Peter 'Sullen'?
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:02 pmDon't mistake me - I'm glad they netted Peter Cullen to be the voice of Optimus Prime in the movies and the TF: Prime series. I just think he sounds more like Peter Sullen these days.
In the G1 toon he sounded a lot more energetic (yeah, I know) with a kind of John Wayne twang to him. He had some life and enthusiasm. In the new movies and in the new series though, he sounds listless, tired and bored. I can be forgiving - there may well be a reason for it. Here's some I can think of:
1) He may be feeling his age, and doing the voice with a full range of emotion might be too much a strain for the actor.
2) Optimus Prime is now too 'epic' of a figure. Let's face it - they've built up Optimus Prime into something larger than life. He's legendary. And as such, EVERYTHING he does has to be legendary. His every motion, his every word, now HAS to be something grand or epic or people are somehow disappointed.
I lean more towards the second. The script writers come across like they're just trying too hard to craft Optimus' dialogue so each sentence is wise or profound. But that comes across as silly when he's saying something normal, like 'get the door' or 'hello'. Instead of letting him say simple things like 'hi Raf', they make him say, 'Greetings my human ally who is known by the nomenclature of 'Raf'. It is GOOD to see you on this glorious day.' (I exaggerate slightly, but not by much) And in the course of the series, he HAS to say normal stuff every so often, so it becomes goofy to hear him trying to talk like a demi-god in exile with every line.
I just wish they'd lighten up with him a little. Just because he's a great leader doesn't mean they HAVE to make him so unapproachable and lofty. The TFA Optimus had a much more down-to-earth and personable feel to him, which in some ways made him a lot more likable as a character and a leader. In almost every scene where the autobots are having fun, they remove Prime - as if they were scared of tainting him with the filth of being 'normal'.
I think it was summed up best in the Wheeljack episode. Bulkhead and fake Wheeljack were lobbing, Miko was playing guitar, some dancing was going on. Jake looked around and said 'Where's Optimus.' Arcee just shrugged and said, 'Primes don't party.'
They don't have to make him dance or boogie. But they could have him at least stick around and maybe just crack a smile.
In the G1 toon he sounded a lot more energetic (yeah, I know) with a kind of John Wayne twang to him. He had some life and enthusiasm. In the new movies and in the new series though, he sounds listless, tired and bored. I can be forgiving - there may well be a reason for it. Here's some I can think of:
1) He may be feeling his age, and doing the voice with a full range of emotion might be too much a strain for the actor.
2) Optimus Prime is now too 'epic' of a figure. Let's face it - they've built up Optimus Prime into something larger than life. He's legendary. And as such, EVERYTHING he does has to be legendary. His every motion, his every word, now HAS to be something grand or epic or people are somehow disappointed.
I lean more towards the second. The script writers come across like they're just trying too hard to craft Optimus' dialogue so each sentence is wise or profound. But that comes across as silly when he's saying something normal, like 'get the door' or 'hello'. Instead of letting him say simple things like 'hi Raf', they make him say, 'Greetings my human ally who is known by the nomenclature of 'Raf'. It is GOOD to see you on this glorious day.' (I exaggerate slightly, but not by much) And in the course of the series, he HAS to say normal stuff every so often, so it becomes goofy to hear him trying to talk like a demi-god in exile with every line.
I just wish they'd lighten up with him a little. Just because he's a great leader doesn't mean they HAVE to make him so unapproachable and lofty. The TFA Optimus had a much more down-to-earth and personable feel to him, which in some ways made him a lot more likable as a character and a leader. In almost every scene where the autobots are having fun, they remove Prime - as if they were scared of tainting him with the filth of being 'normal'.
I think it was summed up best in the Wheeljack episode. Bulkhead and fake Wheeljack were lobbing, Miko was playing guitar, some dancing was going on. Jake looked around and said 'Where's Optimus.' Arcee just shrugged and said, 'Primes don't party.'
They don't have to make him dance or boogie. But they could have him at least stick around and maybe just crack a smile.
