It is still very strange to me that Sarah Silverman is now officially a Disney character.
Sure, she’s playing a character named Vanellope von Schweetz, but those pipes could only belong to one person, and it’s kind of remarkable that this sort of big pop cartoon would provide the actress with the opportunity to do some of the most nuanced work she’s done on film so far.
There’s something wonderful about the way kids get to know performers like Silverman or Patton Oswalt or Jack McBrayer or John C. Reilly or Sarah Vowell from these smart, engaging animated stories where they play outrageous characters who are grounded and humanized by that voice work. Silverman perfectly expresses the bruised heart of the “glitch” who Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) meets when he sneaks into the game “Sugar Rush.”
It’s a kart racing uber-cute game universe, and Silverman’s character is a wee little blast of attitude, with gigantic moppet eyes and a sunny sort of maliciousness that makes her endearing and a little terrifying at the same time.
The press day for “Wreck-It Ralph” fell on a Saturday, and that’s the day I’ve got Toshi and Allen all day. Once again, they joined me on the trek into Beverly Hills, and when I was sent to wait for Silverman to kick off the day’s interviews, I was talking and joking with the boys in the hallway outside her room.
She showed up about ten minutes later, and when she saw the boys, she was still at the far end of the hall. And that big voice of hers boomed down the hall loud enough to make people turn to see what she was talking about. “OH MY GOD ARE THOSE KIDS?!”
She walked up to the boys and introduced herself, and they started telling her all the things the liked about the movie, and the more she talked about it, the bigger her smile kept getting. During the interview, I got more of that same excitement from her, that pleasure that comes from being really happy with something you’ve been part of, something you’ve made.
Can’t wait for families to see “Wreck-It Ralph” this weekend.