INTERVIEW: Dragon Ball Piccolo and Goku VAs Chris Sabat and Sean Schemmel on the Series' Historical Legacy
Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO is currently in theaters giving long-standing franchise characters a whole new film to spotlight their powers and personalities. Piccolo shines in a well deserved leading role while Goku has his own supporting role in a subplot. Voice actor and director Christopher R. Sabat voices Piccolo and Vegeta in the film (among others) as well as directing the English dub, and Sean Schemmel reprises his role as Goku.
Sabat and Schemmel are longtime contributors to the Dragon Ball franchise, but you've heard both of their voices in countless other roles. Chris Sabat has voiced dozens of characters in Dragon Ball alone, but you can also hear him as Zoro in One Piece, All Might in My Hero Academia, and Daisuke Jigen in the Lupin the Third franchise. Sean Schemmel can be heard in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as Lucario, Mobile Suit Gundam UC as Flaste Schole, and Shaman King as Amidamaru.
We had the opportunity to sit down with both actors and talk about how they balance three series' worth of lore while portraying characters who have truly become a part of them.
Crunchyroll: I am super excited for this interview! I'm sure you've heard this multiple times, but your voices have been with me since I was a child.
Christopher R. Sabat: Oh, thank you. These boys have been with us for a long time too, since I was — it feels like I was a child back when I started on this series! Now I feel like now I feel like a very grizzled old warrior.
I can imagine! Well, thank you both so much. I'm going to start off with some questions for both of you and then go into some individual ones.
Sabat: Sure. Great.
So, you both voice a rather large number of characters in the Dragon Ball universe. Is it challenging to make sure that each character has their own unique vocal tambor, cadence and quirks?
Sean Schemmel: That’s really important! I’ll let Chris go first, because he voices about 20 characters, and I voice three.
Sabat: Yes, I believe it’s important as an actor to try and differentiate those voices. I try to put each of them in their own place. However, I do feel like a lot of people, a lot of viewers just connect the voice with the image. And sometimes you might not even notice, even as a director. One time, I was working on a feature for something — it wasn't Dragon Ball related — but it was a different feature. I had come in to finish the job directing something for another director, and I cast this person on a roll and I didn't realize I had cast them against themself! For the longest time it didn't even dawn on me that this person was another character. So, I think sometimes people just see the visual and they connect the voice with it, but they don't even realize that it's different.
But yes, I go to great lengths, and one of the strategies is just to record each character separately. You know, if Yamcha’s in it I record him first, and then Piccolo I record second, Vegeta is usually last because he’s the most painful. So we just do the best we can to try and keep them in a different place. A lot of why I played so many voices was — you know, back in the early days of Dragon Ball, it was done by a tiny studio out of a tiny little place in Fort Worth, Texas. Actually North Richland Hills, and they didn't have a lot of money. They didn't know Dragon Ball was going to be successful. And I just happened to be on staff and literally on salary at the time. So they said, “Well, Chris, you’re up.” I'm sure there was like a monetary kind of benefit for them to have me play so many characters. Back in those days when actors were only making $15 an hour or something like that, people would have to go take a better job, and that left us hanging. There were a lot of times they left me a character and I was the only one that could sort of mimic their voice. I ended up adopting a lot of characters over the years. Even though Sean plays a good handful of characters on the show, he really does have a lot of thought that goes into how Goku sounds at any given time.
Yeah, I actually that leads into another question that I have for Sean specifically. I’ve heard you talk before about having this very logical approach to voicing characters. The example that I'm thinking of is Goku Black’s voice being based off of Zamasu’s. Is that something that you try to bring to every character?
Schemmel: Well, when you're doing art there's a certain amount of emotion and a certain amount of logic, and there's certain things that have to be consistent for real world building. All I’m going for is suspension of disbelief and believable world building. That’s another reason I go so hard on all the screams. I’m trying to make kids believe that Goku might be real. I’m sort of glad I hadn’t heard Masako Nozawa’s work until much later in my career since we didn’t always have access to it. One of the rules I have for character creation is that every character has its own unique set of mannerisms, including a laugh and I thought it was cool that when I finally heard Masako, she does this very [nasally] “hee hee!” laugh with Goku that's very unique. I picked out a different laugh, but I was thinking the same thing: that it should have a very unique laugh because it's all about suspension of disbelief and world building.
So, there's a certain amount of logic that goes into it and then it's all emotional based on the history of the character. You don't always get the data that you need, because when I first did the Goku Black voice for the video game, I got no information so there's a strange Goku Black voice I do early on in the game, just this low guttural thing, because they would not give us any information. And so I'm like, “Well, if this is the opposite of Goku…” and I used basic child logic on that one. I had nothing to draw upon. Then once we got into the show, and I'm like, “Oh, it's almost [Zamasu’s] spirit in his body, it needs to sound like Zamasu, so that when they're standing next to each other, it sounds like they have the same spirit.” So yeah, there's a certain amount of logic that goes with it. And that's the world building part. Then it's about just drawing on the emotion, the emotional history of the character, etc.
