'Wreck-It Ralph' sequel date – how film's nostalgia appealed to viewers

Disney has announced a release date for a sequel to the Disney animated movie 'Wreck-It Ralph.' The first movie stars John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman.

|
Disney/AP
'Wreck-It Ralph' features the voice of John C. Reilly.

The animated hit Disney film "Wreck-It Ralph" will be getting a sequel, with the new movie set to arrive in theaters in 2018. 

"Ralph," which was released in 2012, centers on video game character Ralph (John C. Reilly), who leaves his game and explores the world of others, meeting Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), a young girl who longs to win a car race, along the way. 

The film also stars Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, and Jack McBrayer. 

The "Ralph" sequel will join a planned "Frozen" sequel as new installments of some of Disney’s more recent hits. Disney has been on a successful run at the box office recently, with animated films by the studio such as "Zootopia" and "Big Hero 6" also becoming some of Disney’s latest successes.

While most of the main characters in "Ralph" were original creations for the movie, the first "Ralph" film contained many references to classic video games, with such characters as Q*bert, Bowser of the Mario video games, and Pac-Man popping up as well as references being made to other successful entries in the genre.

The film reflects a love of nostalgia, especially that for the past few decades, currently seen in pop culture, with reboots and sequel films continuing to be created by Hollywood and classic TV shows returning for new runs. This can be seen, for example, with this month's new "Ghostbusters" film, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon; the recent "The X-Files" episodes that aired on Fox earlier this year; last summer's movies "Jurassic World," which was the newest film (the first in 14 years) in the "Jurassic Park" franchise, and "Terminator Genisys," which was the newest film in the hit 1980s "Terminator" franchise; and the Netflix series "Fuller House," which is a continuation of the successful 1990s TV series. 

This is set to continue in the coming months as well, with, for example, Fox planning a new "Lethal Weapon" TV show for this fall and a new "Star Wars" film (one that takes place around the same time as the original 1977 "Star Wars" film) set for release this December.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 'Wreck-It Ralph' sequel date – how film's nostalgia appealed to viewers
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2016/0701/Wreck-It-Ralph-sequel-date-how-film-s-nostalgia-appealed-to-viewers
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe