The wackiest DC crossover yet unfolds between Teen Titans Go! and the DC Super Hero Girls in the new animated movie Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse. A villainous plot causes the two young teams to collide, with plenty of madcap action and irreverent comedy as the assembled ensemble bickers and learns to work together to save the fate of two worlds. Among the DC Super Hero Girls is the impressionable hero Bumblebee, portrayed by prolific voice actor Kimberly Brooks.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Brooks shared how much Bumblebee has grown since the start of DC Super Hero Girls. She also delved into the zany stakes of the animated crossover film and reflected on her role in the original Mass Effect trilogy.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)
CBR: While you've portrayed Bumblebee on DC Super Hero Girls, I feel like this is the wackiest we've seen her and the team yet as they meet the Teen Titans. How was it taking your performance into that area?
Kimberly Brooks: It was amazing, although, I have to say, we DC Super Hero Girls really kept our composure through the whole crossover. The Teen Titans were the ones who were over the top and wacky with their response to us. [laughs] I think they were jealous of us, quite frankly. It was so much fun and a blast, a great script and idea, and it's so funny.
All of the fans of all of these shows are going to love the interaction between the characters and the storyline. I saw it for the first time last night, and since I recorded [my performance] solo, I didn't get to hear all of the other actors doing their thing in the booth. I was cracking up. I thought it was so good and well done, and I think people are going to be very pleased with it.
Bumblebee started out as one of the more shy members of the team. Where do you think she is on her own journey as a superhero and person in this movie?
That's the thing about Bumblebee, she may have a little self-doubt or exactly how to figure it out at the beginning, but she always sticks to it. She may be tiny, but she has the biggest heart, and I feel like they did a really great job of having her be that honey that keeps us all stuck together. She's the voice of reason, but she really just loves her friends and what they contribute and believe in as a team. She's the cheerleader, and she also happens to be super smart. I love that they gave her this moment to show off, have this build of confidence and be the one who brings us all together, which helps us save the day. It was great.
Bumblebee does have this great intelligence but also this great admiration for Wonder Woman throughout DC Super Hero Girls. How is it tracking that character growth and layering in those nuances?
It's been great, and the writers have really addressed that because, when we first see Bumblebee at the beginning of our series, she seems younger. She's meek and doesn't have a lot of confidence. She knows what she wants to achieve, but she doesn't know exactly how to do it, and she's not sure if she believes in herself. We get to see her throughout the series find those moments of strength and inner confidence when her back's against the wall, and she figures it out.
We already know she has the brainpower, but it's that confidence that helps her figure things out. She looks up to Wonder Woman as this big sister and, with Wonder Woman, what a great big sister to have. She's got it all. She's strong, confident, and everything Bumblebee wants to be when she grows up, and we're watching her do this. It's really fun to play those nuances.
How did you find Bumblebee's voice when you first started playing her, and how was it developed from there?
I'm in the room with all my powerhouse favorite actors -- Tara Strong, Khary Payton, Grey Griffin, Mae Whitman -- and we're having an amazing time. I'm inspired by all the other actors, but working with Lauren Faust, she was very clear about Bumblebee being more vulnerable and sounding younger. She's physically smaller and wants to be big, and we were trying to find that in the voice. She does sound a little bit younger, especially when she's just Karen Beecher and hanging out with her friends in her oversized sweater. She's really adorable, and I wanted to make that vulnerability come forward with the performance, make her a little more meek, and then, as she's grown, her voice has grown and sounds a lot more confident by now. It's been fun to take that journey with her.
How was it having Gene Vassilaros as the voice director on this film?
I'm incredibly lucky to work with these amazing directors, like Gene. Even though I wasn't working with the other actors, Gene was on the Zoom meeting. It was virtual, but I still felt like I was part of them. The writers and everybody were there. You felt like you were part of this session even though we were recording individually. It was wonderful, and you can tell in the performances that Gene was able to get everybody where they needed to be.
You've run the whole gamut of genres, including superhero stories. How is it taking on these larger-than-life characters throughout your career?
It's just so much fun, and you never know what's going to happen. I didn't see this crossover coming, and they just did such a great job in really finding the humor if we did have these situations together. It's wacky and always fun to let your hair down with these roles that people are going to respond to, and fans are hopefully going to love because there are a lot of little inside jokes. I was laughing and thought they did a great job.
As a quick aside, I'm a huge Mass Effect fan. How was it bringing Ashley Williams to life across that original trilogy?
That was one of those unexpected things because the technology for that game was so new. I knew that it was going to be a big deal, very immersive and that you were going to get to know these characters because I was recording days and days of dialogue. I knew that was going to be cutting edge, and all those things were going to be great, with a FemShep and MaleShep, and all of those things were going to be revolutionary.
What I didn't expect was that I would be labeled a "space racist," and that people would not like my character and kill me off in the game. That actually makes it a little more fun because, when you get to meet people who played the game, they talk about keeping Kaiden and killing Ashley or [vice versa]. It's kind of funny because, as an actor, I have nothing to do with what I actually say, but the response to this character has been overwhelming. The Mass Effect love is undying, and I love being a part of that.
Directed by Matt Peters and Katie Rice, Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse will be released May 24 for Blu-ray, DVD, and digital HD.