This is a review from a Simply Disney Thing web:
MY SPOILER-FREE THOUGHTS ON WRECK-IT RALPH
”I’m bad and that’s good, I will never be good and that’s not bad, because there’s no one I rather be than me.”
I will just flat out say that I loved Wreck-it Ralph - video game references and all. From the very first moment when the Walt Disney Animation Studios logo turned 8-bit, I knew I was in for a treat. In comparison to other Disney films, Wreck-it Ralph felt like Alice in Wonderland meets Monsters Inc. and Toy Story.
Wreck-it Ralph tells the story of 9ft tall Ralph, who has been the destroying the Niceland’s apartment complex for over 30 years in the game Fix-it Felix. Ralph’s journey to become a hero takes him to different worlds, where he meets a variety of interesting video game characters, who all have big personalities. A majority of the film is spent in Sugar Rush, a 1997 kart racing game that features the pint-sized Vanellope Von Schweetz. However, Ralph’s decision to go “Turbo” causes Fix-it Felix to be flagged “Out of Order”. So, Felix finds himself on a journey to find Ralph and save his game.
Without giving away too much information, I will say that this film threw me on an emotional roller coaster. One minute you’ll find yourself laughing at subtle video game references - like Ralph finding Mario’s 1-up mushroom in the lost and found - And in the next, you’ll be fighting back tears. On an emotional scale of 1 to Toy Story 3, I definitely felt it edging its way towards TS3.
That being said, the film is visually stunning. The games and their lands are immersive, inviting, and felt playable. There are so many characters, gags, and little Disney references, that I feel I will have to see the film multiple times just to catch everything. In addition, there as a lot of physical humor. John C. Reilly (the voice of Ralph) claimed that they recorded him acting out various scenes. So when watching Ralph, I saw a lot of John in there. In fact, it felt like I was just watching the voice actors dressed as video game characters. Take for instance Jack McBrayer, he is Fix-it Felix. And Jane Lynch? I don’t even think she was reading a script. This was something that I loved because the characters felt real. Not programmed.
While I enjoyed the visuals, the music did an incredible job bringing together these games. Over time, video game music has developed from 8-bit, 16-bit, fully orchestrated, and so on. For me, I was mainly interested to see how they would tackle something like that. Disney brought in a variety of artists to make themes for these games. Skrillex (who makes a cameo in the film) did an amazing job putting that modern feel into Hero’s Duty. AKB48 provided the perfect theme song for Sugar Rush, which is a kart racing game from Japan. Makes sense, right? However, I must say that the best on the soundtrack is Buckner and Garcia for bringing to life the Wreck-it Ralph theme. Buckner and Garcia are best known for their 1980s song called Pac-Man Fever. It only seems right that they’d sing a song for Wreck-it Ralph, which is supposed to be a 80s arcade game.
Overall, just get the soundtrack. It’s only $7.99 on Amazon.
My biggest complaint about the film? While I enjoyed being in Sugar Rush because it was delicious and fun, I felt that the film took off in a different direction. The beginning of the film showed various games at the arcade, their characters, and purpose. I loved that the Bad Guy meeting took place inside of Pac-Man and I thought it was clever that Ralph went to Tapper when he felt upset. But the video game references turned into candy jokes the minute Ralph goes to Sugar Rush. I honestly didn’t have any issues with this because the jokes were hilarious. I just missed the video game gags that were very dominant in the beginning.
Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed Wreck-it Ralph and I highly recommend it. I feel that Wreck-it Ralph has the potential to reach out to everyone and not just video game fans. I went to the midnight premiere and I was surprised at the age groups. There was an older gentlemen who looked at least 60, there were teens, young adults in their 20s, and so on. I can already tell that kids will eat it up and I am positive that Ralph and Vanellope merchandise will fly off the shelves during the holidays.
I’m excited to see what’s in store for Wreck-it Ralph.
Be sure to:
1. Look for the Mickey Mouse billboard near Litwak’s Arcade
2. Stay after the credits for more 8-bit
3. Bring tissue… AND candy.
(Source:
http://simpledisneythings.com/post/34844145385)