Why Wreck-It Ralph 2 should star a plumber and a hot sauce mogul
-
What we want from the sequel
Wreck-It Ralph did extremely well in theaters--much better than we thought it would. Seriously, who could have predicted that a movie about arcade games would end up doing so well that Disney started putting "From the Director of Wreck-It Ralph" in their previews? This isn't a complaint, mind you--we loved the movie to death, and desperately want more--we just... didn't expect it.
And now, it looks like "more" is exactly what we're going to be getting. Composer Henry Jackman revealed that he's working on a sequel, which means... holy crap! Wreck-It Ralph 2! Get pumped! But how can Disney best the original? We've gone ahead and written a list of how we think the second film would play out.
-
The theme should involve accepting your family, no matter what
Wreck-It Ralph wasn't that heavy-handed with its themes, but there was definitely a general vibe of "be who you are" throughout the entire film. Ralph had to come to terms with being a wrecker (and a "bad guy"), Vanellope had to take advantage of her glitchiness, and Turbo's greatest downfall was that he couldn't accept who he was.
In the sequel we'd like to see this expanded upon, moving towards accepting not just yourself, but the people around you. It's a Disney movie, so it needs some kind of moral, and we just think this one would work best. It's an important moral lesson for kids to learn, and since the original film tackled a relatively interesting theme, we think the sequel should, too.
-
Sequels to Wreck-It Ralph should be added to the arcade
Obviously, in order for the story to involve loving and accepting your family, they'd need to--you know--add that family. Where would these relatives come from? New arcade cabinets, of course! Just say that the arcade has seen a new surge in popularity, leading to the owner expanding with a few retro machines.
We'd love to see new versions of Wreck-It Ralph throughout the arcade. Let's have a Wreck-It Ralph Jr., where Ralph meets his younger brother, and a Super Wreck-It Ralph, where he gets in touch with his wacky cousin. Oh! And maybe even Mrs. Wreck-It Ralph, where Ralph meets a giant-handed female wrecker.
-
It should turn out that Ralph became the series' lead
No, that's not a typo in the last slide--we want Wreck-It Ralph game sequels, not Fix-It Felix sequels. Though the machine Ralph came from in the original was called Fix-It Felix Jr., we think the movie's history should follow that of another popular franchise. Just like Donkey Kong eventually bowed to Mario, the titular character shouldn't be the star of the series.
Due to fandom over the unbridled rage of Ralph, he should be turn out to be the true hero of the series, seeing his character expanded to be considered one of the most popular game characters of all time. Considering that the games in the arcade don't seem aware of games outside the arcade this wouldn't really be common knowledge to them, so it could still be a surprise to find out that Ralph is the star.
-
Fix-It Felix Sr. should also be added
Finding out that Ralph is the popular one outside the arcade would be wonderful news for the star. That said, it wouldn't be great for Fix-It Felix Jr. He'd likely feel dejected, like he wasn't good enough to become the celebrity that Ralph did. His father, too, would be upset, since his son wasn't able to continue the Felix legacy. And... bam--there's the other half of the "accepting your family" story we suggested.
The writers of Wreck-It Ralph told us that they'd like to work Felix's father (who is mentioned, but not shown) into a sequel. Having him be disappointed in Jr. would be a nice role reversal from the original film. Maybe he'll even take back that magic hammer? A terrifying prospect, to be sure.
-
The antagonist should come from outside the arcade
While the plot should definitely deal with the families of the characters from the games, there could also be a valuable lesson taught about the destructive power of competition. Instead of having the new villain be another Turbo, let's have it be a Billy Mitchell-style foe, going around the country setting high scores in retro games (and maybe dragging his reluctant son or daughter with him).
Anyone who has seen King of Kong knows that competitive arcade gaming will often end in a "kill screen," which freezes and glitches the game. While we celebrate this, game characters would see it as the end of the world, and Ralph would have to find a way to avoid this terrible fate. Since Felix would already be angry about not having any sequels, he'd likely accept the chance to show that he can beat Ralph, especially if it'll lead to their memories being wiped from the kill screen. Dark, sure, but it fits.
