Voicing Adolescent Superheroes on ‘Teen Titans Go!’

Whenever the cast of Teen Titans Go!—Cartoon Network’s comedic spin on DC Comics’ underage superheroes—gets together for its Friday recording sessions, it’s an animated affair. After all, the voice actors—Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Scott Menville (Robin), Khary Payton (Cyborg), Tara Strong (Raven), and Hynden Walch (Starfire)—have been a team since the original Teen Titans show debuted in 2003. Now that the new version—which premiered in 2013—is on its third season, “it’s like coming to a party every Friday,” Menville says. “So you’re going to be goofing off and having fun.”

“They bring out the est in each other,” says voice director Schaffer of the actors (Menville pictured).

Hey, that’s practically part of the job description, considering the playful subject matter. On an upcoming Halloween episode the kids will become ghosts in order to haunt their archenemies, the H.I.V.E. “In the old show, Robin was so serious,” says Menville. “He doesn’t have as much authority in this one. And since it’s a comedy, I speak faster, and there’s a lot more yelling.”

The players typically get their scripts just a day or two in advance of recording, and improvisation is encouraged in the booth. “These are characters they’re all very familiar with,” says voice director Lisa Schaffer. “We like to give them as much free rein as possible.” Surely, teenagers everywhere would approve.

Teen Titans Go!, Thursdays, 6/5c, Cartoon Network