Aylmer to Zazzoo and Beyond: Wreck-It Ralph

Friday, November 2, 2012

Wreck-It Ralph - Review

Wreck-It Ralph
(2012 - November 2)
Animation | Comedy | Family
108 min.

Rated: PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence. What parents need to know
Grade: A-

Director: Rich Moore
Writers: Jennifer Lee (screenplay), Phil Johnston (screenplay), John C. Reilly (additional story material)
Stars: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch | See full cast and crew

Ralph is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, the 'good guy' star of their game who always gets to save the day. But after 30 years of doing the same thing and seeing all the glory go to Felix, Ralph is tired of playing the role of the 'bad guy'. He takes matters into his own massive hands and sets out to prove he's got what it takes to be a hero. He goes on a game-hopping journey through the arcade across every generation and type of video game. On his quest, he meets the tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun from the first-person action game Hero's Duty. But it's the feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz from the candy-coated cart racing game, Sugar Rush, whose world is threatened when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade. Will Ralph realize his dream and save the day before it's too late?

I first saw the previews for this animated film from Disney about 2 1/2 months ago and really did not look forward to seeing it. I have never been a video game fan. Yes, way back in the olden days I did play a little Pong, Pac Man, Tetris and Frogger in the nostalgic, primitive days of video gaming. How the premise of one of these out-dated type video games could make an interesting movie was something I couldn't imagine. I didn't at the time expect to see it.

I had a choice of three films opening this week: Paramount's $31 million R rated Flight directed by Robert Zemeckis starring Denzel Washington; Universal's $15 million R rated The Man With The Iron Fists starring Russell Crowe (presented by Quentin Tarantino, one of my least favorite filmmakers, at least he didn't direct it) or Disney's $165 million PG rated Wreck-it Ralph. I wasn't hot on seeing Wreck-it Ralph but I was just not in the mood to sit through the profanity; violence; vulgarity, sex and nudity of Iron Fists and Flight so I opted for Wreck-it. I was totally prepared to hate this film.

There is a six-and-a-half minute short subject that precedes the feature film titled Paperman, is an amusing and ingenious love story told without a single word. Done entirely in pantomime, and not the type of creepy mimes that you want to punch in the throat. Presented in black & white except for one little touch of color. Directed by John Kahrs and his crew it is a contemporary, clever, charming and humorous short that was met with cheers and applause by the audience at the screening I attended.

As it turns out, this film was quite a surprise. It's sort of hard not to like it. I saw the regular 2D version at midnight and it was very well attended, not a full house but a large crowd for a midnight showing, especially for an animated kid's movie. They were very much involved with the film They laughed at all the right places. It was a younger crowd. A lot of teens and young adults that I'm sure grew up as video gamers. They laughed and chuckled at a lot of things that I didn't quite get that most certainly were inside jokes that any video game fan would relate to. The audience applauded and cheered at the end of the film, just as they had for Paperman earlier.

Wreck-it Ralph will be fun for the video game generations and for the little ones and, I dare say, won't bore their parents into a coma. It incorporates worthwhile life lessons without being all preachy, just simple and fun. Something the entire family can enjoy together.

Plot

Spoiler Alert

(Via Wikipedia)

At night when Litwak's Arcade closes, the various video game characters congregate in Game Central Station. Similarly at the conclusion of Fix-It Felix, Jr., the game's characters celebrate the game's hero Fix-It Felix, but they shun the game's villain Wreck-It Ralph. At a weekly support group for video game villains, Ralph reveals he doesn't want to be a bad guy anymore. Returning to his own game, Ralph finds the other characters celebrating their game's anniversary and that he wasn't invited. Felix reluctantly invites Ralph to join the party, but the others refuse to accept Ralph, saying he'd have to win a medal, just as Felix does.

While visiting Tapper's, Ralph meets a soldier from Hero's Duty who reveals that the game's winner receives a medal. Ralph enters the game and encounters Sergeant Calhoun, the game's no-nonsense leader.

In between games, Ralph climbs the game's central beacon and collects the medal. On his way out, he accidentally hatches a Cy-Bug, which clings to him as he stumbles into an escape pod that launches him out of the game.

Meanwhile, Ralph's absence has not gone unnoticed as a girl tells Mr. Litwak that Fix-It Felix, Jr. is malfunctioning. Since broken games are unplugged leaving their characters homeless, Felix sets off to find Ralph.

The escape pod crash-lands in Sugar Rush, a kart-racing game. As Ralph searches for his medal, he meets Vanellope von Schweetz, a glitchy character who makes off with the medal herself.

She plans to use the medal to buy entry into an after-hours race, but King Candy and the other racers refuse to let Vanellope participate saying she's not really part of the game. Ralph and Vanellope build a kart for her to use. Ralph teaches Vanellope how to drive inside Diet Cola Mountain, an unfinished track where Vanellope lives.

Back in Hero's Duty, Felix meets Sergeant Calhoun who explains that the Cy-Bugs can take over any game they enter. As the pair searches for Ralph and the Cy-Bug in Sugar Rush, they become separated with Calhoun discovering the Cy-Bug has laid hundreds of eggs and Felix being imprisoned in King Candy's castle. In the meantime, King Candy enters the game's code and finds Ralph's medal.

He offers Ralph the medal in exchange for keeping Vanellope out of the race. He states that if her glitches cause the game to be unplugged, Vanellope won't be able to leave the game. Fearing for Vanellope's safety, Ralph wrecks the kart and returns to Fix-It Felix, Jr.. He finds the game deserted as everyone has evacuated in expectation that their game will be unplugged in the morning.

Seeking to fix things, Ralph returns to Sugar Rush and finds both Felix and Vanellope. Ralph asks Felix to fix the wrecked kart so Vanellope can race. As the race proceeds, the hatched Cy-Bugs attack and Felix, Calhoun and Ralph battle the bugs. When Vanellope catches up to King Candy, Vanellope's glitches reveal that King Candy is actually Turbo, a character from an unplugged racing game. Vanellope escapes from King Candy who is consumed by a Cy-Bug. The group decides to flee the game, but Vanellope cannot pass through the exit. Calhoun says the game can't be saved because there is no beacon in the game. The beacon in Hero's Duty attracts and kills the Cy-Bugs.

In order to save Vanellope, Ralph heads to Diet Cola Mountain where he plans on collapsing the mountain's Mentos stalactites into the liquid cola at the bottom, causing an eruption that would attract the bugs. Before he can finish the job, a mutated King Candy confronts Ralph and carries him into the air. Ralph breaks free and falls toward the mountain hoping his impact will start the eruption. Vanellope in turn uses her glitching abilities to catch Ralph. The eruption begins on its own and draws all the Cy-Bugs and the mutated King Candy to their destruction. Vanellope crosses the finish line which restores the original game code. Both Felix and Ralph return to Fix-It Felix, Jr. in time to show Litwak the game works sparing their game and giving its characters a new respect for Ralph's work as the villain.