How do you make a truly unlikeable antagonist somewhat likeable while still keeping an air of menace to them?
Most particularly, how do you do this when you’re making a reasonably-cute Disney animated feature – really, is there any other kind? – which is meant to represent the fun as well as dark possibilities of the internet?
Well, if you’re the makers of Ralph Breaks the Internet, you go through quite a few iterations of your bad guy character, meant to represent the bottom-feeding morality of the Dark Web, by, in the words of Gizmodo, by “[settling] on Double Dan being a virus creator, in addition to a virus himself.
It’s a clever conceit and it works, because while Double Dan is repulsive, and indisputably gross on just about every level, he fits right in with the overall look and feel of this brilliantly-executed animated feature.
You can watch this clip, and the larger documentary, “How We Broke the Internet” of which it is a part, when Ralph Breaks the Internet releases in Australia on DVD and Blu-Ray on 27 March (12 February and 26 February respectively in USA).