Based on the spinoff team up comic book series Super Sons, which first debuted in the Rebirth era back in 2017, Warner Bros. Animation’s first-ever all-CG animated, feature-length film centres on the partnership of Jonathan Kent (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) and Damien Wayne (voiced by Jack Griffo).
In the 49th instalment in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, 11-year-old Jonathan Kent discovers he has superpowers, just as the World’s superheroes are under attack by a malevolent alien force. Jonathan has to join forces with assassin-turned-Boy-Wonder Damian Wayne in order to to rescue their fathers (Superman & Batman) and save their planet.
To celebrate the film’s release, we had the opportunity to sit down with Shazam! actor Jack Dylan Grazer – who voices one half of the Super Sons, Jonathan Kent – to discuss his take on the character, the special father-son dynamic and recording the film during the pandemic.
Nicola Austin: What was it like going from one corner of DC, with the live-action Shazam!, to the animated universe with Super Sons? Obviously you’ve previously done Luca and Rons Gone Wrong animation wise.
Jack Dylan Grazer: It’s all so trippy and amazing to me. I love DC, I love the DCEU, I always have, even before I did Shazam!, I was a fan. Growing up, I was a fan of the Justice League cartoon TV show as a kid, and this film is very reminiscent of that, given the artwork, and the suit design on Batman and Superman. There’s something about it just feels really nostalgic and then also sort of nuanced. So there’s some like some of the the CGI advances that I see like in the sky, the clouds are like, unbelievably beautiful. Then it’s balanced out with like this nostalgic kind of Jim Lee vibe.
NA: And stepping into the shoes of the son of such a legacy character, how did you prepare for the role? I know you said you’re a big fan but did you read any of the comics at all? Or did you not want to base it on the comics?
JDG: I did. I read a few of the comics and there weren’t that many with Jonathan Kenton in them. It was it was Connor Kent, who I’d known and who has been around forever. And then there’s Superboy, which is, which is kind of the same thing. But Jonathan actually didn’t really have too much of a background, he was kind of left kind of ambiguous and vague. So the director Matt gave us a lot of leeway and free range to kind of explore these characters on our own. Well, I mean, Damian Wayne has been Robin for quite a bit. But I didn’t really have any shoes to fill in regards to having to play anything, because there’s no other voice acting interpretation of Jonathan Kent that I think I’m the first person to have that. But it’s pretty cray cray.
NA: Did you get to add any personal flourishes to the character since you had such a blank slate?
JDG: For personal flourishes, oooh, I don’t know. Maybe my laugh. And then I don’t really know, I didn’t really improvise anything, I think, because we had only one session. I would just read through my parts of the script in one session in my mom’s closet, like two/three years ago at the beginning of quarantine. And it was totally glamorous. And then we had an ADR session like, a year and a half later to see some of the animation stuff.
NA: So voice actors Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham played your parents, which is amazing. Did they give you any specific advice at all?
JDG: I didn’t meet them until about a week ago, when we did press for this movie. And I didn’t meet Jack Griffo, I didn’t meet anybody in person until then. But it was really nice to meet them and they were very kind and I loved it. We sat next to Travis during the movie and there’s a scene when we see we see the bat, the bat cow and I thought that was so amazing to bring that back. I love I missed the bat cave and they showed the bat cow and then later in that scene, Jonathan has got a pail of a bucket of milk as he just milked the cow and he hands it to Batman and I thought it was so funny. Travis and I looked at each other and we’re like, we both did the same thing and said bat bucket! I don’t know why we said that but it’s a funny thing.
NA: Ha I actually had a question about the Bat Cow and what your reaction was to the character when you read the script?
JDG: I didn’t actually know! Believe it or not I never read the script because I I never got it sent to me, I just read my lines. It was pretty like, straightforward how I did this movie. Like, it was really just one session and I never got to read the script. I just read my own lines like three or four times, all the way through and then they’re like – okay, Jack, that’s a wrap, thank you. I was like wow, that was a movie we just made?! And again, it all paid off and it’s amazing.
NA: Definitely. And there’s a specific bit that I really loved when you and Superman were travelling to Gotham and you’re like, what’s that smell?
JDG: Yeah, that was great as well.
NA: So what would you say your favourite moment of the film is?
JDG: My favourite line in the movie is probably, “My dad is Superman?!” I just think that as a kid it’s captivating – it captivated me, I almost wanted to cry. I feel like there was just so much like naivety and eagerness and honesty in that very moment, I mean, at least this in my specific situation, I think I grew up feeling like my dad was my hero and like he was even a Teamster. He worked in film, and he would always pick me up from school with something from work that was just cool. And I was like, wow, my dad is my hero. So I kind of related to Jonathan in that way. I mean, different because my dad is not actually Superman, but you feel like he is when you’re a kid. And it’s pretty special. So I thought that was really sweet.
NA: Definitely. So you faced off against your dad, Batman, the Justice League and Starro. But is there anyone else you’d like to fight against in the DC universe at all?
JDG: Doomsday would be dope! Evil Blue Beetle would be cool too.
NA: Did you know about the Crypto appearance too?
JDG: I did over crypto. I thought that was really cool, I did know about that. Yeah, that was great. I love that dog.
NA: So as you said, you didn’t actually get to meet Jack Griffo who voices Robin. How did you come up with that amazing dynamic if you didn’t meet? Did you Skype each other or call or anything?
JDG: No, no, we never interacted once. I think it was just all movie magic. The way that Matt and a lot of the people behind the scenes melded our actions together, post production. I think that was the real art of it. I kind of just applied my colour and put it on the paintbrush and let them do it and let them paint with it. And I think that made for a great result. And the banter just felt so natural, it felt like so organic. And I thought that was the coolest.
NA: Definitely. Did you manage to get him back at all for pushing you over the the edge all the time?
JDG: No, I didn’t. I’m still working on that. I’m still laughing!
NA: So there were a couple of Justice League and Teen Titans cameos in this film. Would you say you had a particular favourite at all?
JDG: No, I loved the way they were all designed. I like how they were so reminiscent of the Justice League I grew up with.
I’m just very excited for the film to come out and for people to watch my interpretation of Jonathan Kent – I hope people like it. And I’m just I’m over the moon and elated for people to see it.
