Tuesday 26 February 2013

Wreck-It Ralph


If you've read my last review for Monsters, Inc. you'll know that I'm a massive sucker for Disney movies. So I knew I would see Wreck-It Ralph as soon as I saw the trailer. The fact that the movie was picked by my cinema buddy as his Birthday movie choice just made the decision to see it that much sweeter.

Wreck-It Ralph tells the story of a guy called Ralph who lives in an arcade game called Fix It Felix. Ralph's job is to wreck the building Felix manages. If you win the game, Felix fixes all of the things Ralph wrecks and it's game over for Ralph. But Ralph isn't a bad guy, not in the traditional sense of the word, and he wants to break out of his routine. He does this by jumping into another game, one that will make him a hero, but in the process he risks the lives of everyone else in Fix It Felix world, because without Ralph, they have no game.

Wreck-It Ralph, like most Disney movies, has an easy to follow premise. But it succeeds due to the finer details that only Disney think of. Although I didn't grow up in arcades, I can still appreciate the dedication that has gone into not only re-creating these games* for the movie, but also creating the lives of the characters in them. This is where Disney truly excel. 

The scene where Ralph is at 'Bad-Anon', which is basically alcoholics anonymous for bad guys, is so well thought out and executed you can't help but love every bad guy in that room. And if it doesn't make you look at bad guys in your gaming worlds differently, then nothing will. 

The voice work and animation are both superb as you would also expect, but Wreck-It Ralph's heart lies in showing us something we all want in our own lives, acceptance, and then making the characters work for it. 

Kids and adults alike will both get a lot from Ralph. Seeing it certainly didn't wreck my day. And if you get to the cinema early enough you'll also see the Oscar winning animated short film Paperman. Worth the admission alone. 7 out of 10. 

*All of the games featured in the movie are real games. Seriously. Go to You Tube, the games are on there!


Viewing Date - 8th February 2013
UK Release Date - 8th February 2013

Cast Overview:
(If you don't like knowing who the voices are DONT SCROLL DOWN! ;0)
John C Reilly ~ Ralph
Sarah Silverman ~ Vanellope
Jack McBrayer ~ Felix
Jane Lynch ~ Calhoun
Alan Tudyk ~ King Candy
Mindy Kaling ~ Taffyta Muttonfudge
Ed O'Neill ~ Mr Litwak

Director ~ Rich Moore
Writer(s) ~ Rich Moore (Story), Phil Johnston (Story and Screenplay), Jim Reardon (Story), Jennifer Lee (Screenplay)

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