Wreck it Ralph: Im gonna wreck it!

[LaZodiac]

The cameo's, for me, served their perposes and were awesome. Maybe it's because I didn't see any trailers, but I got out of them what I expected.

Sonic doing a "Sonic Sez" segment on the dangers of game jumping, for instace. The only thing bad about this little gag was that he didn't say "And that's no good" after mentioning you die for real. It actually would of flowed well with his dialoge, and would of been a nice little joke for us all. Still, it was quite good.

And Zangief's line about "I am bad guy, does not mean am bad guy" is still one of the most poignent lines in any movie, ever.

[Tyndmyr]

Decent, funny movie. Predictable, except for one thing that did take me by surprise:

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When they explained that Vanelope crossing the finish line would reset the game, I thought that was going to be how they got rid of the bug infestation. The pepsi volcano was the Chekov's Gun I didn't see coming.

I had a similar reaction. I mean...I noticed it initially, but had entirely assumed that the more recently mentioned possible solution was the one that would be used. It set up a rather nice surprise when the option suddenly vanished.

As for the romance...cmon, it's a great setup for humor. It improves the relationship of the two chars, because it heightens the tension caused by their overt differences.

[erikun]

I just saw the movie earlier today. Yes, I'm slow at these things.

I had actually never seen any of the trailers, and from the sounds of the thread, that was probably a good thing. Getting a recommendation and looking up the general plot online left me with a good impression going in; I don't think "Videogame Cameo: The Movie" would've appealed to me if I'd seen the advertisements.

Comments on two spoilers about the movie:

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One, I didn't see Turbo or the soda volcano. Looking back, they were both pretty obvious, but it seems like the writers did a good job of making the King just seem like a generic antagonist and the soda pool just being an interesting background.

Also, I didn't mind the whole romance... because it felt like it was supposed to be sappy. It was like a satirical joke, like pretty much all of Calhoun's personality. I found the out-of-nowhere romance as amusingly silly as her completely overdone Gears-of-War-style attitude and ridiculous tragic backstory.

Well,

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Not a reference to Brony but I thought it as a parody of adult demographic fans in many child-intended genre (Brony is one of the examples).

Sorry about it.

You hardly need to go to My Little Pony to find such fandom in video games. Just take a look at Deathsmiles, Touhou, several characters from BlazBlue, or Hyperdimension Neptunia.

[Mordar]

I didn't notice the Sugar Rush players as being particularly old...I had the feeling they were 15-16, while the "girl with bracers" was in the 12-14 year old range, and was thus poo-poohed as being "just a kid".

As an Arcade Native (you know, like kids today are digital natives, I had my formative years in MagicLand, Starcade, and Crystal Palace) I saw this exact scene play out many times. The kid with the paper route or the 16-y-o with the job at Pizza Hut would come in with the roll of quarters and hog games, scoffing at the "youngsters" who only had the couple bucks they made from allowances or mowing lawns.

Anyway...I really appreciated the inclusion of "real" games (also a favorite scene of mine from the new Tron...walking through the arcade of real games in Flynn's) and a ton of cameos/bit parts. Might have liked to see a few more, but I was impressed they got what they did licensed. Though am I correct in saying that there were bad guys in the support group that only appeared in home/console games?

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The yellow prehistoric Bowser character?

Endgame:

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I saw the mento-diet soda pillar thing coming, but despite every hint, totally missed Turbo = King Candy. I thought KC was just trying to hold on to the top spot and feared Vanillope.

I may have been thrown off because every time they said "Go Turbo" I thought it was meant to mock the Street Fighter Turbo (and other similar fight games) trend we saw for a while, just before the death of the stand-up video game arcade.

I *really* want to know if we see Vanillope on the side of the machine in the earlier sequences.

Oh, I also liked the subplot, and didn't have a problem with the bugs because, well, the other bad guys in the support group were "lead characters" and the bugs were effectively the same as pools of lava...no more than obstacles.

