DC Super Hero Girls Reboot Series 'Sweet Justice' Interview

In 2015, the super-popular DC Super Hero Girls franchise debuted with the release of toys, merchandise and a series of web shorts featuring the female superheroes of the DC Universe. The media blitz took fan-favorite characters like Supergirl, Batgirl, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn and put them in a school setting as they worked to get along while juggling adolescence and superpowers.

As successful as the franchise has been for Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, it's looking for an even larger spotlight today with the release of "#SweetJustice," a special one-hour movie premiering on Cartoon Network that will serve as a reboot for the franchise as it transitions into a new animated series on the network.

CBR had the opportunity to speak with voice actors Tara Strong (Batgirl), Kimberly Brooks (Bumblebee) and Kari Wahlgren (Zatanna) about the fan reaction to the new Cartoon Network series, the change in tone, their quirky characters and what fans can expect from "#SweetJustice."

CBR: As you've done interviews and convention appearances, what has the reaction been to not only the animated shorts, but also to the announcement of a new series on Cartoon Network?

Tara Strong: Most people are pretty excited! They've been waiting a long time to see these girls in action together. Lauren Faust's designs on these girls are amazing. I just love that the girls are all different body sizes and shapes, and every ethnicity is represented. We're really kicking butt on this show, and it's not just, "Haha, let's get into trouble." These girls are kicking some pretty serious butt together.

Kari Wahlgreen: It's the cartoon I've been waiting for my entire life. It's the show I wanted when I was a kid, so I'm pretty excited about it too. It's finally arrived.

From what I've read, this is a complete reboot of the DC Super Hero Girls brand. What ways have you noticed a change in the style and theme of the show from the shorts to this new series?

Kimberly Brooks: I think it's more serious. The previous show was geared towards a younger audience, and this will appeal to adults and teenagers, and is a lot slicker and more stylized. It's a lot more than just the toys, which I'm sure will be awesome [Laughs].

Strong: The series is a lot more hardcore. And like you said before, the representation of different body types and ethnicities is amazing. I think that will make a big difference.

For those who may be new to the series, can you each describe the personalities of the heroes you're portraying: Batgirl, Bumblebee and Zatanna?

Wahlgren: So Zatanna is the Drama Club girl in high school; very theatrical, popular and very girly, but also loyal to her friends. Zatanna's big superpower is she uses magic. So that's fun for me in the recording process of the show and having to do all of the backward spells.

Brooks: Bumblebee is very shy. She's the smallest and the youngest of the group, but she has the biggest heart. She loves her friends so much and cares deeply about everyone. And even though there are a lot of things to fear, she's pretty fearless. There is a lot of adventure to look forward to and a lot of surprises, especially from Bumblebee.

Strong: So, Batgirl in this series is a whack-a-doo [Laughs]. When Lauren [Faust] first came to me, she said I want you to be Batgirl but you can't be Harley [Quinn], and I said, "Why?!" And she said, "We want Batgirl in Harley Land. We want her completely crazy." So Batgirl is crazy, high energy, she talks super fast and has a million ideas going on at the same time. She fashions herself as the leader of the group and is inclusive to everyone else, and that's one thing that's really beautiful about the show. It's all about sisterhood and working together, and that translates from the studio. We generally love each other and have a great time and are supportive of each other.

Batgirl's costume is so amazing, and she has great gadgets and weaponry, and there are throwbacks to the old Batman weaponry. Sometimes she'll be really hyper and then flip into "I'm Batman" mode.

NEXT PAGE: The Differences Between the Heroes' and Their Secret Identities, and What Are Their Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses

The new reboot seems to display the heroes and their secret identities as being polar opposites. For example, Batgirl is a sleuth when in costume, but outside it Barbara Gordon is a fangirl. Tara, can you speak to the opportunities that provides you as a voice actor?

Strong: It's really fun, because when you talk about being in a session and vocally giving different levels, the actors on the show have an opportunity to give so many energy levels. Sometimes Batgirl is just hanging out with her friends, and other times she's in a fight. And other times I'm doing almost all of the voices on a show, and in the moment it's all so real. So taking Batgirl from that real place to this teenage version of that with all this action happening around her, it's incredibly fun.

To me, what's great about an ensemble team is seeing everyone interact together, but there is also fun in the smaller relationships that form between members. Will we get to see some of this, and if so, what pairings can fans look forward to seeing?

Wahlgren: Absolutely. And that's one of the fun things about the recording process. Kimberly and I have had a Bumblebee and Zatanna episode, and some of the other ladies on the cast have split off and teamed up. It gives the audience a chance to get to know the characters a little bit better. Especially when you've got such a large core group of characters, sometimes you don't have the time to get to know each one of them. So they've done such a good job of splitting it up in interesting ways where you get to see layers of each character.

Brooks: As actors, getting to work together in an ensemble way is rare these days because everyone is so busy. We've had a lot of great group recordings and the shorts are really going to reflect that. There are a lot of shorts!

Something that I enjoyed seeing was Bumblebee overcome her fears, which a lot of us can relate to on some level. Kimberly, when you're voicing a character like this, did you had to think back to any of your own personal fears in order to get that feeling across to the viewer?

Brooks: Oh, completely. She is severely shy. But she has so much power, and she knows that. It's just about finding it and tapping into it. I think the way she does that is with her friends, with all the adventures they get to go on. And also just working through being a teenager. I think we all can identify with that. Like you said, there is something that everyone can identify with these characters.

Going back to each of your three characters, what would you say are their biggest weaknesses? And what are their biggest strengths?

Brooks: For Bumblebee, she wants to be big. She made this suit because she thought she'd have this huge presence, and it didn't work out so well. So Bumblebee is the smallest, but she found out that really comes in handy. So that's something you can expect to see her working on in these adventures.

Wahlgren: I think Zatanna, her weaknesses are she's very Type-A, which I can relate to [Laughs]. Sometimes she has moments where she's overly concerned about how other people see her, or what other people are going to think, which all of us as teenagers have struggled with. But it also feeds into her best qualities. She's got this great group of friends around her and she cares about them so much. They really keep her on the straight-and-narrow and true to herself.

Strong: I think the same goes for Batgirl, as the other ladies have mentioned. There's the teenage angst. Some of Batgirl's struggles come from staying level-headed because she's so high-energy, and not just running in head-first. And since she has no natural superpowers, she has to use her brains to figure out the best course of action.

To wrap up, what do you all hope fans take away from Friday's "#SweetJustice" and this all-new era for DC Super Hero Girls?

Brooks: Well, we premiere on International Women's Day, so we hope fans take away women power, coming together, supporting each other and just being strong and understanding your power, even at a young age. It's just an enjoyable show and I think fans will appreciate that.

DC Super Hero Girls stars Grey Griffin as Wonder Woman, Tara Strong as Batgirl, Nicole Sullivan as Supergirl, Kari Wahlgren as Zatanna, Myrna Velasco as Green Lantern and Kimberly Brooks as Bumblebee. "#SweetJustice," a special one-hour movie premieres Friday, March 8 on Cartoon Network, with new episodes beginning Sunday, March 17.