It’s not surprising that an animated movie based on Ratchet and Clank is happening – the popular video game franchise has spawned 14 official entries and spin-offs since 2002. It’s especially not surprising that that the film has cast the likes of Sylvester Stallone, John Goodman, Paul Giamatti, and Rosario Dawson – every animated movie is chock-full of big names these days. The real surprise to come out of this news is just how much the upcoming film crosses over with the video game talent.
The news of the movie star casting may be the headline in The Hollywood Reporter’s article, but it’s the little details that will make the ears of longtime Ratchet and Clank fans perk up. Although we have no idea who Stallone, Goodman, Giamatti and Dawson will be playing, we know that it won’t be any of the main characters. In pleasantly surprising news, the film version will keep much of the vocal talent from the games, letting James Arnold Taylor return as Ratchet, David Kaye as Clank, Armin Shimmerman as Nefarious and Jim Ward as Captain Qwark.
In an era where talented vocal artists find themselves replaced by movie stars, it’s downright refreshing to see this get the chance to lead a feature film. Sure, the big guys will get their names on the poster, but the real main characters will have the same voices they’ve had for the past decade-plus. Even the screenplay was co-written by T.J. Fixman, a former writer for Insomniac Games, who developed the main Ratchet and Clankoutings.
For those unfamiliar with the series, the Ratchet and Clank games follow the title characters, a cat-like alien with a thing for heavy weaponry and his robot companion, as they embark on all kinds of adventures through time and space. The games are light on plot but heavy on personality. If director Kevin Munroe (who previous helmed the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie) can give these characters a compelling storyline, this could be a very fun and very silly movie. THR describes the plot thusly:
The film follows the two unlikely heroes (a foolhardy “lombax” and a pint-sized robot) as they struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. When the duo stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team a group called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy.
That, honestly, sounds like most Ratchet and Clank games...and like 65% of most science fiction stories.
There is no release date set for the film, but it is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2015.
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