- M

[LaZodiac]

You DO

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see Vanneliope on the side of the machine in other scenes. It's fantastic.

The amount of blink and you'll miss it forshadowing is amazing in this.

Also, that's why they had M Bison say the first "going Turbo" line. To trick you. This movie is a tricky tricky movie.

Also, there HAVE been Mario arcade games that have featured Bowser, so it's not impossible. Same with Eggman and Sonic.

[Karoht]

I think Donkey Kong sitting next to Bowser would have been clever. Donkey Kong started life as a villain back in the day in the original Donkey Kong.

But, most of the audience probably wouldn't have grasped that. There would have been page after page of morons on the internet saying things like "lol disney is fail, DK isn't a villain, they don't know jack squat lol lol" so perhaps it is for the best.

[Mando Knight]

I think Donkey Kong sitting next to Bowser would have been clever. Donkey Kong started life as a villain back in the day in the original Donkey Kong.

But, most of the audience probably wouldn't have grasped that. There would have been page after page of morons on the internet saying things like "lol disney is fail, DK isn't a villain, they don't know jack squat lol lol" so perhaps it is for the best.

Also a good example of "just because you are a bad guy, does not mean you are a bad guy."

[Scowling Dragon]

Just that simple mantra could make 99% of all villains in media.

[Karoht]

Being a villain does not mean you are a jerksauce.

In fact, the best villains I can recall took the time to be polite and well mannered, even demonstrated kindness, even if it was when it suited them.

Actors tell themselves this all the time. Just because you are playing the bad guy, even stereotypically like Christopher Walken, doesn't mean you are mean or nasty or violent or angry, or any other of a list of negative traits typically associated with the bad guy.


Actually, that brings me to an in interesting insight.
The characters of Fix-It Felix JR aren't actors.
They are programmed to BE what they are, not ACT that way.
Maybe it is the difference between programming and make believe.
I mean, if they were actors, then they would acknowledge that Ralph is effectively an actor (and by extention their equal) as well. I highly doubt Sir Ian McKellan and Christopher Lee dislike each other due to the roles they play.
Felix JR and Ralph don't seem to have this problem. Probably because they are main characters and perhaps more self-aware of their respective roles, though Felix is just a bit less empathetic about it at first. But the townspeople are secondary characters in the game, they have much smaller functions, so maybe they aren't coded with that same self-awareness?

[Tectonic Robot]

Watched the movie. Loved it. Spoilered myself before seeing it because I'm a dork like that.

But yeah, good movie.

[DiscipleofBob]

Part of me really wishes that this was a Pixar movie for no other reason than to tie it in to the theory that all Pixar movies take place in the same universe, and then to draw comparisons between Wreck-It Ralph and Toy Story.

[Scowling Dragon]

You can do that if you want.

As I think it was directed by a guy that worked at pixar.....I think.

[Friv]

Felix JR and Ralph don't seem to have this problem. Probably because they are main characters and perhaps more self-aware of their respective roles, though Felix is just a bit less empathetic about it at first. But the townspeople are secondary characters in the game, they have much smaller functions, so maybe they aren't coded with that same self-awareness?

I think that this is less because the townsfolk aren't as aware, and more because they just aren't as nice.

Early on, Felix is nicer to Ralph because he's someone who's just plain uncomfortable not being nice to people. And since Ralph is a decent guy with anger problems, he gets angry when people aren't nice to him, which causes him to be a bit of a jerk, which causes them to feel confident in their opinions and be jerks back, which causes him to behave more like a jerk...

Felix, on the other hand, tries really hard to be nice to everyone he meets. I think it's less that he's more aware because he's a hero and more that he's more aware because he's Fix-It Felix Jr.

[Karoht]

Uh, yeah, Pixar and Disney are one company now, not really seperate. Just saying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_lasseter
He's basically in charge of everything animated that comes out of Disney these days. But this guy is responsible for pretty much everything that has come from Pixar thus far.

