With Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet now available on Digital HD and hitting 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray next Tuesday, I was recently granted an exclusive opportunity to sit down with directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston as well as producer Clark Spencer to talk about their recent blockbuster, which grossed over $505.8 million worldwide ($199M domestic; $306.8M foreign).
Despite heavy competition from fellow critical darlings, Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet, Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been the clear favorite this ongoing awards season, and is looking increasingly likely to take home Oscar gold this coming Sunday to cap off its extraordinary run - which is undoubtedly something Disney has taken notice of.
Now, while Disney may not hold any stake in the Spider-Man rights at the moment, save for their live-action agreement, they do own a plethora of other Marvel characters and to close out my chat with Rich, Phil, and Clark, I decided to get their thoughts on the competition and whether they'd ever be open to helming an animated Marvel movie.
___________________________________________________________________
ROHAN PATEL: I guess they’re technically your competition this year, but with Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse having all this immense success, both critically and commercially, I would imagine Disney with their plethora of Marvel characters as well as the X-Men looking increasingly likely to be on their way soon, would have to be at least open to the idea of animated superhero movies down the line.
Are there any Marvel characters you would want to further explore in an animated medium?
RICH: Do we own Mr. Magoo now? *laughter*
AMY (PR): Don’t forget Big Hero 6 was actually based on a lesser known Marvel comic book series, so we’ve actually had the pleasure of partnering with them already.
RICH MOORE: I think an animated Guardians of the Galaxy would be pretty cool, pretty funny. We did use Baby Groot already though.
PHIL JOHNSTON: Squirrel Girl?
RICH: Look, Spider-Man’s doing really well, we could just take that. *laughs* That’s kind of already in Disney’s pocket. How’s Sony getting away with this?! - *laughs* - It’s our thing, Spider-Verse.
*heavy laughter from everyone*
CLARK SPENCER: Back to your question, there are great characters within Marvel and I think animation is such an incredible world to be able to explore anything, be let alone superhero characters, so it could be amazing.
RICH: I got a good one: Super Feige.
PHIL: Ooh, like Kevin Feige? I like it.
RICH: Mild-mannered producer suddenly has the superpower that he can make these great movies about comic books characters.
PHIL: Although, you know what I'm going to say? I'm going to go totally against this and say the beauty of what has worked at our studio is the original ideas, the stuff that comes out of here. Like I love that we made up these characters and the characters in Zootopia and that kind of doesn't happen that much in big-budget Hollywood movie making anymore. Most things are based on a brand or franchise or something that's already there and so, the fact that we can come up with characters and stories that are wholly original, I think that’s rad because it doesn't happen that much.
___________________________________________________________________
Check out more of my awesome Ralph Breaks the Internet interview by heading to any of the following links!
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, video-game bad guy Ralph and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz leave the comforts of Litwak’s arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the Internet where they rely on the citizens of the Internet—the Netizens—to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss, the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube,” and Shank, a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces—so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he’s ever had.
Ralph Breaks the Internet features:
Directors: Rich Moore & Phil Johnston
-
John C. Reilly as Wreck-It Ralph
-
Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz
-
Gal Gadot as Shank
-
Taraji P. Henson as Yesss
-
Jack McBrayer as Fix-It Felix, Jr.
-
Jane Lynch as Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun
-
Alan Tudyk as KnowsMore
-
Alfred Molina as Double Dan
-
Ed O'Neill as Mr. Litwak
-
Sean Giambrone as The eboy
-
Flula Borg as Maybe
-
Timothy Simons as Butcher Boy
-
Ali Wong as Felony
-
Hamish Blake as Pyro
-
GloZell Green as Little Debbie
-
Rebecca Wisocky as ebay Elayne
-
Sam Richardson as Lee the Office Nerd
-
Jaboukie Young-White as McNeely
-
Maurice Lamarche as Tapper
-
Melissa Villaseñor as Taffyta
-
Katie Lowes as Candlehead
-
Jamie Elman as Rancis
-
Horatio Sanz as Duncan
-
Alex Moffat as Jimmy
-
June Squibb as Jimmy's Grandma
-
Della Saba as Swati
-
Michaela Zee as Nafisa
-
Phil Johnston as Surge Protector
-
John DiMaggio as Arthur
-
Rich Moore as Sour Bill & Zangeif
-
Colleen Ballinger as Colleen
-
Dani Fernandez as Show Host
-
Tiffany Herrera as Tiffany
-
Ana Ortiz as Ballet Mom
-
Dianna Agron as News Anchor
-
Jason Mantzoukas as Hey Nongman
-
Raymond S. Persi as Gene
-
Fuschia! as Instagram Pop-Up
-
Roger Craig Smith as Sonic the Hedgehog
-
Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear
-
Brad Garrett as Eeyore
-
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
-
Corey Burton as Grumpy
-
Vin Diesel as Baby Groot
-
Jason Hightower as Auctioneer #1
-
Brian Curless as Auctioneer #2
-
Ann Colgin as Auctioneer #3
-
Viveca Paulin as Auctioneer #4
-
Michael Giacchino as FN-3181
-
Kevin Deters as Stormtrooper #1
-
Jeremy Milton as Stormtrooper #2
-
Jesse Averna as Stormtrooper #3
-
Rich Moore as Stormtrooper #4
-
Nicole Scherzinger as Mo's Mom
-
Brittany Kikuchi as Baby Mo
-
Oliver Bénard as Goat
-
Ben McKee as Ben
-
Daniel Platzman as Daniel
-
Dan Reynolds as Dan
-
Wayne Sermon as Wayne
-
Irene Bedard as Pocahontas
-
Kristen Bell as Anna
-
Jodi Benson as Ariel
-
Auli'i Cravalho as Moana
-
Jennifer Hale as Cinderella
-
Kate Higgins as Aurora
-
Linda Larkin as Jasmine
-
Kelly Macdonald as Merida
-
Idina Menzel as Elsa
-
Mandy Moore as Rapunzel
-
Paige O'Hara as Belle
-
Pamela Ribon as Snow White
-
Anika Noni Rose as Tiana
-
Ming-Na Wen as Mulan
Ralph Breaks the Internet is now available on Digital HD and arrives
on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 26
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.