Wreck-It Ralph

Rich Moore's TV animation resume is impressive. He started out working on "The Simpsons" but then creator Matt Groening assigned him to "Futurama". Moore won an Emmy from working on each show. He was also a sequence director on "The Simpsons Movie" and worked on other TV shows. One of the many episodes of "Futurama" that Moore co-directed is entitled "Anthology of Interest II". It contains the sequence "Raiders of the Lost Arcade" in which the characters learn what life would be like if it resembled a video game. I went into "Wreck-It Ralph" with that episode in mind. I was expecting a funny movie with lots of references to many video games. "Wreck-It Ralph" is funny and has entertaining references to "Street Fighter", "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Dance Dance Revolution", "Pac-Man" and many more. What I am happier to report is that the humor was not the focus of the film. I was gladly surprised to find that the story was the focal characteristic of the show as it should be. I forgot for a moment that this was going to be a Disney film executive produced by John Lasseter. The film has a cast that works perfectly and I love the characters they play. There were a variety of reasons why this movie works.

I was thinking that "Wreck-It Ralph" would be funnier considering Moore was directing but more humor could have ruined the story. Half way through the film, I was asking myself whether the movie was going to get any better and thankfully it did. The opening was great at establishing important story elements and plot points. There is also a lot of creativity throughout the film as we see video games from an inside prospective. For example, I love how the gamer is controlling a robot avatar with a screen for a head in "Hero's Duty". The story pattern of this movie is very similar to other family films but as long as there is creativity and sincerity, it doesn't matter. Because the filmmakers worked hard, the familiarity of the story pattern helps instead of hinders the entertainment. As with many Disney animated films such as "Aladdin" and "The Lion King", the theme of identity is employed. We understand that Ralph is not a bad guy from the get go. I like for example how he chases away the other drivers when they bully Vanellope. Ralph associates however with characters that label him as a bad guy, even characters from other games. Unfortunately the hero of his game, Fix-it Felix, has a problem dealing with peer pressure. Felix doesn't judge Ralph because he is programmed to be a good guy but his popularity prevents him from standing up for Ralph. Ralph obviously wants to prove that he is more than a bad guy but what he subconsciously wants is friends. He would enjoy his job if he was appreciated but he feels he has no valuable purpose in life. The "Hero's Duty" sequence was modelled from such films as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Alien" but there are obvious "Halo" comparisons. This is meant to give Ralph a wake-up call in the story. In his quest for a medal, he then finds himself in "Sugar Rush". The trailers for this movie do show this game but they did not indicate that most of the movie takes place there. I am grateful when marketing doesn't spoil the movie. Because "Sugar Rush" is the most used setting in the film, it had to be given the most attention. This is obvious when you compare its complexity with that of the other games featured in the film. There are a lot of "Mario Kart" references during the end racing scene. I really love the Oreo guards of the castle and the Nesquik sand. The character of Vanellope also has been labeled in her game and has a quest of her own. Both characters team up in order to accomplish both of their dreams. We have some great scenes where Ralph and Vanellope bond such as when they are building the car and practicing in the volcano. I love how both characters are very different on the outside but share inner similarities. Speaking of contrast, it provides a lot of entertainment in "Wreck-It Ralph" such as Calhoun walking around in "Sugar Rush" and her love story with Felix. Another great irony is Calhoun's programmed back-story. She may be tough but she is female nonetheless. Felix lives up to his name because he meets the needs of the other characters. He provides love for Calhoun and he fixes Vanellope's car as well as the finish line of the race. He is like Pacha from "The Emperor's New Groove". We, the audience, are wondering what "Going Turbo" means and it takes a while before we are told why. There is a reason for this. When we are finally told, we pay attention because we have been waiting to find out. The smart audience members know that it will come to be important in the climax but the filmmakers did an amazing job of prevent anyone from figuring it out. One way they did this is to visually show King Candy's exposition concerning Vanellope as a glitch and what it means for her if the game is unplugged. Because we share the feelings for Vanellope that Ralph has, we believe King Candy completely and this sets up a great climax. We also get that very sad scene when Ralph wrecks Vanellope's car. It has similarities to a scene in "The Jungle Book" just like the scene where Vanellope's pedal car is destroyed resembles a sad moment in "Cinderella". Another comparison between Vanellope and Cinderella is what Vanellope does with her hands during her transformation. Vanellope's plotline is very similar to what I believe is the purpose of our lives. We may not remember but we are all royalty and if we prove ourselves, we will have gained a great reward on the other side. In addition, Vanellope's plotline is a great message for kids who feel picked on because we all have self worth. In a day when bullying is finally being seen as a serious problem in our society, we have this movie to lift spirits and motivate young people. Ralph, having saved "Sugar Rush", attains the purpose he longed for. He even gets resolution in his own game. The bad guy affirmation ends up being an important part of the story, "I am bad and that's good. I will never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me." Because Ralph did what he does best, he saved "Sugar Rush". Even though he will never be the good guy in his own game, it doesn't mean that he is worthless. Because of this adventure, all of the characters understand that. I wish that during the climax when Ralph says the affirmation that he had added his catch phrase of "I'm gonna wreck it." That would have been epic.