[BRC]

I think that this is less because the townsfolk aren't as aware, and more because they just aren't as nice.

Early on, Felix is nicer to Ralph because he's someone who's just plain uncomfortable not being nice to people. And since Ralph is a decent guy with anger problems, he gets angry when people aren't nice to him, which causes him to be a bit of a jerk, which causes them to feel confident in their opinions and be jerks back, which causes him to behave more like a jerk...

Felix, on the other hand, tries really hard to be nice to everyone he meets. I think it's less that he's more aware because he's a hero and more that he's more aware because he's Fix-It Felix Jr.

Ralph is a guy whose job makes him unpopular, like a tax collector, or Repo man. The Nicelanders recognize that he's necessary, but they think he's a jerk for doing his job. So they reject him. The fact that they're powerless to stop him (the best they can do is give Felix a pie) probably dosn't help. When they DO have power over Ralph, they want to use it.
Felix is just too much of an all around nice guy to let that get to him.

[Karoht]

Sequel Prediction
Spoilered for Tinfoil Hat Level insane predictions, as well as spoilers from the first film.

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Fix-It Felix Jr.
Clearly, Felix has parent. Probably his dad featured as a video game character, just going by the title.
Does Ralph have a parent? I'm going to guess at a Mom character.

Toy Story 2 and 3 both had toys who didn't understand that it isn't about them, it's about the kids.
Litwak's Arcade has/had at least one game character that didn't understand that it isn't about them, it's about the kids.
Mom and Dad perhaps didn't understand this. And back when they were in the arcade/s the line between antagonist and protagonist wasn't so clear to them. Their game bombed as a result.

Suddenly, the game is re-released, or an old closet is brought to Litwak's.
They see Ralph's success with Felix, and they see his retro bonus level as a place they should go hang out. Ralph and Felix invite them in. Possible inference that Felix and Ralph are actually related.
Hilarity/Calamity ensues.

Drunken brawl at Tappers. Many many cameos all in one spot.

Oooh oooh. Felix's dad gets punched out by Callhoon after a sexist remark.

Turns out, Felix's dad was a jerk (just because he's a good guy doesn't mean he's a good guy right?) and is now causing some serious trouble for the arcade.

Meanwhile, Ralph's mom has always been torn by the notion that she's a bad guy, but is still supposed to be a mom and all that.

Ralph and Felix start working on their respective parents. Felix tries to reform his dad, Ralph helps his mom understand that she's still a good person despite being a bad guy.

TWIST-They're both con-artists trying to wrangle control of a game at the arcade, Turbo style. Maybe even infer that Mom and Pops have caused many of the Felix JR closets to be corrupted and unplugged.

Everyone scrambles to save the arcade.

Moral: The line that separates bad guy and good guy is more than just a few lines of code.

[Sipex]

Sequel Prediction
Spoilered for Tinfoil Hat Level insane predictions, as well as spoilers from the first film.

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Fix-It Felix Jr.
Clearly, Felix has parent. Probably his dad featured as a video game character, just going by the title.
Does Ralph have a parent? I'm going to guess at a Mom character.

Toy Story 2 and 3 both had toys who didn't understand that it isn't about them, it's about the kids.
Litwak's Arcade has/had at least one game character that didn't understand that it isn't about them, it's about the kids.
Mom and Dad perhaps didn't understand this. And back when they were in the arcade/s the line between antagonist and protagonist wasn't so clear to them. Their game bombed as a result.

Suddenly, the game is re-released, or an old closet is brought to Litwak's.
They see Ralph's success with Felix, and they see his retro bonus level as a place they should go hang out. Ralph and Felix invite them in. Possible inference that Felix and Ralph are actually related.
Hilarity/Calamity ensues.

Drunken brawl at Tappers. Many many cameos all in one spot.

Oooh oooh. Felix's dad gets punched out by Callhoon after a sexist remark.