-
Ralph should have to game jump to train to beat him
In order to beat the competitive gamer (and an angry Fix-It Felix), Ralph is going to need to train. This gives him a chance to travel between games, picking up "power-ups" and training in different genres. He could visit Easy Livin' Extreme 2 (a lost world mentioned by the writers originally created for the first movie) to learn how to steal a car, he can find out how to Shoryuken from Street Fighter, and how to deal with multi-tasking from Tapper.
He can work through various games in a Rocky-style montage, learning different maneuvers he can use against the evil, awful competitive gamer. He should also learn how to jump and smash blocks…
-
Mario should play a role
Wreck-It Ralph's writers and director said that Mario could've been in the film if they wanted him to. But this is Mario, and they didn't want him to show up for a random cameo--he's too important than that.
Hey! What's more important character than having him show up to teach Ralph some new moves? He can be the wise old sage, giving Ralph Yoda-like advice in the Mushroom Kingdom. Just show an SNES in the arcade (maybe it’s used for birthday parties) and you have Ralph running through Super Mario World and learning how to fight from gaming's most famous mascot.
-
There should be even more gaming references and cameos
As if we even need to write this. Besides training with Mario and other gaming characters, we also want even more fun cameos in Wreck-It Ralph 2. More graffiti, more people showing up in the background, more quick "blink and you'll miss it" references.
Just more stuff to pause and enjoy when the Blu-ray comes out--because, let's face it, we're all going to want to do that. A lot. Like... it's all we're going to do.
-
Ralph should eventually end up on the internet
This isn't even remotely related to the other ideas we wrote, and we have no clue how it could be worked into the story, but we want Ralph to travel into the internet. A new machine with leaderboard functionality could be added, maybe, so he could get in that way, diving into the dizzying world of video game websites, social networks, and cat videos.
That's... literally all we have on this one, but it would be awesome! Maybe he needs to check out some cheats and guides from a certain video game website. Eh? Eh? Just give us a call, Disney, we're ready for our close up.
-
He can fix it
These are our wants for the sequel, but there are plenty of other cool things that could be in Wreck-It Ralph 2. What do you want from it? Let us know in the comments below.
And if you're looking for more Wreck-It Ralph stuff, check out 9 amazing facts about the movie and every game reference in the trailer.
A version of this article originally posted in November of 2012.
Topics
We Recommend
View as:
Newest first
-
Oldest first
-
Cinaclov - April 12, 2014 6:40 a.m.
I was kind of disappointed with the original (and the moral at the end was awful, it was basically saying 'accept the lot you're born with because no one has any hope of changing it'). I think the concept has a lot of potential, but the original really didn't go far enough with it and they're sort of locked into the things they established with that one, so I'm of two minds as to whether a sequel would be worthwhile. -
codystovall - April 11, 2014 11:19 a.m.
I want it to be an 80s movie and ralph comes to the real world and the gamer goes to the game world Wacky antics ensue WOOOAAAH. -
Shyplay - April 10, 2014 1:43 p.m.
To be honest, I would prefer to have Felix and Ralph work together rather then have Felix angry at Ralph, if only because they were sparated for most of the first movie, and it would be nice to see them together and their relationship, expeccially with Vanillope and the girl from the shooter series( don't remember her name.) And with the training with Mario idea, why just mario? Train with many characters! Gives more chance for cameos. Jump training with the Mario Bros, running with Sonic, Puzzles with GLaDOS, spontaneous planning with Q*Bert, ECT. More likly though, is showing off the villeins, with Ralph training with them. Power of Bowser and whatnot. Plus, from what I read, they did have enough to have Mario for a cameo in the first one but cut it because they didn't have enough for Mario AND Luigi. Speaking of those, if the sequel is about family then it would be nice to hear famous brothers such as Mario and Luigi; and Sonic and Tails talk about what it means to be brothers. It may even be a way for Nintendo and SEGA to dispel rumors about the characters for them to talk that way, such as having Mario and Luigi give a tale about their childhood to dispel the rumor that Mario hates Luigi or vice-versa. -
-
Nocturne989 - November 13, 2012 1:26 p.m.
