[ SECRET POST #2473 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2473 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 012 secrets from Secret Submission Post #353.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[world_eater]

I never understood how exactly the Nicelanders changed their minds. I assume it was because Felix suddenly was nice to Ralph, but genuinely notice their mistakes? How? When? Why?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm guessing either
A) Realizing that the situation hurt Ralph badly enough that he'd run away struck home a bit of genuine empathy, or
B) Realizing that like him or not, the game would get shut down if he wasn't there doing his part, so it was in their best interest to treat him like part of the team.

Individual Nicelanders could well have had either of these viewpoints, or various combinations thereof.

[bored_bitch]

I always viewed the grand majority of them as simply being naive to who Ralph really is.
They seem pretty confused and scared, the way Ralph was acting at the penthouse party. Like they didn't know what to feel about that.

Gene was really the only one outright acting aggressively towards him and being a jerk.

So they very well may have went "Hey, Ralph saved us! He saved someone else's game, too! He seems to have a good heart, so let's treat him better."

[(Anonymous)]

I think I can explain (but not excuse) Gene's behavior during the movie, because it's just as much Ralph's fault as Gene's that they acted and reacted the ways they did. (TL;DR at the bottom)

It's heavily implied that the attitude Ralph gave Gene at the party -huffy, grumpy, and a touch of entitled to being invited to any event occurring in his game- is based upon past experiences of the Nicelanders and Ralph butting heads, and further backed by a pencil test showing that Ralph being invited in the past has only gone sour, seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nfeBsZNC-U (if the link doesn't work, look up "wreck-it ralph gene pencil test" on youtube)

The art book also says that Gene, being he voice of the Nicelanders, was the only one to stand up to Ralph's attitude and abrasiveness on the people's behalf; yes, Ralph was a bad guy, but I don't think that necessarily mattered to them- maybe it did, I didn't see any obvious villains at the anniversary party. You can't stand up to him physically, so verbal aggression and, yes, asshole-ish behavior is their only option. Gene COULD HAVE directly told Ralph that his selfish, entitled behavior and bad temper were why they drove him away, and he probably has, but how are you supposed to word that in a way that won't cause someone you already have animosity with to brush it off?

Gene pointed out that Ralph was flawed, but he did it in a counterproductive way. It took their game being in danger and Ralph completely missing the point of why he had to get a medal to understand that the Nicelanders pushed him away not because of his position in the game, but because he lacked the personality traits that made a person good or redeemable despite his bad guy status. I'm pretty sure if they weren't at BadAnon, at Bowser and Dr. Robotnik/Eggman would've been invited to that party (of course that's just personal opinion.)

Gene probably figured that, after thirty years and seeing the big guy game jump during closing hours, that Ralph would get the message on what differentiated him and Felix other than their opposing positions, why people prefer good guys over bad. It's a logical possibility that he assumed Ralph KNEW that medals were symbolic for something more than a prize you got at the end of the game, and in making that assumption he (but mostly Ralph) put the game in danger. Based on two moments in the story ("is he serious?" "Of course he's not serious! Where's a bad guy going to get a medal?" and "Well, you finally went and did it...") it's likely that this isn't the first time Gene's challenged him either, or that Ralph bluffed about it before.

The Nicelanders aren't above mending broken bridges, though; after all, they gave him his very own cake at the end, and threw a party with him and all his friends invited too. Rich Moore once said that they cut out a scene in the film where Ralph and Gene made up right before Litwak pulled off the Out of Order sign, but unfortunately for that I don't have empirical evidence(might've been on Reddit).

TL;DR: Gene was a jerk, yes, but only because he was trying to give Ralph the answer to a better work relationship in the wrong way; challenging him to prove he was worthy of being called a good person without thinking the wrecker would take his wording literally, and rather than being angry at him, he was simply disappointed.

At least, that's how I see it.