Wreck-It Ralph - Review

With Ralph Breaks the Internet out now, I decided to go back and re-watch Wreck-It Ralph in preparation. When this film came out, I was hyped. I saw the trailers and saw characters I knew from games like Street Fighter, Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man etc. and saw that John C. Reilly was voicing Ralph and got excited. I remember walking out of the theatre being disappointed because I did not get the film I was expecting. While after a second viewing, I did enjoy myself much more than my first experience, I still feel like it could have been better.

When the movie begins, you feel that Disney magic. You start to see the Disney creativity with all of the video game characters of this arcade coming to life and hanging out in the power bar acting as a train station and the plugs to the games as the railway. You see some certain characters as I mentioned earlier and even some of the characters' animation matches their movements in the game. Some characters only move in 90 degree turns and feel very blocky. I love that stuff. Toy Story with video games. At this point, I am on board.

In terms of the story, I was on board too. We have Wreck-It Ralph who is the bad guy in an arcade game called Fix-It Felix. However, one day he simply decides that he is tired of being the bad guy and wants to become a good guy for once. Now, obviously, this isn't the most subtle of arcs in kids films because you know exactly the message they are going for right off the bat. You can be anything you want to be and don't let society or outsider influence who you want to become and all that good stuff. While hitting pretty hard on the nose, it is a good message for kids to have.

So Ralph wants to prove that he can be a good guy and win a medal (similar to the one Felix gets every time he defeats Ralph and fixes the building) and we head to a game called Hero's Duty. Obviously, this is a game supposed to be like Halo, but I can only assume that Disney wasn't able to get the license to use Halo in their movie. So of course, some hi-jinx ensue and we end up in a game called Sugar Rush, a mix between Candyland and Mario Kart. Here is where the film falls off the rails a little.

We meet Vanellope played by Sarah Silverman who unfortunately is more annoying than funny, and we also get introduced to quite a few subplots. I was surprised about how many times I had to re-check my brain and think, “So, who are these guys again? What does this have to do with anything?” And of course, the movie amounts to nothing more than a surprise secret villain with a big chase scene. The movie quickly turns from Toy Story with video game characters to a Candyland movie with countless candy puns.

And while I don't mind a kids movie that may recycle old plots from other kids films or have characters that are supposed to be annoying, but what I don't like is when I know I should be laughing but nothing comes out of my mouth. Not a smile, a chuckle, not a laugh of any kind. That is where this movie falls flat. It's just not that funny. As a kids movie with the message of forging your own identity and not being tied down what society and the world says you have to be, it's harmless entertainment. I'm glad I was able to experience it once and I am very glad to say that the sequel was much more enjoyable, but I don't think I will be revisiting this movie any time soon.