I got a glimpse of Disney’s upcoming Wreck-It Ralph this week, which I discuss in my latest TOH/Indiewire column. It leverages the momentum from Tangled by layering hand-drawn sensibilities over the CG to give it warmth and snap. It’s inventive and funny and atypical Disney, and proves that the studio has found its creative voice under John Lasseter after wandering in the woods. It’s also a very personal film for first-time director Rich Moore, a refuge from TV’s The Simpsons and Futurama. Like his hulking anti-hero who longs to get out of a rut, Moore wondered if he would ever break free from the confines of TV.
“I wondered: Is this what life’s all about? Working in TV from project to project without a character arc? So there’s a nice layer of that throughout the story that someone can come into another environment and have impact, personally, and on a wider scale.”