Pushes all the right buttons...mostly

Rating: 8/10 (24 February 2013)

The term 'Disney magic' has become somewhat of a cliché in the realms of 21st century animation. Nonetheless, it cannot be more so appropriately applied than in the consumption of these two delightful Disney animations on your trip to the nearest cinema. If you are confused by my pluralisation of animation, then I will elaborate by saying that the acclaimed studio treats their audience, old and young, with a heart- warming animated short titled Paperman prior to the 92 minute pleasure that you purchased the tickets for. The 7 minute short serves as the appetiser to the enchanting experience that we so commonly associate with the studio's family films, and there is plenty of room left for us to enjoy the great taste of magic at the conclusion of Wreck-It Ralph.
While Wreck-It Ralph pushes many of the formulaic storytelling buttons, you simply do not care. The level of enjoyment is too high to be concerned with attempting to criticise the film for its venture into familiar territory. It still contains a great deal of individuality and originality, primarily through its homage to retro and contemporary video games that many of us know and love. It is recycled material that is so clean and unique that it works as well, if not better than, any original. Put simply, you have fun watching Wreck-It Ralph and I believe no matter the age of the viewer, something will appeal to you in this film. The humour is seemingly directed towards the youngest of demographics for this feature, and I will admit my own slight disappointment at the fact I laughed very few times, a lot less than I was hoping for. However, what the animation may lack in humour, it certainly makes up for in other regions. Many, including myself, will appreciate the nostalgic throwback to video games of the recent and not so recent past. Furthermore, the story of Wreck-It Ralph is exceptionally, and even slightly surprisingly sensational! Each and every element of the plot fits together so incredibly well, that screenwriters Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee have clearly demonstrated their phenomenal talent to make everything in their story relevant, balanced and unanimously appealing. Similarly with previous Disney animations, they manage to take something from many of our everyday lives, and adapt it by creating and exploring a new world of unequivocal genius. One of the most admirable aspects to Wreck-It Ralph is the way in which different gaming worlds interact with one another, whilst staying loyal to their own arcade home. For instance, those in the title character's game possess robotic manoeuvres, while other games appear as actual modern video game gameplay, and as a gamer, I can vouch that these individual attributes are most definitely appreciated and entertaining to experience. Even the product placement (which I am not generally fond of in film, though understand its use) is so appropriately implemented that even a sceptic can appreciate its presence.
If Disney were to instigate a consumer guarantee that stated any audience member may have their money back if they failed to in some way, shape or form, be entertained by Wreck-It Ralph, I can almost assure that the volume of tickets returned to theatre desks would fewer than the amount of times my eyes diverted their attention away from the screen the film was presented on (do note that I did not look away once). Despite quite useless use of 3D (as in 99% of films), the colourful and developing animated aesthetic absorbs your mind throughout, and you leave with the desire to play a video game, or watch the film again; either is likely to entertain. There are only brief nitpicks to mention in relation to Wreck-It Ralph, as for the overwhelming majority of the film, you have a great amount of fun. The protagonist's relationship with the main supporting character is one that is inevitable and frankly cute to see occur. Yet the transition from their annoyance to adoration for one another could have been developed further, to make it more convincing. In addition, the humour is an unfortunate element due to its elementary reservation, though I am just being too critical and will stop typing because overall Wreck-It Ralph is a fantastically pleasurable animated film.