Turns out, Felix's dad was a jerk (just because he's a good guy doesn't mean he's a good guy right?) and is now causing some serious trouble for the arcade.

Meanwhile, Ralph's mom has always been torn by the notion that she's a bad guy, but is still supposed to be a mom and all that.

Ralph and Felix start working on their respective parents. Felix tries to reform his dad, Ralph helps his mom understand that she's still a good person despite being a bad guy.

TWIST-They're both con-artists trying to wrangle control of a game at the arcade, Turbo style. Maybe even infer that Mom and Pops have caused many of the Felix JR closets to be corrupted and unplugged.

Everyone scrambles to save the arcade.

Moral: The line that separates bad guy and good guy is more than just a few lines of code.

Great ideas, I'd love everything but maybe go with a different end game (Doing the Turbo thing again, but with both characters will just gain a lot of ire from the audience). Try to embody a different problem which the audience will understand at first and then be able to watch as they see the game character's point of view.

That said, finding a problem bigger than 'unplugging' is a toughie, I think you need a change in venue first.

My take

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I love your idea about bringing the prequel back but instead, pick up where we left off. Ralph and his friends get along, play games, make the best of arcade life. Ralph sees new machines come and go, maybe they expand on their ideas to help those who have been unplugged (as it would really start to pile up) and at the end you have what seems to be an internal utopia. Game characters who have games run the front show while those without take on new (less dangerous) roles. Things seem great.

However, we all know what's coming for Arcades because, let's face it, we've lived it and there are simply too few of them left in the world nowadays. Those which do exist are usually found in special locations. One day, the Arcade is forced to close and no matter where the characters run, they can't escape this fate. Everyone is doomed to be unplugged.

Fast forward time a bit, the arcade closes down and prepares to be turned into something else, maybe a theatre? The machines are all shipped away and we watch as Ralph's machine (along with many others) is carted away in a large truck to a warehouse. Maybe give a spiel where the old owner (or maybe a younger relative, insinuating the owner's unfortunate passing) sells the machines to someone, likely to help pay for the costs of going out of business.

With Ralph's game and tons of others lined up inside an unmarked warehouse, we see time pass. Maybe cobwebs, maybe fast forwarding, maybe a simple fade to black.

Then it's present day, we see the guy who bought all the machines making a deal with a very respectable looking businessman/woman outside the warehouse. The deal is struck and a couple of men throw open the same warehouse and begin carting away the machines. Cut to a new arcade like place, but this is massive. We're talking the arcades we know today, maybe give a shot of vegas (good locale for that sort of thing)? We see Ralph's machine get plugged in.

Ralph and co re-awaken to find their view port into our world has completely changed. Ralph is worried about the princess (because he likely can't see her game anymore) and everyone is scared and confused. Because the game was off, they don't realise just how much time has passed.

But before things get too worrisome and confusing, a train rolls in from what must be the new, Game Central Station and there are all new characters here to welcome their new buddies. Included, but at the end for good effect, are the characters from the original Fix It Felix (which turns out sits right next to the Fix it Felix junior machine).

Now we follow your ideas about how the original Felix is a jerk and the like (ie: A good guy isn't necessarily a GOOD guy) while Ralph & Co. get used to their new lives in the (much bigger and far more extensive) arcade.

Life seems sweet in the arcade, but the game sprites before the group have already segregated themselves into 'racial' categories based on their much more abundant groupings (Retro/8bit/action/shooter/racing...) and now Ralph, Felix and Co are all expected to stay 'with their own kind'. This would likely be anything 8 bit/retro (maybe they're in the 'retro' part of the arcade) and allows for better development on Calhoun and Felix Jr especially because now they're no longer allowed to be married. Game characters don't necessarily practice the same tolerance we do after all. Maybe the 8-bit characters are tired of the clumsy 3d characters almost killing them because they don't have health bars (touch of death!), etc.

