Category: News
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Thu, May 15, 2008 at 10:13 AMKevin Conroy talks 'Batman: Gotham Knight'
I'm not usually one for cutting and pasting from press releases (I'd be a pretty bad journalist if I was), but this transcript came to me from Warner Bros., and it seemed interesting enough to share.
Fans of the original "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Batman Beyond" will recognize Kevin Conroy as the definitive voice of a generation of "Batman." And as one of those fans, I'm pleased as punch he's back for "Batman: Gotham Knight," the collection of anime shorts coming out in July. It, of course, promotes the new live-action movie, "Batman: The Dark Knight."
So here you go, with the more "press releasy" hype stuff removed:
Kevin Conroy had studied for and starred on the stage, advanced his career through soap operas, and was featured in television series like "Dynasty" and "Tour of Duty."
Conroy has cast a loud shadow in voicing the Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne for 17 years, beginning with "Batman: The Animated Series" and continuing through 16 films, video games and animated series (covering more than 220 episodes). He reprises the role in "Batman Gotham Knight," the third film in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.
"Batman Gotham Knight" will arrive July 8 on DVD and Blu-Ray disc, and will also be available that day On Demand via digital cable and for download through broadband sites. The film is produced as a collaboration between DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation. The film will receive its world premiere at Wizard World Chicago in late June.
From his home in New York City, Conroy spoke at length about the film, his ongoing relationship with the character, and the surprising manner in which he first approached and procured the role of Batman.
Question: What are your impressions of the film?
Kevin Conroy: It's a really rich experience. The artwork in this film is so beautiful, so amazing. I love the adult-themed animated shows like "The Simpsons" and "South Park" and "King of the Hill." I love the appeal of their writing, the irony, the sense of humor. Those are great animated productions. But you forget just how rich animation artwork can be until you see a film like this. There's just no comparison. I've never seen anything like this in terms of diverse and rich animation in the industry - it's like getting six movies in one.
The story is very interesting, especially the way it weaves in and out of Bruce Wayne's history -- like the flashback to him training in India, learning to endure pain. It's very well conceived story and I think it enhances a lot of the Batman mythology.
I don't think there's any question the fans will love it, because it's such a deep animation experience, and it gives such great background into a character they already love. It's a very positive piece.
After three years away from the character, what were the challenges of donning the cape once again?
Getting back into the Batman voice was not hard -- after so many years, it's so familiar to me now that it's like putting on an old coat. As you live with a character over the years, you fill out the skin. You don't even realize you're doing it. Sometimes they ask during a recording session, "What sound would Batman make here?" or, "What would he say here," and they trust me to do that. They know I've been living with him for so long, I know what he'd say, and how he'd react.
Batman Gotham Knight has essentially 12 different looks at your characters -- nine of Batman and three of Bruce Wayne, varying in design and age range. Were there any challenges to maintaining the consistency of your performance despite voicing to so many different image variations?
In the past, we've always treated the shows like a radio play -- we recorded the lines, and then the animation took place. This time, the artwork came first, and that made the process interesting. Sometimes the artists put extra mouth flaps in, or they made the cadence different from the way I'd usually deliver a line. So we had to work within those parameters and try to time the acting to fill the space.
Interestingly, they originally they were going to cast another actor to do the younger Bruce Wayne, and Andrea (Romano) convinced them to let me take a stab at it. I had done the younger voice in a number of the "Batman: The Animated Series" flashbacks, so Andrea knew that I could do it. And once I got into the studio and gave them a sample, they were convinced. The challenge is making the distinctions -- you have to make concessions for youth and give the character the sound of a younger man, while still believably being the same guy.
At its core, this film represents several different perspectives of Batman, providing many different layers to the character. Can you discuss that range of emotions the film explores, and to what depths you reach to capture those emotions?
It's that delicate balance you get in voices. As an actor, it's still the same job -- it's acting -- except that you only have your voice, and you have to be a little more precise in finding the balance. You have to keep it very minimal and you don't want to be too cartoony, but at the same time you only have your voice to tell the story -- so you have to juice it up a bit. Sometimes the hardest acting is in the non-dialogue aspects of the performance. As an example, there was one long scream when Batman is falling down a series of ladders into a pit. They recorded that over and over and over again, trying to figure out how to do it just right, and not overdue it. I had to give them lots of variations and I'm sure they picked the best one later. Overall, it was a little challenging with the different artistic styles and the different stories, but it was still Batman.
