Stan Lee Didn’t Get to See His ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Cameo Before He Died

The animated film’s directors tell TheWrap that Lee’s cameo “seems very poignant” now that the comic icon has died

Ralph Breaks the Internet
Disney

One of Stan Lee’s final cameos comes in the animated Disney movie “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” but the comics pioneer didn’t get to see his appearance in the film before he died, “Ralph” directors Rich Moore and Phil Johnston told TheWrap on Wednesday.

“He did not see it,” said Moore of the scene, in which the character of Vanellope (voiced by Sarah Silverman) is walking through a Disney-themed area of the internet when she bumps into a man who turns around and is revealed to be Lee. “That scene seems very poignant now on his passing, and it’s very special that we were able to have him as part of our film.”

“Ralph Breaks the Internet” finds video game characters Vanellope and Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) exploring the internet through a wifi router in the video arcade in which they work. The Disney area, Oh My Disney, is populated with all of the properties owned by the Walt Disney Company, including characters from the “Star Wars” and Marvel franchises.

Originally, said Johnston, Lee was to be part of a more extended scene. “For a moment, we had this thing called ‘Marvelize Yourself,’ where the human avatar is able to go through what looks like a metal detector and turn into a Marvel character.

“And as part of that scene, we had Stan Lee go through the Marvelizer. But when we decided to lose that joke and not use the scene, we still wanted to have Stan Lee in the movie, because we love Stan Lee.”

“And we thought it would be appropriate that he does a Stan Lee-type cameo,” added Moore.

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