Movie review: 'Wreck-It Ralph': A well-crafted family film that ain’t broke

Unless you were a parent looking for a child-friendly alternative to “Skyfall” last week, you may have missed the opening of “Wreck-It Ralph,” a feel-good ode to video gaming that can be enjoyed by all, regardless of whether or not they’ve ever owned a console or set foot in a video arcade.

 

John C. Reilly (“Stepbrothers,” “We Need to Talk About Kevin”) stars as the titular Ralph, the villain in Fix-It Felix Jr., an arcade staple for the past 30 years (think Donkey Kong, but with a handyman in place of a plumber). Ralph is frustrated with his role in the game, not so much by the job per se, but by the low opinion his fellow video game denizens have of him by default. 

 

Ralph spends his nights sleeping on a garbage pile when he’s not venting his frustrations in a support group comprised of like-minded—and more than a little familiar—video game bosses, including Clyde (the orange ghost from “Pac-Man”), “Sonic the Hedgehog’s” Robotnik, “Super Mario’s” Bowser, and a surprisingly insightful Zangief (of “Street Fighter” fame), among others. 

 

The licensing and financial logistics required to populate Ralph’s support group alone make the mind boggle, with the cameos coming to a head in the hub (sort of a Grand Central Station for video games) where the different characters congregate and relax when their games aren’t in play. Here, the filmmakers take their chance to cram in cameo appearances of everyone from the bartender from “Tapper” and a panhandling Q-Bert to “Street Fighter’s” Chun-Li and Cammy engaging in girl-talk. 

 

The plot of “Wreck-It Ralph” is the usual bit about leaving one’s comfort zone for selfish reasons before finding one’s self; fortunately, the filmmakers are more than able to transcend formula, keeping the audience (regardless of age) entertained all the way through. As Ralph decides to venture beyond his programming in order to elevate his status, the film pays loving homage to the breadth of video game history, represented by a variety of colorful characters, including Jane Lynch’s tough-as-nails space marine and nine-year-old Vanellope von Schweetz, played to attention-deficient perfection by Sarah Silverman (minus her trademark profanity). 

 

Boasting a story consulted on by Pixar’s John Lasseter (in his role as executive producer and head of Walt Disney Animation Studios), “Wreck-It Ralph” is that rare animated production unafraid of wearing its good-natured heart on its sleeve, eschewing the forced (and quickly-dated) post-modernistic irony favored by the majority of its competitors. 

 

As directed by Rich Moore, “Wreck-It Ralph” plays like a cross between “Toy Story” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”. While the film sags a bit in the middle portion, and one does long for more appearances by classic characters, the film never outstays its welcome, buoyed by enthusiastic performances by its impressive voice cast. 

 

Reilly is a pro at playing characters down on their luck, and his Ralph is no different, with just the right touch of pathos as the antithesis of the ever-cheerful Fix-It Felix, Jr., played by Jack McBrayer (TV’s “30 Rock”). As Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun (programmed with the most tragic back-story ever!), Jane Lynch (“Julie and Julia,” TV’s “Glee”) personifies the trend toward grittier, more violent games, spitting out acerbic one-liners at a rate and quality that would put many a drill instructor to shame.

 

Visually, it’s obvious that the animators had a ball depicting the different characters and the worlds they inhabit, with each boasting genre-specific treatment. Take, for instance, the staccato movements of “Fix-It Felix Jr.’s” characters, whose jerky motions are hilariously representative of their (lovingly-rendered) 8-bit origins. Modern games receive similar attention, from the frenetic first-person shoot-‘em-up graphics of the unfortunately-named “Hero’s Duty,” to the visual diabetes (in a good way!) of Vanellope’s kart racer, “Sugar Rush.”

 

Also striking is the video arcade the games are located in, run by the kindly Mr. Litwak (“Modern Family” and “Married, with Children”’s Ed O’ Neill), which features even more cameos in the forms of arcade cabinets whose titles would have claimed many of the target audience’s parents’ tokens over the years.

 

Packed with wit, charm and well-designed visuals appealing to the young and the young-at-heart, Moore and Disney have succeeded in crafting a cinematic artifact hitherto thought mythical: an excellent videogame movie. –KG, GMA News Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

 

A lifelong fan of cinema and literature kept ambulatory by an ungodly mix of sugar, caffeine and adrenaline, Mikhail Lecaros is a professional magazine editor and freelance writer who's decided that he wants to be Hunter S. Thompson if and when he is forced to grow up. The views expressed in this article are solely his own.