Vanellope von Schweetz is the deuteragonist of Disney's 2012 animated feature film, Wreck-It Ralph and its 2018 sequel. She is a young, razor-tongued racer that originates from the candy-themed racing game Sugar Rush. Due to being a "glitch", Vanellope was forbidden to race by order of King Candy. She was nevertheless determined to become a real racer, and sought to accomplish her goal by teaming up with a fellow misfit, Wreck-It Ralph. Over the course of their adventure, Vanellope would uncover the truth behind her glitch, while also learning to use it as a "superpower" to overcome adversity.
Background[]
Vanellope von Schweetz was the main character of Litwak's Arcade's kart-racer, Sugar Rush, where she served as the kingdom's princess and top racer. She was amongst a line-up of fifteen distinct racers, who compete against each other on confectionary-themed tracks for the coveted winner's cup.
Shortly after Sugar Rush was first plugged in, a character named Turbo hijacked the game in an effort to seize Vanellope's throne and remain the most approved racer in the arcade. Under the guise of a kindly monarch known as King Candy, Turbo tried to kill Vanellope by deleting her code, but his efforts were unsuccessful and merely turned her into a glitch. Undeterred, King Candy locked away all memories of Princess Vanellope and posed as Sugar Rush's sovereign in her place. However, if Vanellope was to cross the finish line in an official race, her code would be restored and King Candy's machinations would be undone. To prevent this from occurring, King Candy forbade Vanellope from racing under the grounds that glitches are dangerous and could lead to a game's unplugging. As a result of King Candy's law, Vanellope became a pariah and was mercilessly ostracized by the game's citizens, most notably the other racers, led in their bullying by Taffyta Muttonfudge. Vanellope believed that becoming a real racer was the only way to earn the respect and friendship of the other racers, and thus dedicated her life to accomplishing this goal. Consequently, she was in constant pursuit of King Candy and his henchmen, rendering her a criminal in the kingdom.
As glitches can never leave their games, Vanellope was unable to escape her tormentors. However, she managed to find sanctuary within Diet Cola Mountain, a volcano that towers over the land of Sugar Rush that carries an incomplete bonus level track. After discovering a secret passageway, she founded the mountain as her hideout and used it to evade her bullies and King Candy's fungeon.
Personality[]
In line with her programmed age, Vanellope is extremely energetic, talkative, and childish. When excited, she zestfully zips and bounces around while repeatedly exclaiming the reasoning behind her excitement ("I'm gonna learn to drive, I'm gonna learn to drive!"), much like a normal child. She has a rather immature sense of humor (finding enjoyment in mimicking and toilet humor) and has the tendency to purposely annoy those around her as a means to amuse herself. This is seen through her friendship with Ralph, as the two are known to give each other puerile, condescending nicknames.
Unfortunately, years of bullying due to King Candy's propaganda against her left Vanellope with a sharp tongue and a somewhat sour disposition. When first greeted, she comes off as annoying, obnoxious, and rude, with a bit of concern for the feelings or ambitions of other people, in comparison to benefiting herself. However, these aspects of her character are merely a result of her tragic upbringing and were more so done for survival rather than pure pleasure. Before Ralph's arrival, Vanellope was a loner, and the only programs she had any contact with were her abusers. Therefore, she has not experienced friendship or any form of compassion.
Vanellope is an enthusiastic dreamer. In truth, she is sensitive and vulnerable beneath her rough exterior, wanting nothing more than to be accepted by the inhabitants of her game—despite said inhabitants constantly mistreating her, both physically and mentally. She is very forgiving in this regard and is evidently reluctant to hold grudges.
Vanellope is also crafty and intelligent. As an opportunistic quick-thinker, Vanellope is cunning enough to concoct elaborate schemes on the spot, which made her a threat to the criminal plan of King Candy. Strong-willed, independent, and filled with spunk, Vanellope refuses to stand down without a fight and shows efficiency in reaching her goals for the most part. Her lack of physical strength truly kept Vanellope from becoming a racer independently, as Candy and his henchmen were able to counter her intellect with their weaponry and brute force.
Interestingly, although years of being shunned have left her with negative traits, Vanellope is one of the few characters in the film with a lack of prejudice. After learning Ralph is classified as a video game "bad guy", Vanellope never criticizes him on his position; instead, she looked beyond Ralph's programmed occupation and understood that his label is only a job title and does not define who he is on the inside. Her kindness would heavily influence Ralph, and it was through their friendship that Ralph learned what it really means to be a hero.
By Ralph Breaks the Internet, through her friendship with Ralph and having developed a much better rapport with her fellow Sugar Rush racers, she has become more openly polite and friendly while not nearly as mouthy. However, when angered, she still shows the potential to lash out in an overly harsh manner and say mean things that she doesn't actually mean, as demonstrated when she practically declares her friendship with Ralph over after he unleashes a virus that gets out of hand in Slaughter Race over not wanting her to leave the arcade, and by extension, him, after she expressed that she felt more at home in that game. Despite Ralph admitting what he did was very wrong, he starts bringing up some valid points about Vanellope being no better herself that being irresponsible for abandoning her game especially when she ditched him and never told him, she gets defensive and even tosses his homemade medal signifying their friendship away. However, after she calms down, she's apologetic for going as far as throwing away the medal and clarifies that what she really meant was that she felt like he was being a bad friend, not that she didn't consider him one anymore.
Physical appearance[]
Vanellope is a 12-year-old girl with a small stature. She has long, raven-black hair with candy sprinkled over it in a high ponytail. Her design was influenced by Japanese/anime artwork, notably the style of Chibi, with large, hazel eyes. She carries a slender body, has a noticeable overbite, large, round ears, and a small, pink button nose.
Vanellope's signature "glitch" outfit is a mint green hoodie with a dark brown double-layered skirt that resembles the wrapping of a peanut butter cup, green, white, and purple-striped tights and small black boots. Notably, her leggings are mismatched, one covered in broad mint green bands, the other in thinner mint bands and purple lines. They are designed to resemble candy cane stripes. Her hoodie laces and stitches are red and resemble licorice candies, such as Twizzlers. Underneath her hoodie is a violet shirt. It is only seen in a "blink, and you'll miss it" scene in the video game's final cut scene. Her high ponytail is held by a Twizzler. The pink squiggles under her boots resemble icing. She owns red racing goggles that were seen during the Random Roster Race's coin depositing.
On the Sugar Rush game cabinet, Vanellope can be seen in her royal racing attire, a mint green, orange, and white jumpsuit with brown gloves. Her racing attire comes with a white helmet with a golden crown insignia detailed onto it in the film's concept art.
As a princess, Vanellope wore a full-skirted glittery long-sleeved gown with lacy white gloves. Her gradient pink petticoat is noticeably covered in pink, white, and red gumdrops sprinkled everywhere like beads. However, chocolate sprinkles can be seen on the lower end of the petticoat. The skirt has many layers and opens in the front to show a deep pink underskirt.
Her gown was also given a pink flowing cloak and a large white lace heart collar, resembling Elizabethan royal attire. The collar is edged in a cut-out pattern of candy canes and lollipops. In addition, she wears another somewhat smaller, white ruffled collar. In this outfit, she wears a red tiara. Her hair is tied up in a bun and is covered in sprinkles that are different shades of pink. With the outfit, Vanellope owns a pink lollipop scepter with a noticeable crown emblem over it.
Gallery[]
