Internet

### Inhabitants

Yesss, KnowsMore, Shank, Spamley, Double Dan, Gord, Eboy, Maybe, Disney Princesses, Fun Bun and Puddles, Netizens, Vanellope von Schweetz

### Visitors

Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope von Schweetz, net users

### Status

Still Standing

The **Internet** is the physical digital world within the real-life internet that Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz travel to in the 2018 film *Ralph Breaks the Internet*.

## Background

The Internet is a massive digital metropolis, functioning much like New York City, Los Angeles, or London. Each building and stand in the digital city-like world is a website. They are divided into various districts that share a common element such as social media, shopping and financial. Because the Internet is virtual, the buildings' interiors are not limited to their exterior's size: every building contains its own virtual world. Like the real-life web, the Internet is always growing, so some buildings are under construction to represent new websites.

The populace of the Internet is divided into two groups: the "netizens" and the "net users". The netizens are the permanent residents of the Internet and analog to the video game characters of Game Central Station — digital personifications of the Internet's functions, websites, and apps, powering their respective expanse, including the setting and the avatar characters of the online games, like *Slaughter Race*. The block-headed net users are avatars of the real-life people using the Internet daily, serving as the consumer populace of the metropolis. The netizens fulfill the actions that net users must perform when surfing the internet.

Some of these websites' Internet representations are puns and pastiches of themselves; for instance, the Twitter hub is three trees that is home to "Twitter" birds that "chirp" out tweets, while eBay is an auctioning convention and Oh My Disney resembles a D23 expo. As for the Dark Net, it resembles a dark alleyway.

## Places of interest

* **The Hub:** The metaphorical entrance of the Internet. It is where net users and avatars arrive after traveling from their own Wi-Fi routers.
* **BuzzzTube:** A video-sharing website powered by the algorithm Yesss.

* **eBay** An online bargain site that takes the form of an auctioning convention.

* **Oh My Disney:** An expo-like website inhabited by netizen versions of characters from Disney Animation, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel, The Muppets, and many more. It is a popular tourist destination for net users. Hotels for visiting guests surround the site.
* **The Searchbar:** A search engine that is powered by KnowsMore.
* **Pancake Milkshake:** A mobile game starring a pancake-eating bunny named Fun Bun and a milkshake-drinking kitten named Puddles.
* **Slaughter Race:** An online racing game is known for being dangerous and intense. Its NPC characters consist of Shank and her crew. Because of the challenges and thrills that the game presents, Vanellope made Slaughter Race her new home.
* **Darknet:** A grungy, seedy place located in the depths below the Internet. It is where websites end up once they become defunct. A number of shady characters reside here, such as Double Dan. Access is limited.
* **Older Net:** A dirty and dusty site in the Internet in the holes and sewers. If netizens lie there for 10 minutes, they would be deleted.
* **Anti-Virus District:** A mall of websites that are virus-free, including Pinterest, Google, and YouTube. It is also surrounded by a firewall that immediately deletes and removes viruses.

### Other websites

* **Snapchat**
* **Facebook**
* **YouTube**
* **Twitter**
* **Google**
* **Carvana**
* **Myspace**
* **Sina Weibo**
* **Pinterest**
* **National Geographic**
* **Spotify**

* **IMDb**
* **Amazon**
* **Cisco**
* **24h Photoshop**
* **Rise & Shine Inn**
* **La Casita Inn**
* **Reddit**
* **Tumblr**
* **Instagram**
* **Fandango**
* **Wikipedia**
* **Walmart**
* **Costco**
* **Southwest Airlines**
* **British Airways**
* **American Airlines**
* **Frontier Airlines**
* **Hawaiian Airlines**
* **United Airlines**
* **Turkish Airlines**
* **Jetblue Airlines**
* **Spirit Airlines**
* **Expedia**

## Trivia

* The term "netizen" is a portmanteau of "net" and "citizen".
* Early in development, the idea of using the actual brands of websites was initially rejected and was to be replaced with wordplay on the brands, but to make the Internet authentic and relatable, the idea was approved. The names were also available for use without having to ask for permission due to copyrights.
* The time spent for users traveling between buildings is represented as the time that is spent loading websites on the computer. As a nod to this, there is a clock in the Internet represented with a loading wheel.
* The inspiration for the netizens' design was "a retro look that feels modern". Character designer Cory Loftis likened the concept to the Instagram filter that gives photos the appearance of a 1970s Polaroid.
* Net users were inspired by the app icons found in iPhone. Though they share similar physiques and boxy heads, net users resemble their real-life counterparts. For example, the net user belonging to Mr. Litwak dons its counterpart's referee ensemble, large glasses, and grey hair.
	+ Net users have very mechanical animation. This was purposefully done to give net users the appearance of being controlled by a joystick or a mouse.
	+ If a net user is maimed or destroyed, it reverts into binary digits and temporarily severs the person's connection to the Internet.
* The birds that flock about Twitter were inspired by pigeons seen in a city.
* One of the websites that were supposed to be in the internet was Netflix. However, it never appeared in the final version.
* Krei Tech Industries from *Big Hero 6* was shown in the concept art but was never showed in the final version.
* *Disney Infinity* was at one point considered for a location on the internet as a defunct website, until they decided to change it to Oh My Disney.

## References

1. "For @DisneyStudios: Wreck-It Ralph 2: #RalphBreaksTheInternet team got their inspiration from downtown Los Angeles shared from Ernest Petti! #SIGGRAPH2018 (cc: @GIPHY)" (Tweet). *Twitter* (August 15, 2018).
2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "20 Things to Know about ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’, Disney’s ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Sequel" (September 20, 2018).
3. ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 3.2 Uribe, Mariana (September 20, 2018). "Behind the Scenes of Ralph Breaks the Internet with Rick Moore, Phil Johnston, and Clark Spencer". *Oh My Disney*.
4. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "'Ralph Breaks the Internet' Fills Its World With Characters, Websites, and Easter Eggs Both New and Familiar". */Film* (October 25, 2018).
5. ↑ "See the Disney princesses' new outfits in Ralph Breaks the Internet". *Entertainment Weekly* (August 9, 2018).
6. ↑ "20 Things to Know about ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’, Disney’s ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Sequel". *Collider*(September 20, 2018).
7. ↑ Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 7.2
8. ↑ "My #Netflix design for #RalphBreaksTheInternet . The idea is Netflix is a massive cinema inside the internet. So massive it dwarfs the Google structure on the left. I thought it may be fun to add the old Grauman's Chinese theater vibe during a movie premiere. #disney" (Tweet). *Twitter* (December 4, 2018).