Sorry Pixar, but your comely redheaded lass is no match for Disney's odiferous, dump-dwelling hobo with disproportionately enormous hands.
That would be Ralph himself, voiced by John C. Reilly, who leads the movie's eclectic animated cast, teaming up with Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) in a friendship leads them both to discover who they really are on the inside.
Speaking of Vanellope, she isn't the pestilential imp suggested by the trailers. Although she has her moments (as well as her secrets), by early in the third act you'll care about her as much as Ralph does.
The movie's main environments—arcade video games Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush—are some of the most jaw-dropping ever put on screen. Imagineering, how about a Sugar Rush ride at Disney World?
Those virtual worlds, as well as Ralph's own, the 30-year-old, 8-bit, Fix-It Felix Jr., are the setting for one of Disney's biggest adventures in years. Also the most awkward osculations—you'll see.
After last year's Winnie the Pooh, where the studio showed it could still excel at making great traditional animation, Wreck-It Ralph is proof that Disney can devote as much effort to telling a great story using CG.
As for the attached short film, Paperman, you have to admire director John Kahrs' monochrome vision. The character design is unique, unlike anything Disney's done before; and the story brings to life the hope of many a hopeless romantic.
However it wasn't inventive, either in story or technique, to live up to the hype. Could anything? There's something to be said about the value of low expectations.
Perhaps my glowing review of Ralph wasn't such a good idea.
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13 comments:
In the second-to-last paragraph, does 'it' refer to 'Paperman' or to 'Wreck-It Ralph'?
The Paperman designs are classic Disney character designs, and the technique was unlike anything anyone's done before.
All you needed to say was that Vanellope is redeemable as a character I can care for, I was pretty much there but that's a sale for… um, lesse here… mid February? OK, best animated film of 2013 then, seems TS3 retains the crown for best of 2012 from here!
Paperman I think set people up for something amazing but I can also see it being a transparent thing where the lack of inventiveness in technique is the exact sweet spot they want.
RandomUser: Clearly to Paperman.
Paperman IS inventive. What are you saying Mike? Lets not get ahead of ourselves. Where as I can agree that the story was not rotten tomatoes perfection worthy, the techniques inscribed in its DNA are groundbreaking. John Kahrs had a crazy idea to have the drawn line stand out amongst the CG animation, to take centerstage and give us back that power that only a hand drawn line can. Eric Daniels, Brian Whited, John Kahrs, John Lasseter and many more at Disney worked long hours and paid much respect to figuring out a program that could do this. They invented a software called Meander. But what am i saying? You know this. You run an animation blog. Which makes me question why you dont see how breathtaking this new technique is. Not just because of Paperman, but because of the possibilities that can now be imagined and executed thanks to Kahrs and his team.
Go see it again. Its new. Look harder. Its there. Or just stop by the studio some time and I'll show you.
I'd love a tour of WDAS!
I don't know....you shouldn't say this is the best animated film of the year BEFORE the year's even over. I Doubt it, but Rise of the Guardians might just be a BIG surprise.
The Disney 'anonymous' guy is right, Mike. Paperman might be the most innovative breakthrough in animation since Toy Story and being an animation blog website, YOU should know this. The WDAS tour that was offered(and you gladly accepted) I don't think should happen. Of course you would like a tour, but let's be honest, how much would you really appreciate it? I don't think you necessarily deserve a tour, no offense. Have you SEEN or READ anything about Paperman? As an animation blog, you should be really up to date on this stuff. Just b/c it's not Pixar, doesn't mean you can't be interested in it...and definitely doesn't mean you need to bash it. And no, I am not an animator in the industry...I am just a normal fan of animation and appreciate the art. I'd die for a tour of WDAS! I direct you to this video that I saw over a month ago about the tech of Paperman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKl9mpGMCiA
Mike - I have been a long follower and big supporter of your website...since back when it was a Pixar blog. BUT, since you've moved to cover all animation, I have been let down. Everyone is biased in some way, I get that, but your love for Pixar and lack of knowledge on animation is really showing through these days.
It started with your review of 'The Croods' trailer when you compared it to 'Brave' b/c the redhead daughter was rebelling against her father for 30 seconds of the teaser trailer. So does that mean that Brave copied Mulan? Or Mulan copied Lion King b/c Simba rebelled against his father? Just b/c it's not Pixar doesn't mean it's going to be bad.
Paperman is genius and if the tech behind it (Meander) becomes cost effective, I think this could be how 2D returns to the big screen. No better studio to do it than Disney. Disney won't make any money off of Paperman. This is why Lasseter & Leadership is great for allotting a certain amount of money to be set aside for shorts at Disney and Pixar. Their shorts help research and test new tech and ideas that potentially one day can help a feature film.
I ask you as a long time fan of your website to please try and not be so biased...you are turning away some of your fans. And PLEASE PLEASE do your research. You should know better about Paperman and while I agree that Dreamworks is hit or miss, The Croods and Rise of the Guardians looks like a triumphant return and we should all be excited. The better these movies do, the more jobs it creates for animators and, hopefully, better quality movies and innovation...like Paperman.
I apologize for the rant, but I've been silent way too long and something needed to be said. I wish you the best and long lasting success with this blog.
Paperman is groundbreaking technique! You obviously know nothing about how this film was created (cg made to look 2d, broadly speaking)
Having not seen it yet, but looking forward to it this week, AND as an animator, I think I can see both sides of the Paperman argument. The tech behind Paperman looks utterly amazing. That breakthrough in and of itself is worthy of mention.
However (again not having seen it yet), Technology alone does not a good movie make. My guess on Mike's thoughts here are that he is referring to the animation techniques themselves, which even in the trailer, look bland and uninspiring. The LOOK of it is beautiful, but the actual animation didn't jump out at me.
I'll have to see it before I can make actual judgements on it, but my point (and Mike's, as I read it) are that the most amazing tech in the world can't make a bland animation great. Also, I'm not saying the animation itself is not good--holding everything to the fire of Pixar or Dreamworks quality makes even really good animation look bland at times--see Brave for this. Gorgeous movie, but disappointing when held to the greats like Finding Nemo or TS3.
I'm glad you enjoyed the film Mike. You're spot on about hype and how it ruins one's expectations. More people would be wise to learn about it.
I haven't seen Ralph yet, but so far The Borrower Arrietty is my favorite animated film of the year so far.
Just an update, having seen it now, I agree, Mike. Paperman is a little lacking in the story department, but that rendering tech...I routinely forgot it was 3D.
Before seeing Wreck It Ralph I was psyching myself up for a home run masterpeice. And visually it delivered. I wanted more out of Ralph and Felix - I hate to say it but these characters lacked depth. There were tons of hey-wow moments and I loved the ideas all throughout the film - but Vanellope (sp) and King Candy were the driving force of this movie, these characters had depth and an internal contrast. Ralph's arc didn't satisfy, and deep down I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Fix it Felix Juniors internal struggle with his own father issues. The effects knocked my socks off, same with the character builds, animation, set design and rendering... storywise it suffered from the restraints of the "Disney safe zone". While my eyes were popping from the visual shmorgasborg and my inner nerd was elated - my heartstrings were left untouched.
I'll definetly pick this one up for my kid, when she's a few years older I think she'll love it. But only on my re-watch list for technical reasons.
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