Wreck-It Ralph (2012) – Review

Where to watch Wreck-It Ralph

3 Stars


Wreck-It Ralph is tired of being the bad guy. He longs for the affection that good guy Fix-It Felix gets from the other characters in his video game. Ralph sets out to prove himself a good guy once and for all. What do all good guys earn after a major accomplishment? A medal. Now Ralph has a shot at winning such a prestigious trophy by infiltrating another game in the arcade. Unfortunately, in the process he unleashes an enemy that could destroy every game in the arcade. Along with the help of a programming glitch Vanellope von Schweetz, Ralph must put things back in order.

Wreck-It Ralph is the closest replication of Pixar’s style to date. Which makes sense as John Lasseter has taken over animation at Disney and was executive producer on this. In a way he aped himself. While this doesn’t hit the heights of most Pixar fare, it does rise to the top of the equally as enjoyable second tier CGI animated movies such as this year’s Hotel Transylvania and The Lorax.

The voice talent is top notch and casting is perfect. John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer star alongside Jane Lynch, Adam Carolla, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling and Ed O’Neill. A great cast is something Pixar perfected and a definite carry-over from Lasseter. The animation isn’t as detailed as a Pixar or DreamWorks flick, but it’s smooth and easy on the eyes.

The biggest complaint with Wreck-It Ralph is in the story. It’s a somewhat slow moving film. The first half is a measured setup of the arcade and video game world. Sure it’s still a happy, fun and vibrantly colored movie that takes place in interesting worlds. But that does tend to fade as we only see the inside of a few arcade games rather than fully explore all that’s available to Ralph. The vast majority of the movie takes place in Sugar Rush, which is like a Mario Kart in Candyland. This leads to less inclusion of fun elements for real life gamers like classic games and their characters. I would like to have seen those worked into the movie a little more than the simple one off jokes they got.

Even with those complaints Wreck-It Ralph is a good family movie. Something that parents can watch with their kids without getting bored.

Director: Rich Moore
Stars: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer

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