The critically acclaimed new animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet has a lot to say about the changing tides between one generation to the next. The film tackles such current topics such as how your career defines you as a person and the evils lurking in the dark depths of the internet. But one of the most profound messages the movie presents takes place in a scene where Sarah Silverman’s character Vanellope Von Schweetz enters a room with some of the most iconic Disney Princesses in history.
In the scene, the heroines discuss how the weight of being made up and proper can be too much to bare sometimes and how they are sick to death of always assuming the role of “damsel in distress”. It is a truly groundbreaking scene that delivers a powerful message of women’s empowerment to viewers of the film as the characters discuss breaking free of the notion that they need to play the roles that were assigned to them. I recently spoke with the creators of Ralph Breaks the Internet — Rich Moore and Phil Johnston — to find out how they decided to subvert the traditional idea of the “Disney Princess” once and for all.
Ralph Breaks the Internet challenges the idea of the ‘Disney Princess’
Vanellope breaks down the role of the “Disney Princess” in Ralph Breaks the Internet. Photo: Disney
This scene is so moving on so many different levels. How did it all come about and did you have any pushback from Disney in the early stages of Ralph Breaks the Internet?
Rich Moore: There really never was! We shared it with them, from almost from the conception of it. When we make these films, we don’t start with making them in color. There are these animatics that are pencil drawings that are married to a soundtrack. It’s like you are watching a comic strip in real time. We did a version of that scene early, and people loved it. So, we immediately wanted to share it with Bob Iger and Alan Horn, our bosses, because we wanted to make sure to tell them “this is what we’d like to do. What do you think of this?” Both of them were just like “We love this”.
It’s a spoofing of the characters and the tropes but it is being done in a respectful way that doesn’t tarnish these iconic characters. It opens them up a little bit more.
It almost seemed like a bottle episode of a sitcom or a sketch. It could live on its own.
Phil Johnston: That was a tricky thing because it can live alone as a sequence. We had shown it at the D23 Expo, which is like Disney’s Comic-Con, a couple years ago and it killed. It was like the Beatles had performed. These 8,000 Disney fans just went nuts!
But as our story evolved, the back part of the scene was getting in the way of Vanellope’s journey… It does function as a funny bit. However, if it weren’t servicing our story we were going to remove it entirely. As it turns out now, the scene is an instrumental part of Vanellope’s journey. Those women help her fulfill her dream and find her purpose in life. It’s like a fulcrum in the movie that really propels the story. That’s the best thing when a set piece like that can function both comedically, in this case, but also have a really emotional component.
Rich Moore: Just to put Sarah Silverman in the room with all of those iconic characters from the outset we just felt was irresistible. I want to see this. I want this to be a real thing. I am deeply proud of that sequence. The fact that it is coming from Disney, not a Family Guy spoof. It’s not the Simpsons. It’s not South Park. It’s coming from the actual studio. To me that is … I can retire. It’s just so powerful.
Ralph Breaks the Internet hits theaters on November 21st.
