Behind the Scenes: Wreck-It Ralph Press Day

Only in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would one day step foot into Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California. For a Disney movie buff like me–Â this is where the magic happens!

That day became aÂ reality when I attended a press event for Disney’s new animatedÂ featureÂ Wreck-It Ralph — which included a screening of the movie, an interview with the film’sÂ directorÂ & producer, a tour of the studios, and a few other ~~fun~~Â magical surprises.

Walking the halls to the screening room, I had another one of those “pinch me” moments. All my life I’ve grown up around Disney, from the movies to the parks, and it was almost hard to comprehend that it all started here.

For the first part of the day, andÂ obviouslyÂ during the screening, cameras were prohibited. I was allowed to take a photo of the wall art above the reception desk before a roundtable interview with Wreck-It RalphÂ Director Rich MooreÂ andÂ Producer Clark Spencer. The funny thing about this shot is that it’s nothing spectacular — but when Disney grants permission for a photo, YOU TAKE THE PHOTO!

Once all of the “business” was taken care of, weÂ were treated to some fun … honestly, though — it was ALL fun!

The animation studios is divided into areas that are uniquelyÂ themed to the movie theÂ animatorsÂ are working on. Since we were there for Wreck-It Ralph, we mostly stayed in that section. But on our tour, we got a sneak peek of the Frozen work space, which I am forbidden to speak of. Disney is probably monitoring this post now to ensure I don’tÂ divulgeÂ any secrets.

Fully functioningÂ “vintage”Â Fix It Felix Jr. arcade games were created to promote the film at Comic-Con and other events. I really loved the attention to detail that was put into making these look authentic. “Fix It Felix Jr.” is one of the fictional games in Wreck-It Ralph. The game is harder than it looks!

Here’s a look at the developmentÂ of “Ralph” in Wreck-It Ralph. It was interesting to me that Ralph didn’t always look similar to the way he does in the movie. I just assumed that the design of the characters is somewhat set from the beginning, but clearly he went through a few redraws.

Since the animators work day and night on their projects, fun elements are put in to keep the mood light. The Wreck-It Ralph department recreated theÂ arcadeÂ from the movie, which they use on their breaks.

How awesome would it be to work here?

Wreck-It Ralph’s art director, along with the visual development team, traveled to Japan to gather inspiration for the candy in “Sugar Rush”, a pseudo-candyland racing game.

While the candy in sugar rush is based on actual Japanese candies, the rest of the animation is inspired by theÂ architectureÂ ofÂ AntoniÂ GaudÃ, who is famous for his work in Barcelona, Spain. This was trulyÂ fascinatingÂ to me because I justÂ visitedÂ Barcelona this summer and I canÂ definitelyÂ see his influence.

Below is an actual candy model for “Sugar Rush” that was made by the design team. If you look at the little brown house, the curvature of the roofÂ with the white candy accents isÂ distinctlyÂ GaudÃ. These little details make Wreck-It Ralph even more exciting to me as a travel and movie geek.

After the tour, we broke up into groups for three differentÂ presentations: a voice demonstration inside a real recording booth (Check it out here!), a lesson on animated actingÂ with Art Director Mike Gabriel and Visual Development artist Lorelay Bove (whose artwork is AMAZING!! I’m officially a fangirl)Â and a tutorial on how to draw animated characters– let’s just say,Â I won’t beÂ quitting blogging anytime soonÂ for a job in animation.Â

I’m pretty sure this is another check off the bucket list.

To pull the whole day together, we had a “Sugar Rush” Race Car Building Competition. The object was to make the best candy race car, which was judged by the head of animation for Wreck-It Ralph.