Or rather I'll comment on the villain in that movie, King Candy. First, a disclaimer: I've only seen the first half of "Wreck-it Ralph" so I'm in no position to judge the entire film. King Candy (above) didn't appear til the second half, and I've only seen the character in YouTube fragments like the one above.
Anyway, Candy doesn't seem destined to be one of the great screen villains. He has an appealing character design, and some of his animation is nicely done, even so.....I can't understand why the filmmakers didn't come up with a stronger bad guy. Some good people worked on this film so the absence is hard to explain.
My guess is that the filmmakers were seduced by the nuanced acting possibilities presented by Ralph so they gave him all the screen time. I have to admit that it was hard to take my eyes off Ralph. He reminds me of the gentle giant in the Disney version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I love that giant, but.....BUT.....he was the villain in that story and that's where the most artful nuances belong in animated dramas....in the villain, not the hero.
While we're on the subject of villains I'll mention that My two favorite favorite Disney villains were the witch in Snow White and Captain Hook. Hook was an egotistical fop who was alternately silver-tongued, and over-the-top maniacal. You can get good set pieces with a character like that. I'm guessing that he was the inspiration for my favorite modern animated feature villain, The Blue Meanie.
But I'm not suggesting that the Ralph crew should have stolen the Blue Meanie. He's been done. I bring him up because he illustrates what the best animated villains do...they provoke the audience to talk about them in the office and the schoolyard the next day. I don't know about you but I was imitating the Meanie for years after I first saw him. Ditto Darth Vader.
Come to think of it, I'm still imitating Hook.
King Candy sort of looks like a Disney/Brad Bird version of Fleischer/Famous artist Tom Johnson's Wiffle Piffle character! Someone must be superficially paying attention to all these cartoon blogs or it was sheer coincidence!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1792
I put this movie in my Netflix queue thanks to your post so I can post a better commentary. Never got to see it last year and despite the cliches (would it kill someone to know how to draw a good, appealing eye. Right now it's either Brad Bird style or tiny Regular Show type of pupils dominating mainstream animation), I heard it was actually a pretty decent film.
You also can't go wrong with a talented comedian like Sarah Silverman. I heard Rich Moore, one of the key people behind Rough Draft Studios Inc., directed the movie, so I want to see how a seasoned animation veteran like him could handle a film like this.
I think Disney should do a traditionally animated feature where they try to adapt one of Carl Barks's or Floyd Gottfredson's stories for the big screen! Get the funniest cartoonists, including you, possible to work on the film.
Very interesting! I like Wreck It Ralph as much as any of their other Disney output lately. It's pretty fun despite the obvious trappings of Disneys formulaic storytelling. Remember that post you did about story arcs chewing up time?
ReplyDeleteGive the rest of the movie a watch when you can spare the time.
King Candy did have some nice animation. Whoever did this scene gave it his darndest: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdpv3n3Jlw1qi3uen.gif
http://24.media.tumblr.com/2cb7b12a289bee93bea6331b673c8dda/tumblr_mhok7e8h4o1rhfd6ao1_500.gif
You're dead right about the best villains lending themselves to imitation. I've discovered the secret to a good Darth Vader impression is to make sure that you're finger pointing and hand gestures are completely out of sync with the accents of your speaking. It cracks my friends up when I do it. Try it to this dialogue: http://www.hark.com/clips/dxxnzjtywk-you-are-part-of-the-rebel-alliance-and-a-traitor
By the way, posting once a week or so is doing wonders for your blogposts! I like, I like!
Roberto: Thanks much for the link! Geez, Wiffle Piffle does look and act a bit like Captain Candy, but as you say, it might be a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteI see you as more of a leading man type, Eddie.
ReplyDeleteJoshua: Nice gifs! I tried gesturing out of sync to the Vader dialogue but it didn't come out funny when I did it. You should put up a video of you doing it.
ReplyDeleteThe King Candy animation you linked to was well done but I still think the film needed a stronger (but still funny) villain.
A strong villain would have lent more structure to the plot, and would have prompted more set pieces.
Hey, Eddie. Sam Simon, the creator of The Simpsons (and I believe the richest man in the world,) was diagnosed with terminal cancer 6 months ago. He just did a terrific podcast with Marc Maron talking about it, I cannot recommend it more highly. It's amazing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_389_-_sam_simon
He talks about being a cartoonist and storyboard artist at Filmation a little bit. Overall it's a fascinating episode.
Hey Eddie!
ReplyDeleteBe sure to see the second half -- that will explain the King Candy mania. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Eddie! For your next blog post, you NEED to talk about this. It's an incredible cartoon. Did you talk to Milt Gray about possibly pitching this somewhere like FX, Comedy Central, HBO, Adult Swim, or FOX? I'm pretty sure it would fit right in with all those other shows and stand out for being so well drawn. After all, you worked on the story!
ReplyDeleteI'm including FX here because they already have this show called Archer that's been doing pretty well and I think they'd be open to something like this being turned into an animated sitcom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwR8OaE6vEs
I'm also sorry to hear about Sam Simon's terminal cancer. I wish him quite the best and thank you Jorge for the link. I haven't listened to Marc Maron's WTF Podcast in ages even though I payed for a six month subscription. I just saw a bit of his new IFC show and found it terrific. Amy Schumer has a show I haven't checked out yet, but it doesn't sound nearly as good.
I also believe Netflix might be a viable option for Milt Gray's idea since they are starting to have shows on there exclusively for their Instant stremaing service.
ReplyDeleteRoberto, Jose: Thanks for the links. I'm too sleepy to watch them now, so I'll hit them tomorrow morning!
ReplyDeleteMike: Will do!
One reason you may believe that King Candy isn't a strong enough villain is that, as you admit, you have yet to see the entire "Wreck-It Ralph" film. Trust me, once you see the rest of it, you will not be disappointed. King Candy more than measures up to the role.
ReplyDeleteJorge: Yikes! I listened to the whole podcast you linked to and was shocked to hear the details of Sam's cancer. The guy has talent. I'm so sorry that he has to put up with this.
ReplyDeleteAnon: I promise to see the second half of that film sometime soon.
My criticism of that film was meant to be helpful.
This is cool!
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