A triumph

Rating: 10/10 (17 March 2013)

Wreck-it Ralph is without a doubt one of the best animated films of the last few years. Though advertised as the ultimate love letter to video games, it's actually more of a story about identity and redemption that merely happens to take place in the world of video games. Though that's not to say there aren't tons of references to video games both old and new, and they will definitely keep hardcore gamers satisfied. The references are handled tastefully, and the film never feels like pandering to a specific audience though obscure references and inside jokes.
The characters are truly what makes the film work. Ralph's dissatisfaction with his life is understandable, but it's never made black and white that he would be right and everyone else wrong. Sarah Silverman's character Vanellope starts out as annoying and hyperactive, but eventually grows on the audience. There is one genuinely tragic moment between Vanellope and Ralph that almost had me in tears. The supporting characters are also well handled, and Sergeant Calhoun in particular makes an odd case of being so much more than what she's supposed to, i.e. a brutal parody of the "badass chick" trope seen in many video games. But she actually has depth to her.
The movie is also side-splittingly hilarious. Though getting the references gets you slightly more laughs out of the film, most of the comedy is universally understandable. The visuals are breathtakingly beautiful, and the landscapes in "Sugar Rush" (a racing game where most of the film takes place) show some true imagination and inventiveness. Mentioning that the voice acting is superb feels almost pointless. This is Disney we're talking about, after all. Towards the end there is a surprising twist I honestly did not see coming, and those are always a plus.
If one would want to search for gripes in this movie, the biggest one would probably be its length. It's not too long, about a 105 minutes, but towards the end you may start thinking when the movie is truly going to end. There's also quite a lot of rules the film has to establish in order to make the world make sense, but they don't take up too much time.
But aside from those, I can find very little to criticize about Wreck-it Ralph. This is quite simply a masterpiece of animated cinema, and I definitely hope to see this particular world explored more.