The legions of Batman animation fans have hailed you as the definitive voice of the character. How did you originally settle on that particular voice?
To tell the truth, after reading the original script, I really went to audition for the character voices -- like Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. Like most actors, I really love to be challenged, and I thought they'd be more interesting and really push me. And then Bruce (Timm) and Andrea (Romano) said they wanted to hear me do Batman. The only exposure I'd had was the campy Adam West live-action series, and they said that wasn't what they wanted. So I put myself into a very dark place in my voice, and my voice got deeper and darker and huskier, and it came out very mysterious. I really just took a stab at what I thought the voice would be, and then I saw Bruce and Andrea and Paul (Dini) running around the booth, so I knew I either was very good or very bad. That's how it started -- just me in a sound booth, them on the other side of the glass describing the character, and then the voice just came out of my imagination. And it worked. So initially I was much more interested in doing the character voices, but luckily they talked me into Batman.
Do you require a certain mindset to approach the voice of Batman?
There's an emotional place I go to -- Bruce (Timm) says he see it in me in the booth. It's much more a psychology than just producing the sound. Batman is very complex. The Bruce Wayne voice is the real put-on. This is a guy who saw his parents murdered in front of him, and nobody would be normal and together after that. He feels like a freak inside. So to do the voice, you have to take on all that drama.
That's why everyone relates to Batman -- because everyone feels like a freak inside. Everyone has ghosts that they don't want to show anyone else. All of us feel like we have that inside us. For me, that's one of the most interesting aspects of the character -- that a super hero would ultimately be based on that inner-freak that we all feel that we have.
In your mind, what's special about playing Batman?
I think what I didn't anticipate about voicing Batman was the fact that I was playing an icon -- I just didn't take into account how much Batman meant to so many people. Coming from a very conservative background, and not having extensive exposure to comic books and the character, it just never occurred to me. So in the beginning, I only thought of it as an acting job.
And now ... you're an icon in the Batman universe?
I'm always flattered that people actually know who the voices are. It seems to me such an anonymous job. But periodically, somebody recognizes me -- it happened in a furniture store recently. To me, that's truly amazing -- first that someone knows who does the voice, and it's even more amazing that someone would know the face of the voice. I think a lot of the reason that I'm so linked to Batman is because I've been doing it for so long. Before "Batman: The Animated Series," there really hadn't been a voice aside from Adam West. People knew Batman from the campy live action series, and the fans knew the Dark Knight comic books, but there hadn't been a voice ssociated with the character, and certainly not a dramatic voice. I think I just lucked out because I was the one who started with it, and people grew up with that voice.
P.S. If you've made it this far, you deserve a reminder about my
"Speed Racer"
toy giveaway. There's still time to enter. Scroll down for details!Category: Reviews
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Tue, May 13, 2008 at 10:55 AMEnjoy another style of Japanese animation
I'm always on the lookout for ways to expand my readers' horizons, so today I offer up a bit of Japanese animated filmmaking that isn't anime: "The Exquisite Short Films of Kihachiro Kawamoto" from Kino Video. (The full-length "The Book of the Dead" was also released recently, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.)
The shorts mostly feature puppet animation, the kind many of you Western readers best know from Rankin-Bass Christmas classics such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
In Kihachiro Kawamoto's hands, however, the art form doesn't focus on the cute. These are tragic stories, featuring demons from Japanese folklore or the oppression of big business.
It's heady stuff, and some of it will definitely leave you scratching your head, but there's not denying the master skill behind it all.
The animation is fluid, and the puppets themselves can be quite, well, exquisite. And the stories, mostly told with haunting music but without spoken dialogue, can be startling in their beauty and brutal honesty.
The short "Donjoji Temple" is my favorite: the story of a woman who falls in love with a traveling monk's disciple and pursues him over mountain and river and whose passion turns her into a white dragon.
