Frankenweenie

 

 

I have always been a big fan of Tim Burton's directing in movies, particularly when he tells an animated feature. So when I heard of Tim Burton's latest directorial movie I immediately knew it was a movie that I would have to see. Frankenweenie is Burton's full length animated feature from a short animated film he did back in the 1980's. It's obvious from this as well as the short that Tim Burton holds the story close to his heart. It is a pretty sage guess that young Victor Frankenstein may have a lot in common with Burton's own childhood experiences, a misfit socially who finds enjoyment in less then popular outlets such as science, sci-fi and film making. Burton's Frankenweenie ends up being a film that really pays homage to the old monster movies of yesteryear.

 

The voice talents for Frankenweenie bring a lot to their roles and they elevate some of the characters more than one would expect in an animated movie. Charlie Tahan as Victor worked really well. This was the first movie I have seen him in where he was one of the lead roles even if it was him just lending his voice. Being a lead with such a stellar cast could be intimidating, yet I felt he embodies what I would picture young Victor to be like. Winona Ryder lends her voice as Elsa Van Helsing and she played her character fairly well. It just seemed that Victor and Elsa worked well and seemed to fit together well not only in their voices, but just on screen together. Catherine O'Hara who seems to be one of those actresses that lends her voice in more then a couple of Tim Burton movies does a great job with Martin Short as Victor's parents as well as the other minor character they lend their voices to. Atticus Shafer as Edgar "E" Gore as well as Martin Landau as Mr. Rzykruski are perfect supporting cast members. Particularly Mr. Rzykruski, who those who are fans of the old school horror/monster movies will recognize the science teachers likeness to that of the late great Vincent Price. Landau just played the role perfectly and I felt like Landau and Shafer in their roles nearly stole the show. "E" Gore was I think in a way the odd comedy of the film with his role being the parody of Igor.

 

The story for Frankenweenie begins fairly simple- Victor a socially inept kid, whose only friend is his loyal dog Sparky. Victor's parents try to get him more engaged, which after hitting a home run while playing  baseball, Sparky chases after this ball and ends up having a tragic accident. Of course, like any young boy Victor is crushed, but his scientific mind along with some lightning leads to a shocking development that he is able to bring Sparky back. The secret though ends up getting out which leads to an interesting turn for the science fair taking it to a whole new competitive level. From here we get additional references to the Bride and son, Mummy and Invisible Man and even gives us a nod to the fiery windmill conclusion of the Karloff original.  Where earlier we got a homemade monster movie, it leads to an actual giant monster movie, as Victor's different classmates wanting to win the science fair, essentially using the same cinematic "science" magic bring to life monsters from a Godzilla type monster, a bat/cat creature to even gremlin type creatures. This truly is an homage to the 1930's horror movies taking place in a 1950's suburban setting, so similar to many of the neighborhoods Burton has used in films like Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands.

 

The ability of the picture Burton is able to paint in his movies is probably the biggest reason I have grown to be such a fan of Tim Burton movies. It was truly awesome to see the textures and light they manage to capture even in the use of black and white. Having this film in black and white, while I am sure it drew some of the kids viewership away, it fit so perfect for what Burton was trying to do. The genre of animated films has such a wide variety of ways to make the animation come to life on screen that for me it is impossible to choose which animation format is the best. Tim Burton's use of stop animation is great, for some reason the energy of the characters is carried through the characters that it seems so real and nothing more then just seeing everything in black and white rather than color. Once again Danny Elfman brings a musical score that not only works, but fits the theme of Frankenweenie perfectly. There is just something about what comes out when Elfman and Burton team up and the way the musical score just interludes so perfectly with everything else.

 

Frankenweenie is an animated movie that has a great ability to pay tribute to the old horror/monster movies. This was a movie that was truly just enjoyable to watch from start to finish and for me, even though it was in black and white it kept the attention of the Little Movie Man throughout the entire movie as he just sat at home as we watched this movie. Tim Burton seems to always be able to bring strong casts to his movie and he does not disappoint with Frankenweenie. I can not say enough about the homage to monster movies, even tpaying tribute to Jurassic Park. I am giving Frankenweenie three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Frankenweenie is one of those movies that is a great one to sit down and be able to enjoy with your family and it is one that will be definitely added to the movie collection soon.

