This blog talks about movies, TV, anime and cartoons. You'll laugh with me, argue with me, disagree with me, but you'll love reading all of these. Check it out!
In 1995, Pixar animated studios released the widely popular character driven film Toy Story and began arguably the greatest collection of animated films of all time. All of their films were entertaining and artsy, the public has flocked to them in droves. To call Pixar successful is an understatement. They're the envy of every studio (live action or animated). They have a formula that works- period (creative story, character development and Cliff from Cheers). All of their movies have grossed over $160 million with A Bug's Life being the "bomb" at $162 million. All but one of their films have a Rotten Tomatoes score over 74% (Cars 2 the only exception). Pixar didn't release a sequel until their third film with Toy Story 2 and now with Monsters University due for release Friday, they will unveil their first prequel (the lowest form of story telling). Will it rank with Toy Story 2 or will it be a Cars 2?
For starters, Toy Story 2 could be one of the greatest sequels of All Time. If it doesn't make your top 10, it should be in your top 20. As for the Toy Story Trilogy, it also ranks up with the greats. It told three different stories and completely followed the Pixar formula. However, if Pixar wanted to tell another Monsters Inc sequel, they had to tell it as a prequel. After the events of Monsters Inc, it would have seemed foreign to fans to have Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) just want to go back to scaring kids after growing fond of Boo and discovering that laughter is more powerful than screams. So Pixar goes back to when they were young scarers and show their growth. This story shows how the two met... which often isn't that interesting in other stories. But this is a Pixar film, they gotta get it right... right? After prequels worked for Texas Chainsaw,The Exorcist and... Cruel Intentions.
Usually prequels suck, but Pixar could be the rare group to get it right.
Again, Pixar has earned our faith and trust. It's not like they released a terrible film or one that doesn't make money. Granted some of the money can be as simple as parents wanting to take their kids somewhere to shut up or play the DVD... so they can shut up, but when the American Film Institute ranked their Top 10 animated features, Pixar owned two of the top spots (Finding Nemo and Toy Story) and that was before Wall-E (perhaps the most underrated feature film of the 21st Century). If Pixar can make a successful prequel (and you can count on one hand the real quality prequels), then they will truly embody Buzz Lightyear's mantra. To Infinity and Beyond.
In the mid-1990's, Pixar Studios and the Walt Disney Company showed the world what life was life for toys when their owners weren't paying attention. As the film created a franchise with two more sequels, it's premise was fully explored from getting a new owner to the realization that you're just a toy for a child to play with. This years, Disney (who has their own computer animated division) will release Wreck-It Ralph, a story about a video game villain in a local arcade game that simply doesn't want to be the villain anymore. Will this film create a Toy Story-like world for video games?
There a support group for everyone, including
video game villains. Ganondorf couldn't attend.
The story is simple enough; a bad guy in an arcade game that always has to destroy a building before the players can stop him. The game is called Fix-It Felix, which is a cross between Rampage and ummm...the opposite of Rampage. The bad guy -Wreck-it Ralph (John C. Reilly)- tries to wreck the building as the player tries to fix it. Eventually, we see what life is like inside the game. Ralph attends the bad guy support group called Bad-Anon with other famed video game villains like Bowser (Super Mario Brothers), M. Bison and Zangief (Street Fighter), Kano (Mortal Kombat), Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog), ghost from PacMan and random zombies. At the end of the session, they conclude with a bad guy affirmation and take their unhappy days "one game at a time". Ralph ends up leaving the game and jumps to others to find his new role in life. Stepping from Hero's Duty to Sugar Rush, where he meets a plucky little glitch named Vanellope (Sarah Silverman). In that time, the threat grows as the outside world pulling the plug on a game that doesn't have it's villain. The basis of the role is finding your role in the world and finding out your importance to it.
John C. Reilly lends his charm
to the title character.
Flanked by charismatic actors (Jane Lynch, Denis Haysbert and Jack McBrayer) lending their voices to the project, Wreck-It Ralph is likely to have plenty of life in it. However, video games never attempted a Toy Story-like approach. Sure this isn't quite the same as the world of toys when they're owners turn their heads, but Disney's blueprint (along with Pixar's help) has proven to be successful overall. Sometimes they pour on a little too much heart and get sappy, but Disney hasn't had the Toy Story success without Pixar's help. Since branching off with their own computer animated division unit, Disney's biggest success has come from their Pixar collaborations. With a little luck, Wreck-It Ralph has plenty to build on.
Note: Fix-It Felix is available on your cellphone app store.
