Sneak Peek Inside the Creative Process of Ralph Breaks the Internet
It’s always an amazing process to learn about all the inner workings that come together perfectly to create a beloved children’s movie. As moviegoers, we get the easy part of just showing up, sitting in our seats and falling in love with the characters on the screen. The hard part goes to those who work day in and day out behind the scenes…creating every loveable moment and funny movie line that you’ll never be able to forget.
Head of Animation Renato dos Anjos, Production Designer Cory Loftis, Crowds Supervisor Moe El-Ali and Production Designer Dave Komorowski as seen at the Long Lead Press Day for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET at Walt Disney Animation Studios on July 31, 2018. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Myself, along with 24 other bloggers, were invited by Disney to attend the #ChristopherRobinEvent and #RalphBreaksTheInternetEvent press junket. All expenses were paid and all opinions are our own. During this trip, we sat down with the creative team and masterminds behind Ralph Breaks the Internet, and I am here to share a sneak peek with you.
Also, be sure to read about our recent interviews with Ralph Breaks the Internet, Director Rich Moore, Director/Writer Phil Johnston and Producer Clark Spencer.
How did the story creation idea develop for Ralph Breaks the Internet?
These amazing ideas for hit movies don’t just fall from the sky. Movies take a ton of effort, timing, and research to be developed, processed and produced. Josie Trinidad (Head of Story), Jason Hand (Story Artist) and Natalie Nourigat (Story Artist) took the time to sit down with us and explain all the different expectations and roles that the story team of Ralph Breaks the Internet played.
Head of Story Josie Trinidad, Story Artist Jason Hand and Story Artist Natalie Nourigat as seen at the Long Lead Press Day for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET at Walt Disney Animation Studios on July 31, 2018. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Josie has been working at Disney since 2004, Jason has been there since 2005, and new to the team is Natalie who joined in 2015. Being able to sit in the same room as them and hear their passion for this project was amazing. Their creativity is truly magical.
Jason created his own version of a storyboard showing us just how long the process takes to get the many steps for story creation to happen. Starting with ideas from the producers, and research from those involved in the process, the storyline of Ralph Breaks the Internet began. Once there was an idea, that idea was then sent to the story department (composed of about 30 artists) who then craft together a version of the story to try to help it take place.
Head of Story Josie Trinidad, Story Artist Jason Hand and Story Artist Natalie Nourigat as seen at the Long Lead Press Day for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET at Walt Disney Animation Studios on July 31, 2018. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Throughout this time there are tons of discussions (and then even more discussions after that, as Jason jokingly pointed out) where all different angles for the storyline are discussed. Once agreed upon, the script writing begins where they do their “magic” in creating and writing.
After these processes comes a long line of even more like screening, script reading, sketching, camera work, acting, editing…and the list goes on and on. If you can imagine just how many people work hard to bring the magic of movies to the big screen, take that number times 2. It takes a village or dedicated and creative individuals to create the movies that you know and love.
Within the movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet, what goes behind the scenes for populating the Internet?
Part of the perfection of Ralph Breaks the Internet is that the team behind the scenes showcases the Internet space in a way that is actually populated by other characters. Now that you read above and understand all the work and time that goes into the story creation, can you imagine just how much planning it takes to create unique characters for the Internet scenes?
Cory Loftis (Production Designer), Dave Komorowski (Head of Characters and Technical Animation), Renato dos Anjos (Head of Animation) and Moe El-Ali (Crowds’ Supervisor) explain their detailed process of creating the characters that populate the Internet.
Head of Animation Renato dos Anjos, Production Designer Cory Loftis, Crowds Supervisor Moe El-Ali and Production Designer Dave Komorowski as seen at the Long Lead Press Day for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET at Walt Disney Animation Studios on July 31, 2018. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
To get Ralph Breaks the Internet to where they wanted it to, they needed to create 150,000 characters for the film. 150,000!
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET – Netizens character visual development lineup by Cory Loftis (Production Designer) ©Disney. All Rights Reserved.
They also brought over many of the characters from the original Wreck-It Ralph film, and were able to create several different unique looks by changing out little details like textures, skin color, clothing, etc.
Head of Animation Renato dos Anjos, Production Designer Cory Loftis, Crowds Supervisor Moe El-Ali and Production Designer Dave Komorowski as seen at the Long Lead Press Day for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET at Walt Disney Animation Studios on July 31, 2018. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Populating the Internet isn’t an easy task, but the way that this team handled the task is truly astonishing! When you are watching the movie in theaters, your jaw will drop once you see just how populated the Internet truly is!
How was the World Wide Web brought to life?
We all know and think of the Internet as this “space” that just gives us information when we need it, but if you were tasked with giving it a life, would you be able to?
The geniuses Matthias Lechner (Art Director, environments), Larry Wu (Head of Environments) and Ernie Petti (Technical Supervisor) were able to do this, and do it well. Their discussions, think tanks sessions and many hours of work were the perfect combinations to be able to turn the “space of the internet” into a complex and growing “city”.
Technical Supervisor Ernie Petti, Art Director, Environments Matthias Lechner and Head of Environments Larry Wu as seen at the Long Lead Press Day for RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET at Walt Disney Animation Studios on July 31, 2018. Photo by Alex Kang/Disney. ©2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
The way that they broke down the creative process was astounding. So much time and thought went into the creation and creativity of bringing the characters into the internet! In their minds, they viewed the internet as a 3-dimensional space with foot traffic constantly happening above, below and all around.
It’s less than a month until the release of the new movie, Ralph Breaks the Internet! To say I’m excited is an understatement. My family and I have been waiting 6 years for this to become our reality, and the countdown in our house in on. Do you have plans to watch Ralph Breaks the Internet when it comes to theaters November 21, 2018? If it’s not already marked on your calendar, put it down asap! Trust me…you won’t want to miss out on this amazing movie! Ralph Breaks the Internet will be the hit of the year, and you won’t want to miss out on seeing in on the big screen!
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