Video game movies suck. There's really no denying that. For the past twenty years, Hollywood has tried to turn a video game into a movie and most attempts have completely failed and even some like "Mortal Kobmat: Annihilation" and "Alone in the Dark" have been considered some of the worst films to have ever been made. Where most video game movies end up disasters, "Wreck-It Ralph" is certainly not one. In fact, it's a great animated movie. Made by Walt Disney Animation Studios who has started a big comeback, "Wreck-It Ralph" is not only just another great addition into the Disney canon but also one of, if not, the best-animated movies to come out in 2012.
When an arcade called Litwak's closes for the night, the video game characters there take a break from their jobs and go out and socialize with other characters by leaving their games and traveling to a power surge. One of the video games there is Fix-it Felix Jr. and while its titular hero (Jack McBrayer) is loved by the residents of the game, it's villain Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) is shunned and treated like a typical bad guy despite his friendly attitude and soft heart. Sick of always being left out of the fun, Ralph decides to leave his game behind in search for a metal hoping he can gain the respect of others. He eventually finds one in a shooter called Hero's Duty, but an incident there accidentally lands him in a go-cart game called Sugar Rush. There he meets a little girl named Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) a character who is also mistreated by her peers and prevented from racing for being a glitch. She steals the metal and uses it to enter an upcoming race much to Ralph's dismay. Hoping to get his medal back, Ralph ends up working with Vanellope to help her win a race and get his medal back. Meanwhile Felix and the hero from Hero's Duty, Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch), team up in order to find Ralph before the arcade opens the next morning.
The story in this film is pretty clever. It takes that same old characters coming to life when no ones looking trope we've seen before and turned it into something fresh and new. Despite the trailers having the primary focus on famous video game characters like Pac-Man, Zangief, and Bowser, the film like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" focuses more on the original characters as a great movie should. Speaking of the characters they definitely are what they make the movie great. The glue that ultimately holds the movie together is the friendship developed between Ralph and Vanellope and how similar they are. They're both pretty badly mistreated by the residents of their own games respectively and seeing how both share the same dream of wanting to become respected is really something nice to see. I also like how they don't make Felix the villain of the movie which would've been an easy choice. Instead, they actually make him likable and friendly to Ralph and also seeing him team up with Sgt. Calhoun led to some pretty hilarious moments. The animation is top notch quality again and the worlds that Disney built for the film are so eye-catching. The world of Sugar Rush, in particular, is so outstandingly detailed that it's clear lots of research went into making every candy seen in the game edible. If I did have a problem with the movie, it's just that some of the jokes went on a little too long. The film is pretty hilarious, but I feel at times some of the jokes did drag a bit.
"Wreck-It Ralph" is definitely one of the best movies on video games I've seen with a story that feels fresh and original, very detailed animation and some pretty fantastic characters. This is definitely a great movie for video game fans out there and even if you're not a huge fan of them, I still highly recommended you see this movie. I guarantee there's something in it you might like.
