Wreck-It Ralph is one of my favorite animated movies - probably second on the list. Now, there are the classics that everyone praises: Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Up... All of these I've seen as a kid and do exist in my list of great animated movies. But I watched Wreck-It Ralph in high school when I began to understand films more and enjoyed the heck out of it - and that's why it's so high up on my list.
Wreck-It Ralph is about Ralph, the bad guy in an arcade game called 'Fix-it Felix'. Ralph is sick of being the bad guy all the time, for which he gets no credit, and decides to go earn his honor and admiration by winning a medal in another game, Hero's Duty. He gets his precious medal, but through a series of accidents, ends up in a different game called 'Sugar Rush' and loses his medal to a little girl, Vanellope. Ralph's search for his medal turns into an adventure in which he meets new friends, learns about the arcade's past, and rediscovers his identity as a 'bad guy'.
Before anything, we have to look at Wreck-It Ralph's setting. In an arcade full of games connected by a power-strip, the game's characters "come to life" when the arcade is closed (kind of like how the toys in Toy Story come to life when people aren't watching). They can visit each other's games by going through Game Central Station (the power-strip) and are free to interact, but if they die outside of their own game, they will not regenerate. This ingenious idea is combined with short appearances of our childhood games' characters - Pac-Man, Sonic, Bowser and even Q*bert - to create a solid foundation for an amazing movie.
The movie's theme is one we can all relate to - a mistreated character desiring acceptance. If you've experienced a form of bullying or ostracizing, you'll be able to connect. And even if you haven't, I'm sure you feel uncomfortable when someone is getting treated unfairly. We can see that Ralph is such a character and we feel bad for him. So on top of all that, when Vanellope takes his medal, we get frustrated at her - and this is why some viewers may dislike her at first - but her character is further developed and later we understand her actions.
The two main characters are fantastic. They are similar in many ways, but also quite different. Watching their relationship evolve throughout the movie, not just uphill the whole time but with slumps, makes it possible for us to believe in and get attached to them more. In fact, we get so attached to them that the movie reaches a genuinely emotional level that you would not expect from it. Supporting characters include Sgt. Calhoun, a strong female character (a rarity in animated movies) from Hero's Duty, and the goody-two-shoes Felix, the good guy in Ralph's game. These two and their interaction are more comedic (as apparent from their polar characteristics) but are also essential to the overall movie. From Calhoun's incomprehensible analogies to Felix's "dynamite gal," these two are very entertaining to watch.
About the story - when watching an animated movie, I tend to value qualities such as originality, characters, and relatability more important than the storyline. But I've been getting tired of movies that sacrifice a good story for other factors (Big Hero 6, Inside Out...). The reason I like Wreck-It Ralph so much is that it doesn't have to make that sacrifice. In fact, it's story might be a little complicated compared to other children's movies (which is why I think teenagers and adults will like it more than kids). From Cy-bugs to glitches and game-jumping... it's a great story.
The humor ranges from simple bathroom-jokes ("Hero's doody") to very clever ones ("You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?"). Also, there are so many clever word-plays that they incorporated with the entire candy-themed land and sugary characters. Bonus points go for the Oreo song, deviled-dogs, and the fact that the policemen were donuts.
Overall, Wreck-It Ralph has all the essentials of a great movie. It did miss a catchy soundtrack that gets stuck in your head for months, but I'm glad it didn't depend on music to make it memorable. If I had a problem with it though, it would be the ending, at the climax of the movie. It seemed too convenient - to spoil nothing I won't say what - but you'll see what I mean.
9.5/10
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