Wreck-It Ralph

             

                

                It’s no secret that I’m a huge Pixar buff, and they have yet to disappoint me, delivering Wreck-It Ralph, a solid, humorous, and beautiful movie. Seriously, the animation is stellar and might be Pixar’s most attractive film to date. There isn’t a color that isn’t used throughout.

                Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) is a villain in one of the arcade’s most popular video games.  However, he’s sick of being the villain and treated like the game’s leper by the rest involved and wants to be something more. He soon ventures out of his game to track down a gold medal in the hopes of everyone looking at him as something more than the menace of the block. His journey soon leads him into a very Candyland inspired videogame where he meets Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), a glitch in her own video game that just wants some recognition of her own.

                Wreck-It Ralph is like an animated yearbook for fans of videogames. One of the joys is just searching for all of the games/hints of games throughout. Candyland, Mario Kart, Sonic, Pacman, Street Fighter, Donkey Kong, so many are referenced and hinted at, it’s impossible to find a game that isn’t somewhat brought up in Wreck-It Ralph. I appreciated how different the video games were from each other as well, each game felt very distinct from the next, displaying the versatility in the looks of the games.

                I appreciated the numerous types of humor used in Wreck-It Ralph as well. There are the little winks and nudges at many games mentioned previously, but there’s also some wit for the older viewers and some humor intended for the younger viewers as well, courtesy of Sarah Silverman’s stellar and sarcasm filled personality being displayed through Vanellope. It’s a true testament of comedy in animated films when you’re not picturing what these actors look like in real life; you imagine them as their characters.

                As always, Disney films managed to sneak in a slightly hidden message/problem in addition to a live one. Though there is a villain in this film, there’s also a more internal conflict of self-acceptance and happiness with who you are, Wreck-It Ralph hits the heart without hitting the sappy shit. Wreck-It Ralph’s entire length is through a videogame yet the movie never feels artificial or phoned in, Wreck-It Ralph is the real deal.

4/4