Wreck-it Ralph: Heroes x Villains

Wreck-it Ralph simply rocks. I love the film and its characters. You can't miss it.



I. Work in pairs:

1. Describe a hero in your own words. Do the same to describe a villain.

2. Think about two famous heroes and two famous villains. What are their personality traits and character?

3. Many people believe that movie/soap operas villains are more interesting than heroes. Do you agree with it? Give examples.



II. Give each student with a slip with one of the definitions below. Then form groups of four students and share what their texts talks about.



Hot Hero: impulsive, brave, sometimes foolhardy, generous, often impatient, gregarious or solitary, prone to wild temper, pride and defiance but also with a basic sweetness to them: a good character who struggles to be good, it doesn’t come easily. They are often immediately or soon attractive to other good characters, as they have a certain charisma. Can be momentarily tempted out of a hero’s trajectory by a clever villain of either type, playing on their impulsiveness.

Cold, or more attractively, Cool, Hero: reserved, thoughtful, often solitary, self-controlled, ironic, stoical, brave, but without the impulsiveness of the ‘hot’ type. Or else, much less commonly, they can be sweet, dependable, kind, apparently accepting but inwardly resisting. This type of hero often emerges unexpectedly and has less outward charisma than the ‘hot’ type. A ‘cool’ type hero is a good character whose inner integrity really grounds them, they are less easily tempted, but the results when they are tend to be worse than for the ‘hot’ type.

Hot Villain: impulsive, reckless, ruthless, violent, arrogant (the extreme end of pride), physically intimidatory, often bullying, yet calculating. A fearsome opponent, but out in the open: the wolf in wolf’s clothing, if you like. This sort of villain is not to be thought of as stupid: real villains are always intelligent, in books, unless they are minor villains of the henchman type. They often attract hordes of followers as they have a certain violent, dark charisma. Usually defeated by clever heroes of the ‘cool’ type, or less often, the ‘hot’ sort who have learned self-control.

Cold Villain: self-controlled, calculating, deceitful, manipulative, ironic, cruel, ruthless. This is the wolf in sheep’s clothing: for my money, the most frightening enemy. They are highly intelligent and imaginative and often emerge unexpectedly, and though they often have fanatically devoted followers, they generally do not have obvious charisma. But a villain of the ‘cold’ type can sometimes masquerade behind the mask of an apparently warm and charismatic heroic type—and this can be one of the worst of all!

III. Think about one character/person that would suit each of the descriptions above.

IV. Watch the movie segment and discuss the questions.

 1. Describe the scene.

2. Are they villains or heroes. Hot or Cold?

3. What are some video games heroes and villains you are familiar with?

4. Do you like playing video games? What kind of video games do you enjoy?

5. What are some famous Television villains that became famous in your country?

6. What are some famous heroes that became famous in your country?

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - WRECK IT RALPH