- For other people named Shank, see Shank (disambiguation).
Shank is a tough and talented driver in an intense online racing game called Slaughter Race—a gritty, no-holds-barred street-racing contest with dangerous obstacles at every turn. Shank takes her role as the leader of the online game’s crew of tough-as-nails drivers very seriously and doesn’t like to lose. When Vanellope finds herself in a street race with Shank, her Sugar Rush driving skills are put to the test—and Shank is impressed. She off ers the kind of big-sisterly guidance Vanellope craves. Shank’s approach to racing—and life in general—opens Vanellope’s eyes to the limitless possibilities of the internet and the excitement of a new world that feels like home to her.
“She is the coolest character in this world of Slaughter Race,” says director Rich Moore. “Shank’s lived a lot, she’s seen a lot, yet she’s got nothing but kindness in her heart—that’s the duality of that character.”
Filmmakers called on Gal Gadot to give voice to Shank. “Shank is amazing at driving cars and has this bad-girl vibe to her,” says Gadot. “But as the movie goes on you realize how fun, wise and warm she really is on the inside, which is what I like most about her.”
According to director Phil Johnston, Gadot adds extraordinary dimension to the character. “There’s so much texture to her voice and so much living in her voice,” he says. “If Ralph is Vanellope’s big-brother figure, we wanted a big-sister figure. We wanted someone that Vanellope would look up to, and Gal is definitely someone kids—and a lot of adults I know—aspire to emulate. I can’t imagine anyone else embodying that part.”
Dave Komorowski, head of characters, says Shank—in all her subtlety—is technically and visually decked out. “She has fully functioning clothing—a t-shirt, a hoodie that zips and a leather jacket on top of that,” he says. “Plus, she has big hoop earrings. And we run wind through her hair the whole time she’s racing.”
Kira Lehtomaki, co-head of animation, adds that Shank’s look was inspired by another character. “There’s such a cool dynamic with Shank,” she says. “She was actually designed to mirror Vanellope—they both have hoodies, for example—yet Shank comes from an entirely different world. She’s very controlled. To be strong and intimidating, she doesn’t have to move fast or have extreme poses. In her stillness, she comes to life.”
Hand-drawn animation on supervisor Mark Henn agrees. “With Shank,” he says, “less is best.” Slaughter Race Crew has Shank’s back at every turn. These fierce and fun racers include the following.
- Felony, voiced by Ali Wong, isn’t afraid to question on authority, even if it’s Shank.
- Butcher Boy, voiced by Timothy Simons, is big and loud, and at the same time thoughtful, curious, vegan and a TED Talk aficionado.
- Pyro, voiced by Hamish Blake, gets his nickname from his affinity for flames. “Hamish is one of the funniest working comedians in Australia,” says Moore.
- Lityle Debbie, voiced by GloZell Green, is the “good kid” of the crew, according to Johnston. “She’s the counterpart to Pyro,” he says. “We think of them as siblings—always picking on each other. GloZell is known for big, broad comedy online, so she may have been surprised to play Little Debbie.”
According to animation on supervisor Robert Huth, Slaughter Race wasn’t intended to reflect the latest video game technology. “They’re getting so good in terms of animation and technical achievement,” he says. “We didn’t want it to be that realistic. We wanted to hit home that this is a video game, so we had to go back to the early 2000s racing games when the animation was more simple.” All of the Slaughter Race characters were animated with this style in mind. “Shank is the most polished,” says Huth. “Her crew isn’t quite as refi ned, and the background characters are even less so. That goes along with what we found in those early racing games.”
The compositor, Guillermo Arambulo del Rio and the producer, Chris Meledandri announced that the character Shank would be animated by Movie Land Digital Production Services and the character "Shank" will be appeared in The JH Movie Collection Movie 2: The Second Part, which is the second installment for The JH Movie Collection Movie.
Background[]
Shank comes from an extremely intense and gritty online racing game, where she serves as a non-playable boss. She is accompanied by her crew of followers (Butcher Boy, Felony, Pyro and Little Debbie) who assist her in-game.
Personality[]
Shank takes both her job and her tricked-out car very seriously (the one thing she cannot tolerate, is losing). Grizzled and experienced, Shank gives off a "bad-girl" vibe. Underneath the surface, however, she is fun, warm and wise. She values her crew greatly and sees them as family. While her scripted dialogue can come off menacing, Shank is in truth rather soft-spoken.
