When it comes to movies supposedly made for children that traumatized kids in the 70s and 80s, there seems to be an unending well to draw from. From General Woundwart’s ripping another rabbit’s throat out in Watership Down (1978) or the head-swapping gallery of Princess Mombi in Return to Oz (1985), or the Wonderful World of Disney showing Old Yeller (1957) on weekly repeat, one death in particular hit home for a number of kids and teens: Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime had headlined the heroic AutoBots in The Transformers cartoon series from 1984. He provided insight, leadership, and invincibility in a world of laser blasts and robot destruction. And then, in The Movie, he died after a battle with Megatron.
This death caught everyone in the cinema by surprise, adults and kids alike. It seemingly came out of nowhere since Optimus had been in much more dire battles every Saturday morning for the last few years. And we were all floored by his death. So much so, that the 40th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie is being promoted as “the apology tour” by Hasbro.
Not only that, but Fathom Events is promoting some additional post-credits content which seems to tease that contrary to 40 years of wailing over his death, Optimus Prime is perhaps not really dead after all. And you thought a finger twitch was only relevant in zombie apocalypse films.
I am excited for the 4K remaster, though, to be honest, upscaling to 4k might make the animation feel even more sketchy. I love the style and the framerate of the original, but mostly because I’m nostalgic for it and other cartoons from the period that had wonky and repetitive frames. I, of course, plan to buy it on Blu-Ray once it is available so I can put it on a shelf and most likely not watch it after opening it on day one. But I will have it “just in case.”
Every time I see the Fathom trailer, first at Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) and then at The End of Oak Street (2026), I have also been overcome with sadness not just because Optimus died in the movie, but because the voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, also passed away the same week as Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. So, I’ll raise a Pepsi Twist to his memory before shelling out my hard-earned money for another physical release.