HOME | DD

Description

Man, I really let Ralph Breaks the Internet have it, didn't I?

I've calmed down since yesterday, when I had all these gnawing negative reactions to the film and I had to let them spill out of me. Looking at my initial review, I admit remarks like "fuck everything about this movie" were excessive and not necessary...but that still doesn't mean I liked it. Still not a fan of the way Ralph and Vanellope's friendship is portrayed as toxic and codependent, or how Felix and Calhoun were demoted to essentially cameos, or Vanellope's decision at the end. The theme of friends growing apart, I thought, was too depressing for a follow-up to a movie that ended with so much promise for these characters' future.

And then I thought about the Wreck-It Ralph sequel fanfic that I was trying to write five years ago. The theme of that story was family - how it can form from the least likely of places, and how strong a bond between them can be, strong enough that nothing can tear it apart. Ralph Breaks the Internet only focuses on the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope, but the story I wanted to write depicted all four of the first film's main characters as a cohesive family unit - I thought of Felix and Calhoun as the loving parental figures, Ralph as sort of a bumbling goofy uncle type, and Vanellope basically being the hyperactive daughter who they all look after in their own way. That, to me, is a more satisfying character dynamic for this universe, that these characters from different video games all went through this big adventure together and it caused them to grow closer.

I outlined that entire fic, and I wrote ten chapters out of a planned 28 before the power button on my old computer broke. But I saved that computer, and if I can get it fixed, I can start writing that story again. People have expressed interest in seeing it, as a sort of alternate take on a Wreck-It Ralph sequel, and now that the real sequel has arrived and I didn't enjoy it, I think I do want to bring it back. Until I can retrieve the data for it, though, I did some sketches depicting a few passages I remember from what I'd already written.

The above left sketch is a scene from Chapter 2, with all four main characters observing a now-empty outlet in Game Central Station, which the Surge Protector has guarded by placing an electric blue barrier in the doorway that no character can pass through. My story began with Pac-Man suffering a severe circuit failure and needing to be unplugged. Pac-Man and the ghosts make it out okay, fortunately, and Felix offers them shelter in East Niceland, with the assurance "We old-timers have to stick together!" And that remark sets off a wave of anxiety in Ralph - his game is getting old too, and he starts worrying about how much time it has left. If his world breaks down, what'll happen to him and Felix? What'll happen to all the other old 8-bit characters who've moved into it? And what of Vanellope, who could lose her best friend if he doesn't make it out in time? That leads to the scene above right, from Chapter 3, where a troubled Ralph excuses himself from Pac-Man's housewarming party to take a sobering walk through his game to collect his thoughts. Vanellope realizes her friend is distraught and tries her best to comfort him, in her own optimistic child-like way.

The bottom sketches are from Chapter 5, set in Sugar Rush, wherein I introduce one of the small character-based subplots of the story: Rancis Fluggerbutter harboring a puppy-love crush on Vanellope. His friends Candlehead, Taffyta, Swizzle, and Gloyd can all see it for what it is, but Rancis is too shy and awkward to go up to Vanellope and tell her. It's something he struggles with throughout the story...but every time he gets close, something much bigger comes along and distracts all the racers' attention. Like the major end-of-act-one upheaval that happens in Chapter 6, for instance.

I sincerely hope I can get that computer of mine fixed, and transfer all the important word files to my laptop. I had a feeling that Ralph Breaks the Internet would inspire me to start writing fanfic again. And I was right...just not quite in the way I anticipated.

Description

Man, I really let Ralph Breaks the Internet have it, didn't I?

I've calmed down since yesterday, when I had all these gnawing negative reactions to the film and I had to let them spill out of me. Looking at my initial review, I admit remarks like "fuck everything about this movie" were excessive and not necessary...but that still doesn't mean I liked it. Still not a fan of the way Ralph and Vanellope's friendship is portrayed as toxic and codependent, or how Felix and Calhoun were demoted to essentially cameos, or Vanellope's decision at the end. The theme of friends growing apart, I thought, was too depressing for a follow-up to a movie that ended with so much promise for these characters' future.

And then I thought about the Wreck-It Ralph sequel fanfic that I was trying to write five years ago. The theme of that story was family - how it can form from the least likely of places, and how strong a bond between them can be, strong enough that nothing can tear it apart. Ralph Breaks the Internet only focuses on the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope, but the story I wanted to write depicted all four of the first film's main characters as a cohesive family unit - I thought of Felix and Calhoun as the loving parental figures, Ralph as sort of a bumbling goofy uncle type, and Vanellope basically being the hyperactive daughter who they all look after in their own way. That, to me, is a more satisfying character dynamic for this universe, that these characters from different video games all went through this big adventure together and it caused them to grow closer.

I outlined that entire fic, and I wrote ten chapters out of a planned 28 before the power button on my old computer broke. But I saved that computer, and if I can get it fixed, I can start writing that story again. People have expressed interest in seeing it, as a sort of alternate take on a Wreck-It Ralph sequel, and now that the real sequel has arrived and I didn't enjoy it, I think I do want to bring it back. Until I can retrieve the data for it, though, I did some sketches depicting a few passages I remember from what I'd already written.

The above left sketch is a scene from Chapter 2, with all four main characters observing a now-empty outlet in Game Central Station, which the Surge Protector has guarded by placing an electric blue barrier in the doorway that no character can pass through. My story began with Pac-Man suffering a severe circuit failure and needing to be unplugged. Pac-Man and the ghosts make it out okay, fortunately, and Felix offers them shelter in East Niceland, with the assurance "We old-timers have to stick together!" And that remark sets off a wave of anxiety in Ralph - his game is getting old too, and he starts worrying about how much time it has left. If his world breaks down, what'll happen to him and Felix? What'll happen to all the other old 8-bit characters who've moved into it? And what of Vanellope, who could lose her best friend if he doesn't make it out in time? That leads to the scene above right, from Chapter 3, where a troubled Ralph excuses himself from Pac-Man's housewarming party to take a sobering walk through his game to collect his thoughts. Vanellope realizes her friend is distraught and tries her best to comfort him, in her own optimistic child-like way.

The bottom sketches are from Chapter 5, set in Sugar Rush, wherein I introduce one of the small character-based subplots of the story: Rancis Fluggerbutter harboring a puppy-love crush on Vanellope. His friends Candlehead, Taffyta, Swizzle, and Gloyd can all see it for what it is, but Rancis is too shy and awkward to go up to Vanellope and tell her. It's something he struggles with throughout the story...but every time he gets close, something much bigger comes along and distracts all the racers' attention. Like the major end-of-act-one upheaval that happens in Chapter 6, for instance.

I sincerely hope I can get that computer of mine fixed, and transfer all the important word files to my laptop. I had a feeling that Ralph Breaks the Internet would inspire me to start writing fanfic again. And I was right...just not quite in the way I anticipated.