 

-The Movie Man

Dr. No

 

Dr. No is the first foray into the world of James Bond in the movies and while I have enjoyed a lot of the Bond movies, this movie gives the first glimpse of Bond and his spy lifestyle. Sean Connery epitomizes everything Bond represents starting with the first scene of the movie. Dr. No hit theaters fifty years ago and so I am sure that a lot of the up and coming movie watchers would watch Dr. No and think the effects are horrible and do not meet the special effects that are being put out now. Which is why I feel like with these older movies it is important to look at them and compare them with what the film makers were able to at the time with the effects and technology. In this first installment Bond is taken to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of British Agents, and to find out what had been uncovered that led to the death of the agent and his secretary.

 

Sean Connery in the role of James Bond completely embodies the role and really is vitally perfect in Dr. No. Playing the role of Bond is what has made his film career and he delivers everything perfectly. Ursula Andress play Honey Ryder and she fits the role perfectly. She plays the eye candy great as well as she is very likable onscreen that you want her to be onscreen more then what she already is. She ended up being the first in a long line of what came to be an iconic role in each James Bond film of having a "Bond Girl" in each film. Dr. No played by Joseph Wiseman is one of the best Bond villains that is so spot on and not only evil, but crazy at the same time in his plot to take control of the world. Wiseman was able to truly accomplish so much intimidation and skill as a Bond villain with only being onscreen very minimally. The chemistry between not only Connery and Andress, but as well as the chemistry between 007 and Dr. No is a great back and forth in the short screen time together. The supporting cast do great jobs as they seem to really play the characters exactly how I would expect them to be.

 

The story for Dr. No was simple and straight forward as 007, is sent to stop a mad man and his plot to take control of the U.S. space launch. Dr. No ends up being one of those movies that does not have the twists and turns that is so apparent in most of the movies nowadays, so it was kind of nice to watch the first Bond movie and see everything unfolding on the screen in such a nice and clean format. Along with the storyline they do a great job of interspersing moments of action that not only help the audience stay entertained, but also serve as good moments that help the story to continue to move along and not get stagnant. The direction of Terrence Young succeeded in keeping the right pace by keeping it in a medium type pace which effectively balanced how he wanted to present the movie to the audience without being too exciting or boring. The simplicity of the story he told worked because  while simple the story allowed there to be a great attention to detail as the story is very character driven and the use of mystery and suspense works well when compared to movies of today that use tons of explosions and special effects, many times make up for a lackluster script. The story was truly one that can be told clearly, taken seriously and enjoyed from start to finish.

 

The production for Dr. No actually holds up pretty well still today. This first installment really had a tiny budget, so to see what they did with what they had to work with worked fairly well. It definitely had its cheesy, laughable moments the obvious backdrop for the car chasing scenes through Jamaica, but they balanced that with impeccable interior scenes. The detail for the sets was very enjoyable and the action for Dr. No worked and Connery brought good fight sequences. The action/fights while hokey for the car chases the other fights and action were done really well and just worked. The musical score was a great mix of Jamaican jazz as well as the now iconic James Bond theme song.

 

Dr. No was the first introduction into the world of James Bond and while Dr. No is not the best Bond movie ever made it is definitely top five and was a great introduction of one of the best Bond's, Sean Connery. The acting was well done and Ursula Andress was a great first "Bond girl." I loved the story and the simplicity of it. The introduction of the iconic James Bond theme is one that everyone knows. I am giving Dr. No three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Not only is this a must watch for a fan of movies, and it is a definite classic spy movie, one that has shaped the spy movie genre moving forward.

