Disney's Wreck-It Ralph

[Your Vest Friend]

...I would have gone for ParaNorman, and I don't like watching horror films. 

[Stacy]

See these are exactly the kind of statements that stifle discussion more than anything and are absolutely useless observations; people bitching about people bitching. This isn't supposed to be a place for people to point out negativity or complaining about a supposition taken by a user because if you have a better argument to counter you should have brought this up by now. "Bitching about nothing" is a border on a pot kettle black scenario and is not a good basis for any constructive discussion, and it's bothersome that this is the extent to any rebuttal.

 

You done throwing text book jargon at me?

 

I don't actually disagree with you Carbo. I just feel some people will bitch and get butt hurt because a film based around Video Games that had "Sanic" cameo in didn't win.

 

I admit I am disappointed that Zero Dark Trinity didn't win anything though I think its cool Ben Affleck got some recognition for Argo. I don't think the Oscars this year was that bad really. 

 

...I would have gone for ParaNorman, and I don't like watching horror films. 

 

What? How is it horror exactly? 

[Your Vest Friend]

What? How is it horror exactly? 

 

It's a throwback to the horror films of the old 50s B-movie variety, none of the references of which I'd get because I don't enjoy that genre. 

[...]

You done throwing text book jargon at me?   I don't actually disagree with you Carbo. I just feel some people will bitch and get butt hurt because a film based around Video Games that had "Sanic" cameo in didn't win.   I admit I am disappointed that Zero Dark Trinity didn't win anything though I think its cool Ben Affleck got some recognition for Argo. I don't think the Oscars this year was that bad really.      What? How is it horror exactly? 

Um, how is he throwing "text-book jargon" at you?

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

What? How is it horror exactly? 

 

It's a comedy horror film. Doesn't the boy speak to the dead?

Edited February 25, 2013 by Ming Ming Shana

[Carbo]

Sorry I didn't like ParaNorman and I felt that it wasn't deserving of an Oscar either, Opinions are such a bitch aren't they?

 

I dunno, it kind of seems like it is for you since you seem so phased about people not liking something, I don't see any harm in anyone pointing out that they thought Brave was a worse movie than any of the nominees and that it was a bad pick, neither did I complain about someone thinking an opposite. I just pointed out that what you mentioned in regards to "people bitching about anything" because they were of a different opinion is a haphazard judgement on your part.

 

I was merely defending a movie that got a lot of hate because a movie about Videogames didn't win

 

Assuming that this "hate" for the movie spawned exclusively because of it winning an Oscar and not just because it was a rather polarizing movie during release, I can guarantee you that no one who would describe WIR in such a generalized statement as this would probably actively vouch for it's legitimacy to win an Oscar period. It can be seen as kind of patronizing to assume this is the main reason anyone finds this disappointing when there's always been a history of commercialism expectation over genuine quality with the Academy Awards. It's the same way people bitch about Grammies to this very day.

Really, people get disappointed with picks. Shit happens, you should be happy that your favorite won. That doesn't really need defending, I mean hell man, that's an Oscar. It's not going to be revoked cause some people thought it was a bad pick.

[Nepenthe]

Awful marketing and studio pedigree sunk Brave in terms of reception. The story and characters it have are admittedly baseline animated caliber, but in turn they're serviced up so significantly with the usual Pixar-level cinematography, set design, and character animation (particularly, Queen Elinor in bear form is awesome, and that fight between her and Mordu deserves props for how primal it was), that it annoys me that people are saying there's actually very little good about the film or flippantly claiming other studios easily matched their level of detail. Watching Brave and Wreck-it Ralph are like night and day in terms of technical film-making, and if nothing else it deserved to win on being a sheer visual marvel alone.

[Lady Soniko]

I'm merely going off a few posts previous to mine who complained about the Oscars pretty much being rigged for Pixar to win actually, I know Brave isn't as good as Ralph but it was still deserving of an Oscar/Award for the quality of it, even if the writing was standard Disney drivel, I'm kinda bummed that WiR didn't win either it's sort of a mixed case in my books, but it makes me mad when people say the only reason Brave won was because Pixar, and not the time and effort put into it, just branding it a winner because Pixar made it is an awfully bold accusation to make.

 

And about the people bitching about anything? Wasn't exclusive to JUST this thread it's kind of a recent pet peeve from various other topic's i've posted in, it just feels like the majority of people just want to pick negatively at anything rather than discussing any good points, but I'll leave that out of this topic.

[sonfan1984]

Funny how a fictional character won an Oscar over live actor's though, I'd feel humiliated if I lost an Oscar to a cartoon, it would feel somewhat more justified if there were more fictional characters as a selection, or if they referred to Sonic as "Roger Craig Smith" but no, Sonic the Hedgehog wins an Oscar!

 

Wait, that oscar video is real? I'd thought people said it was fake...

[Stacy]

It's a throwback to the horror films of the old 50s B-movie variety, none of the references of which I'd get because I don't enjoy that genre. 

