Pap the Disney
Gamer's Highlights:
Wreck-It-Ralph Trailer and TV
Spot Analysis Part 2
With
Wreck-It-Ralph about to open
in just a few weeks, Disney has
been advertising the film to the
best of their powers. From new
merchandise items arriving in
stores to new pieces of
information regarding the film,
fans are growing excited to see
what promises to be one of the
most unique films in the Disney
animated canon. Several new
trailers and TV spots have been
released, each one showcasing
new footage and references that
some people may miss out on.
Just like we did this past June,
we are going to be taking a
closer look at these new
trailers and TV spots.
Before we begin,
though, here are the videos for
you to watch:
Second Trailer
Game Changer TV
Spot
1982 Litwak's
Arcade TV 'Commercial'

Let's start with
the second trailer. While some
of the footage and concept
remains similar to the first
trailer, some new scenes and
references highlight the
potential Wreck-It-Ralph
exhibits. At 20 seconds in, we
see Ralph crash a party the
Nicelanders were holding in
honor of Fix-It-Felix Jr.'s
achievements. Due to Ralph's
size, he accidentally hits the
ceiling, part of it breaking of
and hitting Felix. This displays
an amusing joke regarding how
video game characters 'die.'
Rather than being permanently
dead, they just regenerate in
the same spot. Felix's death
animation also happens to be a
nod to Mario's death animation
in the Nintendo arcade game
Donkey Kong (which
Wreck-It-Ralph pays heavy
nods to). You may have also
noticed that the animation on
the characters seems to be
lacking additional frames. That
is intentional. Since these
characters are supposed to be 2D
sprites from a classic arcade
game, their animation reflects
the limited resources game
developers had back in the day.
It adds a lot of fun charm to
the characters and their worlds.

Afterwards, the
trailer just repeats scenes from
the previously released trailer.
At 46 seconds, we get an
expanded look at Game Central
Station, the place video game
characters go to in order to
visit their games. In this
scene, we see some video game
characters flee at the sight of
Ralph. In this scene we see
Frogger, the highway crossing
frog from the arcade game of the
same name. We then see the main
character from Namco's Dig-Dug,
who digs himself in order to
avoid Ralph. The other two
cherub characters may be new to
the movie. This brief scene
represents the problem Ralph and
his video game colleagues have:
that when you are labeled as a
bad guy, you will be treated as
such.

Just a few
moments after that scene, we see
Ralph walk by an animated poster
featuring a very famous video
game character: Sonic the
Hedgehog! It has been confirmed
that the Blue Blur will be
making an appearance in the
film, though in what manner
remains to be unknown. It should
be noted that one of the reasons
Sonic is in the film is because
Ralph is going to be a playable
character in Sega's upcoming
gamer Sonic and Sega All Stars
Racing Transformed! Ralph makes
history as the first Disney
character to appear as a
playable character in a major
third party game.
Once the scene
is over, the trailer focuses on
Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush. To
learn more about these games and
their significance to the story,
check out the analysis I did for
the first trailer
here. We do,
however, get a massive piece of
information at 1:21. When Ralph
disappears from his own game,
the arcade owner labels the game
as being damaged, therefore
unplugging the game. In
Wreck-It-Ralph, when an
arcade game is unplugged, the
characters will be without a
home or a reason of being (which
is what happened to Q*Bert and
his buddies). This causes the
Nicelanders to panic, and may
soon realize that Ralph was more
than just a bad guy in their
world.

At 1:39, we have
an extended version of the Bad
Anon counseling session Ralph
attends. This scene reminds us
what the film's message will be
all about: that even though we
may have been born to be
something in life (or programmed
as is the case of Ralph), we can
overcome those obstacles and be
something bigger. We also see
Kano's (from Mortal Kombat)
first lines: 'You can't mess
with the program, Ralph!'

After a few more
scenes taking place in Sugar
Rush and Hero's Duty, we go back
to the Bad Anon session, where
the characters are about to do
their Bad Guy Affirmation, which
goes like this...
I
am bad... and that's good
I
will never be good... and that's
not bad
There's no one I'd rather be
than me

In the scenes in
between the affirmation, we see
Ralph at a bar, where the
bartender tells him to 'hold
that thought.' The bartender is
actually the main playable
character from Midway's Root
Beer Tapper! The trailer ends
with Zangief telling Ralph 'One
game at a time, Ralph...'

Now let's move
onto the Game Changer TV Spot.
While it remains fairly the same
as both trailers, we do get more
scenes at the arcade. 9 seconds
in, we see a young lady
proclaiming that the coast is
clear. This lady is a character
from a special arcade game,
Dance Dancer Revolution. A
staple in the arcade world,
Dance Dance Revolution has made
its presence felt in the Disney
universe thanks to games like
Disney Grooves. Then, we get a
shot of the Street Fighter II
arcade game. We then see Ryu and
Ken leave their game.

Finally, the
last video isn't a trailer, but
a mock TV spot for Litwak's
Arcade, the setting where
Wreck-It-Ralph takes place
at. The viral TV spot resembles
the TV 'commercials' Pixar did
for Lots-O-Huggin' Bear back
during the release of Toy
Story 3. The trailer even
goes as far as to have a deep
VHS effect for extreme
authenticity in its satire.
And that, my
friends, are the latest
Wreck-It-Ralph trailers and
TV spots. Much like last time,
despite all the new footage and
content a lot remains to be
seen. More video game character
cameos, more mayhem and a
thrilling conclusion to the
story await as the film is
released on November 2.