 

-The Movie Man

Oz the Great and Powerful

 

The Wizard of Oz is one of those movies that is close to a lot of people's hearts and so to take on anything in that realm for a movie is a definite tough undertaking, especially if another movie studio holds the rights to the Wizard of Oz and such so they can not touch certain aspects of Oz and the storyline. Oz the Great and Powerful is an attempt to tell us the origin of the Wizard and how he came to being the Wizard of Oz, as well as the relationships and interactions he had with the various witches of Oz. This is the prequel story to Frank L. Baum's series of children's books and this world created by Baum plays greatly into Raimi's strengths as a director. An imaginative world that is covered in light and darkness with characters that inhabit the world with a quirky feel that harkens back for everyone to their own childhood imagination.

 

While normally talking about the main character is the first actor in their role I talk about, I am going to switch it up a little. Rachel Weisz in the role of Evadora, basically made the movie for me. She gives a performance that in many respects not only saves the movie, but she is actually one of the huge reasons I enjoyed the movie so much. She manages to make the role of Evanora more than the standard fairy tale villain, from her we get a complete character from a not so strong script. Countering Weisz is Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good and she fits the role perfectly. She gives off what I would say is the perfect amount of goodness and sweetness without that overly fake sweetness that so easily could have come out. On to our main character of Oscar Diggs (Oz) played by James Franco. While I have really liked Franco in a lot of his roles, for some reason I felt he was just okay. While the con man part he did play well, I fel there was something missing from his performance. While I wanted good to win out I felt like the audience was not given the view into seeing the good that Glinda saw in Oscar. Along, with the character of Oz, I was even more disappointed in Mila Kunis as Theodora. While her character early on seemed to work well for her the transformation she goes through in her desicion making felt forced and too instantaneous. By the instantaneous change we do not really understand why she decided to change. I think a slower transition over a little time would have worked so much better. The supporting cast give good performances and I really enjoyed the comedic/light moments Zach Braff brings with his voice for the character of Finley a talking monkey, who brings great one liners throughout.

 

While I felt like the script was simplistic and a little weak, the direction from Sam Raimi made up for the weak aspects of the story. While this is a prequel to a story that many people already know, which means there are not really many surprises to me that is no excuse for being lazy with the script. Raimi though takes this lack of script and put everything he has into the movie. Raimi creates a visually stunning word that simple wowed me in its rendered details that feels fresh and original. Seeing this movie in the IMAX 3D only made the visual that much more stunning and awe inspiring. I am still a huge fan of the 3D because of how for me it just seems to make me feel like I am fully immersed in the world that the director has painted on screen. The musical score Danny Elfman brought to Oz the Great and Powerful worked so well with everything that was happening on screen. It really helped to lightly bring the fantasy world to life without overpowering the visuals, but instead it complimented the visuals perfectly.

 

The action sequences although not the sequences one would see in an action packed movie, the few that they had in Oz the Great and Powerful seemed to work fairly well. There are two aspects that I completely loved in the movie. The first is the first part of the climax of the movie where the plan of Oz comes to fruition. I won't give it away, but I felt it was so well though out and worked so well. The second sequence is the witches duel between Evanora and Glinda. This sequence is the moment where Weisz and Williams solidified even more that they were the true stars and carried the movie. For me the witches duel surpassed the final duel in the Harry Potter series. I was a fan of how they paid homage to The Wizard of Oz in many different ways when they did not own the rights to the original film, so they ended up paying homage without infringing on those rights. From the use of a yellow brick road, poisonous poppy fields, to a pasture with multi-colored horses and even singing munchkins all paid homage well to the original. However, one of my favorite homages was that of the flying babboons which I felt like they were a pretty cool update on the original. The baboons were terrifying and what you would truly expect the henchmonkelys of a wicked witch to be exactly like. The CGI that was used was seamless and I love it when even though I know it is CGI, it is not so cheaply done that it comes across completely hokey.

 

Oz the Great and Powerful while the script was lackluster there were some saving graces that truly made this a really strong movie. The performances by Weisz and Williams stole the movie and without either of them this movie may have been a definite lackluster movie. The direction by Sam Raimi showed his style and touch greatly and it really in the end had an amazing visual feel, that gelled with a lot of the other aspects of the movie. Of course had Oz the Great and Powerful had a strong script and cast possib;y two characters a little differently, it really makes me wonder how much better it may ave been in the end of if that would have effected the performances that Weisz and Williams gave. I am giving Oz the Great and Powerful three and three quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that any fan of IMAX 3D should definitely go see because of the visual experience you will have in the theater. Even the casual movie goer should spend the money to see it in the theater.

 

-The Movie Man

Warm Bodies

 

 

A comedy movie about zombies does not really seem like it would go together very well, as zombies are more known for being in the horror category. Yet, somehow a zombie apocalypse ends up being very funny as my two favorite zombie movie happen to be comedy movies. Of course it ends up being one that has a little bit of everything. While initially I was very hesitant feeling like it would be another one of those supernatural love story movies that would be considered boring for most male movie goers. Warm Bodies ended up being a movie that twisted everything you might expect in a zombie movie. I loved that Warm Bodies took something like a zombie apocalypse and questioned what could be done for zombies with a "cure". Warm Bodies gives us the story of "R" a zombie who is narrating the story for us and the way that he ends up falling for Julie a human he comes across while out hunting with a pack of zombies for food and contrary to what he should have done he ends up saving her life. From that point he begins to fight against the zombie infection. Warm Bodies ends up being in a way a genre movie in and of itself as it has a little bit of everything and yet it does not feel to overly mashed in.

 

Nicholas Hoult plays "R" our unusual zombie and he plays the role nearly perfect. Hoult does a great job parodying the awkward teenager full of anger and angst and only happens to be a zombie. As a zombie he mimics the way actual teenagers have a tendency to act. His inner dialogue that we hear throughout most of the film since he is unable to talk, we receive a good portion of the comedy, this inner dialogue made for great one-liners and moments. Teresa Palmer plays Julia our human "damsel in distress" whose not as helpless as the girl is in most romance relationships of a movie. she was really enjoyable on screen and continues to improve in each movie I see her in. The chemistry between Hoult and Palmers worked well as they feel awkward in the beginning and the audience feels it right with them then as they grow to know each other better we feel the sparks that happen. The supporting cast give strong performances as I really enjoyed Rob Corddry as "M" and the friend he is with "R" at the beginning as they would just grunt to communicate to the zombie bromance that takes place between them by the end. The supporting cast all work well on screen and I really would have liked to have seen more of John Malkovich in his supporting role.

 

The story for Warm Bodies was one that I really enjoyed which really surprised me at the beginning with what I initially thought of the movie. What worked for Warm Bodies was the simplicity of everything. They did not try to be too complex, but kept all the reasoning so straightforward that it allowed me to sit back and enjoy and not have to overly think about anything. I really enjoyed how in a way Warm Bodies was a parody of human relationships and romance. Within the story we were given a new level of zombie as they were classified as the human zombies and the ones that were beyond everything and just called "Bonies" as they were truly not more then bones and muscle. Warm Bodies took the zombie movie and flipped it on its head to give the story. As the story progresses and due to the inner dialogue we are given a picture of a zombie character that in the end is not much different from what the average human teenager longs for and desires. The musical score only added to the vibe of the movie as it in the end played on the parody of the Rom-Com perfectly with the different choices of music.

 

The action sequences in the film are simple and thought out and I believe for the most part are all done live without a green screen. I may be wrong, but it seems that the "Bonies" were the only major CGI needed parts of the film. The comedy that went along with the action scenes though really worked somehow perfectly. As everything was building up for the climax of the film the comedy Rob Corddry brought as "M" kind of lightened everything again, but also just fit perfectly with everything Warm Bodies was trying to accomplish.

 

Warm Bodies was the zombie movie that I did not expect to like or even want to go see after the first trailer. Yet, it is one that I really looked forward to seeing simply for the zombie part and the comedy feel it had. The acting was strong and the chemistry just worked somehow. The simplicity of the story melded perfectly with the romance, action and comedy. Although, it is still early in 2013 Warm Bodies is my surprise enjoyment movie of the year and because of that I am giving Warm Bodies three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. Warm Bodies was a movie that was well worth the price of a movie ticket for me.

