Getting rickrolled has been an internet in-joke for years, but Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph has managed to pull off the trick on the man himself, Rick Astley.
Rickrolling is where someone is tricked into watching the music video for Astley’s 1987 hit Never Gonna Give You Up and, in preparation for the release of the Wreck-It Ralph sequel, Pixar did exactly that to the 52-year-old singer.
Here's some amazing news! I'm going to be a part of @wreckitralph #RalphBreaksTheInternet. I'm really excited… I think… – Rick x pic.twitter.com/Cn5hslDQbj
— Rick Astley (@rickastley) November 20, 2018
Astley said in a video on his Twitter account he has just returned from tour and been told he will be a part of the new film Ralph Breaks The Internet.
“I’ve always wanted to be turned into an animation, I’m so excited about this,” Astley says before introducing a clip he says was sent to him by Disney.
Of course, the clip proves to be Wreck-It Ralph, voiced by John C Reilly, singing Astley’s hit to which Astley responds: “I mean it doesn’t look anything like me, does it?”
Fortunately for the pop star from Lancashire he does appear to be in on the joke, helping to promote the film with a series of rickroll-related videos online before its November 21 release in the US.
We were sure that @RickAstley would love our very own #WreckRoll. We were wrong…at first. #RalphBreaksTheInternet pic.twitter.com/3JFxZ7pajm
— Ralph Breaks the Internet (@wreckitralph) November 20, 2018
The video of Astley being repeatedly tricked with his own song has been shared widely under the hashtag #Wreckroll.
Astley recently released a new album entitled Beautiful Life, his eighth studio album to date.