Deck the Halls With Wacky Walls
Deck The Halls With Wacky Walls was a 1983 Christmas special featuring characters inspired by the popular Wacky WallWalker toys. The premise features a team of aliens sent to Earth to find the true meaning of Christmas. Among the team members are Big Blue (Cullen) and Bouncing Baby Boo (Welker). You can watch the half-hour special on YouTube.
Gallavants
Cullen and Welker voiced characters in the 1984 animated film Gallivants produced by Marvel Productions. The story follows a society of ants from Ganteville and their adventures. Cullen plays Antonim, a royal consult(ant) to the Queen while Welker plays the Queen’s court jester Antik. You can watch the entire film on YouTube.
Robotix
Sunbow and Marvel released the animated series Robotix in 1985 with Milton Bradley providing a line of toys. It was short lived with only fifteen 6-minute episodes that were also compiled into a feature film. Cullen and Welker had major roles on both sides of the battle. Cullen voiced Boltar, the gentle beast of the Protectons and the main antagonist and ruler of the Terrakors, Nemesis. Welker voiced Bront, the tough guy of the Protectons and also Tyrannix, the second in command to Nemesis. Watch the complete Robotix series on YouTube.
Challenge of the Gobots / Battle of the Rock Lords
While Cullen and Welker are mainly known for Hasbro’s Transformers, they both lent their voices to Tonka’s transforming robot rivals, The Gobots. Cullen and Welker voiced several characters in the 1984-85 Challenge of the Gobots animated series and the 1986 Battle of the Rock Lords feature film. My favorite character is Stick and Stones, one of the evil Rock Lords, a two-headed monster that was voiced by Cullen (Stones) and Welker (Sticks)! Watch the animated series on Dailymotion.
Dungeons and Dragons
Cullen and Welker were both featured throughout the 3 seasons of the Dungeons and Dragons animated series from 1983-85. Cullen portrayed the main antagonist, the evil wizard Venger and a one-off character The Darkling that appeared in the final episode. Welker voiced Venger’s arch-rival Tiamat, a five-headed female dragon. He also provided the sounds for Bobby’s pet and companion, Uni the baby unicorn. Watch the entire series on YouTube.
Muppet Babies
Frank Welker played Baby Kermit throughout eight seasons of the Muppet Babies animated series. And while they did not have dialogue together, Cullen made a guest appearance in a 1986 episode titled “Fozzy’s Family Tree” playing Fozzy’s cousin Smoggy Bear. Watch the episode on YouTube.
Pound Puppies
The 1986 animated series Pound Puppies is another that featured Welker as a regular character with Cullen showing up for a guest appearance in several episodes. Welker provided the voice for Catgut, the Siamese cat owned by antagonist Katrina Stoneheart, and also several additional supporting characters throughout the series. Enter Cullen amid Season 1 providing the voice for a secondary antagonist Captain Slaughter, an intimidating sea captain with a metallic right hand. Watch “The Captain and the Cats” episode of YouTube and you’ll hear that Captain Slaughter is very close to the vocalization of Optimus Prime.
The Real Ghostbusters
One of Welker’s most fun-loving character performances was Slimer in The Real Ghostbusters animated series. Of course, he also portrayed Ray Stanz and provided additional voices throughout the long-running series. Cullen joined Welker for just one episode during the run, “Captain Steel Saves the Day.” The premise involves Captain Steel, a comic book superhero who escapes the book into real life before it is canceled. Captain Steel’s nemesis Doctor Destructo (voiced by Cullen) also escapes so it’s up to the hero and the Ghostbusters to save the day. Watch a clip from the episode on YouTube which features Slimer, Janine, and Doctor Destructo.
Seven more Cullen and Welker credits on the final page…
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