REVIEW: Wreck-It Ralph

Here it is! Dynamik's first review! I just happened to get home from seeing the latest Disney movie: Wreck-It Ralph and would love to share my thoughts on the movie with all you here.

Wreck-It Ralph is Disney's latest feature film about a tired-out arcade game bad guy who is, well, tired of being the bad guy. Ralph, the protagonist, feels that there must be more to his life than being just an unappreciated baddy and wants to prove to the characters of his game that he can be a winner like Fix-It Felix. With this mindset, Ralph leaves the vicinity of his video game in hopes of proving to his fellow video game characters that he can be a good guy too. Along the way, Ralph meets some crazy and fun characters who help him on his journey, but when something goes wrong, all the main ensemble must work together before the entire arcade is destroyed.

Wreck-It Ralph's main ensemble includes five characters: the film's namesake played by John C. Reilly, his game's good guy: Fix-it Felix played by Jack McBrayer, a small and rebellious girl named Venellope von Schweetz and played by Sarah Silverman, a bad-ass and feisty woman by the name of Sergeant Tamora played by Jane Lynch, and King Candy, the wacky ruler of Sugar Rush played by Alan Tudyk. Each of the main ensemble's characters has a rich backstory that is told to us through different ways in the movie, and each of the characters goes through a journey throughout the film that changes their character. My two favorite characters from the film were Venellope and King Candy. Venellope's story includes her being a "glitch," which causes the characters of her game to reject her and not allow her to compete in the game's races. All Venellope wants to do is prove that she can race too, but is opposed by King Candy. King Candy himself is a very wacky character throughout the movie, cracking tons of jokes and one-liners that can push a chuckle from most viewers.

While the film is generally aimed toward gamers, you definitely do not need to be a gamer to understand the story. Each of the main characters are all from games that are completely original to the film, which allows anybody to get into the story and not feel lost. That being said, if you are a gamer, the writers have put in tons of cameos, references, and jokes that only gamers will catch, while not enough to keep the common audience member lost. There are cameos from probably dozens of video game characters, including Bowser, Pac-Man, Chun-Li, Ryu, and Dr. Eggman. A select few of these characters even have speaking roles like Sonic the Hedgehog or M. Bison, but by far, Zangief from Street Fighter makes some of the best one-liners in the movie, although he has a relatively tiny role in the film. There are tons of other references to characters who don't appear. I won't spoil any of those references, but one includes one of the most famous video game characters and the other enjoys cake...well actually...the cake is a lie.

Whether you are a gamer or a non-gamer, Wreck-It Ralph is a great movie. Disney is usually good with their stories, and they definitely deliver with this movie. While the film might seem slow at some times, it always seems to get better and better as the movie goes on, and by the end, you'll be left wanting more. The voice acting is especially strong, which adds to the movie, and while there are no "out-of-the-screen" 3D moments, the 3D visuals definitely were not bad at all. I don't want to say much else as I don't want to spoil any of this movie for you. I'll end with saying that I highly recommend this movie to anyone, and if you're a gamer, this is an absolutely must-see film.

Voice Acting: 10
Story: 8
Characters: 8
Music: 9
Lasting Appeal: 10

Final Verdict:    

                                8.9 / 10 

Giuliano V.