 

-The Movie Man

Beautiful Creatures

 

Beautiful Creatures was the selected movie this year for our Valentine's Day date because apparently Bruce Willis in A good Day to Die Hard does not constitute as a romantic date movie, who knew? While initially I am sure many of you that have not heard anything about this film or even saw the trailer for Beautiful Creatures might have thought that it does not seem a great movie for what is supposed to be the most romantic night of the year. However, after last years bomb of the choice of The Vow, we figured that a movie choice could not get much worse then The Vow. The key component for me in enjoying this movie was that of I went into the film not expecting a supernatural movie like the Twilight movies, but expecting something different. Now with this being adapted from a book series, it is important to view this movie as being something completely separate from the book for any of those that have read the book.

 

The cast for Beautiful Creatures were pretty enjoyable. I really enjoyed Emma Thompson in her role of Mrs. Lincoln/Sarafine. She played the role of the ultra conservative southern woman that was anything, but welcoming to outsiders to perfection and her playing Saraphine the most powerful dark caster was a great change of pace from her. She brought a lot of darkness into that role and it suited her well. Jeremy Irons in the role of Macon Ravenwood, while he was not nearly the way I pictured him in the book, his performance has grown on me since I saw the movie. In my head I pictured Ravenwood looking more like Lucious Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies with the way he looked and carried himself. One of the casting aspects that I felt was a little lacking was that of the supposed "Barbie" Cheer leading squad. They did not meet my expectation for what I was expecting from them. While I enjoyed the supporting cast the two main characters played by Aden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert as they really met their characters. Ehrenreich as Ethan Wate really played the longing to be out of a small town with strength that I was not expecting. Englert as Lena Duchannes though was a complete surprise to me her performance was really strong and only built throughout the movie as her powers became stronger and stronger. This really worked perfectly and the chemistry between her and Ehrenreich was definitely apparent and really made for strength in the movie ass it made the bond between the characters not only stronger, but in my mind stronger then Bella and Edward ever were onscreen.

 

The storyline while it has the elements of a romantic story that we see so much, including the Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance, it ends up being a lot more then just the sappy love story which is all we get at times in so many of these types of movies. Instead, Beautiful Creatures add aspects of mysteries, prophecies, curses, Southern small town politics, religion, death and evil forces which when combined together rather then making it all feel convoluted makes for a rather interesting story. While a lot of those that read the book feel like they changed too much from the book it is important to remember that this movie is actually an adaptation from the novel. While I think they kept out of key concept of how Lena and Ethan could communicate to one another telepathically, they had to really make this book an adaptation because their was so much material that they just did not have the time to put it into a two hour movie. I felt that they captured a good two hour story and told a good story. The aspect that helped the story as well was the musical soundtrack used. The mix of classical, blues, country and alternative music worked well together and really gave the movie a different feel.

 

Beautiful Creatures was a movie that even though I had read the book it ended up exceeded the expectations I had going in. The acting from Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis were pretty much what I would expect from actors that are so well known and always give strong performances. I was really surprised at the ability of the two main characters to be as strong as these well known actors in their roles. I enjoyed the story as it really took a lot of elements and mixed them in stronger then I would expect. I am giving Beautiful Creatures three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that while it is getting compared to the Twilight movies and books, in my mind it is only similar to Twilight because it also deals with supernatural forces. It will be intriguing to see if they do additional movies to go with the other books that are in the series or if this film goes the way of the Eragon movie and never get a sequel. This is a movie that I am sure we may add to the movie collection because my wife enjoyed it, and it will be a movie that I will have no problem watching from time to time.

