Wreck-It Ralph (2012); animated comedy family film review

Promotional poster for the animated comedy family film Wreck-It Ralph.

  
Ralph’s Recognition by Linh

Wreck-It Ralph is a brilliant combination of computer-generated film imagery and video game visuals that intertwine as the narrative moves from one to the other. This Disney animated film has familiar characters and elements for avid computer/video game players, particularly for fans of arcade-style video games of the 1980s and 1990s. Although the characters and games are fictional, they are based on similar gaming styles and techniques as easily recognisable games. However, this film will also appeal to people who do not play video games, but having some background knowledge or experience with video games assists in understanding the humour and references in the film.

GAMING GROUP: Ralph (John C. Reilly) attends the Bad-Guys counselling session for the first time in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Wreck-It Ralph is a film that is cleverly set out in three levels of reality, similar to video games that have multiple levels of gameplay. The first reality is the one inhabited by humans and is set inside Litwak’s Arcade Gallery with many different video games. The next reality is set inside the actual games called Fix It Felix Jr., Hero’s Duty and Sugar Rush. The third reality is the world of the characters who are used in the games, and show the characters when they are not “working”. All three realities merge throughout the film, so viewers need to suspend their disbelief in order to follow the story.

DISCO DANCERS: Felix and the Nicelanders dance together at the 30th anniversary party of their video game in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Wreck-It Ralph follows the adventures of a big and muscular man named Ralph (John C. Reilly) with colossal hands, whose job is being the bad-guy named Wreck-It Ralph in the video game called Fix-It Felix Jr. Every time a human plays the game, Wreck-It Ralph would smash windows and knock objects off a tall building with his enormous hands, while Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer) would appear to mend all the damage left by Ralph. 

The Nicelanders are the residents of Niceland who need to call on Fix-It Felix Jr. whenever Wreck-It Ralph smashes their building in the game. When the game is over, the characters move out of the game arena and into their regular everyday lives. However, the Nicelanders still treat Ralph as if he is still Wreck-It Ralph, always thinking of him as the bad-guy even when he is not “working”. On the other hand, the Nicelanders see Felix as their hero and would reward him with cakes, parties and medals. Feeling angry and hurt for always being seen as the bad-guy, Ralph announces he will show everyone he is a good person and win a medal.

CY-BUG SHOOTERS: Ralph (John C. Reilly) is reprimanded by Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) after a disastrous session of Hero's Duty gameplay in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

As Ralph sets off on his quest for a medal, he enters Hero’s Duty, a first-person shooting game that involves wearing heavy military gear and carrying high-powered assault weapons while shooting at cy-bugs that kill, eat and multiply quickly. Ralph disguises himself as a character in Hero’s Duty and meets the tough and relentless commander of the team, Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch). After a bumbling effort by Ralph during the gameplay, Sergeant Calhoun scolds him but Ralph eventually earns the medal by stealth. However, things go horribly wrong when Ralph accidentally steps on a cy-bug egg. Ralph is catapulted into another video game called Sugar Rush where he meets Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), a little “glitch” character who shows him that it takes more than a medal to become a hero and a good-guy.

GOOD-GUY GAMER: Ralph (John C. Reilly) finally feels like a hero and good-guy after receiving a gold medal in the video game Hero's Duty in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Wreck-It Ralph is an entertaining and fast-paced adventure animated film that moves swiftly from one reality (world) to another in a natural and spontaneous way. The animation of the characters and their reality (world) matches the style of video game they “work” in. For example, in the video game Fix-It Felix Jr., the characters appear pixelated or as 8-bit characters in the game. While the characters in the newest video game Hero’s Duty are high-definition computer graphics inside and outside of the game.