 

Yeah I know. Sorry I just got the impression you thought it was a Horror film.

[tenchibr]

My wife's opinion, a non-gamer:

 

Brave was really good, and I think it's because it appealed to her femininity more than WIR did. Even so, after enough time has passed, she realized that overall, WIR was better.

 

It was richer in content, in character, and I am saying this while completely ignoring the videogame cameos: Calhoun was great, Vanellope too, Felix fit the bill, and WIR really carried all the emotions and thought throughout the story. Brave should have been called "Boring", at least it was to me. If you read my past posts on this topic, I think the heroine - whose name is completely forgettable (I can't remember it truthfully - and I just asked my wife for her name, she doesn't remember it either), is stereotypical as hell. Pretty, sure; funny too, but a strong lead? Hell no. In fact, all the other characters are all from the same sack she is. Typical parents, typical siblings, typical undesirable potential companions, typical mysterious witch... You get the drill.

 

Did videogames lure me in to see WIR? Absolutely, but it's the story and its original characters that keep me talking about it. End of rant.

[Barry the Nomad]

Really hoping Wreck-It Ralph gets a sequel (Wreck-It Ralph 2? Wreck-It Ralph Jr.?)

 

One really cool (and potential) plot would be to introduce a machine to the arcade with an internet connection for global high scores, which in turn allows the characters to travel to the internet. 

 

I'd love to see Fix-It Felix Senior playing a major role. Perhaps he could come into play by way of coming from an illegal ROM uploaded to the internet and accessible by way of the internet connection. 

 

It would be pretty cool if they worked ROM hacks in, introducing a fan recolor of Ralph or perhaps a super powered Fix-it Felix Jr.

 

---

 

As for the Oscar loss, I saw it coming. The Academy being hip enough to get, and accept, a video game movie? HA! Brave won because it was a safe choice.

[Nepenthe]

As for the Oscar loss, I saw it coming. The Academy being hip enough to get, and accept, a video game movie? HA! Brave won because it was a safe choice.

 

You guys are acting like ParaNorman didn't have a hat in the ring. If we're being honest with ourselves and believe the Oscars should be handed out to the absolute best films in each particular category, then ParaNorman should've won, not WiR anyway. The disingenuous attitude in acting like WiR was the only good animated film this year, much less the only good one nominated, is kinda annoying.

[iDEATH]

We're probably a little biased towards Wreck-It Ralph, we're a video game forum after all. WIR is a film made for us, I imagine going into it without a knowledge of video games you'd find yourself a little lost. Actually, I know you would be because my girlfriend's little sister doesn't play games and laughed...maybe twice throughout the whole thing?

Unless you're a gamer, there's a lot of stuff you're not going to get.

 

Brave is a much more universal film and one that.....well It's just a more suitable film for the acadamy. You have to remember that the oscars always go to a certain kind of film, Brave fits that mold a lot more than WIR does. Simples.

 

Also....Brave was good......

[Chaos Warp]

We're probably a little biased towards Wreck-It Ralph, we're a video game forum after all. WIR is a film made for us, I imagine going into it without a knowledge of video games you'd find yourself a little lost.

Not really. Other then some of the references, it did a good job at explaining how shit worked in it's world. If you had no knowledge of video games, you'd still be fine.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Generations (Chaos Warp)

[JezMM]

Not really. Other then some of the references, it did a good job at explaining how shit worked in it's world. If you had no knowledge of video games, you'd still be fine.

It's easy to say that but I still think WiR has a few things that would confuse the very young/old/technologically uninclined.

 

For example, they never explain what a glitch is in a wider context.  You can see what it does in Van's case, but if you're not familiar with how games are made at all, you'd have no idea how/why she has this power.

[Lady Soniko]

We're probably a little biased towards Wreck-It Ralph, we're a video game forum after all. WIR is a film made for us, I imagine going into it without a knowledge of video games you'd find yourself a little lost. Actually, I know you would be because my girlfriend's little sister doesn't play games and laughed...maybe twice throughout the whole thing?

Unless you're a gamer, there's a lot of stuff you're not going to get.

 

Brave is a much more universal film and one that.....well It's just a more suitable film for the acadamy. You have to remember that the oscars always go to a certain kind of film, Brave fits that mold a lot more than WIR does. Simples.

 

Also....Brave was good......

 

*looks at your location*

*Brave is about Scotts*

 

I laughed.

 

I do agree though, Brave was a good movie

[Nepenthe]

It's easy to say that but I still think WiR has a few things that would confuse the very young/old/technologically uninclined.

 

For example, they never explain what a glitch is in a wider context.  You can see what it does in Van's case, but if you're not familiar with how games are made at all, you'd have no idea how/why she has this power.

