Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Wreck-It Ralph Animated Feature Channels Ed Wynn

Wreck-It Ralph and cast pose in their fantasy life travel congregation area that mimics New York's Grand Central Train Station - Game Central Station. Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios

Wreck-It Ralph Animated Feature Channels Ed Wynn

The recently released animated feature length movie from Disney Studios, Wreck-It Ralph,  is a really fun and high concept movie that can be seen with, or without kids (not good fare for kiddos under the age of 9).

The antagonist character King Candy, who is voiced by Alan Tudyk, does a pretty good job at channeling/capturing some of the voice expressions and sounds of a very famous character and comedic actor ... Ed Wynn.

Ed Wynn (L) and King Candy (R) side-by-side. Notice the bow tie, the stripes in the cloth adornments, the zest of hair, the fun of finger positioning, smile, and smallish "hat" each character image holds. One can not separate the influence of the voice-over actor from the animated character, and we are all the richer for it. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks - combination between IMDb (Ed Wynn in "The Perfect Fool," 1959 - ) and Walt Disney Studios (2012)

Modern Hollywood does not have many memorable iconic actors that embody the likes held by Ed Wynn ... check out Jerry Lewis' Cinderfella someday.

 It is reported in a Disney wiki that they had the animators use Mad Hatter from the 1951 animated film, Alice in Wonderland but had very little mention that it was the voice of Ed Wynn that actually brought the character of Mad Hatter to life.

On the voice-over and the visage of the animated character, the producers have done a good job at capturing some of what Ed Wynn brought to the big screen (even though Ed Wynn really never had a dark side).

King Candy, formerly known as Turbo, is the main antagonist of the film Wreck-It Ralph. He was the ruler of the kingdom in which the game Sugar Rush takes place. He is voiced by Alan Tudyk. King Candy is incredibly eccentric and flamboyant. Throughout most of the film, he portrays himself as a bubbly, yet somewhat strict, ruler. As Turbo, he was said to have loved the spotlight, but the moment that was all taken away, the racer became demented, and he was determined to remain beloved, even if it meant ruining another game. Caption & Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios

This excerpted and edited from Wreck-It Ralph IMDb Storyline -

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Rated PG - 101 min - Animation | Comedy | Family - 2 November 2012 (USA)

Wreck-It Ralph (voice of Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of McBrayer).

Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes... so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness.

He sneaks into the game with a simple plan -- win a medal -- but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade.

Ralph's only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Silverman), a young troublemaking "glitch" from a candy-coated cart racing game - Sugar Rush - who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy.

But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it's "Game Over" for the entire arcade?
[Reference Here]

As far as the central character, Ralph, some of us have all had times that we were cast in a place as Ralph and wish we could be something different.

Key line delivered by Wreck-It Ralph while visiting a 12 step style meeting: I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be then me.

Vanellope von Schweetz seated in her favorite place to be ... in a vehicle racing in Sugar Rush. Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios

Also, the movie, while pretty ingenious and original, has moments where one thinks it borrows some of the programming used in another successful Walt Disney animated feature, Cars. A secondary character, Vanellope von Schweetz - voiced by Sara Silverman, found in another video game, Sugar Rush, loves to race cars in one of the central activities of the game world she occupies - Candy Land. One sequence in the picture features Vanellope racing around a track built by Ralph with Rihanna's "Shut Up And Drive" playing in the background, music video style.

It would be easy to envision Disney Orlando creating a section of fantasy world called Candy Land and install the same kind of vehicle racing ride Disneyland's California Adventure Park has with Radiator Springs and Cars.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10



** Article first published as Wreck-It Ralph Animated Feature Channels Ed Wynn on Technorati **

Monday, November 12, 2012

Los Angeles City Council Unanimously Passes Meatless Monday Resolution

Anti-Established in 2003, The Counter® is the 21st century’s bold answer to the classic burger joint. Ushering in a fresh era of industrial decor, today’s music, cold beer, unique wines, cocktails, and burger options that are only limited by your imagination. Image Credit: thecounter.com

Los Angeles City Council Unanimously Passes Meatless Monday Resolution

Many in our society have “meatless Fridays” so what the secular left in our Government are trying to do is dilute a centuries old tradition … just because it can not bring itself to attach an additional, Government promoted secular meaning to what many in the Catholic faith are already doing (at least half-way) … giving red meat the day off!

Just why do Catholics eat fish on Friday – or, better said, why do Catholics abstain from warm-blooded flesh meat on Friday? The obvious answer that every Catholic should know is that it is a penance imposed by the Church to commemorate the day of the Crucifixion of Our Lord – to enable us (as a reminder) to make a small sacrifice for the incredible sacrifice He made for our salvation.

This excerpted and edited from New York Daily News -

Los Angeles City Council calls for ‘Meatless Mondays,’ cites health and environmental concerns
By Charlie Wells / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS - Saturday, November 10, 2012, 5:56 PM

The drive-thru capital of the world has declared Mondays meatless

In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution encouraging residents to go vegetarian on the first day of the work week as part of an international movement aimed at reducing the planet’s meat consumption.

"Eating less meat can prevent and even reverse some of our nation's most common illnesses," Councilwoman Jan Perry said. "We've become disconnected in some ways from the simple truth that our health is directly affected by the foods we eat."
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"We can reduce saturated fats and reduce the risk of heart disease by 19 percent," Perry said.

Environmentally, reducing meat consumption can shrink a community’s carbon footprint and help slow global warming.

Still, the city’s anti-meat motion doesn’t really have teeth: It is not backed by force of law and is merely a recommendation, but councilmembers hope it will encourage residents to take a few small steps to improve their health and the environment.

This move aligns the city with a larger meatless campaign launched in 2003 by affiliates of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. It has since been backed by 30 public health schools.
[Reference Here]

Why, then, is fish allowed? The drawing of a symbolic fish in the dirt was a way that the early Christians knew each other when it was dangerous to admit in public that one was Christian. Our Lord cooked fish for His Apostles after His Resurrection, and most of these men were fishermen. After He established His Church, these fishermen became “fishers of men” for the Kingdom of God.

Did you know that the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Friday was the reason for the creation of McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich? Because hamburger sales dropped off noticeably on Fridays, the owner of the franchise in Cincinnati introduced the new offering, and sales picked up again.
(ht: catholicism.org )

Sadly, many Catholics are not aware that the Friday abstinence rule is still in effect. Maybe the Government secular left should remind them through changing the day of their lecturing action of "Meatless Monday"!!

We, at MAXINE, believe it would be a nice gesture (changing Meatless Monday to Meatless Friday) that would allow our society to be on the same page - even if we are doing much of the same thing for different reasons.

Relate Video -  Agenda 21, "I Have Lived a Good Life"

** Article first published as Los Angeles City Council Unanimously Passes Meatless Monday Resolution on Technorati **

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