Well, the film is produced by Happy Madison Productions, which was founded by Adam Sandler, so he probably had an edge when it came to the casting.
I haven't actually seen Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison, or any of his earlier stuff that sound like they were more over-the-top (I'm guessing?) than some of the later stuff of his that I have seen. I guess he's okay, I don't seem to love him or hate him to any extreme degree like everyone else seems to. Maybe there could have been better casting (again, if he wasn't involved) and maybe there could have been worse casting. For Pixels, I'm not seeing it for him specifically anyway.
I can't quite remember if Wreck-It Ralph was considered a huge success a few years ago. I know it did well, and it had an entertaining story besides being just a bunch of nods to retro arcade games. I wonder if any of that generated interest in older games. With arcades dwindling, and a few decades removed from their heyday (MAME notwithstanding), I wonder how many kids today are familiar with these arcade icons. Galaga? Centipede? Arkanoid? Even if they are aware of Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, they're certainly in a different form than before. Maybe kids aren't the target audience for this, or maybe it will generate interest to those too young to remember them? Or are they just trying to get us 30-somethings? Man, I feel old...
Did anyone catch the almost-hidden message at
1:38?