: Wreck-It Ralph
Now this is the movie Tron wanted to be!
Tron was about going inside the world of the video game, but Tron didn’t make any sense in terms of how computers actually work. That made me wary of this one as I worried it would make the same mistakes. I am delighted to report that it does nothing of the sort. Sure, there are liberties taken — game characters can’t cross over into other games in real life — but the world of Wreck-It Ralph is true to itself. There are rules to this world and the rules make sense within the film (unlike Tron).
The story is terrific — just top-notch — about being true to yourself and finding your place in this world. The plot, about a “bad guy” game character who wants to be a good guy, is pure genius. Ralph leaves his game seeking his fortune so to speak, and wanders into several other games, giving us a wonderful glimpse inside various game stereotypes and styles.
What really makes things work and takes everything to that top level is that these fictional games are actually terrific games. They feel believable. Fix-It Felix, Jr., where Ralph destroys things and the Felix, the good-natured hero, fixes things, actually could be an 1980’s arcade game. Hero’s Duty, is your typical modern, high-adrenaline, first-person shooter. Sugar Rush is a candy-coated racing game with enough sweet puns to make you dizzy (it’s hilarious), yet it’s a playable game (I loved the way gumballs drop from gumball machines and roll onto the raceway and wipe out racers who aren’t careful to dodge them, and even the “build your car bakery” mini-game seems like a fun game to actually play).
The characters we meet are just wonderful: variations of the familiar, but each with their own personality. Ralph discovers he’s not alone in his longing to expand his programming — many others don’t like their enforced roles, either. There’s the hard-assed soldier with a heart deep down, the quirky pixie who’s really a princess, the good-natured guy who’s tougher than he seems, and even minor side characters are given real roles with important lines.
While there are subtle jokes for video games gurus, even a passing familiarity with games will allow you to understand everything just fine. The climax and resolution of the film is just perfect — with a real threat quashed by Ralph in a way that’s uniquely his own. There’s genuine emotion, flawless dialog and performances throughout, and the film moves at a perfect pace. I really can’t think of anything wrong with this at all. It’s an instant classic, up there with The Incredibles for reinventing a genre and turning stereotypes on their head. Go see it!
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