By: Hiro Katoh November 23, 2018
In the last couple of decades the world has changed with internet, and for comedian and actress, Sarah Silverman the changes have been amazing. For starters, Silverman has answered her childhood dream of becoming a Disney Princess, sort of, as she lends her voice to the character of Vanellope in Disney’s new film, Ralph Breaks the Internet. Vanellope is a new kind of princess and fans love her. We chat with Silverman about her Royal-ish and if she personally has ever broken the internet.
Q: What was it like to finally get your own Disney princess song?
It was a dream come true. I couldn’t believe it. When you guys told me that I was going to have a song, we had already been recording for a while. And I couldn’t believe it. And the music was written by Alan Menken and I got to meet him and work with him and rehearse with him. And he played somewhere that’s green for me to sing from my favorite. He wrote Little Shop of Horrors, my favorite, and of course, it’s like this Disney icon of iconic songs. But yeah. It was incredible. Then we recorded with a whole orchestra. Like you see in old timely movies. He was crazy. It was really the thrill of a lifetime.
Q: Elaborate a little bit more about what it means to be a member of the Disney Princess squad. Do you think it will affect your comedy act?
Will it affect my act? Will it affect my attitude? I don’t know that it will affect my act. Although everything affects my act. Just living. But yeah. It’s a thrill. And it’s something that the idea of Disney Princess, what makes it good is that it has grown and changed. That Disney has taken on progress and inclusivity and has grown and changed in positive ways. And where a classic Disney Princess, and really, this movie just faces it head on leans right into it. Well, you get saved by a man. And you’re in great distress. Your life is threatened. And then someone else saves you. And then to all in one movie acknowledge all of that and then shatter it is so exciting. And to get to be this kid who becomes like a princess with an attainable waist line. And wearing comfortable clothes. And I always like, as a comic, this is really going a different direction. But we end up in diners late at night after shows. And who also ends up at diners late at night are young girls, young people coming out of the clubs, dance clubs and stuff like that.
I would see young women in half shirts and sky-high heels. And they’re freezing cold. They’re like this shivering. And their feet hurt. I just think. I just wish I could tell them that they don’t have to be uncomfortable to deserve love. Boys are not raised to think that they ever have to sacrifice comfort to be loved. And it just always struck me. I would go oh. I would be in like my hoodie and jeans and just think, these girls don’t think that they can get love without this insane amount of physical discomfort. And I love that Vanellope kind of sheds light on these grown up princesses that are uncomfortable hanging out. And Twitter just announced, I mean, didn’t just announce,but someone was talking about it months and months ago. I said, yeah. She’s Jewish. I just made her Jewish. Now it’s Canon which I enjoy. [laughs] Von Schweetz (Vennelope’s last name). I don’t know. Is that Jewish?
Q: Share what your personal experience has been with the Internet?
Oh. Talk about my own experience with the Internet? Do you want to know what my search words are? It’s funny. Years ago, I have a group of friends that we play poker together. One of them was like you’ve got to check out this thing, Twitter. “I’m going to take a picture of us and post it on Twitter and people will comment on it.” And I go “oh jeez. You with the latest technologies.” And I made fun of him. Then one day, I was listening to the radio. They said follow us on Twitter. And I wanted to hear more about that story. So, you have to log on. Then that was it. It is a gateway drug. For a comedian, it’s a great place to try out jokes or like places where you just have a funny thought and you want to put it out there or whatever. But then it became the place where I take in my news. And now I only want to look back on the times when I was funny on it. But yeah. It’s something.
I think the Internet, because it was new for us, kids, it’s all they know. And they probably, I wonder in what ways that’s good and bad. But we had to learn how to navigate and how to protect ourselves. And what we can handle. And what we can allot ourselves. It’s like anything. There can be way too much of it. It’s nice as a treat. And there are bells that can’t be unwrung that probably happen a couple of times a week or a day or in the middle of the night. But I think there’s a lot of good in the Internet. It’s brought the world a lot closer. It’s made it a lot smaller. And then of course there are terrible things about it. A lot outside misinformation. This new world of chaos. And lack of knowing what is true I would attribute to the Internet. But also learning truths about other people that I would have never known. Culturally. Like waking up to my own white privilege had a lot to do with the Internet for what it’s worth. But yeah. It’s a very complicated relationship, the Internet, that we all have. And we have to try to find a healthy balance.
Ralph Breaks the Internet is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
For more info on the film and theatre locations, visit the film’s official website at https://movies.disney.com/ralph-breaks-the-internet-wreck-it-ralph-2 or their official Facebook page at, https://www.facebook.com/WreckItRalph/
Interview by Hiro Katoh
Edited by: Jody Taylor – https://twitter.com/RealJodyTaylor
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