SEATTLE, WASH — She's worked on such films as Tangled, Frozen, and Zootopia. But for, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Disney animator and Edmonds native Kira Lehtomaki is taking on her biggest role yet.
"On this movie, I'm so blessed to be head of animation, along with my partner Renato dos Anjos. So together we are overseeing a team of 5 animators supervisors and about 70 animators. And overseeing all the styles of animation and hopefully bringing the directors vision to the screen."
That vision was delayed for years to make way to finish Zootopia. Now, 6 years since the first Wreck It film, Ralph and Vanellope are back in an adventure that takes them far beyond the arcade.
"In this movie, they kind of go into the internet. And for one, for Ralph, he wants to go home immediately. He's like I don't like this. But for Vanellope she's out there and she sees, you know what, I love it here. There's something here that's calling to me. So it’s kind of that question how friendships evolve."
The story may be different, but all the voices that made the first film a hit are back behind the mike.
"The thing I love about John C. Riley and Sarah Silverman who do Ralph and Vanellope, they love recording together. They improvised and they do all these things and we get these little nuggets."
But for all the star power Ralph Breaks the Internet has, it was working with the Disney princesses, that made Kira feel like a kid again.
"I wanted to be a Disney animator since I was three years old. I saw Sleeping Beauty in the theaters and shortly after I saw The Little Mermaid and this movie not only has Aurora, but it has Arial in the movie, Said Kira."We got the original voice actress to come back and voice their characters. So getting to meet Jodi Benson the voice of Ariel was, I basically balled in front of her. Tears of joy cause it was such a childhood dream come true.”
Ralph Breaks the Internet is rated PG and opens in theaters on 11/21
