I've Never Seen A Film Quite Like This

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2013)

Anyone who has read my review of Who Framed Roger Rabbit knows how bonkers I am over that film, but to be honest, I've longed for another film where many famous icons of popular culture unite. Wreck It Ralph was the film I have longed for and in my mind, it's high on the list of best computer animated flicks. This film has one of the most original stories I have ever seen, some of the most likable characters I have ever seen, and some of the best quarks I have ever seen put to film. As a gamer and a lover of films with imaginative qualities, this was a math class daydream come true, and after seeing this film on a cold winter's day, I couldn't be more happier with what I was putting my eyes to. It's like if Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Toy Story got together and had a baby, with video game characters. Wreck It Ralph is one of those films I could definitely sit through a million times plus a billion.
First off, if you are going into the film expecting to see Mario and Sonic as the main heroes, you will be mighty disappointed. In fact, Sonic only makes a brief cameo and Mario doesn't even make an appearance, although he is mentioned by Fix-It Felix Jr. towards the beginning of the film. The main hero, I mean villain, I mean hero/villain is Wreck It Ralph, the nemesis of the arcade game Fix-It Felix Jr. who wants to become good and get a medal. He embarks on a quest throughout many arcade games including the first person shooter Hero's Duty and the racing game Sugar Rush. While trapped within the Sugar Rush game, Ralph befriends a glitch named Vanellope Von Schweetz and vows to help her win a race. Meanwhile, Fix-It Felix Jr. goes looking for Ralph and teams up with the female general from Hero's Duty, Sergeant Calhoun as the two develop an odd, yet whimsical romance that is both comedic and satisfying.
What I go absolutely nuts over in this movie is the many references to the famous arcade games of the 80s and 90s. There are cameos from Dig Dug and a Pooka, the Pong sticks, Q-Bert, Peter Pepper from Burger Time, Ryu and Ken from the Street Fighter franchise, Yuni Verse from Dance Dance Revolution, and everyone's favorite yellow chomper, Pikachu! Nah, just kidding, it's Pac-Man. I love that Root Beer Tapper is an actual bar where the video game characters hang out after a long day of fighting sausages and eating ghosts that turn blue. That is brilliant! I love that the evil King Candy uses the Konami Code to get into his secret layer. That is a perfect nod to the gamers of the 80s! I love that Q-Bert talks in gibberish and his iconic word balloons come up. That is ingenious beyond ingenious! This is certainly a film for all the gamers out there, the young and the old, the old gamers and the new gamers.
But I think the thing I savor most in this movie is the gags in the Sugar Rush world. When Fix-It Felix Jr. and Calhoun go looking for Ralph in the candy forest, they fall into Nes-quik sand only to be saved by Laughy Taffy that expand as they laugh. One of King Candy's henchmen is a green lozenge that gets a lollipop stuck to him by the end of the film. And the palace of King Candy is a powerful threat, especially when Oreo guards are watching the territory, chanting O-Reo, Yum, Yum in a tribute to the Winkie guards in The Wizard of Oz. I literally peed myself watching that part, and it has stuck out in my mind as the most memorable aspect of the film. There are a lot of cheesy references to candy and sweets throughout the film, but I think the unique and diverse plot is where the film really soars. I'm not going to give too much away, but I will say that it's unlike any other plot in any other movie. It's different, it's well thought out, it's fitting for a film about video games, and I dig it. There is also a slight twist towards the end of the film that I really wasn't expecting, but it delivered when it came around and I say kudos to the filmmakers for such a clever revelation. It was almost as dramatic as when Darth Vader revealed himself to be Luke Skywalker's father! What a jaw dropper.
Wreck It Ralph is the best video game movie ever made. Sure, some people will compare it to other video game related films like the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros film, but from the way I see it, it clearly shows what we love about games and what we don't like about games. The characters die and come back again just like we always do while pushing the buttons of a controller. The film dwells on the catchy and the not so catchy aspects of games and overall showcases how elements of fantasy worlds can come together to form one big fantasy world. The only thing I can really complain about in this movie is that it leaves you wanting more. You want to see what happens to these characters next and you still want to be entangled in the film's pixelated worlds by the time the credits roll. But like Roger Rabbit, this is a lovely film to behold, a lovely film that takes you out of reality and puts you in the depths of a stylized, imaginative world. This is up there with the Pixar films as some of Disney's best classics, and if you are a gamer and an overall lover of motion pictures, this is a delicious candy apple you just have to sink your teeth into.