Thursday, November 8, 2012

Wreck It Ralph Review

If you've ever played Nintendo, if you've ever put a coin in an arcade machine this movie is for you.  Disney did a superb job bring life to video games and video game characters in this film about a bad guy who just wants to be good.

This was the most creative movie I've seen since Toy Story.  The idea of video game characters interacting in an arcade is extremely unique.  They game us a look deeper into arcades, whether the open sign is lit or not.  Disney took all of the things gamers love from games back from Pac Man to Halo and used them to perfection in Wreck it Ralph.   

One thing that helped make this one of the most creative films I've ever seen was the visuals and animation.  It was perfect.  The worlds were so believable, especially for gamers.  Even the way the characters moved brought me back to Super NES.  If characters were from older games, they seemed to jump from position to position, just like they looked when they were rocking 8 bits.  To see them move that way but still be in high definition 3D was amazing.

The casting for Wreck it Ralph was also flawless.  John C. Riley was perfect for soft hearted "bad guy."  Jane Lynch continued to hold her bad girl persona.  She was a squad leader straight out of a "Halo" type game and it fit perfect.  Jack McBrayer, who always seems to play a naive, shy yet good willed character was the voice of  Felix, the hero of the game Ralph comes from, Fix it Felix,.  Finally, Sarah Silverman plays the cute little racing girl from Sugar Rush, which is basically Candy Land meets Mario Kart. I normally hate Sarah Silverman.  I think her jokes are crude and childless and just find her overall being annoying.  However, she was perfect for the role of Vanellope.  Her jokes were still childish but her character was a child, so it worked.

The actually plot line of a bad guy wanting to be good wasn't necessarily  the most original concept ever but they way Disney and producer John Lasster (director of Toy Story 1, 2, 3 and Cars) presented it was great.  He continues to create worlds we all day dream about and brings them to life better than our imaginations.