The description of the other Kihachiro Kawamoto title, "The Book of the Dead," sounds right up an anime fan's alley: "'The Book of the Dead' takes place as Buddhism is being introduced to Japan from China. Iratsume, a woman of noble descent, becomes obsessed with this mysterious new religion. One night, in a rapturous trance, she sees a luminous vision that she believes to be the Buddha, compelling her to leave home and journey to a sacred temple. Once there, she sees Otsu, a young prince who was executed 50 years earlier. While Iratsume mistakes the prince's spirit for the incarnation of the great Buddha, the ghost mistakes Iratsume for the last woman he saw at the moment of his death. As an act of great devotion, she decides to make a giant shroud for the prince to heal his soul, after which he begins to haunt the young woman and those around her. The pair embark on an impassioned battle of wills, one longing for the material world, the other striving for the spiritual."
So as anime releases taper off, keep up with your Japanese culture with these releases.
Category: News
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Mon, May 12, 2008 at 10:02 AMNew company entering anime field
Not suprisingly, I ran across an interesting interview this weekend at ICv2.com.
It's with Barry Levine, president and publisher of Radical Publishing. The company is jumping into the comic book market with "Hercules" and "Caliber." But what's interesting for this blog is the company's future plans: manga and anime.
First up is an artbook in June by Yoshitaka Amano, who's best known here for his lush and haunting "Vampire Hunter D" illustrations. The 400-page book will be titled "The Winds of Silence."
The company also will have a manga imprint called Radical Manga, which Levine calls "manga done for the Asian market. We're not even thinking of doing Americanized manga. I've seen that done; it's not true to the essence of what it's about. The concept is great. The art is great. It'll always translate over here in other mediums, as well."
And finally, the anime: a movie (and comic) for kids done in Singapore called "Animal Squares," in partnership with Johnny Depp and a "major company in Japan" Levine won't name yet. "It's square animals in a round world. It's kind of irreverent."
Head over to ICv2 for the full interview. It all sounds very ambitious, and I wish him well.
Category: Giveaways
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Thu, May 8, 2008 at 10:54 PMRace home with 'Speed Racer'
Whether you're a fan of the original "Speed Racer," the new live-action movie or both, here's your chance to have some of the fun delivered to your doorstep.
We're giving away an "SR" package with Hot Wheels cars, a T-shirt, Lego figures and an awesome storage box.
For your chance to win, send your name and address to ehenrickson@detnews.com with "Speed Racer" in the subject line. Enter once by May 16.
In the meantime, read Detroit News Film Critic Tom Long's text review or watch his video review, complete with colorful clips. You can also watch the first seven minutes at Adam Graham's pop culture blog.
Good luck!
Category: Random thoughts
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Wed, May 7, 2008 at 9:00 AMFarewell to a non-anime anime lover
I'd like to take a moment to make a shoutout to my grandmother, whom we laid to rest in her hometown Up North this past weekend.
We had the funeral a couple months ago, but we had a nice graveside service once weather conditions improved up there. I didn't say anything at either event, and as the eldest grandchild, I'm feeling kind of guilty.
I've got lots of great memories of Nana, but to keep this somewhat on topic, I'd like to acknowldege her support for whatever I did. She always thought I was a great writer and kept a basket that had copies of every newspaper story I wrote. Since writing isn't my main occupation, the stack isn't amazingly huge, but it became a pretty impressive collection over the years. I even had to mail her copies of stuff I wrote for my college paper and my old job in Oklahoma.
In that pile are the stories I've written about anime. She may never have watched an episode of "Speed Racer" in her life, but she loved it because I wrote about it. And if a DVD was on my Christmas list, she would track it down.
So, thanks, Nana, for all you did for me. I love you, and you'll be so greatly missed.
Not much posting for a bit
Sorry I forgot to mention earlier that some family matters will keep me from posting much this week and early next week. But I've got some great stuff coming up, including details from a reader's trip to Japan and an awesome "Speed Racer" giveaway next Friday.
Have a good weekend!
Category: News
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Mon, Apr 28, 2008 at 10:59 AMState of the business: Hopeful?
Looks like there's some good news in the U.S. anime biz these days.
According to an article at ICv2.com, "the anime DVD business has shown some signs of life in the first couple of months of 2008." They say that's because of some big-name releases and box sets as an emerging release standard.
On the downside, though, Japanese companies are cutting production because of the economy and a larger-scale decline in sales.
The full in-depth report is in ICv2's "Guide to Anime," which is available for purchase at the site. I didn't get one, but the Web site does mention the top 10 anime properties in early 2008, if you're interested. ("Appleseed: Ex Machina" was No. 1. "Naruto" was the No. 1 manga.)