GLITCHING GIRL: Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) sets out to prove she can be a winner in the Sugar Rush cart-race despite her glitches in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Images: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Although most animated films are made for children, this is one of the films that blend complex adult themes of sexuality and philosophy into the story. In the first third of the film, we are introduced to two very masculine characters representative of very stereotypical masculine qualities of manliness. Ralph’s physique is one that many males aspire to attain. Ralph is violent and angry in the video game, and these traits are usually associated with male aggression. Hence, Ralph is seen as the bad-guy or villain in the game. Felix also has masculine traits where he is seen doing male-oriented things like fixing/mending things with a hammer (phallic symbol).  Therefore, Felix is seen as the good-guy who comes to the rescue and fixes things. For two thirds of the film, there are depictions of females and males in the video game Sugar Rush who represent stereotypical feminine traits of caring, sweetness, bitchiness and ambition. It is during his stay in Sugar Rush, that Ralph gets the opportunities to display qualities such as nurturing, caring and being considerate of others. 

REGAL RACER: King Candy (Alan Tudyk) reigns over the video game Sugar Rush and rules the speedway in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

The film uses many ideas of existentialism, particularly philosophy from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. For example, Nietzsche’s ideas of nihilism, which has nothing to do with pathological conditions of a person’s mental state or depression, but is a reasoning for finding grounds to support your values. Hence, Nietzsche’s ideas about two types of nihilism are depicted in the film. The first is nihilism of despair, where a person is living in a world where their values cannot be realised. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the world, only something wrong with them so they must change themselves in order to fit into the world in which they live. The second is nihilism of disorientation where a person’s values cannot be justified. This is when a person believes there is nothing wrong with them or their values so they want to change the world to fit them. 

Nihilism of despair is depicted when Ralph knows he can never be seen as a good-guy in his own video game world, so he has to go to another video game to prove he can be a hero and a good-guy. Nihilism of disorientation is depicted when King Candy from the video game Sugar Rush believes he is the best racing driver and makes extreme changes to his own video game world to suit himself. The overall message in the film conveyed by these ideas is to be yourself, and be happy with who you are. When you learn to be yourself, then you will love, accept and approve of your life and the lives of others around you. 

RACING RIVAL: Taffyta Muttonfudge (Mindy Kaling) is Vanellope's nasty rival in Sugar Rush's cart-race in the animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Image: Walt Disney Animation Studios.

A fun aspect of Wreck-It Ralph is trying to spot the cameo appearances of other characters from various arcade video games in the film: such as Pac-man and Clyde the orange ghost, Street Fighter’s Zangief, Bowser from Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog and the long-nosed orange character named Q-Bert. Wreck-It Ralph is fabulous fun for the whole family who enjoy seeing a mix of lightness and shade in animated films. 

The songs are equally fun, such as the end credit songs Sugar Rush by Japanese girl group AKB48 and the title song Wreck It, Wreck-It Ralph by musical duo Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia. Keep watching the end credits as the characters Wreck-It Ralph, Fix-It Felix Jr., Vanellope and Sergeant Calhoun are shown in various styles of video gameplay.  

Wreck-It Ralph received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated feature and won a total of five Annie Awards (the animation industry’s highest honour) including for Best Animated Feature, Outstanding Achievement For Directing An Animated Feature, and Outstanding Achievement For Music in An Animated Feature. This Disney film is highly recommended viewing for fans of innovation and originality in film animation and story-telling.

Director: Rich Moore

Writers: Rich Moore (story), Jim Reardon (story), Phil Johnston (story and screenplay), Jennifer Lee (screenplay), John C. Reilly (story contributor), Sam J. Levine (story contributor), Jared Stern (story contributor)

Voice Cast: John C. Reilly, Jane Lynch, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, Mindy Kaling, Alan Tudyk, Skylar Astin, Ed O’Neill, Joe Lo Truglio, Edie McClurg, Rachael Harris, Adam Carolla, Horatio Sanz, Dennis Haysbert, Rich Moore, John DiMaggio, Craig Smith, Maurice LaMarche, Katie Lowes, Gerald C. Rivers, Stefanie Scott, Kevin Deters, Martin Jarvis, Brandon Scott, Jess Harnell

Producers: John Lasseter, Clark Spencer, Monica Lago-Kaytis

Original Music Composer: Henry Jackman

Film Editor: Tim Mertens

Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes