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Ralph Breaks the Internet Stunt Driver on Life in the Fast Lane of Animation


Ralph Breaks the Internet features some of the most exciting driving sequences in any animated film, bar none. The scenes, which center around driving throughout the GTA inspired racing game Slaughter Race, have a weight to them that most animated films just never manage to deliver.

A major reason for that realism comes from Jeremy Fry, who served as the film’s stunt coordinator and consultant. With almost 20 years under his belt, Fry helped provide the right level of authenticity for the film. CBR got the chance to sit down with Fry, and spoke to him about his experience as a stunt driver, what differentiates live-action from animation and which world he’d rather drive through: Sugar Rush or Slaughter Race.

Given the kind of stunts he’s been asked to perform over the course of his almost two-decade career, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that he has occasionally just started screaming in horror. But Fry has the opposite problem. “When I get to that point, I get super quiet, introverted, into my little shell, wishing it would all go away. That’s what it is when it’s going sideways.”

When asked if he’s ever been asked to perform a stunt completely outside the realm of possibility, Fry said, “I’ve definitely been in situations where I said ‘I don’t think this can be done.’ But I can’t say anything’s ever been presented to me that was a complete death wish.

“Luckily as I get older, I’m a little more willing to say ‘I don’t think so’ versus when I was younger. I’m a little too old to just roll the dice.”

While talking about what separates driving for animation and live-action, Fry explained that “obviously, there’s a difference between doing stunts for something in live-action (like his work in Baby Driver and Black Panther), but Fry elaborated on the difference between driving for the two mediums.

“With animated films, you’re limited by whatever you can think of. When you’re on a live set, you do the best you can, and there’s a good chance you’re going to do it again. It’s an extended process for a very short amount of actual performing. But with animation, with what I would spend 12 and a half seconds doing, you’re taking that 12 and a half seconds and you’re looking at it over the course of days.”

He continued, saying, “What’s interesting is when I get brought on, you’re kind of a hired gun. You come in, you do your thing, you leave. Some [projects] you’re on for longer and you get more involved. But what I really enjoy about the animation team at Disney was that you walk around and everyone is kind of working on the same stuff, doing their own little thing.

“One guy is drawing your beard, one guy is drawing your eye and one guy is working on your fingers, but they’re all working on you. In a live-action film, we’re all working on the feature but some are working on the green screen, some are working on the electrical; it’s not like those worlds interact a whole lot. That’s why I really enjoyed working in animation.”

When asked which game he would drive in, Fry revealed, “The answer is really easy. Because they did such a good job making Slaughter Race so realistic, I’ve done that. But Candy Crush looks awesome. I would love to race around and eat everything I crash into. My kids would lose their minds.”

Directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnson, Ralph Breaks the Internet is available now on Digital, 4k and Blu-ray. The film features the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Taraji P. Henson, Gal Gadot, Jane Lynch, Ed O’Neill and almost every Disney Princess voice recorded.

Source: https://www.cbr.com/ralph-breaks-internet-stunt-driver-animation/