Directed by: Rich Moore
Written by: Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee (based on a story by Johnston, Rich Moore, and Jim Reardon)
Despite being unfairly lambasted as brainless or even excessively violent entertainment by some critics (COUGHrogerebertCOUGH), I've always considered video games to be an unsung hero in the world of art and pop culture. Whether it was the simple "crossing the street" of Frogger or the darkly moralistic landscape of BioShock, games from either the arcade or the home console have always had their own unique story to tell, either through its narrative or the countless bits of code strung together to form a visual tale where dialogue isn't even necessary.
After all, some of the best stories-- whether it's literary or cinematic, musical or interactive-- are simple tales of good versus evil, and if anything, video games aren't video games without these essential archetypes. What's Mario without a Bowser? What's Sonic without a Dr. Robotnik? What's Oregon Trail without a... I don't know, dysentery?
But what if those villains stuck in their big shiny boxes get tired of losing and being vilified, game after game? It must get pretty monotonous to get beaten at the final stage and let the hero get all the glory all the time. Why can't they be a hero for once? In director Rich Moore's hugely inspired and wonderfully nostalgic animated comedy Wreck-It Ralph, the final boss gets a chance to aim for the high score.
For the last 30 years, Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) has served as the destructive villain in the arcade game Fix-It Felix, Jr., where the eponymous carpenter hero (voice of Jack McBrayer) saves a building from being demolished by Ralph, ultimately throwing Ralph off the building and earning the adulation of the townspeople. But once the arcade closes, the game characters have a life of their own, with all the arcade cabinets connected in their own digital universe by way of a surge protector serving as a "central station" of sorts.
But while Felix enjoys the fruits of a popular hero's life, Ralph spends his nights by himself in a junk pile, friendless and lonely. Tired of always playing the villain and wanting to prove his worth as a hero --and learning that he can earn the love of his game's townspeople if he wins a game's "hero medal"-- Ralph goes AWOL from his game and enters the world of the first-person shooter Hero's Duty, which features the no-nonsense Sgt. Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) leading a platoon of troops against an army of dangerous Cy-Bug monsters.
Hoping to win that game's medal, Ralph infiltrates Hero's Duty-- even though leaving his home game means that he cannot regenerate if he dies-- and does just that, but an encounter with a stray Cy-Bug sends Ralph into the candy-coated world of the racing game Sugar Rush, which is led by racing champion King Candy (voice of Alan Tudyk). There, Ralph meets the diminutive Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman), a hyperactive "glitch" in the game who uses Ralph's medal as a means to enter a big race.
As Ralph deals with trying to regain his medal by reluctantly helping Vanellope win the race, he must contend with the schemes of King Candy, not to mention a possible infestation of Sugar Rush by the Cy-Bugs, all while Felix tries to retrieve Ralph before their own game is shut down for good.
Ever since hearing of Wreck-It Ralph's development, I was extremely excited for the film's release, especially after seeing the clever trailer. I grew up with arcades (back when they were still fashionable and not overshadowed by the uber-expensive "barcades" such as Dave & Buster's) and the classic 2D home consoles such as Nintendo and Sega Genesis, so any film dealing with retro gaming (and I use "retro" in a loving, unironic sense) is an immediate point of interest for me.
Overall, movies that have used classic games or aspects of the medium as part of their plot have more or less hit the mark (whether it was the stupendous documentary The King of Kong or the comic book/video game mashup Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), so when I heard that Disney's latest animated feature would be a loving send-up of the 8-bit classics of my past, my expectations were very high.
After seeing the film, I'd just like to say that whoever gave the go-ahead for the movie is an unparalleled genius. A technical marvel and an emotionally satisfying treat for both kids and old-school gamers, Wreck-It Ralph is a brilliant homage to arcade games on a level that gives the folks at Pixar a run for their money in terms of computer animation, terrific storytelling, and a painstaking eye for detail.
I laughed out loud during the many occasions where I caught reference after reference to video games that would make a gamer junkie squeal, from the video game villain support group that Ralph attends (the pep talk he gets from the ghost from Pac-Man and Zangief from Street Fighter is priceless) to the presence of Q*Bert as a vagrant in the surge protector where all the game characters intersect (another brilliant touch in terms of Toy Story-esque anthropomorphism) are nostalgic gold. I was amazed that the Mouse House managed to get permission to have so many existing game characters show up (much like the case in Who Framed Roger Rabbit), but when you have a screenplay as clever as this, you can only imagine game companies jumping at the chance to represent here.
The cast is terrific across the board, with a winning hero in John C. Reilly's "villain", whose chemistry with Sarah Silverman's bratty racer is pitch-perfect. Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the Page from TV's "30 Rock") injects his usual folksy demeanor as the wholesome Fix-It Felix, and the great Jane Lynch is all tough-talking grit as the heroine from the Halo parody, Hero's Duty.
And as I pointed out earlier, the detail in Ralph is immaculate. There are so many big and little touches that evoke the visual elements of video games from past and present: for example, when Ralph smashes apart a cake, the dessert's splatter is depicted as being "pixelated". When a race begins in Sugar Rush, the camera swivels behind the racers the same way it did in racing games like Mario Kart. It's details like these that give the film its character, and I had a big ol' smile on my face from start to finish.
It's likely that a lot of the video game jokes and references will fly over the heads of young kids or some older adults who never got into games post-Pong, but Wreck-It Ralph still manages to entertain and engage without the need for the audience to be arcade enthusiasts. A hopeful shoo-in for awards season and a reminder that there are still plenty of great, original stories left to tell in Movieland, Wreck-It Ralph is a huge Level-Up for animated storytelling and entertainment.
Letter Grade: "A"
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