in a universe where Optimus must choose life or death, figuratively and literally. It’s a cerebral story that might not appeal to everyone, but for this fan, it felt like a swan song of sorts.
Transformers: The Movie gets eleventy billion stars for being so damn awesome and is still awesome after 40 years. Find me another movie which holds up better than this.
Peter Cullen, thank you. Thank you for everything you have given your fans. For being the voice of multiple generations. For being the voice of a hero who believes Freedom is the Right of All Sentient Beings, and for sharing and being the embodiment of your brother Larry Cullen who said: “Be strong enough to be gentle.”
