2012: The Year in Film: "Wreck it Ralph" Review

So we don't watch too many cartoons over here at HoB.  There are a number of reasons for this, not all of them related to me being a curmudgeon, but most of them related to a general corncob kid sensibility that fills the vast majority of your Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks fare.  I get that for children it's funny when a dog farts or whatever.. but for me, a somewhat adult, it's groan inducing.  It's become common among moviegoing young person types to praise Pixar above all others, but even Pixar movies oftentimes have a hard time rising above their ultimately kiddie sensibilities.  Think of the dogs in Up or the fatty humans in Wall-E if you don't believe me.  And yes, I understand that the movies are intended to be able to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.  I get it.  However, for me personally, if your movie is jam packed with kiddie goodness, I'm just not going to enjoy it.  I'm sorry, cartoons, it's not me, it's you.  I like movies where people say "fuck" and kill each other while speaking in suave witticisms the way nobody does.  It's my own little cross to bear.  So, with that disclaimer in mind, I was bribed to see "Wreck It Ralph" despite my warning my companion that I almost never like cartoons.  [Note: exception to be made for the Disney Robin Hood movie]  So let's check it out.

If I'm not mistaken this flick is Disney animation trying to be Pixar.  (Correct me if I'm wrong)  For the most part, they succeed in that ambition, and Wreck-It Ralph (despite being a preposterous title for anyone with a "that's what she said" juvenile sense of humor like me) employs one of the most original and fun premises of any movie over the past few years.  In the world of Wreck-It Ralph, video games within an arcade are populated by living characters with feelings, thoughts, ambitions and motivations all their own.  They go to work like any of us during business hours, but once the arcade shuts down, the characters are free to roam through the power cables into other games or common areas.  As long as all of the characters make it to their own game for the opening, all is well and no one is any wiser.  However, if they should be away from their game during business hours, the customers will complain of their absence and the game will be out of order.  Very clever stuff, and the flick wisely uses the concept to hit you with a barrage of classic video game characters and games in the early going.  Ralph is a (very) big, sweet guy whose "job" consists of destroying a building so that Fix It Felix can repair it.  As such, he's feared and detested by the fellow characters in his game, and finds himself wanting more from his life.  So Ralph decides he's going to make a change and get some of the star treatment that's been withheld from him all these years, and sets off from game to game to try to be a hero.

So how is it?

The Good: Ralph, especially, is a remarkably well-developed character.  He has flaws and thoughts and hopes and dreams, yet remains grounded within the game from which he came.  John C. Reilly could voice a lovable dope with a temper with his eyes closed, and Ralph really is a likable character.  The supporting characters are developed to a lesser extent, but they are all given moments to shine and the flick uses their roots as video game characters to humorous effect.  There are many homages to classic games, but more the style of games than anything, with characters moving and behaving in ways that any longtime video game will remember fondly.  The flick really does a good job of creating a rich and realistic universe where these characters all live and interact both within and apart from their games.  The plot is your typical "challenge, personal growth, triumph", but that's not necessarily a bad thing.



The Bad: I felt the flick really wasted a lot of the potential from its premise by focusing almost exclusively on characters and games made up for the movie.  I understand the challenges of using characters and properties owned by diverse companies and with potential film futures of their own, but after the first 20 minutes, it's like the flick forgot that these characters existed.  That could have been a lot of fun, but ultimately it sort of sizzles out.  Also, the film spends the last 2/3rds centered pretty exclusively in a Mario Kart style game called "Sugar Rush" that features children as characters and is candy-centric.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but to me it felt TOO kid centered.  Yes, I realize that it's a cartoon and geared for the 8-13 year old crowd, but this is my criticism and cartoons have successfully tread that line before.  When you make a movie about video games, you're making that flick recognizing that you're aggressively courting an older male demographic... and some of the choices here were TOO safe and TOO child centered for my tastes.  Just my criticism, y'all.  

In all, Wreck It Ralph is cute and quite a bit of fun.  It's got heart and features an incredibly likable protagonist.  However, it wastes quite a bit of the potential of its premise by featuring pretty exclusively on fictional (made up for the movie) games and game characters and ultimately is TOO kiddie to succeed in the way that some of the best animated flicks of the last decade have.  Watchable, and fun, but ultimately falls short.  Oh, by the way, the animated short at the beginning, Paperman?  So good.  So, so good.  Someone was cutting onions behind me, I think.

7/10.