Wreck-It Ralph

Starring: John C. Reily, Sarah Silverman
Directed by: Rich Moore
Rating: I Liked It

When I first saw the spots for this movie, I was really excited to see it.  My first thought was, "how did they get the rights for all of those video game characters?"  Then, I remembered this was a Disney film, and, well, they've probably got the money for the properties they don't already own.  I digress...

The main story here is about the titular Ralph (Reily) wanting to not just be treated by a bad guy because that's his role in the video game of which he's a character.  In his quest to find a medal to prove himself a good guy, he meets Vanellope, another outcast from a different game.  Together, while trying to claim Ralph's medal and help Vanellope prove herself, they discover that being who you are is the most important thing...and that's probably the corniest thing I've ever written in one of these reviews.

Overall, the movie was a lot of fun.  It wasn't quite up to par with some of Disney's other recent hits (i.e. Toy Story, Wall-E), but it did have a different kind of feel being set around the world of video games.  It definitely hit me right in the nostalgia for sure.  It had plenty of laughs that I could appreciate, but I really wonder if the younger generation would even get the references.

The Good:

• I was really surprised to see the detail that went into the thought process of developing each game's world.  For example, at one point, Ralph destroy's a cake in his 8-bit game, and the icing sticks to the walls in a very "blocky" pattern.  Even the way the NPCs in his game move is different than the other games.  
• It was a lot of fun seeing the characters from different games interact.  We see a lot of classics just dropped in here and there, Pac-Man, Bowser, Q-bert, etc.  
• The Halo-esque character, Calhoun (Jane Lynch), was great, partly due to her great voice acting and partly because she just fit right into the story.  
• I could 100% see the video game the movie is based on, even though it's fictitious, sitting in a real arcade somewhere.  It's completely believable.  
• I hadn't really looked into the voice actors in this movie before watching it short of seeing the main character's mentioned in previews, so, I was really excited and surprised to learn that King Candy (the main villain) was voiced by Alan Tudyk.  He's one of my favorite actors.  I had actually thought while watching the movie that the voice sounded like Ed Wynn (the Mad Hatter from Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins).  You can make your own comparison below.  

The Bad: 

•  I don't really have anything negative to say about the movie.  

The Ugly: 

• Please see above.