The original 1986 Transformers film is back to theatres for its 40th anniversary and features a final performance of Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime.
Hasbro, the owners of the Transformers brand, call it the Apology Tour as a way to say sorry to fans who watched the movie as children and were upset when Optimus Prime died in the movie.
The Transformers cartoon first premiered on Sept.17, 1984 and featured two factions fighting for resources, the good Autobots and the bad Decepticons.
In a Q&A at a Transformers Convention in 2019, the writer for the original film, Ron Friedman, reiterated that it was Hasbro's decision to make a movie to replace the 1984 and 1985 cast of characters in the cartoon with new characters.
Friedman said he was disappointed that he was tasked with writing the death of Optimus Prime and creating the new leader to take charge.
"I didn't wanna kill Optimus Prime, he was the centre of the Autobot family," Friedman said.
New and old fans arrived at Cineplex Cinemas in Vaughan earlier this month to watch the movie, but it became more of a gathering to pay respects to Cullen, who died on Aug. 26. He was 85.
Lucas Pimentel, 28, a fan since he was a child, said "when I saw the news it gave me goosebumps cause it almost didn't feel real.
"I've looked up to him and his character all my life, almost didn't feel real," he said.
Rowan Yarwood, 17, said "I cried. I felt really depressed."
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) says Cullen is primarily known for voicing Optimus Prime but also for voicing Disney's Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.
Web analyst Robert Sewell said "I didn't watch a lot of Transformers growing up, but I found out he was the voice of Eeyore that hit me pretty hard."
Pimentel and Sewell watched the Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay, and said that prompted both of their fathers to show them the 1986 movie as children.
Yarwood's father Jason said he introduced his children to the franchise in theatres and cried.
This showing of the film also included a 12-minute short titled Optimus Prime Awakening and a tribute after the credits to Cullen as the voice of the character.
"It was a really good send-off, knowing what happened recently. It was cool and very well done and at the end, it was emotional for me," Pimentel said.
The distributor for the re-release of the movie, Fathom Entertainment, originally planned to release it worldwide on Sept. 17 and end the run on Sept. 21, but it has been extended to Oct. 8 due to high demand.
Hasbro has said it is currently the only way to view the short is after the movie credits, but there are plans to include it with new releases of the film on disc.
At the Calgary Fan Expo in 2015, Cullen had said that his inspiration for the Optimus Prime character was his brother, Larry Cullen, a U.S. Marine.
Cullen told the audience that when he was auditioning to be a hero truck named Optimus Prime, Larry said "If you're going to be a hero, be a real hero.
"Be strong enough to be gentle."
