Charming Animated Fable Of Video game Bad Guy Seeking Redemption

Rating: 6/10 (13 February 2013)

Wreck-It Ralph is the villain in an old video game who is fed up with constantly being defeated and excluded. Hoping to win the admiration of his fellow game characters, he vows to win himself a medal and leaves his home in search of adventure.
This clever, imaginative, touching and nutty little drama is a great Disney picture with a terrific storyline, rich visuals and excellent characters. It's a tad reminiscent of Toy Story or The Incredibles in that it's about a cartoon guy struggling with his own identity, but the videogaming context and the wealth of interesting environments make it highly original, contrasting Ralph's own game (Fix-It Felix Jr, a platformer in the vein of Donkey Kong), with the action-packed Hero's Duty (a first-person shooter not unlike Halo), the cutesy Sugar Rush (a glitzy racer reminiscent of Super Mario Kart), the Game Central Station hangout where the characters go to relax and even the real-world arcade where the kids come to play. The movie weaves in and out of these places and they all have a great look and feel to them, but it's the characters themselves which really grab your attention. Ralph is a very unconventional Disney movie lead, and all the richer for it as he struggles to find a balance between self-centred brute and a man on a quest for dignity and respect, whilst Vanellope's lovably smart-mouthed and self-confident exterior gradually dissolves to reveal the vulnerable girl within. Reilly and Silverman's vocal performances contrast fantastically well and the support cast and characters are great too. Video game fans (like me) have much to enjoy, both in the lovely styling of the animation (I love the flickering eight-bit Felix sprites) and the plethora of cameos by characters from thirty years' worth of famous games, but as is so often the case with movies made for children it's the quality of the story and the depth with which you identify with the people which make it such a winner. Packed full of funny scenes, crazy action, eye-popping moments, tender drama and winning characters, this is great family fare.