September 23rd, 2019 
Jackson Murphy 
It’s one of the biggest superhero showdowns of the year. Teen Titans Go! Vs. Teen Titans is available this week on Digital. I recently met cast and crew members who dived into the collaboration and successes of these two similar, yet distinct, franchises.
Jackson Murphy: What were the origins of this movie?
Marly Halpern-Graser (Writer): The project is very ambitious. I think you can even see just in the trailers that there are an incredible amount of characters in this. Very big cast, very ambitious, especially on a DVD budget. The team did a really amazing job. Jeff Mednikow (the director) and I crammed so much into this. I’m pretty sure there’s a fight scene in this movie with more characters than the big fight scene in the theatrical movie we did last year [Teen Titans Go! To the Movies]. Even though this one was gonna go directly to video, we wanted to make sure we were still pushing the limits of what had been established in the theatrical movie… try to make sure it’s even bigger and more exciting.
JM: How proud are you of “TT v. TTG”?
Jeff Mednikow (Director): Very proud. Very ambitious project. Anytime you got two sets of great, iconic characters who are different… we’ve thrown them together and we have not only a very satisfying storyline that all the characters get to have their moment but also a lot of heartfelt moments and funny moments, a lot of high-action moments. Very proud of it… and the fact that it got done at all.
JM: What do you hope the fans take away from this particular film?
JM(D): I hope there’s something for everybody. I hope fans of the original get a certain amount of satisfaction from seeing how the original characters react to the “Go” Titans. Getting to experience all kinds of different emotions.
JM: When you initially heard about this concept… what were your emotions?
Tara Strong (Raven): Excited for sure. Real, real happy. Fans of the original show, and the new series, won’t be disappointed.
Scott Menville (Robin): I was like, “Really? This is gonna happen? You’re gonna let us do this?” I don’t know why I was surprised because they let us do all kinds of crazy stuff on the show. It’s pretty cool.
Hynden Walch (Starfire): I don’t know if you remember the poster from Comic-Con from last year, I believe, where it was the original Titans fighting the Teen Titans Go! And everyone went, “That’s amazing!” So it’s really cool. All the fans and all of us who’d like to see more of the original are getting more of the original… plus the awesome new addition of “Go”.
JM: How has the fan reaction been over the past two decades of voicing your characters?
TS: I’m so happy and grateful and appreciate it. The fans are everything. Without your fans, you’re nothing. They let the network know if they didn’t like you anymore. I love connecting with them.
Greg Cipes (Beast Boy): To play different versions of Beast Boy is just the greatest joy ever. And now on “Young Justice”, I’m an older version of Beast Boy.
JM: I loved last summer’s theatrical feature, “Teen Titans Go! to the Movies”. Do you know how the makers got Michael Bolton to do the “Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life”?
SM: I don’t know how it happened, but I will tell you this. I’m a punk rock kid. And when they told me I was gonna be singing on a track with Michael Bolton, I was like, “Is this real? This is not my universe!” It was awesome. And Michael Bolton was really excited to be a part of the movie. He’s a cool cat. It’s funny – I have a buddy who’s a celebrity, a well known actor. And his first question about the movie was, “Dude – Michael Bolton!” That’s what he wanted to know about.
JM: How was it watching that movie?
Khary Payton (Cyborg): It was awesome. I had not laughed that hard in a movie theater in a very long time. I’m still so very proud of the group that did this. I don’t think people understand just how hard it is to do what they do.
TS: The writers make it look really easy. It’s insane. The fact that they get away with [the episode ideas] is nuts. But they’re brilliant. They spin it in a way that’s funny but clever. And if you can have things that are clever and funny and not mean, not racist, not sexist… it’s inclusive for everybody. Everybody is shown love. The stupidest things make you laugh just because they’re clever and relevant.
JM: This is a DC property, but you’re able to make fun of the DC superhero world so much. From your perspective, how are you able to get away with so much and have so much freedom?
HW: I love it. It’s so cool. And often times in the booth, we’ll be like, “How are they letting us do this? How are they letting us say this?”
JM: But you’ve never gotten any push back… or a line went too far?
HW: Well, you know there are Standards & Practices. They come in and go, “You can’t say this!” We had one episode, the name of which I will not say because it still hasn’t come out – and I believe we recorded it in Season 2. And they kept going, “No! Make it tamer!” We’ve done 18 versions… and we’re at the point that it’s so watered down that it’s become dirty again. So maybe that episode will never air. It does happen, and I love all the really good, dry satire directed at the entire superhero genre. It’s just delightful.
JM: Where do you see the saga going from here?
TS: These films bring forth a new appreciation from the generations who have watched “Go” but haven’t seen the original [series]. This movie proves that both can exist in the same world at the same time. There isn’t a reason why we can’t do [“Teen Titans”] Season 6 at the same time as “Go”. I think it would be nice to see some of that and maybe another crossover.
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