Wreck-It Ralph or Don't Forget to Blow in the Nintendo First!

Wreck-It Ralph
Director: Rich Moore
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, and Jane Lynch
New Release Review

What a great idea Disney! For a company that already has the upper hand when it comes to making animated films, Disney (who owns Pixar) came up with quite the gem for their latest release.

Wreck-It Ralph takes place mainly in the world of video arcade games (with the occasional view from the outside world) and focuses on the "bad guy" who wants to be a "good guy" (or hero as he mentions quite often). He embarks on a quest to earn a hero's medal in order to be recognized as a hero among his video game colleagues (in the game called Fix it Felix Jr.). While on his journey, Ralph ends up in the candy-coated Sugar Rush racing game where he meets fellow outcast Vanellope and the two decide to team up to conquer their goals.

Not a totally original storyline but the way it is executed is fantastic. The amount of detail that is put into each and every scene (and even the backgrounds of those scenes) is remarkable. Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Toy Story before it, Wreck-It Ralph utilized numerous licensed characters (for this particular film it was video game characters) including Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man and Bowser. For a kid that grew up in the 80s and 90s, it brought back a lot of memories. And laughs!

I had some high expectations for this film and I was happy to see that it lived up to them. The animation was impeccable. The specific detail of how these video game characters live and work in the arcade games was unbelievable. The background and execution of the storyline was very well thought-out and left little plot holes that go unseen by the general audience.

Like most Disney and Pixar films, Wreck-It Ralph had tons of heart and a great message behind it that was timely (bullying among today's youth). As well, Disney enlisted a great cast to voice the characters which makes the film that much more enjoyable.

Final Verdict: See it. If not for the laughs and great animation, then for the nostalgia it is sure to bring anyone who is familiar with video games in the 80s and early 90s, if not video games in general. Fun for the whole family!