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| Vanellope, Ralph, Felix, and Sergeant Calhoun |
But “Wreck-It Ralph” is more than the sum of it’s parts. Charming and honest, with believable characters, vibrant visuals, and a well-paced plot that is as entertaining as it is involving, the film will satisfy both kids and adults.
Developed and distributed by Walt Disney Studio’s, “Wreck-It Ralph” is the company’s 52nd feature film. First-time director and co-writer Rich Moore--known for directing episode’s of “the Simpsons” and “Futurama”--brings a clarity of purpose to the plot and characters. Usually working within twenty-one-minute time frames, Moore keeps excellent pacing during “Wreck-It Ralph”’s 108 minutes.
The movie switches visual styles and color palettes all throughout, moving from a flat, pixelated 8-bit style to Disney’s crisp, clear CGI which it has become known for. All the various video game worlds depicted have their own colors, moods, and even physics. This adds depth and a sense of realism to what would otherwise be a very unrealistic animated film.
A key feature of “Wreck-It Ralph”, and one that anyone familiar with video or arcade games will pick up on, is the inclusion of many actual arcade game characters. “Street Fighter”’s Zangief gives career advice to the main character, Q*bert helps out when he can, and everyone rides the Pac-Man rail system.
Moore and producers made an active effort to put in as many of these characters as they could. The principal characters, however, are all original to the film.
What won’t feel as original is “Wreck-It Ralph”’s underdog story--though in a children’s film that’s par for the course. Ralph is the villain of the arcade game “Fix-It Felix, Jr.,” an outdated classic reminiscent of Nintendo’s “Donkey Kong.”
The story takes place within the microcosm of the video games located within a particular arcade, Litwak’s Arcade. It’s a bit of a brain-teaser, but the film doesn’t dwell on it, and neither should the audience.
Fed up with being left out, Ralph decides to earn the respect of his fellow arcade inhabitants any way he can. Ralph leaves his home-game and ends up causing havoc amongst two others, finally ending up in “Sugar Rush,” a Candyland-themed go-cart racing game.
Felix, the titular hero of “Fix-It Felix, Jr.,” and Sergeant Calhoun, the hero of the high-resolution first-person shooter “Hero’s Duty,” decide to go after Ralph. Once inside “Sugar Rush,” Ralph agrees to help the cheeky Vanellope von Schweetz, a glitchy would-be racer, who is an outcast in her home game, just like Ralph is in his.
The plot so described might seem a bit fluffy and pedantic. But the charm of the film is that there is weight to all of this. Characters have jobs and responsibilities, and what little cartoonish violence characters commit has suitable consequences.
If you die in your game, you’re gonna be fine. But if you die outside of your game, or your game is unplugged--that’s it, you’re finished. Therefore the central conflict of the film is getting Ralph back before his rash actions lead to two of the arcade’s games being shut down, causing hundreds to be deleted.
Despite this harrowing detail, Wreck-It Ralph is very light-hearted, and appropriate for children, particularly those who grew up with video games. To the film’s credit, there is almost a complete lack of innuendo or toilet humor--with the notable exception, joking about “Hero’s Duty”, posted right in the trailer.
The relatable John C. Reilly provides the voice for Ralph. Big, awkward and socially ostracised, Ralph is a perfect character for Reilly, who tends toward playing friendly outcasts. Opposite in lead is Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz; the popular comedian brings both her forwardness and sense of timing, but leaves her vulgarity at home. Silverman and Reilly play well off one another, and their characters’ camaraderie feels genuinely warm.
The affable and handy Fix-It Felix, played by Jack McBrayer, and the gun-toting, no-nonsense Sergeant Calhoun, played by Jane Lynch, both meet while searching for the absent Ralph. Felix immediately falls for the “high-definition” Calhoun, and eventually Calhoun falls for Felix’s tenacious kind heart--or perhaps the violent Calhoun just likes that Felix fixes everything he touches.
To the credit of McBrayer and Lynch, their characters are both likable and dynamic. However, Felix and Calhouns’ romance feels forced. It is even stated that Calhoun is “coded” with a tragic past, to give Fix-It Felix something he needs to fix. That is all the romantic incentive these characters need, it seems.
“Wreck-It Ralph”’s familiar theme--of underdogs and outcasts finding their happy place--is actually it’s strongest feature. Characters leave their comfort zone, try to make something of themselves, cause problems along the way, but then ultimately solve these problems by being true to their nature. To help him along the way, Ralph remembers the villain’s montra: I’m bad and that’s good.
By the closing act, the four leads have come together to solve the problems that Ralph has caused along the way--but in solving these problems, they all grow, and every character finds a new and better place. Though this is a very safe way to end the film, it works, thanks to “Wreck-It Ralph”’s warm performances and clever writing.
Sure, its premise might be strange, and some of its elements a bit trite; but the skill of the film’s production, along with so many of it’s clever ideas combined, helps solidify “Wreck-It Ralph” as a true Disney animated classic.
