Wreck It Ralph 2 Pixar or Disney

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Feb 28, 2018, 09:00am EST |

Trailer: 'Wreck-It Ralph 2' Will Be Walt Disney Animation's First Hit Sequel

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Okay, Walt Disney could have just done a pure teaser with nothing but that final extended gag in the tablet game. It's a slow-build giggle, worthy of Zootopia's DMV bit and highly relatable to anyone who is either a young child or is a parent to a young child. It's a weird feeling to be laughing out loud at a trailer while watching it on a laptop in your home office, but yeah, that last bit is enough to sell the movie all by itself.

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 is in an interesting position. The first Wreck-It Ralph was released in November 2012, right on the tail end of Walt Disney Animation's second renaissance just a year before Frozen and during a time when Pixar was (fair or not) perceived as being in a post-Toy Story 3 artistic slump. The very idea of a Walt Disney toon being as inventive and lively and emotionally engaging as a stereotypical Pixar flick was still a (somewhat) new idea.

Okay sure, I'll fight anyone who slanders Meet the Robinsons, but I know I'm in the minority on that one. But in 2018, Walt Disney Animation is firing on all cylinders, to the point where I'd argue that Princess and the Frog and Tangled may be due for a critical reevaluation (disclaimer: I like both films but haven't watched them in years). More importantly, Wreck-It Ralph 2 is the first true-blue theatrical sequel to a Walt Disney Animation flick (not Toon Disney or Pixar) since Fantasia 2000.

Walt Disney's The Rescuers Down Under bombed ($27 million) in 1990 and Fantasia 2000 underwhelmed ($93m worldwide on an $80m budget) in 2000, but otherwise Walt Disney has never released a traditional theatrically-intended sequel to one of their animated movies. Peter Pan 2: Return to Neverland ($48m domestic/$110m worldwide on a $20m budget in 2002) and The Jungle Book 2 ($47m domestic/$135m worldwide on a $20m budget in 2003) were Toon Disney flicks that were pulled off the direct-to-DVD pipeline, as was Planes ($239m worldwide on a $50m budget in 2013) and Planes: Fire and Rescue ($151m worldwide on a $50m budget in 2014). And yes, I am aware that at least some of the Tinker Bell toons had overseas theatrical releases. And yeah, I guess I should note the delightfulWinnie the Pooh, which got crushed ($33m on a $30m budget) byHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsin July of 2011.

But Ralph Breaks the Internet is something entirely unique for the Mouse House. It's not a glorified direct-to-DVD sequel to a 1950s/1960s era classic, nor an IMAX-friendly special event that contains no conventional narrative. Heck, even Rescuers Down Under arrived 13 years after The Rescuers, which may partially explain its grim fate sandwiched between The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. It's a conventional theatrical sequel to a relatively recent animated smash hit. In that sense, Wreck-It Ralph is uncharted territory for Walt Disney's animated flicks. The question becomes: How much of a boost will Wreck-It Ralph 2 get by being a sequel to a well-liked (but not obscenely successful) 2012 offering versus had it just been a whole new Disney toon?

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I wish I could tell you, but your guess is as good as mine. Even most of the Pixar sequels are over a decade after the original or previous installment, which changes the game just a bit. I guess we could look at the DreamWorks Animation sequels which tend to make less in North America but more overseas than their initial installments, but Pixar's Toy Story 2 and Illumination's Despicable Me 2 made a lot more on both sides of the border than their respective predecessors. Quality will (obviously) matter, but I'm guessing Mary Poppins Returns won't be as big of a year-end force as the last three Star Wars movies, which may give this toon a slight advantage over Moana and Coco.

If you're someone who likes the fact that Walt Disney doesn't generally make theatrical sequels to their animated features, Wreck-It Ralph 2 is a mixed bag. Its existence is a reward for making a worthy original in the first place, but its success may well threaten to turn Walt Disney Animation into a sequel-friendly brand like the rest of its competition. And since at this point, Walt Disney Animation is a franchise unto itself, they don't really need to be like everyone else if they don't want to. Come what may, Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 opens over Thanksgiving weekend. And, yeah, make of this what you will, but both of Disney's big 2018 offerings are sequels.

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Wreck It Ralph 2 Pixar or Disney

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/02/28/trailer-wreck-it-ralph-2-will-be-walt-disney-animations-first-hit-sequel/

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