Wreck-it Ralph

Toy story worked because it played off an idea most kids have at one time: what if my toys were real? Wreck-it Ralph asks the question what if video game characters were real? It is the exact same premise as Toy Story, but instead of Pixar's usually flawless story telling, Wreck-It Ralph is coming from Disney who has been incredibly hit-or-miss lately, emphasis on miss. The trailers were cute. They played on my generation's 8-bit nostalgia. It gave us some of the characters we grew up with and promised video game jokes of all kinds. The animation looked good, the voice work looked good, but the movie was not selling a story. It was selling nostalgia. The problem with nostalgia is it has a short shelf life. A 90 minute that is nothing but "remember this character..." would be an awful movie experience. Toy Story worked because nostalgia was merely a hook for a brilliant story told incredibly effectively. Wreck-it Ralph was high on my to-see list, but I was concerned about how effective it would be.

Wreck-it Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the villain in a Donkey Kong style arcade game called Fix-it Felix. Somehow the game has remained popular enough to last in one arcade for decades, seeing flash in the pan games come and go. The problem is, Ralph is not actually a bad guy. When the game turns off for the night and the characters go back to their own world, all Ralph wants is to be liked. he wants to have friends and prove he belongs next to Felix(Jack McBrayer) as a hero. In the game, when the hero wins he gets a medal. This gives Ralph the idea that he should go into another game to get a medal. The next morning he game jumps and ends up in Hero's Duty, a first person shooter that looks like a video game version of Spaceship Troopers. Breaking all of the rules of a first person shooter, Ralph gets his medal, but things go awry and instead of being back in his own game, he ends up in Sugar Rush, a race car game. The rest of the movie takes place in Sugar Rush, a lushly colored video game littered with candy. Imagine CandyLand as a video game. Ralph meets a precocious young girl, Vaneloppe(Sarah Silverman) and they become friends. Vaneloppe is a glitch, and in her game if she is allowed to race, odds are the kids playing will complain and the game will be unplugged and the characters will end up bums in the Grand Central Station of video games. However, all she wants to do is race. This is the key story, there are a few side plots involving a bug jumping from Hero's Duty to Sugar Rush and threatening to consume the game and destroying all games.

Wreck-It Ralph succeeds on every level without question. The animation is top notch. The movie pops off the screen (in 2D) with vivacious life and fluid motions. Sugar Rush could have been too cutesy, too, well...sugary, but it works. I was worried when I heard the majority of the game was going to take place in this Sugar Rush world, but it works. It lends itself to great gags, great visuals and awesome racing. However, it really is the story that gets you. Much like Toy Story, the nostalgia is cute. It really gets you into the world, but once you are in the world, you become attached to Ralph. Ralph is like the big dope who is well intentioned but cannot help but screw everything up because of his size. John C. Reilly could not be more perfect in the role. He has a gentle sweetness to his voice, but also an over-arching melancholy that permeates his entire being. Sarah Silverman tones down her annoying to give a very warm, feisty and fun voice performance to a character that could have easily derailed the entire movie. These two have a gentle and warm chemistry and watching the friendship between the two characters is what gives this movie its beating heart.

There are great video game jokes for people who love video games, and there are great jokes and slapstick for kids and there is a sophistication for the parents of all generations. I have a hard time believing people out there not enjoying this movie. It is a good time for everyone, but it is also heartfelt and has great underlying themes. It tells us not to let other people define who we are. Ralph has a job, and it takes him being away from that job to make others appreciate who he is and what he does. He looks like the villain and is programmed to be the villain, but he has a giant heart. On the other end, Vaneloppe is told by her entire game that she is a mistake, but she knows in her heart who she is and when all of the truth comes out, it is a very touching thing to see. She uses her "glitch" to her advantage. It teaches kids, and all of us, that maybe we are who we are meant to be. We are not mistakes and maybe our "flaws" help make us the beautiful people we are supposed to be. Am I reaching? I do not think so. I think every good movie aimed at kids has a great message under it and Wreck-it Ralph has plenty. However, more than anything else, it is a great heart warming movie that had me falling in love with my youth all over again.

Final Grade: A-