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| Scene from Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet |
Welcome to the sporadic column Trailing Off in which I take a look at a trailer from the past week and analyze its potential. This will be done using an obnoxious amount of analyzing and personal thoughts on the cast and crew as well as expectations. I will attempt to highlight films ranging from new blockbusters to lesser known indies and give them their due. Partially to spread awareness, I do believe that there is an art to the sell and will do my best to highlight why these trailers matter or don't with approval (trove) or disapproval (trash). So please stop by, recommend some trailers, and I will see you next time.
Trailer in Discussion
Directed By: Phil Johnston, Rich Moore
Written By: Phil Johnston, Jim Reardon (Head of Story), Pamela Ribon (Writer)
Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer
- Preamble -
If there's one thing that's incredible, it's that Wreck-It Ralph is a movie that's six years old. In some ways, it's Disney's most contemporary movie, seeing as it deals exclusively in the realm of pop culture references and the overall wonder of video game universes. What's even more impressive is that the film managed to work in spite of this by creating fun and original visions of landscapes that range from 8-Bit to huge sandbox worlds where anything can happen. It's the vision that proved that Disney could make modern movies that felt relevant to popular interests. However, there was one question in particular that comes up when approaching the sequel; why did it take six years to produce another movie for what could've been their biggest franchise had Frozen not come along?
In some ways, the question answers itself with Frozen, which followed the next year and created a new wave of merchandise and acclaim for the studio. Suddenly the movie about computers and video games seemed less cool. That isn't to say that the film fails to be as appealing. In fact, it is arguably more unique because it doesn't feel like any other Disney movie. With that said, most of the other films have been producing franchises or TV series to compensate for their lack of movies. Tangled in particular has developed an animated series. Which raises the question, why even make a sequel? It's true that the universe is so expansive, but will audiences still care about Wreck-It Ralph after six years?
In theory, people still cared about Toy Story after a decade, so anything does seem possible. Even then, the subtitle, Ralph Breaks the Internet, seems to be chasing a meme culture that is geared towards internet lingo and culture. Maybe the film will be in tune with that dynamic, or possibly just pander to the sensibilities of a modern audience. One thing's for sure, it definitely has plenty to live up to. With the first teaser trailer, it's time to see what the studio has in store, and if it can possibly be better than the other virtual reality movie of 2018, Ready Player One. Can it be? One can only hope.
- Dissection -
It does seem interesting that the crux of the film isn't exactly stretching. Considering that the previous film existed by connected cables together, the choice to make this world out of a WiFi chord does have some promise. It's great to see Ralph and Vanellope still working together and going on crazy adventures. Even the choice to use the same music as the original marketing gives it a nice sense of continuity. The big question going forward is how the film will address video game culture as it relates to the internet. In some ways, it's a subject that's ripe for exploration, as social media and various websites have made the internet an important part of everyday life.
As a teaser is known to do, it does an excellent job of capturing a tone and atmosphere of what's likely to be expected. Even if this feels vaguely like something that we've seen elsewhere like on Futurama, the film does show potential of turning the internet into a landscape of wonder and awe, where creative jokes unveil secrets about big corporations. The big concern is that because of product placement, it may be difficult for the jokes to be quite as biting as they could be. Also, the IMDb page is a bit curious at the moment, as every character listed on the page currently has been involved with some other Disney movie. There's references to almost every Disney movie of the past 10 years, even The Princess and the Frog.
With all of this said, it's hard exactly to say that the trailer does anything that the general good will of Wreck-It Ralph had already established previously. There's no denying that there will be plenty of great laughs, and one can hope that the jokes in the trailer are only small variants of what's to come. The eBay gag in particular is fun because sad cats are genuinely odd. Beyond that, one can hope that it does better than Ready Player One, which already looks like it will be a mess of references with little substance to back it up. Still, I have faith that Disney will be doing the right thing and producing another top of the line movie that will hopefully resonate. Ironically, next year marks a sequel to the film that usurped the original Wreck-It Ralph from consciousness with a Frozen sequel. At this rate, there will probably be a Wreck-It Ralph sequel somewhere in the early 2030's.
- One Sentence Sell -
Disney returns to the world of Wreck-It Ralph to make jokes about the internet.
-Trove or Trash-
TROVE
It is a borderline affection that I have for this trailer, which has a lot going for it. I want to say that knowing that a sequel is on the way would be enough to get me excited, but the fact that it's already got some cute jokes in the teaser makes me have faith that there's more of the good stuff along the way.
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