Category: News
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 12:36 PMSpike goes bad -- sorta
Fans who like to follow their favorite voice actors from show to show may be interested in this bit of news.
Steve Blum, the oh-so-perfect voice of Spike Speigel in "Cowboy Bebop" (the show that got me interested in anime) and many others crosses over into the world of Saturday morning cartoons with a guest stint as the Green Goblin on Kids' WB's "The Spectacular Spider-Man."
This certainly isn't his first non-anime role. He's also appeared on "Powerpuff Girls" and "Loonatics Unleashed," and he will be the title character in the upcoming "Wolverine & the X-Men." He's also done several video games.
But I think he's a bit of a rarity in anime voice over actors. There don't seem to be many who do anime and western animation. Yuri Lowenthal ("Kyo Kara Maoh!") was Superman on "Legion of Super-Heroes." Any others? (I'm gonna get lots to prove me totally wrong, aren't I?) Crispin Freeman also played Superman -- in the "Justice League" video game, so that doesn't count.
Here are a couple images of the iconic characters, along with a shot of the man himself as he recorded his Green Goblin lines.
Category: News
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 8:16 AM'Bleach' movie coming, too
It was but a week ago when I had news of the live-action "Death Note" movie coming to Michigan. Now I get to say that "Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody" will pass through here, as well.
"Bleach" will be showing June 11 and 12 at several Metro Detroit theaters: the AMC Livonia 20, the Quality 16 in Ann Arbor, Canton Cinema in Canton Township and the Showcase Cinemas Ann Arbor in Ypsilanti. For the full list of theaters, visit the Fathom Events Web site.
And like it worked for "Death Note" (both are VIZ titles), Shonen Jump e-mail newsletter subscribers will get first dibs. Those tickets will be available May 2-8. Sign up at the Shonen Jump Web site. Starting May 9, tickets will be available from Fathom Events.
Here's the synopsis from VIZ:
"Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody" begins as unidentified beings known as "Blanks" start popping up. They are soon followed by a Soul Reaper named Senna who makes them disappear. Puzzled by these unknown beings and the even more mysterious girl, Ichigo and Rukia set out to learn more, but uncover an evil plot when a menacing clan tries to kidnap Senna. Banished from the Soul Society long ago, the clan's leader has sent sending the World of the Living and the Soul Society on a collision course, and Senna seems to be the key to his diabolical plot for revenge. Can Ichigo and his fellow Soul Reapers save the two worlds from annihilation?
Sounds like a must-see for fans.
Category: Reviews
Posted by Eric Henrickson on Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 10:16 AMFinal impressions: 'Kaledo Star: New Wings'
This isn't really a review per se, because they show is pretty old, but I watched a show over the weekend and wanted to share a few thoughts.
I finally had the chance to catch up with the second season of "Kaleido Star" from ADV Films. Since ADV stopped sending me review copies (I don't get a budget, so I rely on screener copies for timely reviews), I haven't seen a lot of their stuff. Thanks to Netflix, the final two discs of the series have been sitting on my coffee table for a couple months, but the show is so old, I didn't think of trying to review it.
But then I teared up at the end (I still can't believe it), so I figured it was worth mentioning.
"Kaleido Star" is about a girl with a dream. Sora wants to be a star at "Kaleido Stage," a "Cirque du Soleil"-style circus. In the first season, she got her dream when she completed the Legendary Great Maneuver. The second season, an upstart gymnast is challenging her, the male star of the show is a jerk to the nth degree, and Sora learns it will take the Angel's Maneuver to make her a true star, awaken the Angel's Heart in everyone and do everything except create world peace.
Does she do it despite all the obstacles? You'll just have to see.
Sora has always had so much self-doubt she got kind of annoying at times, but I still rooted for her. As she faces the culmination of all her Kaleido dreams and may be responsible for fulfilling the dreams of others, it's nigh impossible not to get caught up in the drama. Sora and her friends have created a wonderful family.
The animation is only fair, but it's cheerfully colorful, and the in-show performances are nicely staged and costumed. The character designers really had to work overtime on this show.
So with releases slowing down so much this year, if you need a fix and see the box set on the store shelf, give it a look. If you like upbeat shojo shows, you won't be disappointed.
