After 30 years of literally playing out the same routine,
Ralph (John C. Reilly) has finally had enough of being the bad guy. In an
endless rotation of smashing things up in the videogame he resides in, only for
them to be mended by his game nemesis Fix-It Felix Junior (Jack McBrayer), he
sees himself being seen more and more as the villain whilst Felix gets to bathe
in all the good guy glory.
At a ‘Bad Anon’ meeting, featuring all the notorious bad
guys most audience members will fondly recognise (Bowser, Kano and even the
little ghost from Pac-Man), Ralph finally decides he’s had enough and things
are going to change. After all, if you’re not a bad guy, why should you be the
bad guy?
In a quest to make his fellow game characters take him a
little more seriously, and to get them to see him as one of them, Ralph starts
“jumping” through all the games in the old arcade. Starting in a Halo-reminiscent game ‘Hero’s Duty’,
Ralph finds himself completely out of his depth but is determined to get hold
of a medal. After some fumbles, he ends up in a game called Sugar Rush, where
he meets Vanellope, a young “glitch” in the game who just wants to be seen as a
real character instead of just an outsider. Relatable hey, Ralph?
Vanellope Von Schweetz is probably the most Disney-esque
character in the whole movie. Her sickly sweet sass provides much of, if not
all of, the humour for Wreck-It Ralph,
and she carries much of the stories main themes. Through Vanellope, Ralph
learns about acceptance, determination and just being happy with who you are.
It wouldn’t be a Disney classic without a heart-warming storyline now, would
it?
The cast list boasts impressive comedic stars, not only John
C. Reilly (the guy who’s not Will Ferrell in Stepbrothers) as Ralph, but Jane Lynch provides the voice for
Sergeant Calhoun, who is essentially Sue Sylvester in a spacesuit (even the
haircut is spookily similar!). In addition, Sarah Silverman is perfect for the
role Schweetz, with her snarky, pretentious but often, cute and lispy voice.
The only thing that could have made Wreck-It Ralph that much better is a bonafide villain. For a film
whose whole emphasis is not being a bad guy, there is a significant lack of
such a character, and the contrast of one being obvious, might have been interesting
to watch. It could have allowed Ralph to really become a hero, but there is
that understanding that they didn’t want to be too cheesy.
The world in which the film is set is probably the most
appealing thing about it. The nostalgia of Disney sentimentality mixed with the
nods to old-style gaming is one that resonates with people of all ages; there
truly is something for everyone. It’s meticulously animated, with so much
detail in every scene, there’s not a chance you could pick it up in just one
viewing. It’s this obvious dedication that makes it so much more impressive
than the likes of its predecessors, Tangled
and Bolt. It feels much more like a
Disney classic, rather than trying to be modern and different, and is
unquestionably a good thing.
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