Even though Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet took the franchise to the ridiculous heights (and depths) of the World Wide Web, fans were excited to see that there was still some time in the film for the some of the beloved characters from the first film.
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Jack McBrayer’s Fix-It Felix, along with Jane Lynch‘s Calhoun, both have substantial roles in Ralph Breaks the Internet. After getting married at the end of the first movie, this odd couple decides to “shake things up” this time around, adopting 15 kids at once after Sugar Rush gets unplugged. Of course, this comes with its challenges, but the comedic timing and chemistry of McBrayer and Lynch are at an all-time high.
Ahead of the film’s release, ComicBook.com spoke with McBrayer about working with Jane Lynch for a second time, and whether or not he had a different approach to voicing Fix-It Felix in the sequel.
“Yes and no,” McBrayer began. “The good news was I was able to touch on the relationship with Jane Lynch’s character, Calhoun, from the first one. These are definitely different circumstances because now were married and there’s some tension, there’s some marital strife, perhaps stagnation. But at the end of the day I’m doing bits with Jane Lynch, and so no matter what story they’re giving you to play with, I’m able to like improvise. The hardest part for me was not laughing and like ruining a take for Jane because I mean she’s just solid funny and she can’t help it.”
Part of what makes their relationship so intriguing is the fact that, unlike in other animated movies, many of these actors got to record in the studio together. McBrayer being able to improvise with Lynch while they were in booth, giving their relationship a much more authentic feel.
“We did. In fact, a couple times. A lot of it you are solo. You’ll have your directors there feeding the other lines. But I was able to go in twice with Jane, which is super fun, and I was able to go in once with John, John [C. Reilly]. And if I’m being honest, that’s my favorite way to do it because it feels organic. It feels collaborative, you know, you’re bouncing off each other more.”
As funny as Jane Lynch is, it’s no surprise to hear that she caused McBrayer to crack up numerous times while they were recording together.
“There are a couple [of scenes],” McBrayer recalled with a laugh. “With Jane Lynch, there’s a scene, I don’t even know if it made it in the film, where she was having a flashback, a memory of her own mother, and she’s coming out of the flashback and she’s talking to her son. She goes, ‘Mama, Mama, Mama,’ she does it for like a solid 90 seconds. And I’m sitting there just trying so hard not to ruin the take because you know, this is an emotional moment for this character and also to have those headphones in. That’s the only sound you hear, just, ‘Mama.’ Another time is, I had a session with John C Reilly and we had to do, we had to mispronounce Ebay like 20 different times. And so, ‘You-bay,’ to the point where you’re not even saying words anymore. And you just get the giggles because you realize how ridiculous the English language is.”
Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet is now playing in theaters.
