As you flop down on your mattress in your heated dorm room, snuggling up beneath your covers as you lay your head on your pillow, know that there exists a behemoth, nine feet tall and weighing upwards of six hundred pounds, whose sole purpose is to destroy. Each night he lays his head on a hollowed out tree stump and hides himself from the elements under the rubble of his past conquests. His hammy mitts are as wide as pizza boxes, and if you happen to see him, he may force you to tears … with his touching and heartfelt story about trying to show the world who he really is. His name is Wreck-It Ralph.
“Wreck-It Ralph” is yet another great Disney and Pixar animated movie that aims its mighty fists straight at your feels as it tells the story of its unlikely hero.
Ralph is the main villain in a fictional classic arcade game called “Fix It Felix Jr.” After 30 years of getting tossed off the roof of the apartment building that he and Felix fight over in game, Ralph goes Aretha Franklin on his coworkers and crashes the anniversary party for some r-e-s-p-e-c-t. Felix wobbles a bit in his reserve, but the Weeble-esque tenants of the feuded over apartment certainly don’t let their preconceived notions fall down. Outraged at the other characters’ refusal to believe that he doesn’t have to conform to his role in the game when the work day is over, Ralph storms off to visit other video game worlds in a quest to prove that he’s just as much of a hero as Felix.
This movie was everything I expected it to be and more. There were cameos by characters ranging from “Street Fighter’s” Zangief to Pac Man. The concept was like Toy Story for a modern age, and although the story progressed as expected, everything was refreshing. On top of all of this, the dialogue was hilarious, and the humor got pretty punny at times.
I’m specifically recalling a scene featuring sentient Oreos guarding a candy castle, which I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen it.
The cast did an amazing job. Calhoun (played by Jane Lynch), the hard boiled protagonist of the “Gears of War” parody “Hero’s Duty,” was my favorite character. She brought a man-portable mini gun to her wedding. She fired off warning shots with a pistol to break up a tender moment. She stole my heart from her first appearance on screen. If I could put the moves on a fictional character, it would be her.
Aside from that, John C. Riley was awesome as Ralph. The short temper and natural ability to destroy that went hand in hand with Ralph’s villainous role in the game made for an interesting character, especially considering the mushy, sentimental, family friendly themes of the movie. “Modern Family’s” Ed O’Neil gave a disappointingly forgettable performance as the owner of the arcade, although it could be blamed mostly on the role itself. Sarah Silverman, on the other hand, knocked it out of the park with her portrayal of Venellope Schweetz, a young hobo-girl slumming it in the candy based racing game “Sugar Rush,” which kind of made me want to throw up just from looking at it.
As I said earlier, there were a ton of puns, as well as inside jokes referencing other movies and video games. Fans of old school arcade games and 2D brawlers will most likely get a huge kick out of this movie. As with all Disney and Pixar movies, it’s one of those that caters to the older people who will inevitably be in the crowd, not just to the sticky-handed five year olds screaming that they need to go to the bathroom through the whole thing. I can’t say that it was better than any of the recent Disney and Pixar movies, such as “Wall-E” or “Toy Story 3,” but it was definitely funnier.
Overall, Wreck-It Ralph was a fun, witty, unique movie even though it still followed the basic Disney and Pixar formula. The characters were great, I was surprised by the number of well known actors involved, the story literally had me choking up at times and without it, I’d have never known the greatness that was Calhoun. There were a lot of things I could’ve learned from this movie, but the main thing that I took away from it is that I need to get busy rounding up Jane Lynch, a 55 gallon drum of anti aging cream, a plastic surgeon and a realistic suit of “Gears of War” armor if I ever expect to be satisfied in my love life.
Image courtesy of the Wreck-It Ralph Facebook page.
