Top 10 Things You Missed in Ralph Breaks the Internet
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Nick Spake
And you thought “Ready Player One” was the ultimate Easter egg hunt. Here are the Top 10 Things You Missed in Wreck-It Ralph 2. For this list, we're taking a look at cameos, in-jokes, and little details that you might've overlooked in “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” We'll try to keep any spoilers to a minimum, but keep in mind we'll be touching upon a few plot points.
#10: Urkel Looking for answers and a particular steering wheel, our heroes consult a search engine named KnowsMore, who shares the same voice actor as the first film’s King Candy, Alan Tudyk. With an aggressive auto-complete function, KnowsMore jumps to the conclusion that Ralph and Vanellope must be looking for Steve Urkel, who was played by Jaleel White on “Family Matters,” airing its first eight seasons on the Disney-owned ABC television network. Funny enough, White actually voiced legendary video game character Sonic the Hedgehog on occasion in the 90s, and though The Blue Blur actually does make an on screen appearance in “Wreck-It Ralph 2” by his voice actor of several years, Roger Craig Smith, we can’t help but wonder if this was the filmmakers’ way of tipping the hat to Sonic’s OG voice actor.
#9: YouTube Voice Actors The filmmakers clearly did their homework on internet culture, as they actually enlisted real-life YouTube personalities to lend their voices. GloZell Green, aka GloZell Lyneette Simon, has accumulated over 4 million subscribers through her rapping, stand-up, and interviews. In “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” she can be briefly heard as Little Debbie, a member of Shank’s crew in “Slaughter Race.” Colleen Ballinger, who rose to popularity with her character Miranda Sings, also makes a cameo as herself. Just when you thought Ballinger couldn’t possibly be more animated, she becomes a literal cartoon character who loses access to her internet. The film additionally includes appearances from Tiffany Herrera [aka iHasCupquake], Dani Fernandez, and Flula Borg as Yesss' assistant Maybe.
#8: The Anti-Princess Song Where the other Disney princesses dream of living happily ever after in a magical kingdom, Vanellope wishes to spend the rest of her days in “Slaughter Race,” a game overrun with fast cars, explosions, and sharks deadlier than the ones from Amity Island. Vanellope expresses her desires through a tune entitled “A Place Called Slaughter Race,” which is anything but a traditional Disney princess song. What makes this especially hilarious is that the song’s music was composed by Alan Menken, the same man who gave us “Part of Your World,” “A Whole New World,” and others. On top of that, Sarah Silverman sings this song with Gal Gadot, who’s known for playing another unconventional princess.
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#7: Heynong Man Even when he’s given the most minor of roles, actor Jason Mantzoukas never fails to produce comedic gold. During the “Oh My Disney” sequence from “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Mantzoukas voices an obnoxious fan at a Q&A session who has a bone to pick with Baby Groot. The scene is only made funnier when you consider that Mantzoukas’ character is named Heynong Man. For those who don’t know, “Heynong Man” is a rather niche reference to “Comedy Bang! Bang!,” which started as a podcast that inspired a TV series of the same name. Mantzoukas has frequently appeared on the podcast where he coined this catchphrase, which derived from mispronouncing the phrase “Hang on, man.”
#6: “Fortnite” References Although it’s still a relatively new game, “Fortnite” has exploded into a cultural phenomenon that’s dominated pop culture ever since its launch in 2017. Several references to the battle royal game can even be found in this Disney movie. In one of the subtler instances, a “fortnight,” as in a period of two weeks, is cleverly mentioned. As Yesss explains how video game characters tend to rake in lots of likes, you can spot a familiar Battle Bus on her tablet. The most ingenious Easter egg of all comes when Ralph performs the floss dance, which initially stemmed from Russell “Backpack Kid” Horning and reached another level of popularity when it popped up in “Fortnite.”
#5: Can’t Understand Merida Vanellope isn’t the only Disney princess who’s something of an outsider. Once again voiced by Kelly Macdonald, Merida from “Brave” tells Vanellope how she turned her mother into a bear after feeding her cursed cake… at least that’s what we think she was trying to get across. Merida’s kind of hard to understand, which is because “she’s from the other studio,” according to Anna. Merida was the first Pixar character to be featured among Disney’s official Princess Line, so it’s not surprising that her words got lost in translation. Considering that “Brave” beat the original “Wreck-It Ralph” for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this could also be seen as a playful jab towards the competition.
#4: Stan Lee The “Oh My Disney” sequence packs in one cameo after another, although none were more poignant than Stan Lee’s. While making her way through the haven of Disney properties, Vanellope almost bumps into one of Marvel’s most influential artists. This isn’t the first time Lee has appeared in a Disney movie, as he lent his voice and likeness to Fred’s dad in “Big Hero 6.” What stands out about Lee’s cameo in “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” however, is that he passed away at age 95 just over a week before the film’s release. Lee sadly didn’t get to see the film before his death, but this cameo further demonstrates why his legacy will last forever.
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#3: Disney Characters Everywhere As mentioned before, Vanellope’s trip to “Oh My Disney” is overrun with icons under the Mouse House’s umbrella, but you’d need a keen eye to catch them all. Upon arriving, Vanellope not only crosses paths with Eeyore, but also spots the likes of Dumbo, Iron Man, Kermit the Frog, EVE, R2-D2, and Mickey Mouse, just to name a few. One area features attractions dedicated to Baymax and Buzz Lightyear with a user who looks an awful lot like Darth Maul passing by. On the run from Stormtroopers, Vanellope even encounters Nick Wilde, Grumpy, Heihei the Rooster, Tinker Bell, and Peter Pan’s shadow. Gee, this place almost makes the “Kingdom Hearts” games look underpopulated by comparison!
#2: The “Batman” Theme It’s no secret that Disney owns Marvel, which is DC’s biggest rival on the superhero front. Likewise, for decades Disney has competed with Warner Bros., DC Entertainment’s parent company. So naturally, we never expected a DC character like Batman to be referenced in anything Disney-related. When the Disney princesses transition into their casual clothing, though, the music cue played sounds just like Neal Hefti’s iconic composition from the 1960s “Batman” show. The Adam West series notably wasn’t produced by Warner Bros., but 20th Century Fox, which Disney is expected to officially acquire in 2019. It may not be a full-on cameo from the Caped Crusader, but it’s probably the closest Disney will ever get.
#1: After-Credits Despite being heavily advertised, the scene involving a pancake-eating bunny and a traumatized baby Moana was excluded from the film’s plot. The clip did surface in the credits, however! Discussing this scene, animator Michelle Robinson stated, “it was meant to be part of the whole montage where Ralph and Vanellope explore the internet and then when the story shifted, it didn’t really make sense anymore, but we just loved it so much that we wanted to make sure it was still shared.” The credits also featured a sneak peak of “Frozen 2.” Instead of Elsa singing “Let It Go,” though, Ralph trolled us with “Never Gonna Give You Up.” We’ve heard of rick-rolling, but ralph-rolling?
