WRECK-IT RALPH

Pictures courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

A video game bad guy tries to remake his image in the Disney animated feature, WRECK-IT RALPH.  

Ralph is the bad guy in the 1980’s video game Fix-It Felix Jr., a big, hulking figure with fists that serve as sledge hammers.  His job is to destroy a high-rise residential building, while Felix utilizes a magical hammer to fix the mess.  

Tired of playing the bad guy role, and following a run-in with other Fix-It Felix Jr. characters, Ralph leaves his video game in search of a medal to prove his worth.  What Ralph finds is a world of trouble, adventure and excitement far beyond his imagination, whether it’s in the video game world of modern combat or the adrenaline of the kids game Sugar Rush.  

 

Mixing nostalgia for yesteryear’s world of gaming and the technological awe of today’s action, WRECK-IT RALPH enjoys the best of both worlds creating a children’s film that is funny, entertaining, creative and distinctly original, no small task considering the immense amount of children fare in today’s saturated cinema market.  

Although the tale of being oneself is nothing new, WRECK-IT RALPH’s universe is.  Video game movies have been made before, but they have always been made from the inside out, viewing the game as a participant or character as opposed to examining it from the gamer's perspective.  This unique point of view is further expanded through a series rules and standards established by writers Jennifer Lee and Phil Johnston and director Rich Moore.  

The grasp and humor is derived from seeing familiar faces like Pac-Man, his ghost monster friends, Q-bert and Frogger, but most of the fun comes from newly created characters, including Ralph, his video game nemesis Felix, Jr., Vanellope, a glitch from the video game Sugar Rush and Calhoun, a no-nonsense combatant from a warfare game full of violence and splattered aliens.  Each character brings a certain sensibility from their distinctly different game into the tale, and it works for the betterment of the story, with each sub-plot adding to the film as a whole.  

WRECK-IT RALPH is a unique children’s picture, one as equally focused on entertaining children and their parents as it is effective in delivering a humor-filled adventure where the bad guys aren’t always bad, and everything isn’t always as sweet as it appears.  

Grade: B