‘PRINCESS’ SARAH
Comic relishes Disney role
Sarah Silverman has just ended an eloquent and passionate speech about the philosophical divide in Trump-era America when she suddenly lifts her can of Red Bull and excitedly exclaims: “Whoa, this stuff actually works!” It’s not the first or last time the actress and comedian catches herself drifting into deep-thought territory during her promotional duties on behalf of Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet, the sequel to 2012’s animated blockbuster Wreck-It Ralph. At an earlier news conference, an enterprising reporter asked the cast and directors to reveal their deepest insecurities, which does actually align with one of the bigger themes in the movie. The answers got so deep and dark that star John C. Reilly eventually said, “We are talking about a cartoon movie, right?” At the time of this interview, U.S. midterm elections were looming in her country. So politics were likely front of mind for the outspoken Silverman. Whatever the case, she has clearly given much thought to the resonating themes that course under Ralph Breaks the Internet, which finds our favourite good-natured video-game villain (voiced by Reilly) entering a brave new world to help out his bestie, Sugar Rush racer Vanellope von Schweetz (voiced by Silverman). As fans of the original know, the ostracized and clumsy Ralph found new purpose in life when he was able to win the friendship of Vanellope. As the sequel begins, he is content with his life among the other vintage video game characters who socialize after hours in the power strip of Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade. When Vanellope’s racing game is broken and she is at risk of becoming homeless, the two venture into the scary and exhilarating world of the internet through a newly installed wireless connection in hopes of securing a vintage steering wheel that can only be found on eBay. “It’s a story of feelings and how we deal with them and the unhealthy, and hopefully ultimately healthy ways, we deal with our own demons and process them and forgive ourselves for having feelings,” Silverman says. “In fact, that’s all we are is feelings. We can be riddled with insecurity and still be deserving of love. We can fear change and be brave enough to exist through it anyway. There’s nothing more human and more right now in this moment than the duality of craving change, disruption, chaos and being terrified of change and paralyzed by the notion of it. We’ve got half of the country pushing for progress and half of it desperately afraid of change.” Fear not — while Ralph Breaks the Internet does touch on the chaos of the internet, insecurity, female representation in film and online bullying, it’s still a Disney movie. It’s funny, fast-paced and visually stunning and also offers a wildly imaginative and savvy take on how the internet works, presenting it as a multi-layered city of wonderment full of colourful creatures, gatekeepers and robotic-like avatars of users. But the heart of the film is the friendship between Ralph and little Vanellope. Since finding his first true friend, Ralph is convinced he has the perfect life playing a video-game villain by day and hanging with Vanellope after hours, sucking back root beers and engaging in belching contests inside the Tapper video game. Vanellope, on the other hand, seeks a more adventurous life than the one offered by her racing video game, Sugar Rush. When the pair discovers the brave new world of the internet, Vanellope becomes enthralled with its possibilities, particularly those found in a violent, unpredictable game called Slaughter Race. The film offers a non-stop parade of new and old characters, including cameos from the ever-expanding Disney/Marvel/Star Wars universe. At one point Vanellope comes across a gang of past Disney princesses, most of whom are voiced by the actresses who played them in the original films. She eventually convinces them to abandon their traditional princess wardrobes in favour of her more comfortable jeans-and-hoodie combo. Hidden inside this visual joke is a poignant message for girls. “It’s to question what we think is normal and say, ‘Wait, what if you don’t wear a corset and high heels and clothes you are cold in or uncomfortable in? Do you still deserve love?’ Yes,” Silverman says. “Boys are raised and they never have to think about being made physically or emotionally uncomfortable in order to survive. That’s just a very bizarre notion and very oddly, uniquely female.” To officially become a part of the Disney Princess Club, though, Vanellope must find her Disney princess song. This allowed Silverman to sing a perky number written by veteran Disney composer Alan Menken. The improbably named A Place Called Slaughter Race is duet between Silverman and Gal Gadot, who voices the tough Slaughter Race star Shank. “That is something so iconic to me, and just the idea of getting to be a Disney princess but getting to do it in a way I couldn’t have made more perfect for myself had I made it by myself,” Silverman says. “I just feel so warm about it and the way she expresses herself in this Disney princess song. First of all, just the deconstructing of the song and what it means to be a Disney princess and questioning what that means and the idea of questioning authority and questioning norms that we just don’t question because that’s always how it’s always been.” Still, while these serious issues may be addressed in the film, Silverman stresses that the experience wasn’t anything but fun. It was fun to sing. It was fun to return to the vocal booth with Reilly, who has become a close friend since the two worked together on the original Wreck-It Ralph. It was fun to improvise. “I think they always book about maybe an extra hour of time than they need,” Silverman says. “Because we get real chatty. And there is definitely an album — like a very rated R-rated comedy album somewhere in the audio footage of recording for sure.” Has she given any thought to the possibility that she may be required to sing her Disney song at the Oscars? “It’s all I talked about when we were recording it, obnoxiously,” she says.
