The legend of Batman continues this week as Warner Bros. Animation releases Batman Unlimited: Animal Instinct on BluRay, DVD, and digitally everywhere. Although audiences may be more used to the darker and more intense Batman from Warner Bros and DC’s usually straight-to-video releases, Batman Unlimited has lightened the tone for a larger family viewership, but is keeping all the action of Batman’s previous television stints. In this animated adventure the cape crusader faces off against a menagerie of DC’s most animalistic antagonists: The Penguin, Cheetah, and Silverback. This threat to Gotham is so huge that even the Dark Knight won’t be able to handle by himself, so enter Nightwing, Red Robin, Green Arrow, and of course The Flash to help save the day!
While at this year’s WonderCon in Anaheim we got to catch up with the incredible voice talent of Roger Craig Smith (Batman), Yuri Lowenthral (Red Robin), Will Friedle (Nightwing) and writer Heath Corson to talk to them about DC’s latest animated feature and the return of Batman to the all-ages audience.
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Roger Craig Smith is no stranger to the Dark Knight, having already played Batman in 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins. Since 2004 Smith has been using his vocal talents to act in everything from video games to animation, and playing such recognizable characters as Sonic the Hedgehog, Shinji Hirako (Bleach), Ezio Auditore Da Firenze (Assassin’s Creed), and has even crossed enemy lines to voice Captain America in Marvel’s Avengers Assemble. I’ve actually spoken with Roger Craig Smith once before during the press tour for Batman: Arkham Origins, along with his co-star Troy Baker, and he has been amazing each time, always fun to talk to and always up to riff in an interview as you can see above and in the link. His portrayal as Batman each time has been equally entertaining, so we’re starting #Smith4Batman to help keep Roger under the cowl. We’ll also start #Smith4Cap since he’s also rocked as the animated Captain America the last couple years.
Yuri Lowenthal may be best known as the young hero Ben Tennyson from Ben 10, but in Batman Unlimited the veteran actor will be the first to ever portray Red Robin, the older Tim Drake (Robin III), on the screen. Yuri has also provided voices for the supporting cast of video games like Skylander, Saints Row, and Dynasty Warriors, acting in animated series such as Bleach with Smith, playing La’Gaan in Young Justice, and spening his own time in the Marvel Camp playing Iceman in Wolverine and the X-Men. After a flub in my interview with Yuri I accidentally misspoke, saying Burt Reynolds had ionically played Batman’s sidekick, Robin, when I had meant to say Burt Ward. This led to a new fantasy casting and another hashtag we’d love to see get some attention, #Reynolds4Robin. Of course Burt Reynolds may not be “age appropriate” to dress in coin-mail underwear, but that shouldn’t stop the artists of the internet from turning The Bandit into The Boy Wonder!
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