For once I'm getting straight on to reviewing a film I just saw this evening, with many more reviews still in the pipeline I'll take a little of your time to freshly tap out my thoughts on the latest Disney computer animation Wreck It Ralph. This is not a Pixar outing and usually that means a serious dip in integrity and story telling, however here we have a film that really is for all of the family and is rather surprising.
Wreck It Ralph takes us into the world of a video arcade that has that idea of Toy Story, in that when we're done playing the games, the characters have a life of their own, in their own universe in the wires and code of arcade games and power bricks. Ralph is a bad guy in his video game Fix It Felix Junior, but he has a moral dilemma in that he's fed up of being the bad guy after 30 years of service. He wants his fellow game characters including Fix It Felix to see him differently, so he jumps game in order to prove he can be a good guy. His actions throw his game in to jeopardy as he game jumps in a desperate attempt to prove himself, and along the way he finds out what it really means to be a good, bad guy.
I was pleasantly surprised by how well crafted Wreck It Ralph is, with so many avenues the film makers could have gone down that might destroy our memory of the games we so love, they have a clear sense of direction here, with imagined characters inhabiting a well realised video game universe. It's very obvious from the off that this is a film made by people who really love video games, especially ones they played at a young age. It's also clear that instead of tarnishing our perception of known video game characters, the writers have managed to create characters of their own, and ones that fit and feel like they belong there. There are so many influences present here that I couldn't possibly list them all. In the imagined games there are obvious inspirations from Donkey Kong (Fix It Felix Jnr), Mario Kart (Sugar Rush) and Halo (Heroes Duty). The best thing is the film refers to many game characters we may not have seen for a while, and realises them such a way that honours them, without treading all over their legacy. It's difficult to explain but everything just works, from the story telling, the referencing, soundtrack, visuals and the characters. They all ring with those familiar tones that (for this reviewer) instantly transport you back to that time when you played on your Sega or Nintendo.
Nostalgia is a factor, but the story weaves it's own particular magic. Although this film has kids firmly in its cross hairs as the target audience, the plot deals with themes that will ring true with adults. Ralph has done the same job for 30 years that he gets no thanks for, and no-one sees the real him, so he acts out. Vanellope is a glitch in her game, she doesn't fit in and is bullied for it, and she is also trying to prove herself. The connection between these two characters when they meet does become the heart and soul of the film, and with its plot twists and turns, the pair are brought together to form a great alliance. When you pick the film apart it has the typical Disney hallmarks that ring of cliche, however the way these are presented are in a world where you are firmly engaged. The nuances of the characters make you feel like you are in a video game environment, something hard to do when you're transposing retro graphic game characters into a graphically luxurious CG animated movie. For instance the friends of Fix It Felix have excellent motion in which they jerk in their movement like a retro character would.
John C. Reilley (Ralph) and Sarah Silverman (Vanellope) are pitch perfect in their vocal roles and these two comic actors bounce off one another brilliantly in the dialog, you may even take a few phrases out of the cinema with you. Jane Lynch is also very notable as the fiery and fearsome Calhoun, who also gets a back story that gives her character some humanity with a resulting (Disney favourite) cliché love in. The writing is sharp and actually got a number of laughs out of me and more so out of the children in attendance. The animation is top notch with good lighting and textures that, especially in Sugar Rush, might have you watering a bit at the mouth. The 3D lends itself well to this kind of film, especially as it's used to noticeable effect here. The soundtrack has great elements of games gone by subtly blending retro sounds into a modern score. Any negatives about the film stem from the predictable direction the plot goes in from time to time. The bad guy arch is rather old hat, although you might not get to the conclusion before the film does, because you're a child and you are the target audience, or you are drawn in so much you take it as it comes.
Which leads me to conclude that if I were ten years old this film would be quite probably the best thing ever, just for the fun and the characters. But I thoroughly enjoyed this because, like Toy Story, it envisages a world that can reside in your imagination, and it's realised in a way that is believable, entertaining and makes me feel old . . . in a good way. One for the whole family, and for big kids, go and see it.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
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