Long has it been since I’ve felt a movie was made just for me, then I heard about Wreck-It-Ralph…
First shown at the D23 conference, and slowly the 8-bit images of Ralph’s face started showing up on bus benches and billboards. My nerd friends were getting excited, “Its Toy Story with video games!” they’d say.
We’d watch the trailer and awe at the familiar faces in the Bad Guys Anonymous room, Zangief, House of the Dead Zombie, Dr Robotnik. Somehow Disney had gotten beyond the consoles and just took in everyone. Capcom characters with Sega’s trademarks, NAMCO’s bread and butter Pacman and Q*Bert. All on-screen together. But really, that’s how an Arcade is, unless you’re at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco, which only has Sony exclusive games, your average neighborhood arcade will have everything they can fit on their floor space, and it doesn’t matter who made what game, they’re all here.
So once I got over the initial shock of “how did they do that?!” (Paying licensing fees, I doubt Disney met with much resistance) They were all ancillary characters, Pacman, had once scene, Q*Bert, a game, admittedly I’ve played less than a dollar’s worth in quarters, was around a bit more.
The movie wasn’t about them; it follows the titular character of “Wreck-it-Ralph” a relatable Donkey Kong-esque character, who lives in a tree stump in the idyllic “Niceland” until the Bourgeoisie citizens of Niceland, push him out and build their tower at the site of his stump, Ralph retaliates by smashing up the building, only to be foiled by “Fix-It Felix Jr” who’s father bestowed upon him a magic hammer that can fix anything.
Ralph breaks stuff, Felix fixes it, and a vexed Ralph is thrown from the rooftop by the citizens of the tower. And that is how every day goes on in the game, and has for the past 30 years. What life in the arcade offers is after the lights go out, characters can leave their games and hang out with others, but everyone knows that you need to be back in your own game when the arcade opens, otherwise your cabinet may get unplugged.
The movie sets the scene pretty fast, and once it gets going, it moves, there are a few parts that felt like they dragged its feet a bit, and it felt very familiar, but not repetitive, it does get a bit scary in the 3rd act, but by the end you’ll feel all warm and fuzzy.
Normally when a movie caters to such a broad audience as this, it suffers in more than a few areas, “Wreck-It Ralph” doesn’t show that weakness. You’ve got Ralph for the boys, Vanellope Von Schweetz (voiced by Sarah Silverman) for the girls, familiar video games for the parents, and Alan Tudyk doing a great Ed Wynn impression for the folk that didn’t have Super Mario as their babysitter.
All in all I highly enjoyed the movie.
The screening I went to was in 3D. Normally I avoid 3D like it stole my lunch money, but the world of Wreck it Ralph is so rich and expansive seeing it in 2D, you’d lose out on the detail… and it’s got details in spades.
Since Disney’s full acquisition of Pixar, the past couple Pixar movies have been a little lacking, and “Wreck It Ralph” has the feel of a full on Pixar movie, though there is a noted absence of John Ratzenberger, the Pixar Good Luck Charm, I doubt it will have any long-lasting negative connotations.
—— This movie review was written by our own Producer and Show Runner, JD, AKA Torgo!
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WRECK-IT RALPH (In Disney Digital 3D™) opens Friday 2 November, 2012
Website: Disney.com/wreck-it-ralph
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- Voice Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Joe Lo Truglio, Ed O’Neill, Dennis Haysbert, Adam Carolla, Rachael Harris, Edie McClurg, Horatio Sanz, Stefanie Scott
- Director: Rich Moore
- Producer: Clark Spencer
- Executive Producer: John Lasseter
- Story by: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, Jim Reardon
- Screenplay by: Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee
From Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy®-winning director Rich Moore comes “Wreck-It Ralph,” a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping adventure. For decades, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voice of Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero.
On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart-racing game Sugar Rush, who may just be his first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade and Vanellope herself. Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day—but can he do it in time? “Wreck-It Ralph” crashes onto the big screen on November 2, 2012, in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.
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Here are some photos from the “Wreck-It Ralph” premiere and red carpet.
