In The 1980’s when Tron first utilized computer graphics way before Jurassic Park became a game changer in cinematic history, Disney worked on a story called, “High Score.” The project went under “Development Hell” for two decades until former founding father of Pixar, John Lasseter helped them to conceive the project changing the already changed title “Reboot Ralph” by a new name, “Wreck-It-Ralph.”
Wreck-It-Ralph was released in 2012. It received positive reviews from critics, gamers & movie goers alike. Plus, it made enough revenue at the box office. The movie managed to earn an Academy Award for “Best Animated Film” but lost to Pixar’s “Brave.” Believe or not, Mel Brooks praised Wreck-It-Ralph as the number one comedy film of 2012.
Now that “Ralph Breaks The Internet” & John C. Reilly’s other film is a western comedy titled, “The Sisters Brothers” is officially out in theaters, don’t forget is upcoming film with Will Ferrell called, “Holmes & Watson.” I want to share what’s good or bad about the first movie.
Today’s review doesn’t contain any pivotal SPOILERS whatsoever. Feel free to read this non-spoiler article. Does Wreck-It-Ralph still holds up? Let’s find out shall we?
Unbreakable & Breakable Elements
Unbreakable: The Main Cast such as John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Alan Tudyk, Jane Lynch & Jack McBrayer all did a fantastic job for their respective performances.
Other Cast Members including Mindy Kaling, Ed O’Neil & Adam Carolla also did a good job for their respective performances.
Animation is gorgeous bringing many elements to life including character models, environmental worlds, attention to detail among many others.
Former Simpsons/Futurama director turned big screen animation filmmaker, Rich Moore (Zootopia) did an awesome job for directing the film.
Jennifer Lee (Frozen, Zootopia) & Phil Johnston (also worked on Zootopia) co-wrote the script.
Hero’s Duty is based on a combination of games such as Call Of Duty, Halo & Doom.
Chemistry between Ralph & Vanellope felt normal and serves as the main highlight. They’re like brother & sister or cousins.
Without trying to give anything away, Character Development involving Ralph. At first, he goes from a glory hound who wants respect to finally understanding his true purpose.
Vanellope also earns herself Character Development from her friendship with Ralph. According to Sarah, she based her character on her real life experiences from her memoir, “The Bedwetter: Stories Of Courage, Redemption And Pee.” Not making this up, that’s really the title of her book.
The high concept/ what-if scenario is basically described as, “What if Bowser from Mario attempts to prove himself as a good guy towards his peers in order to gain respect from his friends and himself?”
Ralph’s world is based on anything related to Nintendo. Ralph & Felix are also based on Bowser & Mario.
The movie’s primary influences are “Toy Story” & “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” & “Looney Tunes.” The latter created by Disney’s archenemy, Warner Bros. (WB for short)
Vanellope’s voice reminded me of Spinneli from Recess. Perhaps Sarah is good friends with Pamela Adlon (Bobby Hill) who must’ve given the former some tips on how to create a distinctive voice.
Similar to Ready Player One, familiar video game characters show up including many villains from beloved franchises. Besides bad guys, some good guys most notably Sonic appear in blink and you’ll miss cameos.
Vanellope’s world “Sugar Rush” is based on racing games most notably Mario Kart. The world’s environment kinda looks like Sharkboy & Lavagirl’s world set in Spy Kids: 3D. Both films made by Robert Rodriguez.
King Candy shares the same last name as Calvin Candie from Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar nominates film came out a month after Wreck-It-Ralph was released.
Ralph mentioned “A magic hammer from your father. “Does The God Of Thunder ring any bells?
One character said “Mother Hubber!” Peter Parker said the phrase in Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Disney & Marvel Studios finally made an agreement with Sony to allow the character as a prominent figure of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (MCU for short)
One scene references a facehugger from Alien. Prometheus came out the same year as Wreck-It-Ralph.
An arcade game is named after a line from Jingle All The Way. By the way, Dreamworks released a film titled “Turbo” in The Summer Of 2013.
The bad guy’s identity is kept under wraps. I can’t tell you the name, you’re gonna have to see for yourself.
Darth Vader’s breath is heard in one scene. George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney for $4 billion.
The film got away with a Clerks II reference. Pretty sneaky if you ask me.
Without giving anything away, The Climatic Battle is similar to The Avengers & The Dark Knight Rises. Speaking of DC, Ralph did his impression of Superman flying. Man Of Steel came out in The Summer Of 2013.
The film made a Wizard Of Oz reference. Disney later released a prequel starring James Franco titled, “Oz The Great & Powerful.
Dubstep musician, Skrillex makes a cameo appearance in animated form.
Breakable: An early romance occurred with two people.
Product Placement only features two brands. Subway & Nesquik. I’ll give this flaw a pass, because it’s not excruciating as The Emoji Movie or Foodfight.
The Final Verdict: A-
Wreck-It-Ralph is probably the best film related to video games. What happens if you take movies and video games, two of my favorite hobbies and combine them as one fun ride? An instant classic. If you’re eager to see Ralph Breaks The Internet, I highly recommend the first movie. In case you want to refresh your memory.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 