The Voice Behind A Beloved Disney Character Has Died

“Oh, bother.”

The voice behind one of the most lovable gloomy characters in childhood is gone.

Peter Cullen, the legendary voice actor who brought Eeyore to life in “Winnie the Pooh” and gave Optimus Prime his unmistakable commanding voice in “Transformers,” died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home.

He was 85.

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Cullen’s family said he died peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones.

You might not have known Cullen’s name growing up. But you definitely knew that voice.

Cullen started voicing Eeyore on “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” in 1988, turning the perpetually pessimistic, droopy-eared donkey into a character generations of kids knew instantly.

“Hello. Thanks for noticing me,” Eeyore would say in that unmistakably low, defeated voice.

Cullen once recalled that he could get an immediate reaction from children simply by slipping into the Eeyore voice.

But Eeyore was just one part of Cullen’s massive career.

Long before the “Transformers” movies became billion-dollar blockbusters, Cullen was Optimus Prime.

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He first voiced the leader of the Autobots in the 1980s animated series and returned to the role decades later when the franchise hit the big screen.

And there was a reason Optimus sounded the way he did.

Cullen said he modeled the character after his older brother Larry, a decorated U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam. Cullen remembered his brother coming home quieter and stronger, and he drew on that when he was asked to audition for a hero who happened to be a truck.

Cullen’s voice was everywhere. He worked on “Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers,” “Voltron,” and “Knight Rider.” He even created those creepy clicking sounds coming from the alien creature in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Predator.”

His family asked fans to honor his life by serving their communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty.

Cullen leaves behind four children and decades of characters that aren’t going anywhere.

And for everyone who grew up with that gloomy gray donkey in the Hundred Acre Wood, there’s really only one thing left to say: Thanks for letting us notice you, Eeyore.