Sabat: Sean puts a lot of thought into everything that Goku is. And he’s like that about everything. He doesn’t buy a watch unless he knows literally everything about it.
Schemmel: I know exactly how everything I own is made, almost.
So here's another one for both of you. This movie sees the return of several organizations and characters from the franchise. How do you both keep multiple decade's worth of events and characters straight when any number of them can pop back up at any moment?
Schemmel: Rawly Pickens, that’s how! Chris, I'll let you comment on that.
Sabat: Man, yeah. I've been working on this show for 20 years, and one of my colleagues at the studio, Rawly, who engineered this, he's been working with me forever. He's got a great brain. And thank goodness for the internet too. When we were first doing this, we just had to rely only on our memory. Thank goodness, there's a vast amount of resources online that can help us when we're running into trouble. This was a story that I remembered vividly, though, because I loved the Red Ribbon Army elements to the Dragon Ball story. So it was interesting to see that come back into this feature, too. So, I remember the Red Ribbon army characters. And so I knew a lot of the stories, bringing it back to this felt like a kind of a very natural step for me.
Yeah, definitely. Sean, I don't know if you had any other additional context. But I know as Goku there must be some specific lore you have to keep in mind all the time.
Schemmel: I usually try to keep track of where he is in the story vocally. If I get vocal battle damage, I want to make sure that’s reflected. At the end of the film, I recorded some closing scenes after I’d recorded all day, and my voice was dried up, and instead of taking a break, I thought, “Well, this is totally appropriate, because the natural damage to my voice I've done today is gonna work for this particular scene, right?” It’s a post-credit scene. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I think you should stay after the credits and watch it.
But I usually have a hard time keeping track of the different vocal choices I’ve made for all the Super Saiyan forms. I usually have to ask for a vocal reference. I don’t have to work that hard to differentiate between Goku and King Kai, because King Kai is, you know, just so different. I usually record him last because I can do his voice in almost any vocal state, because it’s all garbled. So yeah, it's tricky knowing where Goku is and what that state is, and I get a lot of information from the animation. Of course, that's what really helps with where he is, you know? I love Goku’s cluelessness. I like the comedy, those are my favorite parts. I’m digressing, but yeah, it’s a great action film.
So it's funny that you mentioned the animation. I actually had a question for both of you about it. This movie’s done in CGI instead of traditional hand drawn animation. Was there anything different about adjusting to CGI lip flaps versus traditional animation?
Sabat: I was concerned about it when I first heard about it, but then I saw the trailer and — You know, I get a lot of my data from the animation, and as an actor and as a director who is staring at these lip flaps all day, I can tell you that nothing looked unusual to me. It felt very much like Dragon Ball. It absolutely feels like a Dragon Ball feature. Their mouths didn’t move in weird ways. Anyone who knows Dragon Ball animation really well knows there are specific mouth shapes that are really common throughout the Dragon Ball world. Those shapes were maintained. It felt like the job that Toei usually does except they — leave it to Toei and Shueisha to make something so beautiful in that digital space. Of course they did a great job.
Schemmel: Yeah. And as for me as when I was flapping it I was concerned when I went up, but when I saw the trailer, I felt like there was a lot of gravitas that was brought to the animation. The weight of Goku felt more there … especially when I was dubbing and I’m like, “this feels like he’s more three-dimensional.” There’s a certain realness and gravitas. As far as the lip flap, there were no problems. I was very nervous about going in and being uncomfortable because I’m so used to working with flap in a certain way. But it was absolutely seamless. I didn’t bat an eye. They totally did a great job of making this accessible with the old style, but fresh and new. What a brilliant film! It’s so beautiful to watch. You’re gonna want to see it in the theater, it’s shot very theatrically. The CGI really helps take advantage of those epic movements in 3D. On the flap part of it, it was not a problem at all. After I saw the trailer I thought, “this is gonna be no problem.” I think it’s great, I do.
Yeah, I mean, you guys obviously did such a great job with it. But I totally agree. It seems like the CGI really freed up the animation team to show off some absolutely amazing action. The camera can move in ways you just can’t with traditional animation.
Schemmel: Yes, I'm glad you noticed that. A lot of people are not noticing that. And that's really good that you did, because there's a lot of 360° stuff, and that’s difficult to do with traditional animation. So they can really take advantage of that.
Definitely. So, I've got a Chris question. Piccolo really got to shine in this movie, and he even got his own awesome form. Were there any Piccolo moments that really stuck out to you as your favorites?
