Disney Princesses Were Almost Left Out Of 'Wreck-It Ralph 2'

[Minor spoilers for Ralph Breaks the Internet below]

It’s not Ralph who breaks the internet — it’s the princesses.

Disney fans went wild when it was revealed that many of the company’s most iconic characters, including Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, and Cinderella, would appear in Ralph Breaks the Internet, the highly-entertaining sequel to Wreck-It Ralph (it’s already a major box office hit). It wasn’t just stunt-casting, either: the princesses factored into the plot, using each of their unique skills to help save the day. But in an interview with Digital Spy, co-directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston revealed that the princesses were almost left out of the film.

“I think the thing about the scene with the princesses was making sure that it deserved to be in the movie so it wasn’t just a satirical deconstruction of the Disney princesses, but was actually an integral part of Vanellope’s story,” Johnston said. Moore added that the story changed, too, with “what Ralph and Vanellope were doing, the whole thematic shifted at one point. For a long time, it didn’t make sense to how the story was adding up.” Eventually, they found the way to keep the Disney royalty: by giving Jewish princess Vanellope an “I Want” song, the staple of any good Disney musical (think: “Part of Your World”).

“We did take it to the powers-that-be at Disney just to make sure it was kosher and they loved it, and they actually encouraged us to go farther. There were really no sacred cows. It was us pushing the envelope as far as we could, but doing a satire with genuine love.” (Via)

As long as Herbie the Love Bug wasn’t involved. Meanwhile, and with all due respect to the princesses, I’m still waiting for my Gord spin-off movie.