Wreck It Ralph Review. - OMG

A review by Tim Stoddard.

What to say about Wreck-It-Ralph? Well, obviously it?s a Disney animated film where video game characters from an arcade live in a world where they can interact with each other, and being characters in a video game is practically their day to day job, and since I?m a huge video game nerd and retro gamer, I could write a thesis on the abundance of video game references, as well as the design of the worlds, the characters and all the minor details that makes this the most well done video game film out there. However what I mean is, what is there that I can say about this film to give it justice as a film, because what surprised me is that Wreck-it-Ralph is not just a video gaming hype machine, but possibly one of the best films I?ve seen so far this year.

To summarise, the story is about Wreck-it-Ralph, a bad guy from the classic arcade game Fix-it Felix Jr. Like all the video game characters, he is programmed to have the personality, backstory and behaviours, so Ralph is programmed to be prone to destroying things around him, as well as having a bad temper. Sadly this doesn?t make him very liked among the other people of his game, who usually leave him out and make him live in rubbish, even after celebrating the 30^th Anniversary of the game. Feeling he?s had enough of being left out and badly treated, he decides to sneak into another game, Hero?s Duty to earn a medal that will allow him to get the respect he wants. But his recklessness ends up leading him into the cutesy racer Sugar Rush, and he ends up requiring the help of an irritating wannabe racer named Vanellope in order to get his medal and leave the game.

So with Disney involved, there has clearly been a lot of thought done with the design and animation. While a few of the character models appear like they?ve been provided by the game developers, they feel kind of out of place, however Disney put a lot of effort into the authenticity of the game designs in the perspective of a 3D environment, since the older game characters look rounded and cartoony, and the newer game characters are more detailed and realistic. They even put effort into some of the movements, such as the home owners in Fix-it-Felix Jr with their very choppy movements.

The music surprisingly has the least relevance to video games. While there is a video game ?like? sounds, and a lot of video game sound effects are used, most of the soundtrack was either the commonplace Disney orchestra or songs, both original and licensed music. The music is still very catchy (the Sugar Rush theme will be in my head for about a week), and the closing theme by Owl City is very well done, just a shame that it?s the one that?s lacking for video game fans. The huge cast, including John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman and Jane Lynch, is impressive; each character is very dynamic and creative, even with some of the little twists and touches added, including Alan Tudyk playing the King of Sugar Rush as a vocal tribute to Disney?s Animated Mad Hatter.

Now it?s time to point out the elephant in the room. In a story telling perspective, references can not only gain interest and appeal in a story for fans, but can also ruin the story both for fans and non-fans alike. From the day the first trailer was shown, Wreck-it-Ralph was hyped to the brim as one huge video game dream for gamers, and that isn?t really a problem unless you are not a gamer who could understand most of the references. It can also be bad for the fans, as too many references, especially references out of context, can eventually get really boring. Wreck-it-Ralph is half video game references, the rest of it is a very well written story about people who feel rejected and only wish to be accepted. The video game references make the story very unique and clever, especially with the aspect that the ones inside the video games are programmed characters. It?s hard to explain without spoiling the film, but there are moments which make you sad, worried and even shocked.

Wreck-it-Ralph is probably one of the most well-made video game films to date, making it both a joy for fans to spot references and accuracies, as well as producing a well-made story with well written characters around it. Regardless of whether you like to play the games or not, anyone can like something in this film. I also like to mention the animated short shown prior called Paperman, a nice little love story about an accountant with cel-shaded animation so good it almost looks 2D.

Source: http://omgstaffs.com/2013/02/18/wreck-it-ralph-review/

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