 

Would you need wider, real-world context to understand what a glitch is, even with all of the info-dump and visual representation that movie gives to explain it? And is that context even important? I don't think so; the ultimate story point is that Vanellope has a physical problem that ostracizes her from the denizens of the game world, not that a glitch is an error in the code that causes a game to act in an unintended way. Even if you don't know the latter, anyone who is paying attention should understand the former and thus still get the movie. I also think we're underestimating older audiences; I think you'd be a little hard-pressed to find a literate adult so technologically ignorant that they don't know what "glitch" means. That's such a general term you just learn it through cultural osmosis.

[JezMM]

 

Would you need wider, real-world context to understand what a glitch is, even with all of the info-dump and visual representation that movie gives to explain it? And is that context even important? I don't think so; the ultimate story point is that Vanellope has a physical problem that ostracizes her from the denizens of the game world, not that a glitch is an error in the code that causes a game to act in an unintended way. Even if you don't know the latter, anyone who is paying attention should understand the former and thus still get the movie. I also think we're underestimating older audiences; I think you'd be a little hard-pressed to find a literate adult so technologically ignorant that they don't know what "glitch" means. That's such a general term you just learn it through cultural osmosis.

 

Yeah I guess so.  I don't think I really meant it's essential, but I do wonder whether these unique terms not usually heard in movies is enough for people not interested in video games to "switch off" and stop caring about the REAL story (I mean the glitch itself is portrayed hauntingly like a real life disability that a sweet little girl is getting bullied for).  Obviously the fault would be with stupid presumptious viewers here, not the film, which is really sad, but yeah I just mean... it wouldn't surprise me if half the reason WiR didn't capture the mainstream is because people just didn't go in with the mindset that they were gonna watch something fantastic, which people already do with Pixar due to their mostly spotless track record.  For WiR adults will go in just thinking "lol video games whatever it's for kids right".

 

I am just theorising of course.  At the cinema I work at I've been pleasantly surprised by the amount of adults I interpreted as just seeing it because their kids were seeing it who have come out going "that was really good wasn't it?" to their spouses.

Edited February 25, 2013 by JezMM

[Lady Soniko]

The movie didn't need to explain "Glitch" since it was pretty much made out to be a bad thing for kid's to understand why the character's didn't like her at all, that and she's the only one who does the funky glitching throughout the movie.

[Kuzu]

That, and glitching is obviously more or less treated as a disease in the same vein a kid who's teased as school would have. You don't need to actually know what a glitch is in the context of video games to understand how it's used in the film.

[Nepenthe]

Yeah I guess so.  I don't think I really meant it's essential, but I do wonder whether these unique terms not usually heard in movies is enough for people not interested in video games to "switch off" and stop caring about the REAL story (I mean the glitch itself is portrayed hauntingly like a real life disability that a sweet little girl is getting bullied for).  Obviously the fault would be with stupid presumptious viewers here, not the film, which is really sad, but yeah I just mean... it wouldn't surprise me if half the reason WiR didn't capture the mainstream is because people just didn't go in with the mindset that they were gonna watch something fantastic, which people already do with Pixar due to their mostly spotless track record.  For WiR adults will go in just thinking "lol video games whatever it's for kids right".

 

I am just theorising of course.  At the cinema I work at I've been pleasantly surprised by the amount of adults I interpreted as just seeing it because their kids were seeing it who have come out going "that was really good wasn't it?" to their spouses.

 

But you think that would've pretty much made it a shoe-in considering how well it did. A movie no one expects to do much ending up with the kind of critical and financial reception WiR got? That would certainly put it on the radar especially as an underdog film, and the Academy sometimes has a thing for underdogs. Frankly, I think it's more likely a combination of politics and the fact that WiR actually does have some noticeable problems as a film in its own right, mainly in the pacing department and some of the comedic writing. And it's not free from cliche' either.

[Carbo]

The only real problem I have with Wreck-It Ralph is some miniature structure issues and the fact that the movie takes it's time abiding by many set world rules, a lot of which are only explained just right before they become important. Some are done well, most of which involve Vanellope. Other small ones such as "dying in your own game" are done to a lesser effect though, and it creates just a tad of jarring disconnect.

It's clear Ralph is a movie partially about just the world because the characters are all relatively simple despite having some complex facets in their characters, and if we had a sequel there'd be ample opportunity to explore that. I don't feel like it'd need one though, but I think it could end up being better paced since we'd at least be acquainted with all the rules.

[Dizcrybe]

Honestly, I never really expected WIR to win. Don't get me wrong, I like WIR more than Brave (though I liked Brave as well), but hear me out here. One, almost the entire thing takes in a video game world, and the Oscar judges more than likely don't care for video games. Two,  while WIR was done by Disney, Brave was made by Pixar, prior to Cars 2, has a good track record. I wouldn't be surprised if Brave won partially because of that.

 

Long story short, I didn't get my hopes up.

[Crash]

I'm honestly hoping we don't get a sequel. WiR is one of my favourite films but I think a sequel could destroy something that I've come to love. It happened with Night at the Museum and I'm sure it could happen with Ralph.