RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Media Batman: the Brave and the Bold coming to Cartoon Network

So they ARE going for more of a Bif Pow Zap feel....they ought to at least have the decency to get Adam West to voice Batman.

Newsarama reports the show is being promoted as having “equal doses of comedy and high stakes.”

So they ARE going for more of a Bif Pow Zap feel....they ought to at least have the decency to get Adam West to voice Batman.

oh my god.

As I read the description, I thought 'Could be good'.

Then I scrolled down.

I hope they're aiming that one at 3-year-olds...

Or someone who sounds like a younger West. Yeah, it'll happen. "Thanks chum! Crime doesn't pay."

I agree! This show insults my intelligence! Kids are too smart for this crap!

Sincerely,

rex

I agree! This show insults my intelligence! Kids are too smart for this crap!

Sincerely,

rex

You're never gonna win pixieP's heart with talk like that.

Newsarama: When people think of Batman, they usually think of Michel Keaton through Christian Bale. You’re now part of another interesting chain of performers that includes Kevin Conroy, Rino Romano and, in New Frontier, Jeremy Sisto. How do you feel about that?

Diedrich Bader: I knew there were big shoes to fill. There is kind of a type of voice people expect. To do something completely different, well it wouldn’t be Batman. So the perimeters are sort of set. Essentially, what I bring is a bit of lightness and sense of humor that others either shied away from or weren’t allowed to pursue.

NRAMA: Hadn’t you worked on some of the past animated series?
Batman, Green Arrow and Blue Beetle

DB: I did. I worked on a number of them. One thing I found when I watched them was little kids couldn’t really watch them, particularly the violence. They were great shows but my son is five year old, and they didn’t appeal to his demographic. He’s actually the primary reason I did the show. I wanted to be on a show where Batman, who I think is an icon who can appeal to anyone and thus is a great character to play.

NRAMA: This Batman is lighter in tone. So how did you switch things up yourself?

DB: He’s still the Dark Knight. What we do is have Batman’s sense of humor come from the narrative, when he talks about the guest stars. He has a different guest superhero every week. Sometimes two. That is a lot of people. We really reached deep into the lexicon of DC and brought them out. I think many of them have been virtually forgotten. We also imbue many of them with a sense of humor. Still, it’s Batman’s sense of humor and his sensibility, which is one of irony. He’s a witness to the craziness these guys bring. I think that’s what makes the show interesting.

NRAMA: Would you say your work in improv and with Drew Carey helped?

DB: Definitely. Working on a sitcom and improv improves your comedic chops. If you do it long enough, the one thing you learn to do is listen to the other characters. It helps move the story along. In improv, it’s called ‘yes, and...’ It’s agreeing to what the other person brings. It’s something I’m able to do with Batman that I think is productive.

NRAMA: So did you do the voice work in isolation or radio style?

DB: We do it radio style, at Andrea Romano’s insistence. First though, we rehearse. Which in TV is extremely rare. Then we record all together. It’s really difficult to do the show without reading the whole thing. If you just read the script cold, you really don’t get it. Also, it’s really fun to create it all together.

NRAMA: So how about if Michael Jelenic or James Tucker comes down and hands you a script. You read it and come up with something you think is better. Do they give you the freedom to try it out?

DB: Yeah. They’re open to that. What’s interesting is that’s one of the best things about being on a series. They really start listening to your voice, especially for what works and what doesn’t work. I would say in the beginning I pitched a lot more than they took. Then they kind of got to understand what I bring to Batman.

Then again, writers do that. They pay a lot of attention and listen to what is happening. That’s how it evolves. For instance, in the first year of the Drew Carey Show, Oswald was really smart. After a while, he got dumber and dumber. In the end I couldn’t figure out how he qualified for a driver’s license. With this Batman, the sense of humor has also changed. It took 26 episodes but I think we’ve found his voice.

NRAMA: So the pilot episode, “Rise of the Blue Beetle,” was that an early episode?

DB: That was an early session.

NRAMA: So how does your Batman differ 26 episodes in?

DB: I think he’s actually a bit less light. Frankly, when I saw the final episode I thought Batman kind of skips along. Now he has a little more gravitas, and that actually helps the humor. It’s made the humor a little more ironic, a little less joker-y.

NRAMA: I loved what Dee Bradley Baker did with the aliens...

DB: Isn’t he fantastic?

NRAMA: I especially liked how they constantly referred to Batman as Blue Beetle’s sidekick.

