Toy Story answered the question of what toys get up to when there's no-one around and in the words of Disney's John Lasseter in Wreck-It Ralph we “finally get to see what [ videogame characters' ] lives are like when the arcade is closed.”
Disney fans at the D23 Expo got a real treat as Pixar screened the first four minutes of the film – the storyboard version, although some of the material looked finished - and it promises to be a cracker.
The story follows Ralph, an eight-bit gaming character who has been smashing buildings for 30 years but just once would like to be appreciated and lead the kind of life his nemesis Fix-It Felix enjoys.
With that in mind he leaves his support group (Bad-Anon: One Game At A Time, which includes a ghost from Pac-Man among its number!) and tries to find a game where he isn't the bad guy.
“The film stars many videogame characters you know and love,” said Lasseter, making us think that ghost won't be the last reference gamers can enjoy.
Ralph heads to Game Central Station to access other games but director Rich Moore ( The Simpsons , Futurama ) says the old-school character “couldn't be more out of place in these modern games.”
Ralph's journey will take him into a Halo-style first-person shooter game. Voice recording footage showed Glee 's Jane Lynch giving a typically robust performance as Sgt. Calhoun, ending the session by punching the air.
The character will also venture into a game called Sugar Rush , featuring the character of Vanellope von Schweetz (played by Sarah Silverman, “I always wanted to come to Anaheim and not go to Disneyland,” joked the actress as she appeared on stage).
According to Moore, when something threatens the whole arcade "Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands."
Ralph is voiced by John C. Reilly who puts in a soulful performance if the opening footage is anything to go by, while Jack McBrayer plays Fix-It Felix.
“My own voice irritates myself so doing it for others is awesome!” said McBrayer who appeared alongside Silverman.
