Animation
‘Dragon Ball Z’ and ‘One Piece’ Voice Actor Mike McFarland Dies at 56
Veteran voice actor, director and producer Mike McFarland, whose work included some of the biggest anime franchises of the past three decades, has died. He was 56.
McFarland died Wednesday, September 9, at a care facility in Dallas following a battle with brain cancer. He was surrounded by friends and family at the time of his death.
For generations of anime fans, McFarland was perhaps best known as the English voice of Master Roshi and Yajirobe in the Dragon Ball franchise. He also voiced Buggy the Clown in One Piece, Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, Jean Havocin Fullmetal Alchemist, Mashirao Ojiro in My Hero Academia and Koutarou Amon in Tokyo Ghoul.
His impact on anime extended well beyond his performances. McFarland worked extensively as an ADR director, scriptwriter and producer, helping bring numerous Japanese productions to English-speaking audiences throughout his career.
Master Roshi
McFarland’s health struggles became public in January 2025 after he underwent emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor. The tumor was later identified as glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Friends and fans rallied around McFarland during his treatment, with a GoFundMe campaign raising more than $300,000 to help with his care.
Following news of his death, Crunchyroll paid tribute to McFarland and his impact on the anime community.
“Mike brought so much to all of us who knew him, and to all of the anime fans that knew his work. He was an incredible talent, a good friend to so many of us, and will be sorely, sorely missed.”
McFarland leaves behind an enormous body of work spanning television, movies and video games, with his performances becoming an enduring part of some of anime’s most recognizable franchises.
Ted and John Bennett are getting back together, this time in animated form.
Peacock has released the first look at Ted: The Animated Series, a new adult animated comedy that will reunite Seth MacFarlane and Mark Wahlberg more than a decade after Ted 2.
Unlike Peacock’s live-action Ted series, which serves as a prequel to the movies, the animated series will continue the story of the original film franchise. The show takes place 12 years after the events of Ted 2, with John and Ted now living next door to each other and raising families of their own.
Wahlberg will return as John Bennett, while MacFarlane once again voices Ted. Amanda Seyfried is also returning as John’s wife, Sam, alongside Jessica Barth as Tami-Lynn.
Ted: The Animated Series [peacock]
MacFarlane created the series alongside Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh, with Corrigan and Walsh serving as co-showrunners. Rough Draft Studios is handling the animation.
Peacock has ordered eight episodes for the initial run, with additional episodes expected to arrive in 2027.
The new series gives the Ted franchise an opportunity to move beyond the timeline of the movies while bringing back the characters and actors audiences already know. It also allows Peacock to continue its live-action prequel separately, giving the franchise stories set during two very different periods of John and Ted’s lives.
Ted: The Animated Series will premiere December 17 on Peacock.
Animation
The Cat in the Hat | Main Trailer
The Cat takes on one of his toughest assignments yet when he’s tasked with cheering up siblings Gabby and Sebastian as they struggle to adjust to life in a new town. The assignment could also be the Cat’s last chance to prove himself before losing his magical hat.
The new trailer puts Hader’s take on the Cat front and center, showcasing the colorful animated world and the mischief, magic and chaos audiences have come to expect from the character.
The film marks the animated theatrical feature debut of the Cat in the Hat and is the first full-length feature from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni directed the film, with Daniela Mazzucato and Jared Stern producing.
The Cat in the Hat arrives in theaters and IMAX on November 6.
Genre
Animation, Comedy, Adventure, Family
Release Date
November 6, 2026
Directors
Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja
Cast
Bill Hader, Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry, Quinta Brunson, Paula Pell, Tiago Martinez, Giancarlo Esposito, America Ferrera, Bowen Yang and Tituss Burgess
Plot Summary
The Cat takes on one of his toughest assignments yet when he’s tasked with cheering up siblings Gabby and Sebastian as they struggle to adjust to life in a new town. The assignment could also be the Cat’s last chance to prove himself before losing his magical hat.
The new trailer puts Hader’s take on the Cat front and center, showcasing the colorful animated world and the mischief, magic and chaos audiences have come to expect from the character.
The film marks the animated theatrical feature debut of the Cat in the Hat and is the first full-length feature from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni directed the film, with Daniela Mazzucato and Jared Stern producing.
The Cat in the Hat arrives in theaters and IMAX on November 6.
Peter Cullen, the legendary voice actor who brought Optimus Prime to life across more than four decades of Transformers projects, has died. He was 85.
Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his agent confirmed. A cause of death has not been announced. His family said Cullen died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.
Born in Montreal in 1941, Cullen built a prolific voice acting career, but his unmistakable performance as Optimus Prime ultimately became his defining role.
Cullen first voiced the heroic leader of the Autobots in the original Transformers animated series beginning in 1984. His deep, commanding performance helped turn Optimus Prime into one of the most recognizable characters in animation and pop culture.
More than two decades later, Cullen returned as Optimus Prime for Michael Bay’s 2007 live-action Transformers movie. He continued voicing the character throughout the live-action franchise, including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, The Last Knight, Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Peter Cullen voice of Optimus Prime
Cullen’s career extended far beyond Transformers. He provided the voice of Eeyore in numerous Winnie the Poohprojects and created the distinctive vocalizations of the Predator in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Predator. He also voiced characters including K.A.R.R. in Knight Rider and Thaedus in the animated superhero series Invincible.
His work as Optimus Prime earned Cullen generations of fans and eventually a place in the Transformers Hall of Fame. In 2023, he was also honored with the Children’s & Family Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the entertainment industry.
Cullen’s family asked fans to honor his legacy through compassion, integrity, loyalty and service to others, invoking the philosophy that became closely associated with both Cullen and Optimus Prime: being “strong enough to be gentle.”
Few voice performances have become as inseparable from a character as Cullen’s Optimus Prime. For millions of Transformers fans, his voice wasn’t simply part of the franchise. It was Optimus Prime.
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