OK, but over hyped by critics

Rating: 6/10 (18 February 2013)

Wreck-it Ralph has a familiar feel, similar in tone to the Toy Story films, as in this instead of the toys having their own personalities the video game characters do. It tells the story of Ralph who is tired of being bad. Day in and day out he wrecks Fix-it Felix's house which Felix has to (guess what) fix! Following this he tries to get himself a medal and recognition for once. The trouble is only heroes get medals and Ralph is considered the villain from the game that he is from. This leads to Ralph to try and get a medal from someone else's video game.
The concept is brilliant. The possibilities seem endless. However, the way it goes about it isn't. You can't help feeling that they could have used popular video games as a basis for the movie. Yet we only get fleeting appearances of characters like Sonic. No main roles are given for characters such as these only cameos.
To be fair the first half hour of the film is breath taking. So much so that I was under the impression (for half an hour) that this would be a flawless film as lush visuals fill the screen and immerse you in the world Disney has created. Ralph enters a first person shooter which is a strange form for the story to take yet it works incredibly well. It is a different move for Disney altogether.
After this sequence (that is highly reminiscent of the Alien franchise) things take a turn for the worse as Disney takes a back to basics approach that is highly formulaic and only kids will love the next hour. He enters a racing video game that feels girlish and has a pink tinge to its surroundings. Too much of this has a, been there done that feel and makes the film less enjoyable to watch. For the majority of the film being set here it is a let-down and you can't help feeling numerous locations would have helped rather than being stranded in this world for nearly an hour.
Some elements are good though. The character of Ralph is highly likable and one that you can feel for. (Fix-it Felix is quite poor in comparison). His emotions are understandable and it makes it easier to relate to how he is feeling. There are also never ending references to popular video game characters, which make it impossible to view all by watching it once.
One final point, the 3D is excellent. The animation pops out at you from the start and engulfs you in a rainbow of colour. The animators have worked there magic here and can be praised as doing a fine job throughout the entire film. It helps that Disney have decided on an unlimited colour palette which feels reminiscent of Pixar. Just don't expect as much depth as it in terms of story and excitement.
Verdict: Although still a good film, Wreck-it Ralph is noticeably not as polished as Pixar's offerings. It does not enter the same league as the Toy Story films or even some of Disney's previous like Aladdin and Hercules. Don't be fooled by critics rave reviews, Wreck-it Ralph is not a masterpiece nor is it a bad film it just ranks somewhere in between. There are lush visuals aplenty here, just lack of an entertaining glued to the seat story. If considering watching go to the cinema with fairly low expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised. If you don't you may feel let down by the high standards of Disney's previous outings.
6 Out of 10