Wreck-It Ralph

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Disney has been on a bit of a cold streak lately with their animated films. Brave wasn't as good as everyone expected, and Cars 2 was no better than the first one. It makes the exceptional Toy Story 3 seem so long ago. But I believe that I found the reason behind this...

It's because they were spending so much time making Wreck-It Ralph near perfect. 

Not only is it the best videogame movie ever, it's the best animated film of the year by far, and frankly, just one of the best movies of the year overall. Not since Avengers have I had this much fun in the theater.

"Whaaaaa. But Mr. Rath's Reviews...how can this be true?" 

Some of you may be shocked, but allow me to explain my reasoning...

As always, a brief plot synopsis: Wreck-It Ralph is the bad guy in his videogame. He is responsible for, well, wrecking the building. He has been doing this for 30 years and is lonely and sick of being the "bad guy". After voicing his concerns at a hilarious "Bad Guys Anonymous" (think an AA meeting) he decides that he will talk to the other game characters in his game and tell them he wants to stop being the bad guy. This doesn't end up going over so well and Ralph ends up "game jumping" in order to win a "good guy" medal to prove he isn't the bad guy. And then awesomeness commences. 

One of the funniest parts of the movie. And notice all the real videogame
characters around!

Wreck-It Ralph is Disney's love story to videogames. They took the time to get real videogame characters and put numerous nods to others throughout the game. It's a gamer's (such as myself) dream, but it's also appealing to literally anyone who has played at least one videogame in their life...so basically everyone. Disney has created a world that is as imaginative as anything they have come up with since, dare I say it, the original Toy Story. Just like when I was little and I truly believed that my toys came to life after I left, I am now wondering if all of my videogames are chilling in the outlet terminal that my PS3 is hooked up to...and I'm 22 years old. Well played, Disney, well played. 

At it's core, Wreck-It Ralph is a comedy. But it has some
phenomenal action too. 

One of the cutest characters Disney has ever created

But the reason I am praising Wreck-It Ralph so much is not because I am some videogame fanboy. It's because it is just so damn good. As I said earlier, it's been a while since Disney had a classic with Toy Story 3. And what do we all remember about that movie? The fact that it made absolutely every single person in the theater cry. If you didn't cry in Toy Story 3 then you truly do not have a soul, plain and simple. Now, Wreck-It Ralph's emotional impact is no where near as close as that movie, but boy did it still get to me. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that with it being a videogame-based movie, there are videogame based issues brought to the surface (i.e. glitches) that drive the plot and lead to Ralph having to make some very tough decisions. 

I can't wait to hang out with this crew again!

As I re-read over this review, I realize that I haven't really gotten into specifics like I usually do. But truthfully? I don't think I need to. Wreck-It Ralph is hilarious, action packed, speaks to the gamer in all of us, features an exciting soundtrack, has likable characters all performed flawlessly by their voice actors, and it tugs at your heart strings. This is really all that needs to be said:

Wreck-It Ralph is another Disney classic and to miss it would just be foolish. 

Pros:

• Disney knows how to tell a story, but even more than that, they know how to incorporate the subject material flawlessly. Almost all aspects about gaming are featured here, and many of them drive the story
• Great voice acting by John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch. Each of them fits their character to a T
• While I wouldn't say it is as funny as some of the other Disney classics (and some of the gamer nods will go over people's heads), it still has some side-splitting moments...OOOOREEEEEO-O-O-O OOOOREEEEO-O-O-O!
• Disney has crafted another genius world that is exciting, colorful, and full of future potential. They truly have some creative minds over there
• When there is action, it is exciting and videogame based. Like I said earlier, Best Videogame Movie Ever.
• Fun soundtrack and original score
• At least for me, they nailed the emotional punch

Cons:

• My only complaint is that I wish they would have featured more licensed characters. It would have been so cool to see some Master Chief, Nathan Drake, etc. in there. But hey, there is always the sequel!

Rath's Review Score: 10/10 -- Instant Classic