[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n this era of Disney / Marvel Studios box office dominance with ultra successful live action films like black panther and Avengers Infinity War, people tend to forget that the first and most natural medium for superhero stories off the printed page has always been animation and in that realm of comic book cartoons there is one undisputed king and that king is Warner Brothers and DC Animation. With absolute classics features “Justice League: The New Frontier” and “All-Star Superman” in addition to shows like Young Justice and the criminally underrated “Green Lantern: The Animated Series” no other Comics publisher or movie studio is even close to unseating DC from their throne atop superhero animation mountain.
That’s why it should be no surprise when DC gets when the creator of Afro-Samurai and a producer on “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” team up to produce “Batman: Ninja” the most over-the-top animated feature that Bat-fans are ever likely to see. “Batman: Ninja” was released through digital distribution on April 24 but it had its New York premiere at the Directors Guild of Association’s in Midtown Manhattan and it was packed to the brim with avant garde animators, voice acting royalty, super excited fans and hilarious German accents.
The English language cast features a number of notable voice acting stars such as the gorgeous Grey Griffin who is the voice behind Princess Azula in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and plays Catwoman in this new film, the incomparable Tara Strong who provides the voice for Harley Quinn who’s IMDB page is an amazing grab bag of DC heroes and villain roles, Roger Craig Smith who most people know as everyone’s favorite assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the “Assassin’s Creed” series makes his return to the Batman role after his previous successful take on the character in Batman: Arkham Origins, and Tony Hale putting on a command performance as the Joker who’s better known for his work on Netflix’s Arrested Development and HBO’s Veep.
We got the chance to speak to a few of them about their current and upcoming projects and here’s what they had to say:
Tara Strong – Harley Quinn
You’ve been involved with Batman since the first animated series. Through it’s transition, from Batman the Animated Series through The Batman, Brave and the Bold and now Batman Ninja, what do you think about the changes in style?
I think there’s room for all versions, as long as you’re true to the characters and the core of who they are it still works. It’s always fun and interesting to explore them in different worlds. This is certainly unique to anything we’ve seen before and it’s amazing. I still have a lot of love for the original which was really dark, I like my superheroes really dark and the original Batman was pretty meaningful and special but I still appreciate all the other versions too.
You are now playing Harley Quinn but were originally Batgirl. Which of the characters did you most enjoy doing?
Well, I’ve been Batgirl, Harley, Poison Ivy, Raven… and you think you may have an identity crisis?
Fair enough.
It’s always fun to play a bad girl so Harley’s fun to suit up but I have a special place in my heart for Batgirl because that was my first time in the DC universe, with Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy beside me and pinching myself.
Which elements of Harley do you have the most fun playing with? We’ve only seen a few clips of the film so far but it looks like a blast.
Oh my gosh! Every time I get to play Harley I’m happy, it’s like a way to take out my frustrations. Harley is therapy. I get in that booth and I’m screaming and swearing, and there’s no limit to how crazy she can get but like full of love and vulnerability. She’s a really interesting mix, she’s a crazy crazy girl.
Considering how many characters you’ve voiced in the DC universe is there anyone you haven’t done that you want to try?
No, I think I’ve really been very lucky. I’ve been able to play, at some point, everyone that I grew up loving. I think Wonder Woman might be the
only one that I haven’t done but who can say? I mean ultimately I’m happy.
Grey Griffin – Catwoman
So you’re IMDB is lousy with voice acting credits, who has been the most important character for you to play as a voice actress?
Well, we’re at a Batman movie where I played Catwoman so I should say Catwoman but… I’d have to say Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender. She was a villain that I really enjoyed playing very much. I’m also working on this new Disney show where I play a character called Queen Moon called Star vs. the Forces of Evil and I love that role too but I also love Catwoman, meow (laughs).
What are some of your favorite bits that draw you to the catwoman role?
I love that Catwoman is just out for herself all the time. She’s not really a villain or a hero, she’s just on whichever sides winning. The same goes for this film. She’s not to be trusted and that’s a lot of fun to play.
Do you find any parts of yourself in your portrayal of Catwoman, something that you really attach yourself to in your performance?
Um…not really (laughs). I guess one time I didn’t get charged for a lipstick in Target and just left with it. Then i felt bad and tried to return it but the lady said no don’t worry about so I guess I’m a bit of a their (laughs). It was probably a $30 lipstick, but hell, I work hard and people don’t do things for me. I probably deserve that lipstick (laughs).
Do you have any other projects coming up that you’re really excited for that you might want to plug a little bit?
In the superhero realm i’m playing Wonder Woman again in the new DC Superhero Girls but it’s done by Lauren Faust, the woman who resurrected My Little Pony and she and her husband Craig McCracken worked on Wander Over Yonder and she’s just an incredible character designer and she made an incredible Wonder Woman…and I’m also working on Unikitty, I love Unikitty, I play Puppycorn so that’s fun.
Can you speak to the artistry of getting your voice to embody different facets of personality? How do you manifest different kinds of emotions and other things that we can attach very clearly to just by using your voice?
I guess I’ve always just done voices. I just picture myself as the person the voice just come out. So if I see myself as an old lady, then my physicality in the booth is just a little different and I come out like a little old lady [Editors’ Note – While answering this question she changed her voice to sound exactly like an old woman]. I don’t know. I begin to move my body differently and i just see my face as her and it just comes out. With the Catwoman voice I use to get myself in trouble [testing my voice out] because I would call people in the phone book and pretend to be some guys girlfriend. I would call when he wasn’t home and then go [using sultry voice] “Is Jeff there? And a woman would respond “No… who this?“ and then i’d go “Oh this is Stephanie, I just wanted to see if he was there.” Then they’d freak out and go “OH MY GOD WHO IS THIS?!” And then I would just hang up. I would of course feel bad for Jeff who’d probably come home and be in trouble. That’s just terrible (laughs).
Director: Jumpei Mizusaki, Writer: Kazuki Nakashima and Character Designer Takashi Okazaki
Batman and his allies have recently been re-imagined lately with more anime features. Did this inspire the creation of Batman Ninja and did you draw any influences from those designs?
Jumpei Mizusaki – Of course! I mean, it’s gotta all be related. In fact, I think it because of the success of those previous adaptations, which were actually from anime in japan that were already given to them, that this time they asked the Japanese team to completely come up with an original concept.
This movie is set in feudal Japan. How challenging was it to integrate things like mechs and the Batmobile and have it feel natural?
Kazuki Nakashima – No no, It was actually quite easy. We just blamed time travel. They just happened to bring the technology from the future with them. Except for the fact that they’d run out of fuel very quickly so they’d only have a very short time to use their tech.
What kind of impact does a character like Batman have in Japan?
Takashi Okazaki – I would say that Batman is actually very well known in Japan. Actually, in terms of American superheroes, Batman is either the top or at least one of the top two known characters in Japan. And the reason why is that about 40 or so years ago the Adam West Batman series was actually translated and aired in Japan and that wasn’t the only instance. We had the comics translated and the old animated series so I think Batman’s quite well known even among non-fans.
Among the Bat-Family who’s your particular favorite?
Takashi Okazaki – It has to be Batman. I’m sorry that’s a very boring answer but it has to be Batman. That may be cheating.
Jumpei Mizusaki -Damian and Barbara Gordon Batgirl
Kazuki Nakashima -Riddler. He seems to be a very easily animated character. Artistically, maybe easy to adapt into anime but considering he speaks in riddles there may be a lot lost in translation so it might be harder from a script point of view.
Photo Credits: Morika Tsujimura
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