For an actress as versatile as Taraji P. Henson, it may seem a bit disconcerting to her that the Disney producers of Ralph Breaks the Internet did not offer her the role of Yesss based on any of her past work. It wasn’t her Oscar-nominated turn as Queenie in 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It wasn’t her Golden Globe-winning performance as the ambitious Cookie Lyon on Fox’s Empire. It wasn’t for her role as NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson in 2016’s Hidden Figures. “They were watching me in interviews,” says Henson, speaking to Postmedia earlier this month in Beverly Hills to promote Ralph Breaks the Internet. “That’s how they knew they wanted me for this character. It wasn’t about the work I’d done. Because you have to bring so much to this character. In animation, you don’t get a script. You just get the pages for the days that you work because they are constantly changing — it’s constantly evolving. It took us a whole year to put this in the can. I never really saw an official script. So it’s a different way of working.” In short, they wanted Taraji P. Henson to bring the sort of infectious energy that she brings to interviews. And it doesn’t take long into an interview with Taraji P. Henson to see why. When asked if she had seen the action figure of Yesss, which was among the towering collection of Ralph merchandise on display at the Beverly Hilton, Henson makes no attempt to hide her enthusiasm. “I always wanted that,” she says. “I wanted to be an action figure. I wanted to do an action film or a Marvel character so I can say, ‘I play this character,’ and put in on my mantle. “Finally!” she shouts, her voice suddenly rising a few decibels. “Yes!” Yesss is the name of the sassy, fashion-conscious algorithm she voices in Ralph Breaks the Internet, a new character in the Wreck-It Ralph universe. In the sequel to the 2012 blockbuster, former video-game villain Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) and his best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) embark on a new mission to find a vintage steering wheel for the latter’s arcade game, which has been broken. If one can’t be found, Vanellope might be forever homeless. Luckily, the Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade, where video-game characters all socialize after-hours in the power strip, has just rocketed into the modern age by installing an internet connection. So Ralph and Vanellope venture inside in hopes of purchasing their vintage arcade piece online. Among the characters helping them negotiate this strange new universe is Yesss, who heads BuzzTube and determines what videos trend. She sets out to turn Ralph into a social media star so he can make enough real money to purchase the steering wheel. Giving life to social media’s strange realm of viral videos, trending and “likes” is just one of the savvy and wildly imaginative turns the filmmakers offer in Ralph Breaks the Internet. Henson says she was on board from Day 1, when she was offered an early glimpse of Yesss as a smart, take-charge businesswoman prone to changing hairdos and outfits with lightning-quick speed. “She loves fashion because she is a trendsetter,” Henson says. “Her fashion is always changing just like things on the internet; how things are viral for 10 seconds and then they’re gone. It’s an outfit for her. I really loved her character. I love how she looks, and I just felt like I could do it justice.” Henson will be following her role as Yesss with a very different film. In the fact-based drama Best of Enemies, she will play 1970s civil rights leader Ann Atwater opposite Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell, who will play Ku Klux Klan member Claiborne Paul Ellis. Still, despite her Oscar nod, three Emmy nominations, Golden Globe win and impressive slate of high-profile films on the horizon, Henson insists it was getting the call from Disney that finally assured her that she had found success in Hollywood. “I grew up watching Disney animated films,” she says. “To be the voice of a Disney animated character, that means you made it. That means people are coming to the movies because they like you. To have that level of success where people are going to come just because your name is in it, you have some kind of involvement and they’re just going to hear your voice? That’s love. That means you made it. “You got real box-office appeal now,” she adds with laugh. “Pay me my money!”