Death of Optimus Prime

This article is about the incidental track from The Transformers: The Movie. For the ridiculous number of times Optimus Prime has died, see The many deaths of Optimus Prime.

The Transformers: The Movie insert song
I'm not dead yet! I'm getting better!
"Death of Optimus Prime"
Performed by:	Vince DiCola
Composed by:	Vince DiCola
Arranged by:	Vince DiCola, Ed Fruge
Produced by:	Vince DiCola, Ed Fruge

"Death of Optimus Prime" is an instrumental synthesizer piece by Vince DiCola, featured on the 1986 album The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. It is featured in The Transformers: The Movie during, unsurprisingly, Optimus Prime's death scene, and it has the ability to make a tear run down the cheek of many a Transformers fan.

Cues

• 0:09 - Prime's body comes into view.
• 1:05 - Ultra Magnus takes Prime's hand.
• 1:25 - Prime reveals the Matrix of Leadership.
• 1:48 - Hot Rod catches the falling Matrix.
• 2:10 - Optimus flat-lines.
• 2:26 - His eyes go dead.
• 2:41 - His body turns grey.
• 2:57 - Parents storm out of the cinema with bawling kids in tow.

Edits

• Unlike many of the other instrumental tracks, "Death of Optimus Prime" is included in the movie relatively intact. The only edit occurs 2:29 into the track, losing the next ten seconds of the song. Whether there was any corresponding animation cut is unclear, but it probably wasn't Optimus crumbling into dust.

• Prime's death affected little kids everywhere.

Releases

• 1986 — The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Scotti Bros. Records)
• 2001 — Vince DiCola Presents: The Protoform Sessions (3H Enterprises)
• 2001 — Lighting Their Darkest Hour: The Complete Music Score for TFTM (3H Enterprises)