As mentioned, story was the center of "Wreck-It Ralph". Other animation studios would have focused on an all-star cast or references to other video games or humor. Disney movies always seem to have great stories with great characters and feature new technologies. Disney movies are successful a lot of the time because, just like Pixar movies, the important cinematic elements have been given the time they needed such as the story. In terms of characters, they were created and then the filmmakers found the right actors to voice them. This may seem an obvious step of filmmaking but many animation studios will go with the most famous actors on the planet in order to achieve success. You must value characters over cast because actors hardly ever play themselves. When characters are created from the ground up like on "Wreck-It Ralph", that is when the audience will accept them, relate to them and enjoy watching them. Ralph is an underdog and that is always appealing. I haven't seen too many John C. Reilly movies but his voice worked so well with Ralph's onscreen appearance. The same goes for every single cast member. Reilly was also credited with helping to create the story of this movie so that is cool. As with Reilly, I haven't seen too many movies with Sarah Silverman but her character was genuinely funny and cute. Her dramatic scenes were also very well done. Silverman has worked before with director Rich Moore on "Futurama" as has Maurice LaMarche and John DiMaggio. I also liked the work of Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch as their characters. Lynch I feel gives the best performance with Silverman in second place. I kind of wish that Jaleel White had reprised his role as Sonic but that's only because I am sentimental. Speaking of that, when you see a classic video game character like the ones from "Street Fighter", they are voiced by the original voice artists. It was neat that Ed O'Neil was in this movie. "Wreck-It Ralph" marked the first Disney animated movie with Alan Tudyk. He has been in every film from Walt Disney Feature Animation starting with this show as King Candy. Tudyk obviously is doing an impersonation of Ed Wynn, who voiced the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland". The technology and 3D of this movie was neat but as with the other cinematic elements, it supports the story and doesn't overshadow it. One thing I noticed is that when Ralph smashes the cake, the icing on the walls is clearly made up of pixels just like a retro video game. Co-screenwriter Jennifer Lee would later win an Oscar for co-directing Disney's next animated film and that show became a surprise mega-hit. Only Gary Rydstrom was worthy of doing the sound work for a film like "Wreck-It Ralph". Mike Gabriel was the art director and he was part of the Disney Renaissance. There are a lot of easter eggs & subtle references throughout the film and that will make watching this movie in the future quite entertaining.

I should have realized that Rich Moore was not a writer on "The Simpsons" or "Futurama" but a director. "Wreck-It Ralph" as his first directorial feature film is great for viewers of all ages and continues the Disney tradition of great storytelling, great characters and moving technology forward. The film is visually appealing and very creative. I like the use of contrast and relatable story themes. This movie proves that you don't have to use A-list actors to achieve success in filmmaking. This was my favorite animated film of 2012 and I thought it would win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. "Brave" ended up winning instead but that is not bad. What I really didn't expect was a sequel to "Wreck-It Ralph".

4.5 Stars