ComingSoon got to speak with DC Super Hero Girls star Kimberly Brooks about the upcoming crossover film Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse ahead of its May 24 release, as well as Kimberly’s history with DC, her work on South Park, and much more.
In Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, the Teen Titans and DC Super Hero Girls must team up to battle Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom as they enact a plan that could defeat even the Justice League.
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Spencer Legacy: In this film, Bumblebee helps keep the team together in a big scene towards the end. What was it like to voice a moment that’s so important to the story?
Kimberly Brooks: Well, it’s awesome, really. Because it’s kind of unexpected from such a tiny little character, but she has a huge heart. She loves her friends. She cares really deeply for them, so it’s not surprising, but it’s great because you see her build her courage up throughout the movie and she finally gets to a point where she just has to say it. She wants her friends to be together. She wants to be a team. It’s always great. It’s really well written. So as an actor, it’s incredible to get to play a role like that. So I enjoyed it thoroughly and I enjoyed it in the movie. It was like my favorite scene.
Now you’ve also voiced another member of this team, Batgirl, a few times. How is voicing Bumblebee different from her?
Batgirl has a lot more outward confidence. I have done that in the past and it’s been really, really fun, but Bumblebee, she’s very special. She has a lot of obstacles before her that she does overcome and she grows so much as a character and obviously that helps her, but it helps her team, her friends, and, it’s great to have a character to play a character that has like an arc and has growth, changes, and overcomes things. So, it’s been really wonderful to voice her on the show and then in this movie, which is hilarious.
Oh, for sure.
All the tech stuff is really funny.
Over the course of all these episodes and now a film, what stood out to you the most about voicing Bumblebee as a character?
Because she’s so tiny and I know that when we first were trying to think of the voice for her, they wanted her to be smaller and maybe even sound younger than the rest of her teammates. So she would have somewhere to sort of grow and go to, so I think for me the nuances of her growth and when she’s confident. The difference between when she’s Karen and when she’s Bumblebee, there’s subtle differences in her voice. Those things are really fun to do because it’s just a way to express what’s going on with this character. So, I love that. I love getting to do that.
In a way, it’s almost like you’re doing two roles in one.
We all kind of are. Because that superhero is their alter ego, it is sort of a character they’re playing. They have to go inside of themselves to get. Especially, Karen to find the strength and to be able to overcome these things that are in their way or whatever the tragedies that behold them so.
How familiar were you with Bumblebee before you got the role?
Not that familiar. She’s not like one of the characters you kind of hear about all the time. I mean, now she’s a lot more popular, and she’s a little bit more on the map there, but I wasn’t as familiar with her as say of course Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman really was, when I was a kid, was like my favorite DC character by far. I was really into wonder woman and yeah. And I hadn’t heard that much about Bumblebee, but now everyone knows who Bumblebee is.
Yeah, that’s awesome. Since DC Super Hero Girls is this whole franchise with video games, a show, and a movie, does the recording process really differ that much depending on the type of project?
Not really. We were recording the show during COVID from home and we recorded this film, at least I recorded from my home studio. It’s pretty much the same and the director is the same, so it felt kind of familiar and he’s so good at what he does. So it kind of just felt familiar. It was a great experience.
You also had a really memorable role, especially from when I was a kid, as Kathy Duquesne in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. What does it mean for you that people still regard it so highly?
That was one of my favorite roles that I’ve gotten the voice. I love the way that was done. The way it looked. It was kind of sexy. She was beautiful. She looked like Halle Berry or something, this character. Very beautiful and I got to work with another one of my favorite actors, Kevin Michael Richardson, who played my father in that movie. That was a great experience. That was back in the day when Warner Bros. had their own recording animation recording studio. Those were good times. I recorded a lot of shows over there at that time, and it was a really fun environment. So I have great memories of that experience.
You’ve done so much with DC. Are there any DC characters that you haven’t had the chance to voice that you’d like to do?
Oh, you know, I’m always open. There’s a lot I haven’t voiced and I’m always up for the challenge. Switch it up a little bit, you know? Everybody’s so great. Especially in our show, in our version of it. I think it’s so well cast and I love all of the actors and what they bring to their roles. Nicole Sullivan, Grey DeLisle, Tara Strong, everybody, Harry Walgreen, and Cree Summer, everybody. It’s just so much fun. Getting to watch these amazing actors bring these fun characters to life was always so thrilling.
You’ve also done a few voices for South Park. What’s it like working with that studio compared to elsewhere?
Well, that’s a completely different animal altogether [laughs]. Yeah, I still work on that show. I’ve been working on that show for like maybe 15 years or something like that. I never know what wacky character I’m gonna be. It’s a different experience because the way we work on that show, it has its its own tone and Trey & Matt record all of the voices. They even record the characters that I’m going to be doing. So I’m doing a lot of ADR on that show, which is really interesting, and then that’s why the show has that sort of sound like the characters and just the deliveries. It’s hilarious. So it’s another wonderful experience. Super wacky. I’m always laughing in the booth because I’m reading the script. I get the script as we record and I’m discovering it just like the fans and cracking up.
That sounds like a lot of fun.
Yeah. It’s really fun. We have late hours, we often have late hours on that show.
Oh, because of how short the time is.
Yeah. So, I’ve had quite a few midnight sessions, but that’s all a part of the experience.
How do you keep your energy up for midnight sessions?
Well, it’s usually on the night before the show. So it’s usually the midnight sessions will usually only happen like on a Tuesday night, so it’s only one night a week and yeah. It’s just exciting because it’s exhilarating because the show’s so funny and it’s like being a part of something that’s happening in real time like that and the next night it’s gonna be airing. There’s no other show that does that. It’s literally thrilling.
Is there a more obscure role that you get recognized for a surprising amount?
Roles … maybe not because there’s IMDb and I’ve been doing this long enough that I kind of have fans or people that know when I’m up to. But I guess my surprising thing is I do a lot of promo work. One of my things recently that I got to do was be an announcer for the Olympics and no one I don’t know, unless you know me and you heard me, but I was on the Olympics, the Beijing Olympics that just happened because they were postponed and everything. So I would say people may not realize that I’m I do a lot of promos and commercials and you’re kind of like hearing me sell you stuff all day long. I do
I did not know that. That’s amazing! So you kind of get recognized by all at all times.
Yeah, exactly. Because I also try to sell you Toyotas. You might be in a Toyota because of me [laughs]. Those are the things that people may know may not know about me.
That’s awesome. People don’t know Kathy Duquesne is selling them a Toyota.
Exactly. They had no idea. It’s great. I love what I do. It’s always an adventure.
