November 20, 2012

Movie Review: Wreck It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph
Genre: Family/Children’s Animated
Directed by: Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch
Release date: November 2, 2012
IMDB, official site

Review:

Wreck-It Ralph is probably the best animated movie Disney has put out in a long time and really has that Pixar feel to it with fantastic animation, a great story, interesting characters, spot on voice acting, and a compelling and emotional story. Ralph is the bad guy in a video game who, after 30 years, is sick of being an outcast. He just wants to be accepted and liked but no one can see past his bad guy rep to the good guy underneath. Ralph leaves his game in order to prove to the townspeople that he can be a hero, too.

Ralph is a character that people will really relate to. I think we’ve all felt like we didn’t fit in or isolated at one point or another. Unfortunately Ralph’s role has been set and it seems like there’s no way out. Even his fellow villains at his support group (which is a hilarious scene) don’t believe that Ralph can change his fate and urge him to just accept his role as a bad guy. But Ralph is determined to change his fate, no matter what it takes.

And that’s how he ends up in Sugar Rush, a candy filled car racer game. It’s also where he meets Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) an adorably exasperating young girl who is determined to win the big race. Vanellope is a glitch, which means she has a problem in her programming that the other characters fear and it makes her an outcast. The other racers try to keep her from competing but Ralph agrees to help her train for the competition in order to win his medal back. Ralph and Vanellope develop and unlikely friendship that is really sweet and heartwarming. I don’t normally cry at movies (ever) but I did get misty eyed a couple of times during this movie.

Like all great movies there is also an incredible supporting cast. Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) is perfect as the earnest fixer-upper Fix-It Felix, Jr. And how much do I love Jane Lynch as Calhoun, the ball busting military leader of a modern first person shooter game? She’s brilliant! The movie is also filled with a lot of classic video game characters and references. It must have been a licensing nightmare but I am so glad that Disney did it right. Coming from the generation in which most of these games were really popular, it was really fun to see them all come to life.

Even though it looks like a fun popcorn movie on the surface, Wreck-It Ralph is much more. A heartwarming and smart story with clever dialogue and fantastic visuals, it’s really one of the best films I’ve seen this year. I highly recommend it.