We chatted with Teen Titans Go producer Michael Jelenic ahead of the animated series' 100th episode…
Teen Titans Gohit 100 episodes faster than a little birdy couldsummon a team of Robins.
Despite sharing a cast,Teen Titans Gois in no way a direct continuation of the highly regardedTeen Titans.
Michael Jelenic:These are 11s [minute episodes] to be fair toThe Simpsons.
Its going to take a long time to match their output, but were trying!
Is it daunting for you to have to come up with 50 storylines in a season?
Its daunting and its sort of also liberating at the same time.
I think everyone sort of understands that.
Were constantly churning this stuff out.
The scripts have to pretty much be written once per week.
Its a traditional animation schedule.
100 episodes is a tremendous achievement.
What can you tease about the episode?
Its actually one of my favorite episodes.
Its a high-concept episode in that we attempt to do something a little different.
Theres 30 seconds of animation that has zero sound to it.
Its kind of jarring when youre watching something with no sound.
I dont think people realize how weird that feels.
The rest of the story is the Titans figuring out they can make their own sounds now.
On top of that, all the music is sung by them in an acapella way.
Its pretty absurd by the end of the episode.
Im wondering how the kids watching will respond to 30 seconds of silence.
Thats a lot of time for an 11-minute show.
30 seconds doesnt seem like a lot.
It might even be just 15 seconds.
But when you dont have any sound it feels like a lot longer than it actually is.
I think we do it in a fun way.
Its not too often where a show debuts and seemlessly propels to the top of the ratings.
Has the immediate success of the show taken you by surprise?
Its definitely a surprise.
I dont think anyone expected it to pop the way it did.
Cartoon internet deserves a lot of credit just because theyve done such a great job promoting the show.
I know a lot of people complain that they air it constantly.
The awareness of the show is pretty good.
Part of our success is the pace that we produce episodes.
Were able to provide episodes every week for Cartoon web link and give kids something to tune into.
Other shows are at a slower pace, there are big gaps in their programming.
Beyond the wackiness of theTeen Titans Go, what makes these characters relatable for kids?
Why do they keep coming back?
All the characters have a great energy to them.
I think kids really respond to energy and the characters reflect that.
These are people you want to spend time with as a kid.
I think theyre being silly, its not a way youve seen superheroes portrayed before.
They can see that they have something in common with Robin or Cyborg or whoever it is.
TheYoung Justicecrossoverwas a fun ode to the critics of the show.
Is there anything like that planned for season three?
We have some fun things coming up.
We have an episode where the Titans have to save the Justice League.
Thats going to be a lot of fun in season three.
Id love to see a theatrical release with these characters.
Just for that, Id love to get the opportunity.
To put it to live action or CGI or whatever, would be a lot of fun.
