Being a huge fan of video games, after seeing the first trailer for Wreck-It Ralph I was really excited to see what Disney would do with this concept. While Disney has done some really good animated movies in the past, I have never seen them do a movie that is as original and creative as I found Wreck-It Ralph to be. I could not help, but laugh throughout the movie even right at the beginning with Ralph going to a support meeting for the video game antagonist characters. The movie centers on Ralph the villain from the Fix-It Felix Jr. game who after being sick of the bad guy decides he wants to not only be the hero, but to go out and win a hero medal to prove it. Wreck-It Ralph ends up giving us a very well thought out plot that is aced with humor throughout that appeals to old and young, as they use plenty of new generation gaming references along with those retro gaming references.
John C. Reilly lends his voice as our title character Ralph, who is sick of being the bad guy, so he sets out to change that and become who he wants to be. It was really cool to see a "bad guy" be a character that the audience could truly care about, that is what makes movie characters great. Reilly's voice embodies the character so well that his voice at this point would truly make me think of the character of Ralph first. Sarah Silverman in the role of Vanellope, a racing character in the game Sugar Rush was surprisingly likable. Particularly, because Sarah Silverman has a tendency to annoy me it is because of that that I was surprised that I actually enjoyed her character and loved the funny moments she brought to the game. The friendship that is formed between this bad guy of Ralph and the glitch of Vanellope worked very well together. The supporting cast all give good performances and I particularly like Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer's roles. Lynch as the female commander in Hero's Duty is not only the perfect role, but it just fits her so well. McBrayer was a fun aspect of Fix-It Felix Jr. and was really amusing in everything he did.
The animation for Wreck-It Ralph is incredible and is really top notch from Disney. It was all well thought out as from the purposely stiff animation in Fix-It Felix Jr. to the hyper realistic Hero's Duty and even the colorful Sugar Rush. Wreck-It Ralph is one of the most visually stunning superb computer animated movies that I have seen in a long time. To go along with the animation that film score that was put in place by Henry Jackman absolutely captured the video game world perfectly. The mixture of electronic instruments with orchestral ones is done superbly and it truly feels like an old school video game throughout that is an energetic score throughout the film. He captured the video games they were trying to emulate perfectly. The use of electric guitars done so heavily in Hero's Duty will give anyone that has played these first person shooters a true chuckle. While the theme for Sugar Rush is done with a joyful bit that it will feel like it is meant to be for one of the races in Mario Kart.
The story for Wreck-It Ralph I found to be very well thought out and in the end it hit a chord that really resonated with me. I loved the thought of this whole world of what do the video game characters do at the end of the day when the arcades are closed. Wreck-It Ralph ends up being to the video game world what Toy Story was to the secret lives of toys. Being a kid that grew up playing a lot of the classic video games seeing a lot of these classic characters really worked from me and in the end it only strengthened the story with me. Of course, with an animated movie from Disney it has to have that true heart warming feeling in the story. Wreck-It Ralph has those similar moments that help give the audience a movie that has a sweet tone. Yet, the big aspect of the movie was that the story was clever and I really enjoyed the themes that are portrayed throughout the entire movie. My only complaint within the story was I wish they would have spent more time spread out in some of the different gaming worlds and not as much time in the one world.
Wreck-It Ralph was an animated movie that I really enjoyed and met my expectations going in. This is one of those movies that just shows that if all parties involved think everything out, you can see how strong of a movie that can be put out. The short before the movie as well as the ending credits are worth seeing and really make the whole movie going experience a great night for not only yourself, but makes Wreck-It Ralph a great family going experience. I am giving Wreck-It Ralph four buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one of those movies that is not only worth seeing in the theaters, but at the same time I think this is a movie that would be worth the 3D price. The different uses of pixels and the natural worlds created in the video games lends itself perfectly to a 3D movie going experience.
-The Movie Man
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