Long before breaking the internet, Wreck-It-Ralph became a bonafide hit. It charmed viewers with the sweet friendship between Ralph and Vanellope and made gamers laugh with spot-on parodies of popular franchises and characters. One of the most popular games to emerge was Hero's Duty, an obvious play on titles like Call of Duty. This arcade game starred Sergeant Calhoun, voiced by the hysterical Jane Lynch, and had a major role in the movie's plot.
Viewers enter Hero's Duty when an embittered Ralph jumps in looking for a medal, something he can't win in his own game. While the movie focuses plenty of screen time on the first-shooter world, there's some production trivia and in-game references even diehard fans might have missed. Here are 10 things you may not have known about Hero's Duty.
It was going to be more expensive
When the exterior of Hero's Duty appears early in the movie, you can see it costs 8 quarters. That adds up to $2, which is fairly unheard of for an arcade game. Believe it or not, it was going to cost even more.
Originally, kids hoping to play the stand-up shooter would have had to pay $9 in quarters. This price gouging is documented in some early concept sketches from production. Although Hero's Duty is the newest and most modern game in Wreck-It-Ralph, you still can't run across a cost like that in real-world arcades.
It took inspiration from another major game you didn't realize
Hero's Duty is a not-so-subtle nod to a slew of video games, including Halo, Gears of War and Time Crisis, but viewers might have missed the other big reference in there. Cy-Bugs are the hostile foes at the core of the game; the beetle-like bots chase down the first-person player and Sergeant Calhoun's troops. They may not look like it, but they're modeled after Kirby.
As evidenced by Ralph's first encounter with them, Cy-Bugs become whatever they consume. Sounds a lot like Kirby, who sucks up objects and characters to become an entirely new version based on what he inhales. One Cy-Bug transformed into a gun early in the movie while another ate King Candy, the film's central antagonist, thus becoming the "final boss."
It was even inspired by a movie
Th sci-fi flick Starship Troopers wasn't exactly a box-office smash when it hit theaters in 1997. Even still, it has gone on to become a cult classic—and the cinematic inspiration behind Hero's Duty. Both movies' plots revolve around green-eyed bugs. The Mobile Infantry is at war against alien bugs, while Hero's Duty troops are trying to get to the Medal of Heroes amidst a swarm of robotic bugs.
Not only that, it's pretty clear that the Marines in Hero's Duty bear a strong resemblance to the Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers with their hulking armor and military-grade weapons. The Mobile Infantry also features one woman in the main cast, the character of Carmen Ibanez as played by Denise Richards, while Sergeant Calhoun is at the head of the troops in Wreck-It-Ralph.
There also was a real-life inspiration for the troops
It clearly took a lot of properties to create the world of Hero's Duty, but some of it is founded in the real world, too. Specifically, the creative team attended a San Diego Chargers game to inform the muscular troops.
Supervising animator Zach Parrish explained that they took video references of the football players warming up to create the large, imposing Hero's Duty heroes. The final product clearly shows off the incredible physicality of the Marines in the movie.
You could play it in real life
A playable version of Hero's Duty—in addition to Vanellope's arcade game, Sugar Rush—was actually available on Disney's website. In the game, fans assumed the role of the first-person player and attempted to ascend 99 floors up the tower, fighting Cy-Bugs along the way to win.
Just like in the movie, Sergeant Calhoun greeted the player to present the mission. One big difference was that fans played Hero's Duty on a desktop as opposed to plugging $2 into the classic arcade machine. And, alas, Ralph was nowhere in sight.
Sergeant Calhoun was going to look very different
The Samus-like sergeant leads the way in Hero's Duty, but the production team had planned another character entirely. Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun was supposed to be a man, according to The Art of Wreck-It-Ralph book.
We have screenwriter Phil Johnston to thank for the change. He suggested making her a woman instead. But the character creation was a team effort. In the end, she got her name from the film's director, Rich Moore. Thus, Tamora Jean—the powerful leader and love interest to Fix-It-Felix, Jr.—was born.
Some Hero's Duty scenes didn't make it to the movie
There were a couple of Hero's Duty moments from the early promotional clips that didn't make it into the movie. In the teaser trailer, Ralph breaks into Hero's Duty and gets berated by a space soldier. "Get out of the game, buddy!" he says to Ralph as they fight off the Cy-Bugs.
In another trailer, Ralph cowers in the midst of Hero's Duty without any armor. He says, "Everything changes—now." Unfortunately, these missing trailer scenes would've expanded the world of Hero's Duty, but they live on in the Internet.
There was a deleted scene, too
While Ralph sat in Hero's Duty jail, there was supposed to be a new character. According to Moore, a rebellious soldier from Hero's Duty named Bobby Dunderson was going to tempt Ralph to visit an all-new game world: "Extreme Easy Living." Although he didn't end up going, there is a deleted scene of the storyboard.
Neither the character nor the game made it into the movie, but Extreme Easy Living was described by Moore as "The Sims meets Grand Theft Auto." The haven had no purpose to it like the other arcade games. Players would accrue "Like Its" based on their appearances instead. Originally, the team planned for Ralph to end up there after disappointing Vanellope. You didn't see it, but now you know about the world viewers were supposed to learn about in Hero's Duty.
It has a totally different design than the other games
Okay, so you know that. But what you may not know is that it's completely different down to the smallest details. The creative team differentiated the games not only through their aesthetics, but by their shapes. Intentionally, animators infused triangles and diagonals into Hero's Duty, as explained by Mike Gabriel, the film's art director.
This is in direct opposition to Sugar Rush, which features circles and O-shaped figures. The harsher nature of Hero's Duty and its shapes convey the game's serious nature. The triangle can be found on the home screen to begin gameplay, in addition to the linear plates of their armor.
Skrillex is in the movie specifically for Hero's Duty
In an interview, Moore shared the story of how they got Skrillex on board. The famous DJ supplied the soundtrack to Hero's Duty, and he also made an animated cameo. The team wanted to infuse contemporary music into the war game and, luckily for everyone involved, Skrillex was on board.
When it came time for the movie's party, they wanted a DJ to stand in. They immediately thought about Skrillex. The director said Skrillex was thrilled with the spot, which makes for a dead ringer with his characteristic lenses and hairstyle. Moore also noted Skrillex's vision for the movie really contributed to the film with his musical track.