“Wreck-It Ralph” is an animated adventure movie that will appeal to all audiences but is nothing new when it comes to content.
Ralph (John C. Reilly) has been the bad guy his whole life in the game Fix-It Felix, Jr. As the game is approaching its 30th anniversary, Ralph is tired of everyone in the game loving good guy
Felix (John McBrayer). Ralph decides he will no longer be labeled a bad guy and sets off to win a medal to prove to everyone that bad guys can be good guys too. Ralph begins to “game jump,” which involves traveling from game to game via power cords in the arcade. He journeys into Hero’s Duty, where the objective is to kill hordes of bugs terrorizing a planet, but the game proves to be a little too much for Ralph to handle. He accidentally lands in the bubbly, candy-themed racing game Sugar Rush after causing chaos in Hero’s Duty, but Ralph unknowingly lets loose a threat that could take down the entire arcade.
The film is one that will certainly appeal to gamers of all ages. Games from the ’80s up to modern day first-person shooters are brought into the film. Characters from famous video games such as Street Fighter and Sonic the Hedgehog make appearances, and elements from popular modern games such as Halo are used.
The film does not only appeal to gamers. The plot and animation are both quality elements of “Wreck-It Ralph.” The plot meets the usually strict Disney standards, and corners were clearly not cut in terms of animation. The colors are vibrant, and each character is carefully constructed to look just as unique as the last.
One minor turnoff of “Wreck-It Ralph” is the movie’s predictability. The film is not predictable in the terms of plot because there is a twist, but it is predictable in content. As with any Disney movie, there are inspiring moments, times for tears, a few intense scenes that are always resolved and of course there is a happy ending. The sacrifice of a surprising structure must be made in order to get the quality that Disney rarely fails to deliver.
“Wreck-It Ralph” is a fun movie for gamers and non-gamers alike with quality animation and plot, but audiences should not expect Disney to step out of its comfort zone too much.
“Wreck-It Ralph” is rated PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence.
