‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ cartoon takes the movie’s team deeper into space

At the Bang Zoom! Studios in Burbank a few months ago, a team gathered to talk about following on the heels of international -- interstellar, even -- success with the launch of a Disney XD animated show for “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.”

The movie was a surprise, grossing $333 million in the U.S. and $774 million worldwide. Even longtime Marvel Comics readers did not predict that Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, an alien raccoon, a talking tree and a former wrestler would beat out the mighty Captain America for the No. 3 spot in 2014’s box-office totals. But they did, and a cartoon was imminent, right?

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For the Record
Sept. 25, 5:38 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed quotes from Marvel Studios senior vice president and animation creative director Eric Radomski to executive producer Dan Buckley and quotes from consulting producer and writer Steven Melching to executive producer Alan Fine.
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Not quite. For a cartoon, which has at least about a nine-month window in terms of production, the creators of the show had to be Tony Stark-like futurists. Everyone knew the movie was coming, so synergy took over and already-established Marvel cartoons -- “Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Hulk and the Agents of SMASH” and “Avengers Assemble!” -- were used in support of just the possibility that the then-upcoming movie could break out.

“We were out in front of the film by at least a year,” said Eric Radomski, Marvel Studios senior vice president and animation creative director. “We had peppered the other series with these characters before we knew the show was happening. It was with the idea that we were going to bring awareness to these characters.”

It was an early collaboration between Marvel and Disney, but as with the other cartoon series, the producers “knew our mission: We were there to support the movies,” said Radomski. Luckily, “Guardians” was a hit and fell right into the timeline that they intended. Like the other Marvel animated shows, they take their cues from the movie. But unlike the relationship between, say, the “Avengers” movies and the live-action “Agents of SHIELD,” the show doesn’t really have an overall theme to tie in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the upcoming “Guardians” sequel -- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

“The movie was the main source of inspiration for the look and the vibe and the character relationships, but from that point on, we have to make our show. A full season of episodes. We can’t wait on how the films are going to develop. We have to make our creative decisions and chart our own course for the series,” said Steven Melching, a consulting producer and writer on the “Guardians” show.

When there are names like Pratt, Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel behind the characters, charting your own course becomes tougher since the audience comes in with certain expectations. Will Friedle, the actor who plays Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord on the show, knows this too.

“He was so incredible in the film. The last thing I wanted to do was come in and do a bad Chris Pratt impersonation,” says Friedle. “I took what I could from his performance. He’s got this great balance of vulnerable and snarky, very funny and genuine. But then I had to put my own twist on it.”

Kevin Michael Richardson, who plays Groot, didn’t see the film before recording hundreds of different ways to say “I am Groot,” so his own twist was all there was. It’s an interesting range to have to play with in the recording booth.

“You just know that he’s supposed to convey ‘I gotta get out of here now!’ in three syllables. And you do it!” Richardson says.

The other actors also have different ways to get into the characters they have to inhabit vocally. Vanessa Marshall, who has the role of the deadly assassin Gamora, made sure to do her research.

“It’s interesting that I forgot all of it when it came time to do it! I guess I internalized everything and it let me see how the character was and how she has changed from decade to decade as well.”

David Sobolov, who plays the dangerous Drax the Destroyer, went a separate route.

“I stay in the moment and I don’t go back and look at everything. I want to be surprised at what happens, almost.”

The disparate methods of the voice actors did not take away from the obvious camaraderie they have on and off set. It’s similar to the group they’re portraying.

“In the film, you get to see a couple of hours with these guys. With us, right out of the gate, you get 13 hours with these characters. We can expand the personalities, and you’ll get to know them better and see the real relationships that have evolved. How they live and work together ... and disagree,” says Radomski.

“I always saw the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ as a comic book convention. You think you’re a freak, and then you get there and you realize that everybody else thinks exactly the same way,” says Friedle.

Follow me on Twitter @Storiz.

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