1 It’s the first feature-length theatrical sequel from Walt Disney Animation Studios since “Fantasia 2000.” It’s also the first sequel to be created by the original film’s writing and directing team.
2 The film has Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) exploring the fast, crazy and unpredictable world of the internet, something that was challenging for the creative team. According to head of story Jim Reardon, “It never stopped being intimidating. We looked at how we could make the internet relatable on a human level.”
Director Rich Moore said, “It was the perfect setting for the story we wanted to tell, but we had to figure out what this place would look like and who would live and work there… Narrowing it down to a simple, cohesive world that served the story was the hardest thing for me to get my head around.”
3 The film’s recording process was unique because John C. Reilly likes recording with the other actors. Producer Clark Spencer said, “Most actors record by themselves in animation, but John feels that he performs better if he’s acting off of someone. He likes to riff, so he and Sarah recorded together every single time.”
4 They used some of the world’s biggest cities like New York, Dubai and Shanghai as inspiration. “We wanted to include really big buildings that towered over the Netizens,” says Larry Wu, head of environments. “Each building represents a website—the bigger the building, the bigger the site.”
5 Auction site eBay is a big part of the story—it’s the reason Ralph and Vanellope go into the Internet. They need to buy a replacement part for her game. You will find other familiar sites and apps in the film, too like Amazon, Snapchat and Instagram.
6 There’s a scene with Vanellope and all the Disney princesses in one room (come on, we know you’ve seen the teaser). In the film, Vanellope’s casual look inspires the princesses to dress down, too. Art director Ami Thompson had to give the iconic characters new outfits. She said, “I still can’t believe that I got to design casual clothing for the Disney Princesses. We wanted to incorporate modern style that reflects their individual stories—Cinderalla’s T-shirt has a pumpkin carriage with ‘G2G’ for ‘got to go.’ Snow White’s jeans have an apple print. Everything is edgy, surprising—we designed band-style shirts, flannels and chopper-style tees.”
7 Original voice talents returned to bring the princesses to life including Auli‘i Cravalho (“Moana”), Kristen Bell (Anna in “Frozen”), Idina Menzel (Elsa in “Frozen”), Kelly MacDonald (Merida in “Brave”), Mandy Moore (Rapunzel in “Tangled”), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog”), Ming-Na Wen (“Mulan”), Irene Bedard (“Pocahontas”), Linda Larkin (Jasmine in “Aladdin”), Paige O’Hara (Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”) and Jodi Benson (Ariel in “The Little Mermaid”).
“Ralph Breaks The Internet” opens in cinemas on Nov. 21.
