Wreck-It Ralph 2: So What Was Felix's Parenting Advice, Really?

Adorable do-gooder Fix-It Felix was one of the main protagonists in the original Wreck-It Ralph, where he not only found love, but learned to question his role as the hero of his own game, too. But things have changed a bit in the six years between the original Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Breaks The Internet--Felix is still fixing things, to be sure, but he's not quite as eager to prove himself as he used to be.

There are spoilers for Wreck-it Ralph 2 below, so be warned!

While Felix takes things (relatively) easy this time around, Ralph and Vanellope head to the internet to try and save Vanellope's home, Sugar Rush, from certain destruction. In the process, Ralph sets off a chain of events that threatens to bring the web to its proverbial knees. As a series, Wreck-It Ralph has always been heavy-handed with the references--the original was jam packed with famous video game characters like Pac-Man and Zangief. Ralph Breaks The Internet ups the ante by taking the guard rails off.

In our review, we highlighted the movie's willingness to play in the Disney canon in unexpected ways--even when those moments didn't exactly jive with the rest of the film's digital backdrop. Take Vanellope's team-up with a whole entourage of Disney Princesses, which we wrote "sends Vanellope on a surprisingly self-deprecating trip through Disney history. It's undeniably a well-executed, hilarious scene, brimming with impressive details like the fact that almost all the original voice actresses return. Sure, it's all a bit contrived, but it's also OK to simply enjoy Disney being so self-aware. Whether Cinderella would ever really smash her glass slipper into a shank and brandish it at a little girl is beside the point."

But while Vanellope is cozying up to her predecessors and Ralph is breaking the internet, Fix-it Felix and Calhoun remain stuck in Litwack's arcade, raising a small army of adorable but obnoxious kart-racing characters. What exactly did Felix get up to the whole time? How did he raise those racers by the end? What did Felix and Calhoun really say about parenting in that final scene?

We sat down with voice actor Jack McBrayer--most famous for his role as the immortal Kenneth Parcell on 30 Rock--to get the inside scoop. When you're done here, check out why Ralph Breaks the Internet doesn't want to demonize violent video games, how the filmmakers built the movie's living internet city, and how the sequel portrays the internet's dark side.

GameSpot: So, Felix is not in this movie as much, you know, compared to the first one.

Jack McBrayer: He's taking a little vacation.

Was there anything on the table for your character and for Calhoun (Jane Lynch) that didn't make it into the movie, or something that you recorded that you wanted to keep and didn't make the cut?

No, I mean, the storyline pretty much was what it was--I honestly don't even remember. Because we did the table read for this one in December of 2015 and the story was vastly different from what it is now. But that was also the case with the first one, so that wasn't really a surprise this time around. It's just been fun to see how the script has evolved since.

Was there any room for improv for you and Jane Lynch here?

They do encourage to do it a few times, as scripted, but then they just let you cut loose. And it's fun, because Jane Lynch has a similar background, she did comedy for years and years. And coincidentally, me and Jane Lynch, and John C. Reilly, were all in Talladega Nights together, in 2005. That was another project where improv was encouraged.

And she's just liquid funny. And so even just reading the lines you're like, trying not to laugh, to ruin a take, but then when you're just able to improvise it's so silly. Especially knowing how different these characters are. You know, this tiny little munchkin and this glamazon, to be able to play around with that

So another element of the movie is you and Calhoun have adopted 15 children.

As one does.

There's a bit at the end where you actually get to give some fake parenting advice. Was that dialogue actually recorded and then taken out?

There was actual dialogue recorded, but I do have to admit--some of it was nonsense, because, at that point, we just had to match what the character's mouths were doing.

In one version of the script, Felix is very overly confident about being a parent. He's so used to being a helper. "Here's a problem, I can fix it!" kind of thing. So I think in a very general sense, he's like, "oh, well, parenting, yes, this is an obstacle, but we can do it."

If you had to put Felix in a different video game, what would you put him in?

Oh boy. You know, I'm gonna go easy on the kid, because, he's not built for those [scary games].

Maybe Minecraft?

That might be it. That's seems very blocky and buildy...At the most extreme I'd put him in Sugar Rush or a racing game. Not the scary ones.

So no hanging out with Gal Gadot's character Shank?

No. I mean, god no. Bless her heart. It'd especially be a fun dinner date, but she don't want to go racing with that. It's too much. That's too much. Leave Felix alone. We have to protect him.

Thanks Jack!

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