Wreak-It Ralph

This week I had the pleasure of seeing Disney Animation Studios’ newest release Wreak-It Ralph. This film is as much for adults as it is for children. Disney truly out did itself with this one. The animation was spectacular with extreme attention to detail. It all came together with a beautiful story that will warm up even the coldest hearts.

Wreak-It Ralph is a trip down memory lane for the parents that take their kids to see it. Disney’s meticulous attention to detail combines the newest games with the classics that most adults played growing up. What would happen if a Halo-style character is let loose in a Mario Kart or Donkey Kong-like game? Screenwriters Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee share their idea with the viewer.

Ralph is an arcade game bad guy that just wants to be viewed as a good guy and accepted into his community. He sets out into different video games to become the hero. An accident in the war game “Hero’s Duty” sends him to “Sugar Rush.” In “Sugar Rush,” he meets Venellope Von Schweetz, a young girl that just wants to be accepted and have the chance to race with the other characters. Ralph’s game companion, Felix, and “Hero’s Duty” star, Calhoun, enter “Sugar Rush” to save every video game in the arcade. Only Disney could take something this imaginative and make it amazing with zero story flaws.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is that the characters match the actors voicing them. John C. Reilly voices the star, Ralph. Vanellope looks like Sarah Silverman. Felix resembles Jack McBrayer. There is a striking resemblance between Calhoun and Jane Lynch. This added to the film as the audience feels the personalities of the actors come through the screen.

I would expect to see a story like this from Pixar. Perhaps that is because John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer for both Pixar and Disney Animation Studios) took the helm as executive producer of the film. It seems that everything he touches turns to gold. To me, Lasseter is the modern-day Walt Disney.

Also, Wreak-It Ralph features a beautiful animated short that appears right before the movie starts. The short, Paperman, is about a young man that tries to get the attention of a woman he meets on a train platform. Paperman has an old-style feel with its black and white combination of hand-drawn and computer animation. This short is so delightful that it is worth seeing on its own. It will be a huge contender in the Oscars’ Animated Short category against Pixar’s La Luna, released earlier this year in front of Brave.

Wreak-It Ralph is one of the best films to come out of Disney Animation Studio’s since The Princess and the Frog.