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Animator and showrunner Glen Murakami’s legendary showTeen Titanshas been one of the most beloved animated DC shows. While many are fans of DC’s other classic animated offerings such asBatman: The Animated SeriesandJustice League, Murakami’s show had a different edge and tone that made it perfect for both children and adults.
Teen Titansbrought the underrated comic to the forefront as characters such as Robin and Cyborg became much more than their usual sidekick personas. The show also gave more of an edge to Robin, bringing him out of Batman’s shadow. One decision that Glen Murakami took to make sure the series was better than other DC shows was to make it both kid and adult-friendly.
How Did Glen Murakami Transition From Mature Shows ToTeen Titans?
Glen Murakami reportedly got on boardTeen Titansas a showrunner when Cartoon Network’s then-Senior VP Sam Register wanted to develop a show based on the comics. Register had reportedly been a fan of the comics and grew up with them, and hence wanted to pay his tribute to the comics. Murakami had worked onBatman: The Animated SeriesandJustice Leagueat the time.
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Both Murakami and Register reportedly wanted to go in a different direction than the previous shows, which were known for their mature themes. WhileTeen Titansalso dealt with more mature themes, the makers reportedly wanted to make it appealing to a whole new generation of kids who did not know the characters beyond the Batman series.
In an interview withAnimation World Network, Murakami mentioned how it was not too difficult to transition from the darker themes ofBatman: TASto a more kid-friendly tone inTeen Titans. He said,
“After working on those shows since 1991. 10 years of working on those shows it was kind of nice to move in a different direction with superheroes. The show is more for kids, but I don’t think it excludes an adult audience. I think Teen Titans is lighter and has humor, but I wouldn’t say that it’s a parody or a spoof, and I don’t think we’re making fun of the essence of the characters.”
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Murakami mentioned that since he got to work on the mature themes inBatmanandJustice League, it felt fresh for him to work onTeen Titansas he catered to a younger audience. One of the reasons the show is still revered is due to this decision to change the demographic of the show, as the darker themes of other DCAU shows were not suitable for kids.
Glen Murakami Distilled Some Of The Aspects Of TheTeen TitansComics
TheTeen Titansshow brought characters who were previously known as sidekicks to the forefront. Characters such as Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg became household names after the show, especially with kids as the show was made even for a younger demographic. However, the comics were reportedly not as kid-friendly as the show.
Most of the show’s plot reportedly took inspiration from Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s iteration of the comics. While the original comics had also been inspired by tensions at the time such as the Vietnam War, Wolfman and Pérez’sThe New Teen Titansalso reportedly dealt with mature relationships and demonic depictions.
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Glen Murakami mentioned that he distilled many issues to adapt the show properly. Murakami mentioned that he even spoke to Wolfman about some of the mature themes in the comics and the comic book writer reportedly told him that he would have done things differently. Murakami said to Animation World,
“We kind of have to take into consideration that we’re not making this cartoon just for fans of the comic book, the ones who know all the backstory and know all the continuity. We have to tell the Starfire story in half an hour! I think we took all those things into consideration, but there’s just some things you can’t do for children’s programming.”
The makers seemed to have made the show keeping the kids in mind and even went as far as tampering with the source material to ensure that they did not lose out on their vision and key demographic.
Teen Titans, available to stream on Max.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2419
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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Teen Titans
