When I first saw the trailer for “Wreck-It Ralph” I thought, “I'm not much of a video gamer. This movie probably isn’t for me.” But after seeing it, I can assure you that Disney has once again taken a seemingly exclusive subject and made a film to capture everyone's interest. Even those who have never heard of Wreck-It Ralph or Fix-It Felix will recognize classic video game characters like PAC-MAN and Bowser from Mario Bros. And anyone who is just completely clueless will be taken in by the dynamic of new characters and a fairly sentimental plot-line.
Movie wittily parodies the world of classic video games
The movie, much like “Toy Story,” shows us what goes on in the video game world when the humans aren't around. Each game in the arcade has its own land beyond what gamers see on the screen. When the arcade closes each night the characters can travel to other games via Game Central Station, i.e., the power strip that they're all plugged into. But they're warned that if they die in another game, they won't be rebooted and will die permanently.
We're first introduced to Ralph (John C. Reilly) attending a villains’ support group in PAC-MAN where he shares that he feels left out in his own game. Everyone just sees him as the bad guy who wrecks things, he lives at the dump and he is never invited to their parties. The “good guy” characters don't understand what it's like to be rejected all the time and Ralph reveals that he'd like to be one of them. This vulnerable aspect of his personality is what makes him such an endearing character. Despite the fact that he’s large, rude and has bad people skills, he does have a heart. So it’s not hard to root for him when he sets out to win a medal in order to be accepted.
Plot takes twists and turns aplenty
On his quest for a medal, Ralph first travels to Hero's Duty, which is a stereotypical special missions game with soldiers, shooting and an angry sergeant who yells a lot (Jane Lynch). Sergeant Calhoun’s seriousness is so over the top that the situations she’s placed in turn out to be amusing because of the way she reacts. But her serious manner is needed when Ralph accidentally hatches a fatally destructive monster called a Cy-Bug that ends up leaving Hero’s Duty, putting the entire arcade at risk.
From there Ralph finds himself in Sugar Rush, a girly racing game where everything is made out of candy, cookies, soda and other sweets. It is here that he meets an annoying and ironically unrefined girl named Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman). They soon become friends after Ralph discovers that she too is the odd one out in her game, and he wards off some Sugar Rush bullies who call her a “glitch.” This means that she wasn't originally programmed for the game. But it's Vanellope's dream to win a race and, with the help of Ralph, she's determined to. Their friendship seems a little strange at first because they’re so different on the outside, but they’re both oddballs and are actually really cute together.
Film builds up to a fast-paced and fun confusion
Meanwhile, Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) comes into the picture more as he and Sergeant Calhoun try to find Ralph and the Cy-Bug in order to save their games. Their interactions are kind of funny and cheesy, but mostly awkward. This is probably due to the fact that one of them is from a simple, classic game and the other is from a brand new action-driven game – they’re practically opposites. The movie becomes pretty action-packed towards the end and includes many unexpected turns, but I don't want to spoil too much.
Although it contains cliché conflicts and a predictable happy ending, the honest and humorous characters, the plot twists and even the animated short preceding the feature presentation make “Wreck-It Ralph” a worthwhile movie that everyone should see at least once.
