Emmy-nominated
comedienne Sarah Silverman lends her voice to Vanellope von Schweetz, a scrappy
little girl who’s the first to spot Ralph when he crash-lands in the Sugar Rush
arcade-game in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 3D comedy adventure “Wreck-It
Ralph.”
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| Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios |
Known
as “The Glitch,” Vanellope is a pixelating programming mistake in the
candy-coated cart-racing game Sugar Rush. With a racer’s spirit embedded in her
coding, Vanellope is determined to earn her place in the starting lineup
amongst the other racers. Only problem: the other racers don’t want her or her
glitching in the game. Years of rejection have left Vanellope with a wicked
sense of humor and a razor-sharp tongue. However, somewhere beneath that hard
shell is a sweet center just waiting to be revealed.
“With
Vanellope, we were looking for a character that would mirror Ralph’s
struggles,” says screenwriter Phil Johnston. “She’s an outsider. The kids pick
on her. Nobody really likes her and they exclude her from the races. And all
she wants to do is race—to be part of the game—just as Ralph wants to be a part
of his community in Niceland.”
When
it came to casting Vanellope, filmmakers knew what they didn’t want. “We didn’t
want a child to play the part,” says director Rich Moore. “We wanted someone
who was acerbic and quick, and could carry the more serious parts of the
performance.”
Enter
Sarah Silverman, whose quick wit and likability lend themselves perfectly to
the Sugar Rush resident. But Silverman brings something to the role that
audiences might not expect. Says Moore, “We all know Sarah Silverman is
funny—she’s a comedian. But Sarah’s a great dramatic actress as well.”
Adds
animation supervisor Renato dos Anjos, “The performances that Sarah brought to
the table were so rich. There was so much emotional content that matching it in
animation was tough. It’s not easy. But we had very talented artists who worked
on Vanellope’s scenes to make sure she had strong, appealing performances.”
With
the friendship between Vanellope and Ralph being integral to the emotional core
of the movie, filmmakers had Silverman and John C. Reilly (who provides the
voice of Ralph) record many of their scenes together, which is uncommon for an
animated film.
“John
and I were able to record together a lot,” says Silverman. “It’s fun to be able
to look into someone’s eyes when you’re saying the lines and to improvise off
of each other. We improvised, we overlapped. It felt very organic.”
“Ralph
and Vanellope don’t really like each other at first—she gives him a hard
time—but they start to realize that they’re a lot alike. They’re both misfits.
“They’re both broken characters when we meet them,” says producer Clark
Spencer. “They both are desperate to be something else, which they think will
help them get the acceptance and love they crave.”
“Wreck-It Ralph” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
International through Columbia Pictures.
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