WonderCon was an absolute joy this year, what with the variety of nerdy content to consume. The one panel that caught our eye in particular, however, was the one centered around Teen Titans Go! A new episode was premiered to attendees and the voices of both Robin and Beast Boy were present to give us all some insight into the production of the show and how wacky things can get. We made our way over just to give you guys an inside look at the panel.
After garnering a somewhat cult following, the original Teen Titans cartoon was canceled by Cartoon Network, surprising fans everywhere. When a new Teen Titans show was announced with the same cast returning on the same network, fans were stoked to get more of their beloved franchise. That is until they saw what Teen Titans Go! looked like. In terms of tone, it was on the opposite end of the spectrum from its more serious predecessor. Where the original sported darker story lines, Go! is silly, and has whole episodes dedicated to the Burritos Vs. Burgers debate. Fast forward to 2 seasons later and it has become a surprise hit for Cartoon Network. Partially because it is, in fact, comedic gold.
The Panel began with the premiere of “Video Game References”, which is set to be revealed for everyone else come April 16th. Like the title alludes to, the episode references video games. Robin has created a room–which will hopefully one day become a reality–that requires your imagination and a cartridge to send you into a virtual world. Robin being Robin has created it for “training” purposes. The gang will have none of this and each enter their own iconic virtual world. Without delving into too much of the episode, it was hilarious and spot on with some of its references. Some highlights include Raven transforming into a ghost in Pac-Man and Starfire calling the wooden sword useless even if it is dangerous out there. Even having to blow on the cartridge for the room to work its magic was a spot on reference. Definitely keep an eye out for this episode if you are a fan of the show or even video games.
After the premiere, the panel of Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Scott Menville (Robin), and producers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath opened up about the show. First thing that was discussed was the fan reaction to the show. As we previously mentioned, fans were not happy when they first saw what this new Teen Titans was like but they eventually came around to it. The producers said that the best way that they could deal with fans of the more serious one was by making an episode that essentially makes a huge joke about wanting a more serious tone. The episode alluded to is titled “Let’s Get Serious” where the gang is visited by the Young Justice crew. It was very apparent that the producers were not too worried about the show being too silly, nor should they be with the success it has had.
Since it is the same voice acting cast as the original, the actors were asked about the transition from drama to comedy. Greg Cipes mentioned that he originally wanted Beast Boy to be the loose cannon and the new show has completely given him liberty to do just that. Even though Beast Boy already served as comedic relief in the original series, we never got to see the character completely let loose. Scott Menville had the harder job because Robin is the leader of the team and even in the comedy realm he takes himself too seriously which ends up being funny. He mentions that he wanted to stay true to the character while at the same time make it funny. What he ended up doing was speaking faster because faster usually makes everything funnier.
They also discussed how much fun they have recording together and the chemistry at least with the two actors present was very clear. Jokes were made about how they each really get into the acting even though it is only their voices recorded. When asked about the Nickelodeon Ninja Turtle cross over, the producers adamantly denied it ever happened. It just so happened that a group of walking, talking karate turtles showed up on the show. It all came to a climax when Greg Cipes stood on his chair to show the fans his Ninja Turtles underpants. Can’t say it wasn’t fitting.
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The panel was an absolute blast to say the least. There were also some good tidbits here and there about the mindset of the producers and actors and how they approach the show. Be on the look out for the video game episode on April 16th and the first season of the show will be available on blu ray April 14th. Make sure to take your zany self to the comments section below and let us know what you think go the show. Do you prefer the old Teen Titans or the new one? Who is your favorite character?
