'Wreck-It-Ralph' (English)
Director: Rich Moore
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch
I love this new trend of animation movies for adults that masquerade as entertainment for children. That’s pretty much what ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ is, till it gets all mixed up, trying to please everyone.
The film was probably targeted at a generation that grew up on the cartridge based video games. How else would you describe a game where the bad guy is Wreck-It Ralph (John C Reilly), a misunderstood hulk whose calling in life is to pound buildings to rubble. Undoing the damage is Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer), one of those annoyingly cheerful video game characters everyone in Niceland loves - wait, do we have those anymore?
Ralph’s journey to Grand Game Central, and his many adventures within are an excuse for the animation and design team to show off. For the audience, it’s an experience. We jump in and out of games, we throw ourselves into the lives of characters when our hands are not on the controls, and we get pulled into an animated rom-com meets family drama.
Yeah, this is where everything gets predictable. Ralph wants to be a hero, for acceptance back home. His mission finds an echo in a character with a glitch - and, apparently, heart. But emotions aren’t lacking in the gaming characters throughout the film - if at all, there’s an excess of them.
You do assume there’s going to be a dose of the saccharine in a Disney movie, though. Especially when you’re in a land swarming with candy hearts. Unless you’re in a show that’s overflowing with parents and children, chances are that you’ll actually enjoy the technical brilliance of the movie, and chuckle at some of the cleverer dialogues.
The Verdict: A film that doesn’t entirely sell out to an audience of children, Wreck-It Ralph makes for a happy watch, with a touch of nostalgia.