Sabat: Oh, gosh, there's so many from beginning to end of this film. You're immediately struck with this kind of really sweet moment between Piccolo and Pan. Piccolo is still the most grounded character, he's the Earth trainer. While everyone else is off in space, Master Roshi is not doing his thing anymore, he's kind of irrelevant. Now, Piccolo, he’s still there, on the ground, helping Goku’s children and grandchildren become the best people they can be. It’s really, really special. Imagine if Piccolo didn’t exist, what their lives would be like. It’s fascinating to me. Then, the whole movie passes and it culminates in this moment at the end that I can’t talk about. But that becomes the climax of the movie, and it’s also the most emotional part. When fans see it, they will have this immediate reaction where the entire history of them watching Dragon Ball with their friends will immediately come rushing back into their body. It’s a unique feeling. When it happens, you’re like, “Of course this was going to happen.” But you don’t even realize the way it’s getting set up. I have to be so vague about it, but once you pick it apart afterwards, you’re like, “Oh my God, that was such a clever way of handling it!” I can’t wait for people to experience that. The best way to do it will be in as big of a theater as you can get, with everyone around you experiencing that same kind of joy at the same time.
Sure, you might have seen a couple of images online, you might have gotten spoilers from different people, but as I’ve said a billion times, you can’t spoil the emotional impact this movie has. It’s something that you have to experience in the largest way possible. It’s absolutely amazing. If you watch it at home, it’s just not going to have that same feeling as watching it with everyone in a full theater. I wish all Dragon Ball happened in a theater, it’s the most amazing way to watch something. Every feature I’ve ever seen in the theater has been one of my favorite experiences with Dragon Ball.
The humor that happens in this film with Piccolo and Videl, it's very clear that Piccolo has become an integral part of Gohan’s family, not just in training capacity but in a babysitting capacity as well I loved making a point out of the idea that Piccolo has gone to pick up Pan from school more than once to the point where he just knows that’s what Videl is going to ask of him the minute he picks up the phone. When he gets to school, you notice that he has a very familiar relationship with Pan’s teacher. The teacher has him almost on a first name basis, seen each other so many times that they’re friends now. I think it’s just such a fun, clever departure from what you normally see. The other cool thing about the feature is that there’s a sense of collaboration that doesn’t normally happen in Dragon Ball.
That’s something I’ve noticed as a Dragon Ball fan and as someone who’s worked on the show forever: there’s always been this idea of everybody gets to try fighting the villain and they all fail, and then finally Goku comes in and saves the day. And it’s different in this particular feature. I think that’s part of why it was called SUPER HERO. Everybody is involved. It explores a lot of what it is to be a superhero. Everyone has their own motivations and ideas and by the end of it you see all these characters that don’t always get a lot of screen time finally getting to do some really cool stuff together. Yeah, I love it.
I wish I could talk about that moment you mentioned earlier! This movie does such a great job of feeling like a culmination of decades’ worth of events. That Gohan/Piccolo mentorship is really the glue that binds everything together. It’s just so, so good.
Sabat: It really is. I mean, this film was delivering on the promise that Dragonball Z made to children a long time ago, which was that Gohan is the strongest character in the show. Like, they clearly said that. “You’re the future, Gohan,” Goku literally said it himself! He was the one who defeated Cell in the end. This movie finally makes good on that promise. That’s pretty cool.
Definitely. Alright, we're running up on time. But really quick, do both of you have anything you want to say to fans of Dragon Ball the world over?
Schemmel: You're gonna love this film, you should watch it over and over. It’s a nice respite from where the story’s been going where we’re very focused on Goku and Vegeta and Broly. Now we get to see something else. It also helps with the world building that you get some history and you get some development of the other characters. If and when they refocus on Goku and Vegeta, it will be all the more powerful because of it. I don’t think that’s what Dragon Ball fans were expecting after Broly. I think Akira Toriyama’s a genius. I think he knows how to pivot and where to pivot and how to tell a great story. He never fails us. I want to do a big shout out to him, of course, for bringing us this new masterpiece, and, of course, Toei Animation for bringing it to life with such a masterful stroke of the digital pen, as it were.
I might upset some people, but I really think this is a movie for — for lack of a better phrase — real Dragon Ball fans. What I mean is Dragon Ball fans who don’t just want a big brawlfest with machismo and badassery all the time. Dragon Ball is not just that. Dragon Ball is whimsy and humor and depth and fighting and … everything! If you’re a hardcore, oldschool Dragon Ball fan, and you’ve watched the original Dragon Ball, and you love that, and you love Z, this movie is for you. And I think it’s going to draw in casual anime fans and casual Dragon Ball fans because it’s so watchable and such a wonderful story. It gives you so many different interesting layers that you don’t get to see in the show all the time. It’s going to be one of those perennially watchable films that will endure the test of time. Shout out to Chris Sabat here who directed the film. This film would not be as good without him directing it. He was a big part of the casting process and he has such a personal relationship with all of us. He’s really great about letting us bring our best performances, and everyone just brings it. In my honest professional opinion, it might be the very best job we’ve ever done. It’s magnificent and I can’t wait for you to see it.
Sabat: You’ll love this dang movie.
Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO is in theaters now. For ticketing info, global release dates and more, head here.
Cayla coats tweets @ceicocat.
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