Seth Rogen Talks Collaborative Recording Process for TMNT Mutant Mayhem
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Actor and producer Seth Rogen has opened up about his experience recording for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem movie, revealing that the cast recorded their lines together in a single room. In an interview with Yahoo News, Rogen said that having all the actors together in the same room allowed for improvisation and interaction that is not typically possible in animated films. Rogen, who also voiced Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, noted that the process for the two movies was quite different, with voice roles typically recorded independently on Mario, while on Ninja Turtles, the cast recorded together in big groups of up to seven people.
The process for Ninja Turtles allowed for something unexpected in animated movies: improvisation. Rogen said that they were able to capture the improvisational energy that comes from a lot of people being in the same place at the same time. The young actors in particular impressed Rogen, who said that they captured the way they interacted with each other, making fun of each other and screaming at each other. He said that the energy of the movie came from the way the young cast interacted with each other.
In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rogen touches more on the improvisational nature of the film. He said that the improvisational approach was successful because they were able to control the process more on Ninja Turtles. Having been produced by Seth Rogen's Point Grey Pictures. That they made a point to record together, with every session featuring the four turtles recording together, and Rogen and John Cena recording together as Bebop and Rocksteady. Ice Cube also recorded a lot of his scenes with the kids together, all in an effort to capture that improvisational energy. Rogen found this approach to be incredibly helpful, especially for the tone and style they were aiming for with the film.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a reboot of the TMNT movie series, with Rogen voicing Bebop alongside John Cena as Rocksteady. The movie also stars Jackie Chan, Paul Rudd, Ice Cube, Maya Rudolph, and Giancarlo Esposito, among others, with a quartet of young newcomers voicing the turtles. The movie is set to hit cinemas on August 4th, 2023.