 

-The Movie Man

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

 

 

Anyone that has followed my blog for any amount of time would be able to tell that I am a complete sci-fi/fantasy movie geek, so when I learned that The Hobbit finally was being made I looked forward anxiously to when a release date would be announced. So naturally, I became even more excited and knew I would definitely be seeing The Hobbit as close to the release date as possible. With movies like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I am kind of like a kid in a candy store or even my wife in a shoe store. While there has been a lot of criticism with Peter Jackson making The Hobbit into three movies, for me it only added to the joy because I know that I have two more movies over the next two years to see, and this just allowed Jackson to lay out the story  and even tie in the time between The Hobbit book and The Lord of the Rings books. And after seeing the movie I was not even close to disappointed and I ended up seeing it in the 48 frames per second format with 3D and I was simply blown away by the visual experience in the theater.

 

Martin Freeman play Bilbo Baggins our brave Hobbit that goes on this journey with the Dwarves quest to recapture their home at Lonely Mountain from a dragon. Freeman plays the role perfectly and captured in my mind the essence of a hobbit perfectly, starting with the unknown to him dwarf meeting that took place at his home. Ian McKellen in the reprisal of his role of Gandalf once again just fits and he seems to be the perfect fit for the role. His character is one that he is a wizard that is just likable by the audience. Richard Armitage in the role of Thorin the leader of the clan of dwarves works really well. While many may not recognize Armitage the past roles I have seen him in he has been great and really seems to become enveloped in his role. The chemistry that these main characters have onscreen between themselves as well as with the other characters all feel perfect. The rest of the supporting cast all do a good job and I am sure that over the next two films the other dwarves will become known better to the audience.

 

The story for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes Tolkien's source material and tell the story so masterfully. Jackson has a a great ability to take this tough to read book and makes the story easy for anyone to follow and so enjoyable to watch. While I felt that the story lagged slightly at first, the flow still worked in regards to the rest of the film and I love how Jackson has been able to so greatly capture the world of Middle Earth in my mind and transform it visually so perfectly. Jackson is so meticulous with his use of sweeping panoramic shots mixed so perfectly with the amazing musical score brought to life by Howard Shore. While a lot of movies use amazing visuals and stunning music, they rarely use it to really help strengthen the story. I think it also really helps the story be told properly by Jackson splitting the story into multiple movies, it ends up allowing for all the important events  to have proper time and not just get glossed over. Also with so many interesting characters Jackson is able to give the audience a little more then just surface on the characters, but instead we get a little depth. Even more I am a big fan of Jackson's ability to mix action sequences with the story and how you do not feel like once the action starts that is all that you are going to get, but he takes breaks to not only advance the story but strengthen the characters as well.

 

The action in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was paced perfectly. The high frame rate 3D version that we saw it in blew me away as not only did it make everything more clear and crisp, but it really made me feel like I was an actual observer of the events as they were happening and not that I was a viewer watching the movie. Yet still with this movie being a fantasy we get some great over the top sequences, my favorite  was that of the escape from the Goblin King. It was so well laid out and it is one of those great moments where a lot of over the top things have to happen. The action sequences throughout the movie were well though out and the pale Orc leader is probably the best Orc villain that have been in either the LOTR or Hobbit movies. To me the action sequences may not be as grand as the last two LOTR movie, I put the action on par with that of The Fellowship of the Ring. Also, one of my favorite action sequences was the Riddle duel that takes place between Gollum and Bilbo. It was expertly paced and worked so well to the entire sequence of everything that was happening at the time.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was one of the most anticipated movies for me this year and it definitely lived up to the hype. The use of the High Frame Rate technology is definitely the next step in movie technology because it really made a difference see it in a frame rate that is nearly that of what the human eye actually processes. I am anxious to see how this technology proceeds forward. The acting was exactly what was needed in the film and it really was precisely what I expect from a Peter Jackson film as the actors truly embodied their characters. I am still amazed at Jackson's gift for melding story and action together perfectly. I am giving The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  four and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one of those movies I would highly recommend for movie goers to not only see in theaters but to pay for the HFR 3D. This is one that will for sure end up in the movie collection.

 

-The Movie Man

Wreck-It Ralph

 

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