Movie Review: Wreck-it Ralph (2012)

The movie uses voices from John C. Reilly, Skyler Astin, Sarah Silverman, Ed O’Neill, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch.

When this movie first came out in 2012, I honestly had some serious doubts about it and, as a result of that, did avoid seeing it at the theater. However, I’ve now seen it on a couple different occasions and have to admit, this movie has more than surpassed my expectations.

The thing that really wins me over about this movie is the unique concept. Hollywood, in my opinion, has gotten a little lazy recently and there has been a serious lack of originality as a result of that. So the fact this movie actually tries something new automatically is going to score it some points.

Just as important, however, is the overall execution. Not only does this animated film do something different, it actually pulls it off. Part of the reason for this is the nice mix of characters including Ralph (Reilly), his glitch friend Vanellope and the gun-happy Sergeant Tarmora Calhoun (Lynch). The characters manage to contrast each other so well yet, at the same time, make an excellent team when they need to be.

Another thing I loved about this movie was how it took the whole video game concept to various extremes. The Sugar Rush game, for example, took the candy cuteness to an almost nauseating level while Hero’s Duty was violent to the point it almost crossed into the scary category. And the fact the characters from those games were drawn with the different time periods in mind also added an entertaining element.

The film does prove to be a little bit predictable. For example, it wasn’t really all that hard to figure out King Candy’s (voiced by Alan Tudyk) real identity and I was able to take a relatively accurate guess about who Vanellope really was. And, ultimately, since it was a children’s movie, I knew it was going to end up with some sort of happy ending.

That being said, the overall uniqueness and well-written script did ultimately trump that and, overall, I thought this was an enjoyable film.

This is a movie that is definitely geared toward kids. However, it is an entertaining film that I do think most adults would enjoy too and, as a result of that, I do highly recommend taking the time to sit down and watch this movie if you haven’t done so before.

My Grade: A