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As a bit of an old time gamer there were lots of little touches for me to enjoy, lots of visual and audio in-jokes and cameos from games of years gone by. Aside from Fix-It Felix Jr. itself being a bit of a Donkey Kong tribute the likes of Street Fighter, Sonic, Super Mario and Metal Gear Solid all get a little nod amongst countless others. Characters such as Bowser, Dr Eggman, Blanka, Q*bert and Pac-man all get a showing. While the films even includes some more out-there references such as an exclamation mark from Metal Gear Solid. My favourite was perhaps the little cameo from Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter. And on top of that there's references to some more obscure, geeky stuff such as kill screens, mini games and cheat codes. Computer geeks will be in heaven as they attempt to best each other by spotting the most allusions.
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Year of release
2012
2012
Directed by
Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Written by
Phil Johnston // Jennifer Lee
Rich Moore // Jim Reardon
Phil Johnston // Jennifer Lee
Rich Moore // Jim Reardon
Starring
John C. Reilly
Sarah Silverman
Jane Lynch
Jack McBrayer
John C. Reilly
Sarah Silverman
Jane Lynch
Jack McBrayer
Wreck-It Ralph
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Plot – When the arcade closes at night, the characters who reside within the games come to life and embark on their own lives. One such character is Wreck-It Ralph, the villain of retro game, Fix-It Felix. He's been the ultimate bad guy for over 30 years, but that is no longer what he wants from his life. Attempting to win a medal to prove his heroism Ralph 'game-jumps' to Hero's Duty, a modern first person shooter. While he does get the medal he seeks, Ralph unwittingly unleashes a deadly enemy that could wipe out every game in the arcade. Ralph does however have a more immediate concern; he has lost his medal to a glitch named Vanellope von Schweetz who is a character in the racing game Sugar Rush. Despite the irritation that she causes him, Ralph will come to rely on Vanellope if he is to embrace his inner good guy and save the day.
Many people have noted the similarity Ralph bears to the Toy Story trilogy, and its certainly an accurate observation. Indeed for a while I felt the film seemed happy merely just to stick to that formula and be done with it, but it did eventually step out of the substantial shadow of Woody & Buzz to stand on its own two feet.
Following in the footsteps of Toy Story I enjoyed the way that the film took real-life problems and placed them on to these fictional playthings - midlife crisis, dissatisfaction with your life, bullying etc. And I liked the relationships that were formed, from the touching friendship between Ralph and Vanellope to the ridiculous but winning romance shared by Calhoun and Felix. Though the film does perhaps retreat a little bit too much to that familiar Disney trait of 'be yourself' that they've been doling out in films for decades. And in general it perhaps adheres a little too strictly to the formula and structure Disney has firmly established over countless animation classics. As a result with this conventional approach there is a slight lull around the half-way mark. However the film is able to put this aside to deliver a large scale and thrilling conclusion that plays out like a big alien invasion shoot-em-up.
Personally I found John C. Reilly's performance to be a little bit lifeless, but perhaps that's just my hang-up as not many people appear to share it. Outside of that however the film should be congratulated for some spot-on voice casting. Jack McBrayer's Southern geniality was a perfect fit for the perennial do-gooder that was Fix-It Felix. It's a similar story with Jane Lynch as the kick-ass Sergeant Calhoun. However the star voice definitely belongs to Sarah Silverman; perfectly capturing the the equal parts bratty, equal parts adorable traits of her character, Vanellope von Schweetz. I just loved her character.
Film trivia – Wreck-It Ralph may seem like quite a modern idea but it has actually been in development hell for some three decades. The idea of it was originally conceived of in the 1980s under the working title of High Score. Since then the idea has been revisited several times and redeveloped. In the late 1990s it became Joe Jump, and then in mid-2000s it was developed under the name of Reboot Ralph.
The film's designers deserve great credit for being able to capture the look and tone of various games, from the sleek, modern Halo-like world of Hero's Duty to the retro delight of Fix-It Felix Jr. And then of course there is the bold and sickeningly sweet Sugar Rush where Vanellope resides. It's an incredible burst of bright colour that I imagine was created when a unicorn threw up! And I love just some of the little touches they included, such as the movement of the residents of Fix-It Felix Jr. Even outside of the game their movement is very jerky and awkward, imitating that of old games and lacking the fluidity of characters from modern gaming. Overall the film's visuals are really quite dazzling.
Oh and the film also scores highly for its short film, Paperman, which precedes Ralph. It may lack the imagination of some of the best Pixar shorts but it's a tremendously sweet, adorable little tale. Presented in gorgeous black and white animation, it is beautifully constructed and is able to build the story, and convey the emotions without a single world being spoken. It really does create a lovely warm feeling, just setting the table nicely for Ralph to follow on. And here it actually is -
Conclusion – It may not break much new ground in terms of its plot or character arcs, but it's all so bubbly and entertaining that it's tough to judge it all that harshly. Kids will likely love it for its sugar-coated, candy floss aesthetic; while old gamers like myself will get a nostalgic kick out of trying to spot as many in-jokes as possible. Already I'm looking forward to getting the DVD and trying to pick out the numerous ones I'm sure I missed. It may not prove a match for the Toy Story films which appeared to inspire it, or much of Pixar's catalogue for that matter, but it's a delightful slice of fun all the same.