A Visual Feast with a Generous Helping of Clever Wit and a Big Scoop of Genuine Heart

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2014)

The visual splendor alone of every scene, of every frame, elevates this modest but heartfelt film to classic status, but it's the inspired storytelling which truly distinguishes this tribute to those innocent days at the very dawn of our video game saturated culture. Easily one of the most clever, entertaining and satisfying children's computer animated films I've ever seen, up there with the Toy Story trilogy, Wall-E, the Incredibles, and Finding Nemo.
Like Toy Story and Wall-E, Wreck-It Ralph relies on a very potent mix of bittersweet nostalgia for a bygone age and an acid sharp cynicism for an increasingly uncomfortable future. The result is an endlessly endearing cautionary tale warning us to be wary of the myriad increasingly complex and seductive technological innovations which are threatening to overwhelm us with their irresistible electronic magic. That's a dicey position for a computer generated film to take and it acknowledges its own potential hypocrisy with some very astute and hilarious self deprecating humor.
The movie is also saved from descending into self parody on the strength of the very fine performances of its leads. John C. Reilly's naturally affable manner imbues Ralph with a nuanced blend of restrained self pity and emphatic hopeful pride, enriching his character with genuine humanity. And Sarah Silverman is a shear delight as the quick witted pixie faerie who blithely coaxes and goads Ralph to fulfill his destiny as savior of their realm.
Pixar's Toy Story is the original classic computer animated film and rightfully lays claim to the title as Champion of the form, and Pixar's Wall-E certainly upped the stakes with its positively mature and sophisticated theme of catastrophic environmental abuse by an increasingly contented and oblivious populace, but Disney's Wreck-It Ralph achieves greatness by virtue of its unbounded love for its subject and the infectious joy with which it's brought to life. Effervescent glee bursts from every detail. Wreck-It Ralph cheerfully destroys all resistance on its whimsical mission of mass appeal.