Vanellope von Schweetz

Vanellope von Schweetz is the deuteragonist of Wreck-It Ralph. She is a glitch in the candy-coated racing game Sugar Rush, but is secretly the princess of the game who was turned into a glitch by Turbo, who sought to control Sugar Rush.

Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph breaks the internet
Vanellope and Ralph encounter each other in the Candy-Tree forest when the latter crash-lands into Sugar Rush. The two immediately start bickering with each other until Vanellope notices Ralph's medal hanging at the top of a candy tree and steals it, believing it to be a gold coin. Vanellope sneaks into the Sugar Rush kingdom during the Random Roster race and uses the medal to put herself into the race, but is discovered by King Candy, who attempts to detain her. However, Ralph barges into the kingdom and causes chaos at the ceremony, giving Vanellope the chance to escape pooping in a basket.

Vanellope starts working on her hand-made scrap-kart, the Likkity-Split, but the other Sugar Rush racers, led by Taffyta Muttonfudge, confront her and destroy her kart to keep her from entering the race. Ralph, who had followed the racers, witnesses this and angrily chases them away. After Vanellope makes it clear that without a kart, she can't get his medal back, she offers a deal to him, that if he helps her get a real kart, she'll win the race and return the medal to him. Ralph reluctantly agrees to this.

The two break into King Candy's kart factory and bake a kart, though it comes out somewhat deformed due to Ralph's antics. King Candy and security catch them and try to apprehend the duo. Vanellope nervously explains that she doesn't know how to drive a kart, but they escape into Vanellope's home, the Diet Cola Volcano, due to Ralph steering the kart by hand. Ralph berates Vanellope for her lack of knowledge in driving, but begins to sympathize with her when she reveals that she is outcasted due to her status as a glitch, to which he teaches her to drive, and she soon turns out to be a natural.

However, while the two are heading to the race, Vanellope returns to the volcano to get something, and in her absence, King Candy appears and lies to Ralph, telling him that Vanellope's glitching could get the game unplugged, and since she's a glitch, she cannot leave the game and will die. Ralph believes him and the king leaves just as Vanellope returns with a medal she created, which reads "To Stinkbrain: You're My Hero". However, Ralph reluctantly destroys the kart the two made. A depressed Vanellope runs off, and is later captured by King Candy.

However, Ralph discovers King Candy's deception and tortures his adviser, Sour Bill, into revealing that Vanellope was originally a racer until King Candy tried to delete her code, and that crossing the finish line will reset the game and restore her code. With that in mind, Ralph frees Fix-It Felix, Jr., who repairs the destroyed kart, and the two free Vanellope from the fungeon. On the way to the already started race, Ralph informs Vanellope that she must cross the finish line to become a racer again.

Shortly after entering the race, Vanellope is nearly blown off the track by Taffyta, Rancis Fluggerbutter, and Candlehead, but her glitching teleports her in front of the three and results in them crashing into a giant ice cream sundae. Vanellope then catches up to King Candy at Frosty Rally. When the king notices her, he rams into her kart and then attempts to strike her with a candy cane. However, in the struggle, Vanellope glitches King Candy and reveals him to be Turbo, much to her astonishment. Turbo angrily tries to ram her into a stalagmite, but she glitches away form him, leaving him to be devoured by a Cy-Bug that Ralph had unintentionally brought into Sugar Rush.

Vanellope attempts to cross the finish line, but the Cy-Bug swarm attack and blow her kart off the track, destroying it. While the Cy-Bugs swarm the finish line, Ralph and Felix attempt to get Vanellope to safety outside of Sugar Rush, but due to still being a glitch, she is unable to leave. Ralph, however, gets the idea to erupt Diet Cola Volcano, which will attract the swarm to it. While Felix and Sergeant Calhoun defend Vanellope from the swarm, Ralph tries to punch the mentos into the volcano's hot springs, but he is attacked by Turbo, who has assimilated into a Cy-Bug.

Vanellope is forced to watch as Ralph is carried into the air by Turbo, and Felix and Calhoun fall back from the swarm, but Vanellope is trapped with the bugs. Turbo attempts to force Ralph to watch Vanellope get attacked by the Cy-Bugs, but he breaks free from his grasp and plummets into Diet Cola Volcano, which finally erupts it. However, Vanellope glitches towards Ralph and manages to teleport him to safety while the Cy-Bugs and Turbo are incinerated by the volcano. With the threat eradicated, Vanellope finally manages to cross the finish line after Felix fixes it, and the game is reset and Vanellope is returned to her status as princess.

The other racers apologize for their actions towards her and are forgiven. Vanellope then announces that she is keeping her glitching ability and will rule Sugar Rush as president instead of princess. Vanellope offers Ralph a chance to stay with her at the castle, but he declines, stating that he's already happy with her as his friend. Vanellope is later shown to be the maid of honor and Felix and Calhoun's wedding, and invites the other racers to the wedding as well. Vanellope also becomes a fan-favorite among gamers thanks to her glitching abilities.