When Ralph and Vanellope game-jump into Slaughter Race, Shank is immediately empathetic of their plight, and gives them helpful advice on how to advance on their mission to save Sugar Rush without causing harm. She continues to show wisdom in her relationship with Vanellope, whom she treats like a little sister.
Physical appearance[]
Shank is a tan-skinned woman with sharply-defined features. Her hair is a dark shade of brown while her eyes are of a lighter shade. Her long hair sometimes covers the large ringed earrings that she wears. She wears a black leather jacket, that sits on top of her red hoodie and blue shirt, because Shank has the hood and rope, that tightens it, sticking out it makes her leather jacket look like a hoodie jacket, and that the red hood and rope are part of its design, from afar. She has a tattoo of a knife/dagger on her left arm, that can be seen when she stretches out her arm to hold the steering wheel, as well as wearing red fingerless gloves and has her nails painted. Along with blue jeans, with a bronze belt-buckle of a skull and two snakes, and black boots.
Voice[]
According to co-director Phil Johnston, actress Gal Gadot was chosen for the role based on two major factors; one of which was the distinct texture in Gal's voice, while the other involves Shank's relationship with Vanellope—much like Ralph is an older brother figure to Vanellope, Shank becomes something of an older sister. To Johnston and the creative team, Gal's reverence amongst kids and adults made her a natural fit for the character.
Role in the film[]
Shank first appears in the midst of a confrontation between her and two players looking to steal her car. Without hesitation, Shank orders Pyro to burn them alive. With the players defeated, Shank's crew, now free to be casual, inquire why they have to deal with players so harshly. Shank concedes that she cares about the players, but letting them win would not teach them anything about failure, and defends that giving them a predictable challenge each time takes away the thrill. Above them, Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, having game-jumped into Slaughter Race for Shank's car and watched the spectacle, distract Shank, with Ralph pretending to be an inspector while Vanellope steals her prized car. Shank almost catches on Ralph's ploy, but she is interrupted by Vanellope taking off with her car and Ralph in it. Shank immediately acquires a car from the previous players she encountered and gives chase. As Vanellope evades her, Shank is astounded by Vanellope's racing skills, which are unrivaled in the latter's own game. Undaunted, she corners Vanellope because she doesn't expect Shank to be capable of virtually driving through an inferno. The apprehended heroes explain they are trying to save Vanellope's aforementioned game, Sugar Rush, before it is unplugged, which requires them to make a great deal of money in 24 hours. Shank is at once surprisingly empathetic of their plight and tells them they can complete their mission without causing harm. She directs them to BuzzzTube and talk to her friend Yesss, where Ralph becomes a viral star per her advice.
Around the time Ralph gets the money he needs, Vanellope returns to Slaughter Race, where Shank joins her in song. Shank talks with Vanellope, who confides with her that she wants to stay with her at Slaughter Race and that they may share a game that they're destined to be a part of. Shank kindly encourages her to do what she thinks she should. Unbeknownst to either of them, Ralph is listening in, but he's muted and he overhears the entire conversation.
Shank and Vanellope engaged in their first race together, where Shank once again found herself evenly matched with Vanellope, but then the game begins glitching because an insecurity virus named Arthur, inadvertently unleashed by Ralph, has sensed Vanellope's insecurity. Vanellope tells Shank this and passes out. Shank watches Ralph's arrival and warns them to flee as the game reboots.
After the virus is destroyed, the netizens were saved, and Vanellope makes her decision to remain in Slaughter Race. Shank calls Vanellope for another race.
Filmography[]
The character "Shank" will be appeared in this films here.
| Films | Status | Director(s) and Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph Breaks the Internet | Debuted | Rich Moore Phil Johnston |
| Stuart Little | Cameo | Rich Moore
Also a additional CG supervisor |
| Light It Up | Absent | Chris Columbus
Also a additional CG supervisor |
| Dimensions | Cameo | Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman
Also animator |
| Carmen Sandiego | ||
| Chocolate Fever | Absent | |
| The JH Movie Collection Movie 2: The Second Part | Appears | Stephen Heneveld |
| GoGo Tomago | Cameo | Don Hall and Chris Williams |
| Shank | Appears | Rich Moore
Film adaptations based on her |
| The JH Movie Collection Movie: The Fate of the Tour | Don Hall and Chris Williams |
In popular culture[]
- Shank appears in the upcoming JH Movie Collection Random Comic Frenzy episode, even though the next episode is in development.
- Shank appears as camoes in Tom the Hand.
- Shank appears on the home media covers and theatrical release poster in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
See also[]
Gallery[]
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