DB: Exactly. Isn’t that hilarious? What you’ll notice is he plays along with being the sidekick. That’s part of the humor. The one thing that’s constant is Batman has his ego in check.

NRAMA: That’s something you don’t expect from the Dark Knight.

DB: Definitely. I think that’s a good view of the overall arc of the show. By the end of each episode, the two characters have helped each other through something. Things one is deficient in, the other compensates. They make up for each other. That is one of the points of the show. It’s a really nice element.

NRAMA: Has there been any particular person you really enjoyed working with?

DB: Dee Bradley Baker comes on a lot. Otherwise, you’ll have to check it out because we have different guests every episode. I don’t want to spoil anything. I will say it has a cast that anyone who watches cartoons will be excited about. There are also a lot of people coming in to do the show that you never would have thought of doing animation.

NRAMA: When I started, people making a career out of animation voice work was very rare. Yes, you had Mel Blanc, June Foray, and the immortals. These days, it seems a lot more common. You seem to be doing it.

DB: That’s true. I love it. For me, it’s like playing. You get to do all these different characters and you don’t even have to dress up for them. One of the defining things about my career on camera is I like to play different characters. That gets difficult to do. People don’t trust you to do something different.

In animation, it’s all about trust and how far can you go away from yourself. It’s a really marvelous environment that’s extremely creative. As you said, it’s a little larger than it used to be but it’s still pretty small. So you see the same people all the time, and they are really pleasant. In fact, no matter how talented they are, they have to be pleasant. They kind of get drummed out if they aren’t.

That said, I also don’t like to work that much. So I try to focus on what I really like to do. My children are really thrilled that I’m doing this. That’s one of the reasons I’m focusing on animation. My son is so excited about it he’s fair-to-bursting.

NRAMA: His daddy is Batman...

DB: I mean c’mon! Yeah. Very few five year olds can say that.

NRAMA: What do you think of the visual style James and crew came up with?

DB: I really love it. I genuinely do. The first glimpse I got of it was when I was at Comic-Con. It was just overwhelming. I love the over-saturated colors and the fluidity of the animation. It’s really cool. The music is really good too. I hope animation fans will really like it. It harkens back to the traditional stuff we used to love, not that CG stuff.

NRAMA: Did you read comics when you were young?

DB: Only when I was in camp. I wasn’t allowed to read them when I was home. I used to love the X-Men.

NRAMA: Haven’t you worked on any of the X-Men series?

DB: No. I wish. Then I got Batman so I’m really happy.

NRAMA: Now you are also a cat in Bolt. Which one?

DB: My part is smaller than Mittens. It’s basically two scenes. You’ll figure them out. They’re both pretty funny. It’s been so long since I did the session I don’t remember the cat’s name. I really don’t have much memory of it.

QUICK NOTE: The debut of Batman: The Brave & the Bold has been moved from Friday, November 14 @ 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

WF: The first question is one I have to ask – Why another Batman cartoon? How did this one come about?

Tucker: We wanted to do something with Batman that hadn’t been done recently. Batman in recent years has been really dark and tortured and angst ridden. We wanted to do something that brought him back to his earlier roots of a friendlier more approachable Batman. Everyone tends to focus on the Rogues Gallery and with this version; we had the chance to reintroduce a great cast of characters who have been overlooked. Also, this new lighter tone gave us a way to introduce younger viewers to Batman – the same way we were as kids.

WF: Can you explain to the fans your basic role in the production of this series?

Tucker: As the show’s producer, I oversee all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development, hiring and managing production to ensure the show’s overall quality. I was very involved in creating the concept and really enjoy participating in the day-to-day activities such as scriptwriting, character design, casting, and directing.

WF: After watching the first episode, I found it to be fun, light-hearted, and in the vein of DC's Silver Age comics. Why take this approach to Batman, especially with the darker version sweeping both the cartoons and the big screen right now?

Tucker: Again, we really wanted to create a show that was appropriate for younger viewers and still be exciting for parents and hard-core fans. This show is a great homage to the classic Batman of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. There is plenty of action, great characters and gadgets. The show feels familiar and is true to its roots, but the colors and style come across as new and fresh. The good news is that there are several versions to choose from - so there truly is a Batman for everyone at any age.

WF: How do you think this show will compare to not only previous renditions of Batman, but also your previous DC Animation work? How has working on this series differed than the other DC Animated series you've worked on? This seems to be a project that you have fully embraced and made your own.

