'Wreck it Ralph' is almost as good as Pixar's finest

Rating: 8/10 (28 February 2013)

'Wreck It Ralph' looks and sounds very much like a Pixar movie from the synopsis and trailer, with similar themes to 'Toy Story' and 'Monsters Inc', but set in a video game arcade world. This sets hopes very high indeed, so the obvious question is 'Does it live up to such high standards?' The short answer is 'almost'.
The movie began with a short film called 'Paperman' which was almost worth the entry price in itself. Do not, under any circumstances, be late and miss this short film. It was beautifully drawn in black and white and so sweet and romantic.
The premise for 'Wreck It Ralph' is the most genius since 'Monsters Inc'. In terms of concept and ideas, it could even be the smartest computer animated kids movie yet. I don't want to spoil it too much, but basically Ralph is the bad guy in a video game, and, as the bad guy, the other characters in the game treat him with disrespect. He decides he's had enough and wants to prove that he can be a good guy and win a medal. To do so, however, he has to travel to various other video games and this results in all sorts of mayhem and hilarity.
The majority of the film is spent in a brightly coloured candy racing game called 'Sugar Rush', where Ralph tries to help his new little friend 'Vanellope' win the race. This could be an issue for the ladish types who may be disappointed in spending so much time in such a girly game. For me though, I absolutely loved 'Sugar Rush'! Not just because it shares the same name as the smutty, teenage-lesbian drama I used to enjoy so much, but I also thought it looked like an amazing game and the racing near the end was such fun, especially in 3D.
'Wreck It Ralph' is one of those movies where it's actually worth going to see the 3D version because you can tell some thought and effort has gone into it. The environment of the Sugar Rush game reminded me of 'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs' with all the bright colours and food. The 3D wasn't as good as in that movie, but it was well worth the extra cost.
'Wreck it Ralph' is certainly amongst the better computer animated movies. It's very clever, witty and gets to you on an emotional level so you care about the characters. The reasons why it falls a few points short of the very best Pixar work and 'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs', is that it's not quite as witty quite as often, even if there are a few truly hilarious parts. There is also a problem with product placement. Now I don't have an issue with video game based product placement in the movie as that fits the theme, but 'Nesquik-sand' and 'Oreos' singing 'Oreee-o, Oreee-ooo' is too far! This is brainwashing kids with advertising, and you may think I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but the Nestlé corporation who make Nesquik are an ethically disgusting company who should be boycotted. It really did cheapen and taint the experience for me at times. I'm sure you don't get that in Pixar movies, and if you do I've never noticed.
The best Pixar movies just have that slight notch of class over 'Wreck It Ralph', but when not comparing it to the best there is, it's a wonderful film in its own right. I had an absolute blast, laughed a lot and even welled up with tears a couple of times. I was a bit self-conscious of taking my glasses off at the end in case a group of kids spotted the tears in my eyes and laughed at me. The thing is, they tears of happiness because the friendship between Ralph and Vanellope was so damn sweet. I adored 'Wreck It Ralph' and think people of all ages who have any interest in video games will feel a similar way about the movie.