Wreck-It Ralph’s director on rendering the world of Disney’s film about gaming culture

EDGE - Within the office building that Disney Animation calls home in Burbank, California, there’s an archive of misfit ideas. These are concepts that someone once considered turning into a movie or short film, but for whatever reason were never able to bring to fruition. Until recently, one of those forgotten ideas was a movie about the secret life of a videogame character. “They tried it in the ‘90s, I think it was called High Score, but it went nowhere,” says director Rich Moore as he fiddles with a little Bowser toy that someone has left in a conference room. “And they tried it again in 2000, and called it Joe Jump, but it hit a dead end as well.”