‘Wreck-It Ralph 2’ Directors Explain Why They Took the Sequel to the Internet

Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph may have been taken place entirely in the simple, familiar setting of an old arcade, but the creative team behind the franchise decided to go much, much bigger with the film’s sequel. Instead of keeping things contained in Mr. Litwack’s arcade, Ralph Breaks the Internet takes its characters to the never-ending expanse of the World Wide Web.

It’s quite a change from the first movie, but directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston knew that this bold step was the right move for Ralph and Venellope’s story.

During a press event for Ralph Breaks the Internet, ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with the filmmakers about the sequel, and we asked them what lead to the massive increase in scale.

“Themes have changed, that’s always been at the front of our mind,” Johnston told us. “And Ralph being a guy who has a life that he really likes, so the idea that something would come in and invade his world that would force a change really. That ends up being the steering wheel breaking but the actual change in the internet. And it’s constantly changing and constantly evolving, and for a guy like Ralph who is more of a sort of homebody if you will. Something like that would create a ton of conflict beyond being a big expansive universe.

“It’s a good place to send a guy like that, because comedies are about conflict and there’s a lot of that in the Internet that Ralph is going to bump up against. That was really the why, why the internet, because it’s the worst possible place for Ralph.”

“We wanted to drive some sort of wedge between Ralph and Vanellope, like Phil was saying that he’s so comfortable at the beginning and so happy that we love to torture our characters. You know? It just feels like it was the perfect bad place to send him,” added Moore. “Putting him in this situation where he has to go there if he wants to maintain what he’s got there back at home. It just felt like we had found the right thing.”

What do you think of the major change in setting for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel? Are you looking forward to seeing the new movie? Let us know in the comments!

Ralph Breaks the Internet is set to hit theaters on November 21st.