I like the idea of implementing the Kill Screen as an apocalypse for the game cabinet. -
-
remas-haytham - April 11, 2014 2:11 p.m.
https://twitter.com/cleaning_swimmi https://twitter.com/clean_carpeting https://twitter.com/cleaning_boards https://twitter.com/haytham_fathey1 https://twitter.com/HAYTHAMFATHEY1 https://twitter.com/fatheyhaytham https://twitter.com/cleaning_apartm https://twitter.com/lara_19800 https://twitter.com/haithamfathey https://twitter.com/haitham_fathey https://twitter.com/Cleaning_Villas https://twitter.com/haytham1451980 -
Travia220 - November 9, 2012 1:27 a.m.
As much as I loved this movie to see a sequel would be the saddest day of my life. I don't trust Disney to do as well as the first time and sure as hell felt the movie doesn't need a sequel. Sometimes things are better when left as it. There are so many things in entertainment that get a sequel that just doesn't need it and it turns out to be god awful. That then just ruins the franchise. -
interasteral7 - February 4, 2013 5:35 p.m.
Usually when Disney do sequels, they usually suck. They should not make a sequel to Wreck-It Ralph. -
Trollkitten - April 10, 2014 5:50 p.m.
Well, keep in mind that a lot of those bad sequels were produced in the era in which Disney was sequel-ing left and right for some sort of reason. -
-
Trollkitten - April 11, 2014 7:14 a.m.
I honestly wouldn't know. All I knew at the time was that Disney was making a lot of crummy sequels. Not all Disney sequels are bad, though. I especially enjoyed Lady and the Tramp 2 (more so that the original, actually!), and The Jungle Book 2 was enjoyable, but it would have been noticeably better if production values had been worthy of the theatrical release it got -- I cringed when I saw a single still image of Sher Khan remain completely static for several moments, because I'm a detail-oriented person who notices such things quite frequently. -
BladedFalcon - April 11, 2014 7:50 a.m.
None of the sequels were made with quality in mind, much less because anyone thought they were necessary. They were made out flatly because they wanted to make a quick cash and to bank on all those properties popularity. That was the Michael Eisner way, make as much cash putting as little effort possible, legacy and brand reputation be damned. It was only after John Lasseter took over that this horrible practice stopped, and Disney started making good shit once again. Let me spin it another way: Michael Eisner was to Disney what Bobby Kotick is now to Activision. -
BladedFalcon - April 11, 2014 8:06 a.m.
Derp. I meant Bob Iger, not John Lasseter, huge brain fart on my part X -
Trollkitten - April 11, 2014 9:36 a.m.
"NONE of the sequels were made with quality in mind"? Think of how many people actually work on making a single movie (need help imagining how many? Watch the credits sequences). Now, odds are some of those people probably DID have quality in mind while making the movie, even if it was just another sequel. After all, some people in the company most likely actually DO care about both Disney's image, and keeping their jobs and salary. And what the heck is good shit, anyway? The kind my dad uses to fertilize his garden? Since when did a swear word for dung become a complement? -
BladedFalcon - April 11, 2014 1:59 p.m.
Right it sounds like you're arguing for the sake of arguing :P -
Trollkitten - April 11, 2014 3:43 p.m.
The second part, true. The first part, not so much. I'm just saying that your comment is a weak generalization; are you offended at that? -
Trollkitten - April 11, 2014 3:45 p.m.
Arguing for the sake of correcting someone COULD pretty much be classified as arguing for the sake of arguing, since the sake of arguing is to correct someone. Correct me if I'm wrong about that... -
Trollkitten - April 11, 2014 7:16 a.m.
Well, Disney is never going to get sequels right if they just stop making sequels, so it's not a matter of whether they should make a sequel or not, it's a matter of them looking at the way they make sequels and how they should improve on that. They'll never make a good sequel if they never make any sequels at all, and if they want to make a good sequel, SOME franchise has to be first. -
CrKnight - November 8, 2012 9:21 p.m.
I like the idea of an expanding arcade with players taking a bigger part. It makes for a very cheerful and positive sequel. The other option would be the transition from arcade to home gaming, but now that I'm thinking about it more it's not as fun.