It’s hard to love your job, when no one else seems to like you for doing it – Ralph, Wreck-It Ralph
Without knowing much about Disney’s latest 3D computer-animated film about an arcade game bad boy gone good, I knew that I’d like it. I grew up playing Super Mario Brothers on NES and still find myself drawn to video games, particularly 2D, 8-bit games. What was surprising about Wreck-It Ralph was the amount of heart the story had and I found myself emotionally drawn into the characters and their worlds. Soon I’ll be sharing my complete review of the film, slated for an early holiday release.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent a day at Walt Disney Studios to delve deeper into the film. Along with interviewing the director (Rich Moore) and producer (Clark Spencer) of the film, we had an opportunity to learn about how the actors record their voices for the film and participated in a voice over, attempted to draw Ralph’s hand and Vanellope Von Schweetz’s face (voiced by Sarah Silverman) during a drawing lesson, and learned how the three worlds in the film were created. We also screened the beautiful black and white animated short titled Paperman (which I absolutely can’t wait to tell you about).
As is characteristic of Disney films, much research went into creating the 3 worlds you see in the film. Along with eating a ton of candy (Sugar Rush is a kart racing game set on tracks made of candies and other sweets) and playing many different kinds of video games, the filmmakers traveled to Edward’s Air Force Base to learn about weapons for Hero’s Duty (a light-gun shooter game), to Detroit to learn about cars, and to various cities in Europe to visit, among other places, Chocolatiers. Each of the three worlds in Wreck-It Ralph are based on it’s own shape (Fix-It Felix, Jr., a square; Hero’s Duty, a triangle; Sugar Rush, a circle), and soon I’ll share more about the challenges the filmmakers faced in distinguishing each world.
To get our creative juices flowing, we were challenged to take part in a Sugar Rush Race Car Building Competition. With literally every sweet and confection at our disposal, we were to build a car, inspired by the world made up of cookies and candy. Knowing that my mind tends to be more scientific than creative, here is my car:
I enjoyed seeing everyone’s creations, many of which were quite impressive.
Throughout much of the studio, you’ll see artwork and other Wreck-It Ralph-inspired items including a real Fix-It Felix Jr. arcade game and an edible model of Sugar Rush (although I don’t imagine you’d want to eat it). Here are some photos from the day:
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Wreck-It Ralph will debut in theaters November 2nd, 2012.
No compensation was received for this post. I was invited to a press event which helped facilitate this post.
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