Enjoyable trip into the world of video games

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2012)

The villain's point of view has been a popular theme for animated movies recently, with "Despicable Me" and "Megamind" the most popular. "Wreck-it Ralph" is the latest film to focus on this theme, taking a similar approach to "Toy Story" by centering on the sentient lives of video game arcade characters.
Wreck-it Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the bad guy from "Fix it Felix Jr", a thirty-year-old arcade game similar to the old Donkey Kong and Mario arcade game. Ralph is sick of being a villain and enters the game "Hero's Duty" in an attempt to win a medal and gain some respect. An encounter with Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) from kid-friendly cart game "Sugar Rush" (a little girls' version of Mario Kart) helps him find respect and redemption.
While it's produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, this isn't the saccharine Disney films of the past. "Wreck it Ralph" does a brilliant job of setting up a plausible world where the arcade characters come to life once the doors are closed, with a massive Subway system linking all the game worlds together, and a set of rules to keep the characters out of trouble. In a nice touch, the animation mimics the mannerisms of the old arcade games, complemented by the 'Nintendo-core' sound effects. While the film plays it fairly safe, its heart-warming without turning off the adults. There's also cameo appearances from famous video game characters: Sonic and Dr. Robotnik, Ken, Ryu, Bison and Zangrief, Bowser, Pac Man and his ghosts (the villains' 'Bad-Anon' meeting is held inside the Pacman game) and Q-Bert, as well as references to other video games. This will hold plenty of appeal to nostalgic adults who played these games as kids and ensure the film will have a wide appeal.
The voice cast is quite impressive: John C Reilly and Sarah Silverman do a great job as the leads, with Silverman staying cute and wacky without being annoying, Jane Lynch as Calhoun, a tough soldier from "Hero's Duty" with 'the saddest backstory every created' and Jack McBrayer as the noble, optimistic Felix.
"Wreck-it Ralph" is arguably one of the better animated films in the past couple of years and enjoyable for kids, adults and big kids alike.