Then, to top it off, we need a big, daunting problem to be solved (preferrably something you can't put a face on). Not only do Ralph & Co have to conquer this new state of intolerance and separation, they need to figure out how to solve this big, daunting problem and there's a good chance they can't do it without the co-operation of the other game characters.

Maybe the arcade is due to be shut down (doesn't make sense with the current plot, I know) or the machines are going to be scrapped? Maybe one of the newer machines caught a virus by plugging in online (share scores?) which threatens to wipe out the entire arcade? I was thinking something where the only chance for survival is escaping to the internet simply for the fact that it gives Ralph & Co. a place to exist without the looming threat of non-existence, to give the audience a state of final peace.

Fix it Felix Sr. could be the poster boy for racial intolerance in the retro section to, give him more of a set up for a villain role.

[Karoht]

Problem. It's been established that unplugging the game = game being wiped out. The characters can hide out in the Station, but that too will eventually be unplugged as well.

It's the same problem with transporting a game closet and trying to keep all the high scores.

So when it is plugged back in, you have what, reset versions of the characters?
So you've got Ralph and Felix before they've gone through the events of the first film. Same with all the rest of the characters. That seems awkward at best.

The article on Wiki seems to think that they're going to orient towards modernizing. Online and console gaming. I think it's more likely they'll end up somehow getting an internet connection in the arcade as part of the sequel hook.

[Sipex]

That's true, but I thought it was never really confirmed what happens when they're unplugged. The characters look to it as a sort of 'death' where they have no idea what happens once it occurs, but nobody comes back. It really depends on what happens when a machine is plugged back in.

While we have no proof, we do know that 'memories' are kept in the data of the game and when Penelope crossed the finish line and her game reset (the proposed situation if a machine is plugged back in) they seem to keep their memories. However, I don't know how a 'power off' scenario would affect this in the Disney made world.

I was thinking going solely online with my theory, but it felt like I was just ripping off Kid Radd too much (which is a comic based on the lives of game characters who have to deal with that sort of problem and yes you should definitely read it).

[Karoht]

That's true, but I thought it was never really confirmed what happens when they're unplugged. The characters look to it as a sort of 'death' where they have no idea what happens once it occurs, but nobody comes back. It really depends on what happens when a machine is plugged back in.

While we have no proof, we do know that 'memories' are kept in the data of the game and when Penelope crossed the finish line and her game reset (the proposed situation if a machine is plugged back in) they seem to keep their memories. However, I don't know how a 'power off' scenario would affect this in the Disney made world.

I was thinking going solely online with my theory, but then that felt I was ripping off Kid Radd too much (which is a comic based on the lives of game characters who have to deal with that sort of problem and yes you should definitely read it).

Hmm. Point. It isn't established what happens when the game is plugged back in. Lots of what if's here. What if the characters abandon the game and it is plugged back in? Does the game generate new versions of the characters? Now there is two Ralphs? If they remain in the closet, when it is plugged back in are their memories reset or preserved?

I will have to look up this 'Kid Radd' at some point.

[GloatingSwine]

You hardly need to go to My Little Pony to find such fandom in video games. Just take a look at Deathsmiles, Touhou, several characters from BlazBlue, or Hyperdimension Neptunia.

None of those things are aimed at 8 year old girls though. I mean there's two bullet hell shooters, a 2d fighting game, and an SRPG, all pretty much hardcore gaming things to start with.

There are similarities between the Touhou and MLP fandoms, mostly in terms of them being sources of vast quantities of derivative fanon (and, in the case of Touhou, better art than Zun is capable of).

But the other things? No.

[The Glyphstone]

None of those things are aimed at 8 year old girls though. I mean there's two bullet hell shooters, a 2d fighting game, and an SRPG, all pretty much hardcore gaming things to start with.

There are similarities between the Touhou and MLP fandoms, mostly in terms of them being sources of vast quantities of derivative fanon (and, in the case of Touhou, better art than Zun is capable of).

But the other things? No.

Howbout Pokemon then? The show not so much, but the games have a ridiculously large following much older than their targeted audience.

