RETRO

MOVIE REVIEW: WRECK-IT RALPH

 

 Starring: 

John C. Reily 

Sarah Silverman

Jack McBayer

Wreck It- Ralph is an 8-bit arcade game villain who no longer wants to be the villain anymore because he longs to be loved by the people around him just like the protagonist of his game, Fix-It Felix Jr.  He sets out “game-jumping” to win some sort of medal to make him feel fulfilled but he meanwhile finds himself that his actions is costing the lives of the people who lives in his game.

Now I’ve been anticipating in seeing Wreck It Ralph when I first heard from Disney that this will be “The Toy Story for Video Games” That one quote got me curious and it all stopped when I saw the first trailer (which everyone goes crazy about).  The first trailer had me geeking out at some point even watching the entire movie as well. And I have to say, I had a great time watching this movie.

I fear that this movie will be like that one movie which is just a scene after scene of videogame references (A commercial to someone’s product if you will). But It’s not there’s actually a lot of heart in this movie. I know It’s weird that a movie has this much heart put into it coming from Disney (Disney and Pixar are both different animation studios okay?), hell this is something Pixar can do (which can’t right now). They handled the Video game references really well and they don’t feel forced at all. The video game references are like music to a movie, they don’t necessarily play a huge role in the movie but it helps the movie progress throughout the film.  Story-wise I thought at first the movie will look like this very generic yet predictable movie, But it wasn’t like I said there is more heart put into this movie. It’s surprisingly emotional by the end of this movie, Almost a Toy Story 3 emotion to it. And it wasn’t predictable too there was this one thing by the end of the movie and that plot-twist really caught me off-guard. Animation-wise I thought it was fun to see these old school games come to life in 3D CGI form, I find it clever how the transitions look like from a 2D Side-scrolling people and inside the Arcade game world they look like modern video game designs. The animation in this movie is just beautiful to look at, like I said it’s a joy to see my favourite old school video game characters come to life in this form of animation. By the way unfortunately i did not see this in 3D the cinema i went to doesn't have the 3D version of this movie  but it does look like you'll get a lot of great shots in 3D. I thought the dialog and the comedy was well thought out especially that famous scene in the trailer where Ralph goes to this Bad-Guy rehabilitation meeting ,trust me in the movie It’s longer and you’ll find yourself geeking out from the things they’re saying to  each other.

Voice Acting I thought that Disney always have masterful voice acting for both known and unknown actors. Everyone is definitely perfectly casted for this film.  John C. Reily did a great job bringing Wreck It Ralph come to life. His voice is perfect and fits the character very well especially Jack McBayer as Fix-It Felix Jr. was also perfectly casted, Him in movies he always plays this awkward happy and free-spirited guy and Fix-Felix Jr. Is somewhat like him. And then we have Sarah Silverman as Vanellope Von Schweetz at first I thought she is annoying but when you get to know her more in this movie and she builds this father and daughter-like relationship with each other I thought it was heart-warming to see the way it progress throughout the movie, At first I really didn’t know what kind of role will she have in this movie but she plays a really big role in the movie. They also have this really great interaction with Ralph because they can relate to each other and like i said I just love how their relationship progress throughout the film. And we also have Jane Lynch as this badass commando in a videogame world which looks like a combination of Halo, Gears of War and Mass Effect. I loved how they made fun of her type of character, which is this badass being “programmed” with a tragic back story, I just giggled when they mentioned it that way. And finally we have Alan Tudyk as King Candy, First of all the Sugar Rush world plays a big part in the movie and this world is very (how i describe it) Disney with a mix of Super Mario  Kart. There were tons of elements here and there that felt SOOOO Disney King Candy has that Mad Hatter character to him and I can’t really go into detail about his character. But still Alan Tudyk dida great doing a spot on impression of the Mad Hatter, That’s all I can say.

In the end, I love this movie. Definitely my favourite animated movie of the year (which is saying too early because we still have one last animated movie to watch out for by end of November). This movie blew me away, It even surprised me at many points of the movie. This is a very enjoyable movie for a gamer or non-gamer. This is not necessarily for kids and kids only type of animated movies, Older kids or Adults will love it as well. Both new and old school Gamers will love the video game references here. I had a very great time watching this movie. I thought the movie had great voice acting, great music by the way I forgot to mention it (Dubstep fans will also be happy too with a certain cameo as well). The animation is beautiful as always, It’s also cleverly written, And the movie all in all is definitely the best I’ve seen all year. I would highly recommend you see this movie immediately.

MY RATING:

EPIC WIN! - 5/5

And by the way I saw this animated short before the movie called, Paperman. I've heard that this will be in the film though i  don't know nothing about it going in the movie. And i have to say that this is a very good Animated short and sweet at the same time. I thought the storytelling and the animation is very creative and it makes up a remarkable and unique short with it's corky music and creatively silent storytelling.