Tucker: Of all the shows I’ve worked on, this one has allowed my personal love of old school Batman to shine. I loved working on all the DCUA shows from Superman through Justice League Unlimited but, by our own admission, we didn’t do those shows to be overly kid-friendly. Producing Batman: The Brave and The Bold allowed me to capitalize on the influences from my first exposure to the Batman 60’s show and cartoon. From there I got into the comic books and learned there was more to him than meets the eye. When I was a kid we had these great comic book collections called 100 Page Spectaculars which featured a new Batman story followed by reprints of Batman from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. I had the opportunity to learn about Batman in all his different incarnations, and they all blended into one for me. So for this show, I drew from Batman’s whole history as a hero, not just the very early year or so when he was a dark vigilante who carried a gun or the last 20 years or so since Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns. This show has influences from ALL of Batman’s history. So for me it’s a dream come true to work on this version of Batman. It was a simpler, more lighthearted version of Batman that lead me to become a passionate comics fan and I hope this show will serve the same purpose for kids today.

WF: After watching the first episode, it seems like we'll be seeing two guest-heroes an episode: one in the pre-credit sequence and another during the actual storyline. Can you tell us who we can expect to see in the first batch of Batman: The Brave and The Bold episodes, and what plans you have for at least for the first 26 episodes?

Tucker: You can expect to see Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, Red Tornado and Plastic Man. Each week there will exciting new guest voice actors and new partners for Batman to team up with. We are keeping most of these secret and you will have to watch the show to find out.

WF: What types of opportunities, or road blocks, has Batman: The Brave and The Bold given you for usage of certain characters that you haven't had in previous series, such as being able to use Plastic Man, for example?

Tucker: The DC universe is huge! We have literally hundreds of heroes and villains to choose from. The hardest part was really deciding which ones NOT to use. We knew early on that the Penguin, Poison Ivy, the Joker had been core characters to our earlier shows. So to change it up, our first choice was to explore other characters like Clock King, Black Manta and Gentleman Ghost. Many of the characters we brought back have not been seen since the 60’s and 70’s, or outside of the actual comic books.

WF: Was it jarring to jump to Legion of Super Heroes to Batman: The Brave and The Bold, in terms of both jumping to a different network and dealing with a different array of characters?

Tucker: Legion was a difficult show to produce for many reasons. I had some growing pains initially as it was my first time being a sole producer. So it was a bit of a trial by fire, but by the end of the first season I had come to love the characters and the shows had found their voice. I think we definitely found our groove by the time we completed the ‘Suneater’ two episode story arc. It was then that we were really clear on the shows tone and we really came into our own in the second season. I’m extremely proud of the episodes and think we explored some very daring themes in that series. Hopefully that creativity will get it’s due on DVD someday. With B:TBATB, there was no learning curve. I have learned how to produce shows that are true to their artistic vision and how to be flexible when the inevitable hiccups arrive. This is the show I watched as a kid, only with better stories, animation and production values. We have recreated that sense of fun and excitement for a whole new generation.

WF: Now, not to veer off-topic, but Legion of Super Heroes fans are curious about a couple things in particular. First off, can we expect full-season releases for the two season of Legion of Super Heroes on DVD? Secondly, fans are wondering what your thoughts were when the series was let go after 26 episodes, and what plans did you have for the future seasons of the series?

Tucker: Well as I said, I had grown to love Legion of Superheroes. Michael Jelenic and I were very attached to the second season and had many plans for the 3rd season, so switching over to Batman was daunting at first. It wasn’t until Sam Register specified that this show was to be based on The Brave and the Bold that I got really excited about it. With The Brave and The Bold, I was free to explore all the different types of ways Batman has been portrayed and create a broad range of stories. I’ve worked on shows with Batman as a character for most of my career but this was an opportunity to do something different tonally with the character that hadn’t been done before.

As far as Legion goes, I’m not aware of any plans for Season sets. We’ve not been approached to do any supplemental features either. But it is a great idea. Unfortunately, that kids programming block ended before we could produce all of the great stories we had been developing. When the timeslot was sold off it pretty much ended any chance of us continuing with Legion series. As far as future story arcs, we would most likely have devoted time to Brainiac 5’s quest to redeem himself after the events of the season 2 finale. I personally wanted to introduce characters we hadn’t had a chance to yet. Legion simply had too many characters to do justice to two seasons. Michael and I had also talked about Ferro Lad’s twin brother showing up in an adaptation of “The Ghost of Ferro Lad’ story, and I wanted to introduce Wildfire into the Legion as a replacement of Kell-El. Legions seemed to work better with a loose cannon of the team.

