If you were one of the many people to see Disney’s latest feature Wreck-It Ralph over the weekend then you were also lucky enough to see the animated short, Paperman, that preceded it. Chances are you were blown away like so many paper airplanes.
The overwhelming amazement derived from Paperman is equal parts wonderful story and beautiful animation, the proverbial chocolate and peanut butter of memorable movie-making. Paperman resembles its popular contemporary Pixar counterparts in both heart and scope. It also resembles some of the better Pixar shorts in that it doesn’t use any spoken language, relying instead on compelling art against a well-timed soundtrack and the captivating gift of storytelling. It’s a good gift.
Disney Animation has released one more clip from Wreck-It Ralph as the movie is set to debut in theaters everywhere tomorrow. This one features Fix-it Felix Jr as he encounters Sergeant Calhoun for the first time and setting off one of the movie’s sub-plots: Reviewers… Read More »Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph in Theaters Today
This year Disney released two animated features (Three if you count Frankenweenie, but we won’t include stop-motion for the purpose of this article). One stars a princess who breaks from tradition and discovers that family is at the core of what’s important, the other features incredible worlds crafted from scratch, ground breaking computer animation, and a story that is full of heart. Normally, you’d say Disney Animation released the Princess film and Pixar the other, but this year the roles are reversed. With Brave, Pixar ventured into what was traditionally Disney’s territory, so it’s only fair that Disney Animation Studios returns the favor.
I’m happy to say that with Wreck-it Ralph, Walt Disney Animation Studios has returned to the top of the animation game, matching, if not surpassing, anything you would expect from its more successful partner up in Emeryville. It does this while remaining true to the core values of Disney animation, which is a focus on great story and characters who you really feel for.
In Wreck-it Ralph, Disney attempts to do for video games what Pixar’s Toy Story did for toys; Give us insight into the world that goes on when humans aren’t around. In this case the movie starts inside the classic 1982 arcade game Fix-it Felix Jr. The titular character is the game’s bad-guy; always destroying and then being defeated night game after game. After 30 years this begins to weigh on him so much that he visits a support group for video game bad-guys. But what really sets him off is when the other characters have a party celebrating the game’s 30 years of being plugged in and fail to invite him.
When it comes to experiences and details, Disney spares no expense. Hence the opportunity they provided on a recent press trip for a group of bloggers, myself included, to meet Rich Moore and Clark Spencer, the director and producer of Wreck-It Ralph, respectively.
While the conversation (below) was interesting and informative, I was even more excited about the setting for our interview. We actually got to sit in Roy Disney’s old office that is housed in the large sorcerer’s hat on the Walt Disney Animation Building. The story is that Roy Disney only used the office for a short period of time due to the vertical stripes painted along the interior of the round room (see above) — he complained that sitting in it made him feel like he was spinning, so he relocated elsewhere. These days the room is used primarily for photo ops and entertaining me, apparently.
Here is some of that aforementioned conversation with Rich Moore and Clark Spencer that I promised you:
A short, but fun, featurette for Disney Animation’s Wreck-it Ralph. It features some behind the scenes insight into the movie from the people involved. It also begins to explore some of the relationships that are key to making the film work: One of the most… Read More »Wreck-it Ralph – Behind The Scenes Featurette
Press screenings for Wreck-it Ralph are underway and Disney is already out with that fun stereotypical TV spot where they quote movie reviewers who all go tell you to see the film: Having seen Wreck-it Ralph recently too, I find myself agreeing with every one… Read More »Wreck-it Ralph Reviews Spot
Disney Pixar’s Brave is coming home to Blu-Ray / DVD on November 13th. The Scottish tale of Princess Merida has won fans the world over with her strength of spirit. Pre-order your Brave DVD set today and set up to 30%. Your purchase supports The… Read More »Brave DVD release Coming on November 13th
