Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph is guilty of a lot of false advertising. The trailers made a point of showcasing all the cameos by popular video game characters like M. Bison, Bowser, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Q*bert making it look like they would appear prominently -that this was going to be a movie where a bunch of licensed video game characters teamed up or something. Hell, most of them appeared on the posters clearly implying they had more than a minute of screen-time. In reality, this of course isn’t the case. Wreck-It Ralph isn’t the Avengers of video game movies; it has a lot more in common with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? And that I think was the far better direction to go in. Especially with the added twist of the films’ protagonist being a video game villain.
Wreck-It Ralph is an arcade game bad guy akin to Donkey Kong who feels bummed he doesn’t get the respect “heroes” like Fix-It Felix, the protagonist of his game, do. He decides to leave his game which he does by travelling through power cords, and earn a medal in another. After a harrowing experience in a sci-fi first-person shooter (that’s evidently inspired by Aliens) he manages to get one. But when it’s stolen in a cart racing game called Sugar Rush, by an underdog racer called Vanellope, the two reluctantly team up to win the big race and prove themselves, unaware their world may be collapsing.
Wreck-It Ralph is the feature debut of animation director Rich Moore who I’ve been a fan of for his work on The Simpsons and Futurama (another director from those shows, Jim Reardon, worked on this movie too). And Moore brings the same inventive style to this film that he brought to those shows, particularly the latter. The world of this arcade is superb! Though it does in concept borrow from Roger Rabbit as well as Toy Story in that these games come alive when humans aren’t around, it’s still a lot of fun to take in. The Game Central Station, which is a power bar where all the games are plugged in that acts as a subway station I think is brilliant. As are many of the rules of the game universe like the taboo about game-hopping or glitches. In the Central Station we see a bunch of retro game characters, homeless after their games have been disconnected. It’s really creative, setting up a ton of great jokes and references. The environment of each individual game is distinct as are the character designs, with some from recent games looking more conventionally human, while the more retro characters have exaggerated noses, limbs, etc. which provides a good visual for this diverse society. And even though the games we see are clearly parodies of existing games, they’re still creative. Fix-It Felix Jr. may not be much more than those old Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, but Sugar Rush is half Mario Kart half Candy Land. And it actually makes for not a bad combo. Some of the features in the game like a factory where the player builds their car, the double-striped candy canes and the Mentos are additions that make this fictional game feel more real. Maybe because the plot had to spend so much time in that particular game, it was more important to make it as creative as could be. This also extends to half the denizens of the game being candy or sweets themselves.
The plot beneath all this is fairly simple though, as it’s that same story about underdogs working together to achieve a goal that essentially represents their validation, and the plot takes a number of expected turns. Though Ralph and Vanellope are at odds when they first meet you know it’s not going to be long before they’re working together and building a relationship. And certain choices made after that are clichéd, however well they’re executed. The climax too kinda goes off the rails in terms of strangeness and sudden danger. And the resolution I’m not huge on even though it still manages to work okay. But I’m able to go along with all this because of the ever imaginative, fascinating world it takes place in allowing for different rules and a very unique take on these common story tropes, as well as surprisingly likeable characters.
John C. Reilly is a perfect fit for Ralph playing his annoyance and reluctance with his role in life very well. You get the guy’s frustration at always being disrespected by the Nicelanders, the civilian characters of his game, and you completely understand his motivations for leaving, not only to prove his worth but to make a difference. He gets his medal early on, but you know he’s going to realize it doesn’t have much real value and through the rest of the film he earns his heroism. What makes a hero is one of the films’ defining themes and though it’s a recycled one, Ralph brings something different to the table: his relationship with Vanellope which gives the film its heart. They’ve got a very endearing older brother-younger sister bond which helps moments like Vanellope going on about the word “duty” less unbearable. In her excitement and attitude she feels quite genuine. Usually I don’t care for Sarah Silverman’s voice-work but here she works great and is astonishingly not irritating. In fact you care for her as the maligned sufferer of a glitch. She compliments Ralph as a good upbeat foil to his abrasiveness and it actually makes the movie. You’re really rooting for these two by the end, they’re just so incredibly likeable. Considering something so typical as opposite personalities coming together is the cornerstone of a film with such a creative premise, it feels like a cheat code. Fix-It Felix is also quite likeable. I admire the film for not making him an asshole like the Nicelanders, and in fact actually makes an effort to accept Ralph, rather than just be a subversion of a role. Of course it’d be very hard to make Jack McBrayer into an asshole, so that works. Felix just doesn’t quite have an understanding of Ralph and his situation. His subplot as he tries to find Ralph and bring him back to their game is made more fun by Jane Lynch as Sgt. Calhoun accompanying him. She’s a tough-as-nails drill sergeant from Hero’s Duty the first-person shooter game Ralph got his medal in, and her fortitude and backstory are pretty hilarious. Alan Tudyk voices Sugar Rush’s despot King Candy in what’s just an Ed Wynn impression. In fact the character’s whole design is callback to the Mad Hatter -this may be the first case of Disney making a character who’s just a parody of a previous character. Mindy Kaling is right at home as Vanellope’s snooty rival. The cast also includes Ed O’Neill as the arcade owner, Dennis Haysbert as a hologram, and even some proper voice actors like John DiMaggio, Jess Harnell, and Maurice LaMarche as licensed characters. And see if you can recognize Joe Lo Truglio, Edie McClurg, and Adam Carolla.
Another feat for Wreck-It Ralph is I think it may be one of Disney’s funniest movies. Because the world’s rich and entertaining enough, there’s plenty of room for good comedy that feels natural. There are enough great gags that you’d think The Simpsons’ writers worked on this movie as well as their directors; from smart visual comedy to more character-based humour and of course a ton of in-jokes. Again, I’m not someone who’s played a lot of games, but I recognize when they’re throwing an Easter egg at the audience. Moore and his team obviously love video games. From references to Lara Croft and Pong to really clever details like how the Nicelanders move rigidly in a reference to their limited graphics or one scene where a character enters a cheat code on what looks like an NES controller. There are some great jokes tackling both old low-res games like Ralph’s as well as the more modern trends of violent shooter games that Hero’s Duty is a spoof of. And it’s a good satire of how far the industry and popular style has come. What would it be like to put Mega Man in Metal Gear Solid for instance? I love the 8-bit stuff, particularly in the end credits, and even though it was short and probably disappointed many, the Villains support group at the start is great getting out some pretty solid jokes early (including a goofy inspirational speech from Zangief of Street Fighter). Ralph goes to Tapper for a drink and we get to see what the inside of the ghosts’ house in Pac-Man looks like! Maybe that’s why this movie’s references resonate with me despite not being an avid gamer. Not only do they all make sense for the setting and story, but they’re mostly retro games we’re seeing that have maintained a degree of notoriety that many who haven’t even played the games can recognize. All that was missing was Space Invaders and Frogger. But the best thing about all these references is that the film would be good even without them. They just help make it even better.
Unbelievable as it may seem, Wreck-It Ralph is probably the best video game movie made so far (though I’m sure the Tetris movie will change that!). Yeah it may have oversold the licensed characters in the marketing, we didn’t get to see that argument we want between Mario and Link; but we did get to see some wonderfully likeable characters in a really energized, wildly creative, and heartfelt story with consistent humour, and a seemingly limitless world. And it’s one that I’d like to revisit. When can we do this again?
Next Week: Frozen (2013)
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