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— CH. 1 · ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT HISTORY —

Wreck-It Ralph

~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
7 sections
  • The concept of Wreck-It Ralph first emerged in the late 1980s under a working title called High Score. Disney redeveloped and reconsidered the project multiple times over the following decades. In the late 1990s, the film took on the name Joe Jump before evolving into Reboot Ralph during the mid-2000s. Director Rich Moore sought to capture an authentic video-game world by including real characters like Bowser, Clyde, and Doctor Eggman while focusing on creating new ones. John Lasseter served as executive producer and described the story as an eight-bit bad guy traveling through an arcade to prove he is good. The team researched candy factories and food photography to inspire the design of the Sugar Rush game world. Before production began, existing characters were added to the story without legal consideration for their use. The company then sought permissions from copyright holders to ensure authentic representation. Nintendo was very positive about using Bowser in a support group scene dedicated to helping villain characters. They provided feedback that Bowser's teacup should be held a certain way but could not find an appropriate scene for Mario to play a significant role. Dr. Wily from Mega Man was going to appear but was cut from the final version of the film. An earlier draft included a fourth game world called Extreme Easy Living 2 which was considered too convoluted for viewers to grasp.

  • The film introduced Disney's new bidirectional reflectance distribution functions with more realistic reflections on surfaces. A real-time virtual cinematography Camera Capture system made it possible to go through scenes in real time. Visual development groups traveled to trade fair ISM Cologne and See's Candy factory to research the Sugar Rush segment. Food photographers demonstrated techniques to make food appear appealing within the animated sequences. Special effects including smoke or dust looked distinct in each of the segments. Residents of Niceland and the bartender from Tapper are animated using jerky motion that spoofs limited animation cycles of eight- and sixteen-bit arcade games. King Candy uses the Konami Code on an NES controller to access programming of Sugar Rush. Graffiti throughout Game Central Station includes phrases like Aerith lives and All your base are belong to us. The Walt Disney Animation Studios opening logo appears in eight-bit pixelated fashion while the closing production logo shows a glitched state referencing kill screens from early arcade games. The high score on the main screen of Fix-It Felix Jr. reads 120501 referring to Walt Disney's birthdate the 5th of December 1901. About 188 individual character models exist in the movie as a result of these cameo inclusions.

  • Wreck-It Ralph contains numerous video game references including characters and visual gags scattered throughout the narrative. The Bad-Anon villain meeting features well-known figures such as Bowser, Clyde, Doctor Eggman, M. Bison, and Zangief. Scenes in Game Central Station and Tapper's bar include Chun-Li, Cammy, Blanka from Street Fighter, Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, and Inky from Pac-Man. The Paperboy from Paperboy, two paddles and ball from Pong, Dig Dug, a Pooka, and a Fygar from Dig Dug appear alongside The Qix from Qix. Frogger from Frogger and Peter Pepper from BurgerTime also make appearances within the arcade setting. Lara Croft and Mario are mentioned but never seen on screen. A character modeled after dubstep musician Skrillex appears as DJ at the anniversary party of Fix-It Felix Jr. One song in the credits is an original work by Buckner and Garcia famous for writing video-game-themed songs in the 1980s. The film features cameos from real-world video game characters including Sonic the Hedgehog voiced by Roger Craig Smith and Ryu voiced by Kyle Hebert. Ken Masters appears with voice provided by Reuben Langdon while M. Bison is voiced by Gerald C. Rivers. Zangief returns to the franchise with Rich Moore providing his vocal performance.

  • When Litwak's Arcade closes for the day, video game characters leave their roles to socialize via a power strip called Game Central Station. Wreck-It Ralph, villain of platform game Fix-It Felix Jr., feels frustrated with his assigned role after being ostracized at his game's thirty-year anniversary party. He decides to win a medal convinced it will earn him respect among fellow characters. Upon learning that first-person shooter Hero's Duty awards medals, Ralph sneaks into that game and obtains one after passing insectoid monsters known as Cy-Bugs. Ralph accidentally launches himself in an escape shuttle containing a Cy-Bug inside and crash-lands in Sugar Rush, a confectionery-themed kart racing game. With Ralph gone, his game becomes labeled out-of-order putting it at risk of being unplugged. Fix-It Felix Jr. leaves his game to find Ralph allying with Sergeant Calhoun heroine of Hero's Duty. Calhoun tracks the Cy-Bug since these creatures behave like viruses once outside their original game. In Sugar Rush racer Vanellope von Schweetz steals Ralph's medal and uses it to buy her way into nightly races determining playable characters. King Candy ruler of Sugar Rush world forbids her from racing because she is a glitch.

  • Ralph Breaks the Internet serves as sequel released the 21st of November 2018 following original film timeline. This installment follows Ralph and Vanellope traveling to internet replacing part needed for Sugar Rush preventing Mr. Litwak disposing game entirely. Directed again by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston the project expanded franchise reach significantly beyond initial scope. Disney released tie-in side-scrolling platform game called Wreck-It Ralph available on Wii Nintendo 3DS DS systems though receiving mostly negative reviews from critics. Developed by Pipeworks Software published by Activision story extension takes place after Cy-Bug incident allowing players control either Ralph or Felix causing repairing damage respectively. Game levels mirror locations from film including Fix-It Felix Jr Hero's Duty Sugar Rush plus Game Central Station setting itself in November 2012 alongside theatrical release date. Fully playable browser-based versions of Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush games launched October 2012 on official film website mobile app titled Wreck-it Ralph arrived November 2012 iOS Android Windows Phone 8 version followed nearly year later initially offering three mini-games later joined TurboTime Flight Command before retirement the 29th of August

  • 2014.

Common questions

When was the concept for Wreck- It Ralph first developed?

The concept of Wreck-It Ralph first emerged in the late 1980s under a working title called High Score. Disney redeveloped and reconsidered the project multiple times over the following decades before it evolved into Reboot Ralph during the mid-2000s.

Who directed the animated film Wreck-It Ralph released in 2012?

Director Rich Moore sought to capture an authentic video-game world by including real characters like Bowser, Clyde, and Doctor Eggman while focusing on creating new ones. John Lasseter served as executive producer and described the story as an eight-bit bad guy traveling through an arcade to prove he is good.

What does the high score 120501 on Fix-It Felix Jr represent in Wreck-It Ralph?

The high score on the main screen of Fix-It Felix Jr reads 120501 referring to Walt Disney's birthdate the 5th of December 1901. This detail serves as an Easter egg hidden within the game interface of the movie.

Which video game characters appear in the Bad-Anon villain meeting scene of Wreck-It Ralph?

The Bad-Anon villain meeting features well-known figures such as Bowser, Clyde, Doctor Eggman, M. Bison, and Zangief. These characters gather together to help villain characters who have been ostracized from their games.

When was the sequel film Wreck-It Ralph released after the original movie timeline?

Ralph Breaks the Internet serves as sequel released the 21st of November 2018 following original film timeline. This installment follows Ralph and Vanellope traveling to internet replacing part needed for Sugar Rush preventing Mr. Litwak disposing game entirely.