I finally got to watch Wreck-It Ralph!  I have been so excited to see this movie and was not disappointed.

Disney animated films are my favorite films in the world.  So much so I frequently cuddle up with my dogs and the likes of Tangled (my #1 obsession), Brave, Mulan, and Tarzan.  I happen to still own multitudes of Disney movies on VHS because I stubbornly insist that they are simply not the same on DVD.  In my defense, if you put in Lion King on VHS then put in the enhanced DVD you too will see a difference – what I love about classic Disney movies is that they were hand drawn, but that raw quality is lost when they are converted to enhanced DVDs.

Wreck-It Ralph, like its predecessors, was full of cute banter, lovable characters, on-the-edge-of-your-seat-action, and tear-jerker moments.  It amazes me how the statements “everything has been done” and “every story has been told” always seem to melt away when I watch movies like Wreck-It Ralph.  This story had not been done before.

SUMMARY

Wreck-It Ralph is about Wreck-It Ralph.  This story is a sort-of coming of age, action film about heroes and friendship with a sprinkle of romance – you know, just to keep it interesting.

Ralph is the villain in a retro arcade game called Fix-It Felix Jr.  The game is simple, Ralph wrecks the building and the gamer manipulates Felix to fix it.  But Ralph grows weary of acting as the villain and embarks on an adventure filled with unlikely friends, candy, and cy-bugs to prove he’s a good guy.

REVIEW

Wreck-It Ralph is a film full of colorful settings and characters backed up by an original and heart-wrenching tale.  All the best things.

As a 24-year-old woman with a child-like spirit and an abounding love of color I was totally enraptured by the land of Sugar rush and the playful spirit it embodied.  At several points I was wishing the game Sugar Rush were a real game so I could play it (hint, hint Disney).  The other main settings of Hero’s Duty and Fix-It Felix Jr were also brilliant and enticing but both paled in comparison to Sugar Rush.

We are brought into the story through Fix-It Felix Jr with a monologue from Ralph.  The game setting embodies the early arcade games with the pixellated structure and the more subdued and simple color palette.

Hero’s Duty was tailored around the dark and dangerous mission of the game, to destroy all the cy-bugs.  In this case, the setting is mainly painted in black and neon green with high-definition and dramatic illustration.

Our main character, Ralph is a lovable, though hot-tempered, underdog villain who longs for friends and a cozy home.  The writers quickly entice the viewer to sympathizing with Ralph but only to an end.  Though Ralph lives in the dumps and has no friends he also proves to be mildly deserving when he unleashes his wrath among his game-mates and stomps off in resolve.  This simple moment defines Ralph’s true character as a selfish and overgrown hot head. Then the viewer gets to watch him transform into a real hero.

Our secondary, and also flawed, character is Venellope.  She is a vibrant, yet irritating small girl.  The viewer also gets to watch her transform and grow-up but I won’t reveal how that goes.

And finally, we have Felix and Sergeant Calhoun.  These characters get thrown together as they hunt for Ralph in order to save the game Fix-It Felix Jr. from the fate of being unplugged and the unsuspecting land of Sugar Rush from a dangerous cy-bug invasion.  Sergeant Calhoun is an abrasive and intense character with a tragic back story and Felix is an optimistic, super-friendly little man.

And finally, the story is inherently original and heart-wrenching due to the unique tale of arcade game characters getting involved with each other by jumping games and the way the writer’s so intentionally make the viewer fall in love with the characters.  But that’s all I will divulge about that because otherwise I’ll give away all the good stuff!

My only qualm with the movie isn’t even a qualm because I see why it was necessary; I didn’t like that Ralph was a tragic character who I sympathized with then grew quick distaste for because of his rage and selfishness.  But, I suppose, this story wouldn’t be nearly as gripping if it was based around a troubled character who was inherently lovable   With a preface like that there would have been little room for Ralph to have a character curve.

CONCLUSION

Clearly I loved the story.  More than that, I loved that I was pleasantly reminded to avoid selfishness and of the real value of friendship.

Image borrowed from:  http://www.primagames.com/

P.S.  Check out my 100th Blog Post HERE!  Psst… I’m having a giveaway drawing over there