WF: And, for one final off-topic question, fans are still wondering if we'll ever see the Justice League Unlimited again! Has there been any new developments on the Justice League Unlimited direct-to-video “World's Collide” feature, or on the property at all?

Tucker: No plans that I’m at liberty to talk about. But it does come up periodically on our ‘to-do’ list.

WF: Okay, let's get back to your current project - Batman: The Brave and The Bold! I have a fan submitted question that I'd like you to take a look at and reply to, if you can. Here it is: “Will see Hal Jordan, Ray Palmer, Ted Kord and Ronnie Raymond? Or Spectre, Hawkman and Hawkwoman? What about Batgirl, Penguin, Joker, Catwoman or Riddler? Also, I would like to see a tribute issue #28 of the The Brave and The Bold 28 comic, with Batman, Hal, Barry, Diana, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Superman VS Starro! Is this possible?” I realize that's a loaded question, but, any response?

Tucker: Hoo-boy. Yes, No, Maybe, No. No. No. No. No. No. Maybe. Maybe. Yes. No to the tribute issue, but I’ll have to research that since it sounds interesting. We don’t have permission at this time to use Wonder Woman or Superman.

WF: Now, based on the available artwork, this show seems to feature a host of characters with an array of different designs from different eras of DC's long comic history. For example, we have the classic Green Arrow look, but we also have the new Blue Beetle design. How did you decide on a look for this show? What inspired you?

Tucker: This show is not set in any particular era. The series was inspired by the 100 Page Spectacular comics of the ‘70s where different versions of the same character appeared in new stories and reprints, so you would read a story about Batman set in the 70’s but the back up stories were reprints from all the different eras. The fact that I’m using the current Blue Beetle with the original Green Arrow is purely a taste issue on my part. The Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle was a character that tested through the roof with kids so that was a no brainer. And the lefty, bearded Green Arrow had appeared in both Justice League and the Batman, so I didn’t want to go there again. I decided on the look of the show from trial and error. I hundreds of sketches showing possible directions the show could have taken before I settled on the one that just clicked. I had previously storyboarded and created character designs for a segment based on the 50’s Batman for a ‘Batman: The New Adventures’ episode called “Legends of the Dark Knight” and it was the most fun I had ever working as a storyboard artist. So when this opportunity came around, I went back to that as an inspiration. I decided to try to attempt a thicker ink line around the characters to make them look more like old school comic book characters. This was something we contemplated doing on the ‘Legends of the Dark Knight’ segment, but decided against it because the animation studios back then weren’t nearly as versatile as they are now. In fact, it was a huge concern of ours when we asked the studios to do it since for so long we felt it was something that couldn’t be done well in an action adventure show. Thankfully, the studios have been amazing and the animation we’ve been getting back is the most consistent I’ve ever seen on any series I’ve worked on. For color design of the show, I worked with my lead BG painter, Bill Dunn, and Craig Cuqro, the character and prop color stylist, on a new brighter color palette for the show that’s exciting and pleasing to the eye.

WF: And, naturally, fans want to know – can we expect to see Batman's supporting cast and big-time baddies pop in? What about Bruce himself? It seems as though we're given a hint in the first episode in what we can expect to see, in terms of Batman's supporting cast.

Tucker: Every week Batman will team up with his friends Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, Aquaman and countless others will get a chance to uphold justice and go on great adventures. Batman is still based in Gotham City, but for this series, he will travel all over the world, into outer space and even under the sea. The one thing to keep in mind is that while we don’t see Bruce Wayne, we will hear him in voice over telling us what Batman is really thinking. It’s a fun way for Batman to show his sense of irony and humor.

WF: So, James, as we wrap this up, any final thoughts on Batman: The Brave and The Bold? What can fans expect when they flip on their television on November 14th?

Tucker: Everyone can expect a lot of action and great animation featuring stories with some of their favorite heroes.

WF: Is there anything you'd like to say to the staff and readers at The World's Finest?

Tucker: I have really enjoyed working on this series and it has a fantastic new look that fans and reviewers are excited about. We hope your readers all enjoy the show and be sure to go online and check out http://dcherozone.kidswb.com/ for more great stuff from Batman: The Brave and The Bold.

dont be gay rob...

...resorts to the "I know you are but what am I" ploy...