The world has lost a true icon: Peter Cullen, the iconic voice of Optimus Prime in “Transformers,” has died at the age of 85. Though he was best known as Optimus, a role he played for more than 40 years, that’s just the tip of the iceberg in what was a truly remarkable career — one that spans more than six decades, dating back to his work on shows like “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.”
But the world will forever remember Cullen for his downright legendary voice. As a voice actor, he amassed literally hundreds of credits, lending his distinctive, powerful, emotive voice to everything from the Mogwai in “Gremlins” to Thaedus in “Invincible,” with nearly two hundred projects in between (and dozens leading up to “Gremlins”). While he may be primarily known as the leader of the Autobots, his contributions to the fabric of popular culture were downright enormous.
As a means of honoring the man and the incredible body of work he left behind, we’re going to take a look at some of the very best movies and TV shows that Cullen worked on over the years. Naturally, that’s going to include “Transformers,” but it also includes other legendary characters, Saturday morning cartoon favorites, and even alien icons. Let’s get into it.
5. Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers
For people of a certain age, “Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers” ranks as top tier Disney animation. Delightfully absurd, the show focused on Chip and Dale, who operate a detective agency known as (you guessed it!) the Rescue Rangers. The duo were joined by some pals along the way, one of which was the muscle of the group, Monterey Jack.
Voiced by Peter Cullen in Season 1 of the show (with Jim Cummings taking over later), Monterey Jack provided a lot of humor and heart to the adventures in the series. While Cummings would ultimately voice Monterey for longer, it was Cullen who made the character who he was from the jump. Long before “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” was turned into a wild industry satire by Disney in 2022, Cullen helped bring his authentic voice to the show, taking it seriously while having fun with it at the same time.
Shows like this operate best with a cast of characters all filling different roles to help shake things up week-to-week. Monterey Jack was crucial to the show’s dynamic, as a big uncle-like heavy with a weakness for cheese. This dose of nostalgia straight up wouldn’t hit the same were it not for Cullen’s contributions.
4. Predator
Director John McTiernan’s original “Predator” is a phenomenal movie. Not just a fun testosterone-fueled ’80s action fest, it’s one of the best combinations of science fiction and action to ever grace the silver screen, right alongside the likes of “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” But this movie wouldn’t be what it is, nor would the Predator itself be what it is throughout this enduring franchise, without Peter Cullen.
Casual movie fans may not be aware, but the “Transformers” legend created the Predator’s iconic clicking sound, essentially inventing the language of the Yautja, aka the alien species that traverses the galaxy in search of prey worth hunting. It’s a simple thing on the surface, but what Cullen did helped to shape one of cinema’s most legendary aliens, giving it a distinctive voice that one can instantly recognize. It’s especially dizzying to consider when watching something like “Predator: Badlands,” which features much more of the alien language on display. That language goes back to Cullen’s original voice recording.
It’s one thing to be able to speak human language into a microphone and give a character a voice. It’s another thing entirely to, on the fly, craft something totally inhuman that becomes a defining part of the fabric of genre cinema. Cullen was a master of this craft and this is a damn fine example of why he was so good. It’s not just nonsense clicking and noises. As history has demonstrated, it was much more than that. Cullen deserves his share of credit not just for this movie’s success, but the franchise in general.
3. Winnie the Pooh
“Transformers” and “Winnie the Pooh” share a certain legendary voice, and that voice is Peter Cullen.
It would be very difficult to isolate a single project, but it’s impossible to talk about the work of Cullen without touching on his immeasurable contributions to the “Winnie the Pooh” franchise. He voiced the lovably depressed donkey Eeyore for decades, giving a true voice to one of A.A. Milne’s most memorable creations.
Cullen didn’t originate Eeyore’s voice. That honor belongs to Ralph Wright. However, he picked up the torch in 1988 and continued voicing the character right up until his passing. From “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” to “Piglet’s Big Movie” and everything in between, he carried that torch and added a lot to the character. With characters like this, it’s rare that one actor takes it on for its entire lifespan, but Cullen did an admirable job for the time he spent with Eeyore.
There was always a bit of Cullen underneath Eeyore, but it’s pretty remarkable that he was so great at playing this easy to love bummer of a character while also excelling at playing a fully inspirational, larger-than-life hero like Optimus Prime. The two couldn’t be more different, but Cullen did both equally well. That’s the mark of a great actor, not just a great voice actor.
2. Transformers (2007)
Very few actors will ever be as closely associated with a single character as Peter Cullen is with Optimus Prime. When it was revealed that Michael Bay was making a live-action “Transformers” movie, it would have been easy to imagine Paramount Pictures and the inventor of Bayhem doing a bit of stunt casting for the leader of the Autobots on the big screen. Fortunately, Cullen convinced Bay to cast him in “Transformers.” That proved to be the best thing for the character and the movie.
Decades after first creating the voice of Optimus in animation, Cullen got to make the alien truck/robot feel more real than ever. I still have a very distinct memory of being 18 just after graduating high school and sitting in the theater, watching Optimus Prime transform for the very first time and then hearing Cullen say those immortal words: “I am Optimus Prime.” Chills. Straight up chills.
I know it’s become popular for people to dunk on Bay’s “Transformers” movies, and when it comes to the later sequels, it’s hard to argue against that. But Cullen getting to take on this role in a new medium decades later was truly wonderful and it helped make these movies the cultural phenomenon they became. Cullen is Optimus Prime, and having anyone else take on that role in the first live-action movie in the franchise would have felt dirty.
Rightfully, the actor was given the chance to make Optimus Prime a movie star, and he made the very most of it. He created real movie magic. That’s something special.
1. The Transformers
Is there any other choice for the number one spot than “The Transformers,” the animated series that started it all? Hasbro launched this animated series as a means to help sell toys, but it became much more than that. A truly cherished animated series from the ’80s, it wouldn’t be what it is without Peter Cullen’s truly remarkable performance as Optimus Prime. From the very first time he speaks, it doesn’t feel like a corny cartoon. There’s something real behind it, something that stuck with the character for decades.
That’s in no small part because inside of Optimus Prime lives a real-life hero, namely Cullen’s brother, H.L. “Larry” Cullen. He based the voice of the leader of the Autobots on his war hero brother, and that made it feel more real rather something manufactured and cartoon-y. There’s a real power to the way Optimus speaks — something authentically heroic about it. That’s a big reason why a generation of kids were scarred when Optimus Prime died in “Transformers: The Movie” in 1986. To them, he wasn’t just a cartoon. He was real. That’s all because of Cullen.
The recording sessions for “The Transformers” series may have been bedlam behind the scenes, but from that bedlam came magic. Cullen crafted one of the all-time great voices in animation history, and it all started in 1984 with this somewhat unassuming series. What is now a multi-billion-dollar, generational franchise simply may not have succeeded the way it did without Cullen doing his thing.
RIP, Peter Cullen. You will be missed.
