WRECK-IT RALPH (D23 Expo)

• WRECK-IT RALPH

Wreck-It Ralph is an animated film due from Disney studios in November of 2012. The story of a bad guy from an 8-bit video game who dreams of the glory of being a good guy, the film takes us inside the world of video games from the point of view of the characters themselves.

The opening scene of Wreck-It Ralph tells you all you need to know about the premise of the film. In the first four-minutes, screened at the D23 Expo, the voice of John C. Reilly provides first-person narration to introduce the world of the film and the title character, the antagonist of an arcade game called Fix-It Felix, Jr.

In the Donkey-Kong style game, Wreck-It Ralph stands on top of a building and destroys it while Fix-It Felix (voiced by 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer) repairs the damage with his magic hammer. Ralph is just doing his job, but he tells us, "It's hard to like your job when no one seems to like you for doing it."

Each night when the arcade closes, Felix enjoys being a hero to the grateful inhabitants of the building, who thank him by bringing him pie. Ralph, meanwhile, lives in a garbage heap, or as he calls it, "a cesspit of despair on the outskirts of humanity." He seems so sad and sincere, you really have to feel for the guy.

We find out at the end of the scene that all this biographical narration is for the benefit of a support group called "Bad-Anon." Among the members of the group is a ghost from Pac-Man, a zombie, a snake and a thoughtful brute named Tigor. The footage ends as they all hold hands and recite an affirmation, reassuring themselves that they may never be good, but that's okay.

Following the footage, director Rich Moore (The Simpsons, Futurama) came out to tells us more about the story. Fed up with the limitations of Fix-It Felix Jr., Ralph sets out to find a game where he can be a good guy. Among the other titles he visits are Hero's Duty, a Halo-inspired shooting game where he meets the tough Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch). He also visits a cart-racing game called Sugar Rush, set in a land filled with candy. There, Ralph meets another character, Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman). But all that sweetness hides a dangerous secret.

Moore showed a quick clip of Lynch in the recording booth barking out orders. Then he brought out McBrayer and Silverman on stage to chat a bit about the film. McBrayer was enthusiastic, but self-deprecating. "My own voice irritates myself," he said.

Silverman joked that she had a love-hate relationship with Disney films because they make her feel. "My heart can't take it," she said. "Then I'm glad I saw it and felt something. It's hard when you have a tiny, tiny heart."