[GloatingSwine]

Howbout Pokemon then? The show not so much, but the games have a ridiculously large following much older than their targeted audience.

True.

Although these days it's because those people grew up playing them. People who watch My Little Pony now are exactly the same people who made puking noises at their sisters when they were watching it twenty years ago. Pokemon is a 15 year old franchise, after all. People who were in the target audience when red/blue came out are basically mid 20s or older now.

Also, the Pokemon games actually have surprisingly fiddly mechanics that only really come out in competitive multi (since you can smash the singleplayer just about any old how, and things like IVs and EVs only matter for competitive multi), which is always where the older players (even back when red/blue were new) were doing with the games.

[DiscipleofBob]

Worse than being unplugged, what happens if the power in the arcade ever goes out? Not even the power strip is safe then.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I saw the movie and adored it.

On sequels:

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I don't think the parent thing would work too well. Fix-Felix-Jr. is the only one with a stated parent (father) which was mentioned in an offhand comment. Since these are video game characters who acknowledge they are programmed, they would only have parents if said parents are programmed. And given what Fix-Felix-Jr. (the name of their game) is, I doubt they actually exist other than a excuse for Felix's hammer.

However, the new giant-arcade/segregation thing makes a lot of sense. Something like a Dave and Busters where there is a humongous selection of games. The issue of unplugging then re-plugging I can't really comment on. Maybe the mysterious benefactor put them on batteries for transport.
Makes the beginning of the movie really sad because they are essentially in a prison.

On Unplugged Games

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So I get that if you die in another game, you die for realz. So characters like Q-Bert who have no game are basically on their last life. Then the bonus level doesn't seem to make any sense to me, unless the level doesn't involve killing them. Just something odd I noticed.

[LaZodiac]

I saw the movie and adored it.

On sequels:

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I don't think the parent thing would work too well. Fix-Felix-Jr. is the only one with a stated parent (father) which was mentioned in an offhand comment. Since these are video game characters who acknowledge they are programmed, they would only have parents if said parents are programmed. And given what Fix-Felix-Jr. (the name of their game) is, I doubt they actually exist other than a excuse for Felix's hammer.

However, the new giant-arcade/segregation thing makes a lot of sense. Something like a Dave and Busters where there is a humongous selection of games. The issue of unplugging then re-plugging I can't really comment on. Maybe the mysterious benefactor put them on batteries for transport.
Makes the beginning of the movie really sad because they are essentially in a prison.

On Unplugged Games

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So I get that if you die in another game, you die for realz. So characters like Q-Bert who have no game are basically on their last life. Then the bonus level doesn't seem to make any sense to me, unless the level doesn't involve killing them. Just something odd I noticed.

The idea is that Q-Bert and pals are in a safe, non death including bonus game.

[Destro_Yersul]

Unplugged Games:

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It's probably important to note that the only person in Felix's game who can actually die, as far as the game's mechanics go, is Felix. You don't win the game by killing Ralph, he just gets tossed off the building, and Felix's hammer is useless as a weapon, since it fixes everything it touches, including game characters - if Felix hit Q-bert or one of the others with it, it would heal them.

[Arranis Thelmos]

I love the backstory of the commander woman.

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"Shes programmed witha tragic past"

Well, she's one dynamite gal.

[tbok1992]

Part of me really wishes that this was a Pixar movie for no other reason than to tie it in to the theory that all Pixar movies take place in the same universe, and then to draw comparisons between Wreck-It Ralph and Toy Story.

I actually do consider Toy Story and Wreck-It Ralph (And likely Kid Radd) part of the same universe in my own personal canon. But I also take it as a part of my personal canon that Mr. Potter from It's A Wonderful Life died of a heart attack offscreen with Clarence mocking him, so take that as you will.

[Pokonic]

I do no a way to determine if it counts asa Pixar movie or not:


Is there a Pizza Planet truck anyware in the movie?