Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Directed by Rich Moore

Written by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee

Premiered November 2, 2012

101 minutes
Rated PG

Synopsis

Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the antagonist within the arcade game Fix-It Felix Jr.; while he destroys buildings, titular hero Felix (Jack McBrayer) repairs them with his magic hammer and is praised by all. Tired of his bad guy reputation, Ralph seeks glory within another, more modern video game Hero's Duty featuring the badass Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch). Ralph's simple plan to steal a medal (and therefore prove his heroism) backfires and he unleashes a plague of Cy-Bugs that threaten all the games in the arcade. During his escape, Ralph crash lands in Sugar Rush, a candy themed racing game where he meets Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) who steals his medal. Vanellope must have a coin to enter the races, from which she has been forbidden from by King Candy (Alan Tudyk) due to her glitches. Meanwhile, Felix and Calhoun search Sugar Rush to stop Ralph from wrecking the world as they know it.

Before We Begin
Disney movies are traditional. More often than not, they are adaptations or spins on classic stories, novels, myths, fables, and fairy tales. In fact, there are only a handful of DAFs that are not adapted from some other source material, most of them released in the 21st century. On the other hand, Pixar is known for their original stories, premises, and characters and above all, no female protagonists...for perfectly legitimate and non-sexist reasons, I'm sure....ahem.

But then something crazy happened in 2012. Pixar released Brave, a movie about a princess in medieval Scotland who likes archery or something. And in that same year, Disney released Wreck-It Ralph, a love letter to old skool arcade games. It seemed like some crazy switcheroo at the time, as if Disney and Pixar challenged one another to make a movie in the other's style. Both were successful at the box office and both were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Brave won. I was not happy.

Mötley Müsings

• Um, Rich Moore directed a buttload of early episodes of The Simpsons and I sort of think that has something to do with why I like this movie so much. (He also directed Zootopia, so there you go.)

• So much attention to detail in this movie. 

• 30 years ago...montage of changing games.

• When arcade closes, everybody can join up in Game Central Station.

• The casting in this is SPOT ON PERFECT.

• Bad Guy support group. BAD-ANON.

• "Thanks, Satan."

"Uh...it's Satine."

• "Going Turbo"...foreshadowing.

• "If you die outside your own game, you don't regenerate...ever."

• SKRILLEX CAMEO? Oh right, he did some of the score.

• I like that this movie can only be set in the early 2010s given that this is the 30th anniversary of Fix-It Felix, Jr. a game that is so obviously early 80s.

• Poor, Ralph! They're so mean. High school never ends.

• The splatters are all pixelated!

• "HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, SVZY"

• Sergeant Calhoun is fucking awesome.

• "What's the first rule of Hero's Duty?"

"No cuts, no butts, no coconuts?"

• "All right, pussy willows, back to starting position."

• Subway! Eat fresh!

• "Hmm, looks like the game's gone cuckoo...like my nana. Here's your quarter back, darling.

"But what about the game?"

"I'll have somebody come and look at it tomorrow. But if he can't fix it, then it may be time to put old Ralph and Felix out to pasture...like my nana."

• "Flattery don't charge these batteries, civilian."

• Oh, the secondary romance between Calhoun and Felix is just delightful.

• Whoever came up with Sugar Rush watched that "California Gurls" video one too many times. Or this:

• If they were going for annoying, there was no other choice but to cast Sarah Silverman. Vanellope walks a very fine line of being too much. I go back and forth about her. I like her outfit and the licorice on the bottom of her shoes, though.

• "Sugar Rush. Cy-Bugs would chew up that game faster than a chickenhawk in a coop of crippled roosters."

"What was that now?"

• I love how Felix calls her "ma'am".

• "It's not her fault. She's programmed with the most tragic back story ever..." Oh God, yes!

• The designs and the names of the avatars. Taffyta Muttonfudge. Rancis Fluggerbutter. Swizzle Malarkey.

• Oh, Sour Bill. And the donut cops! This is the worst movie for a sugar addict to watch.

• "O-re-o. O-reeee-ooo"

• "Milk my duds! It's Wreck-It Ralph."

"Who are you? The guy that makes the donuts?" #forgotten80sreference

• Children of the candy corn. Keep those puns a-comin'.

• Vader breath!

• Oh no. The car gets wrecked just like Cinderella's pink dress. And this is some kind of commentary on making fun of the physically/mentally impaired.

• Nes-Quik Sand.

• You can tell how much fun the animators had with designing this. And everyone probably gained twenty pounds during production.

• "Well, this may come as a shock to you, but in my game, I'm the bad guy, and I live in the garbage."

"Cool."

"No, not cool! Unhygienic, and lonely, and boring..."

• "Shut Up and Drive" Ugh....no thank you. If they wanted to jam in a pop song, they could have picked a better one. 

• "You are one dynamite gal."

• "Who doesn't like a brat with dirty hair?"

• Seems like there's no villain yet...except the dickhead other racers...

• Oh no. The tough part. "You really are a bad guy." #crying

• THE TWIST! Vanellope's picture is on the side of the game and King Candy tried to delete Vanellope's code to keep her out of the game. SHE'S NOT REALLY A GLITCH!

• "Stick around."

• Anyone else getting Phantom Menace pod race vibes from this?

• TURBO!

• Her "disability" is really a power.

• "Parting is such sweet sorrow."

• Ralph's gonna make a beacon out of the Mentos/Diet Cola pond!

• Dramatic self-sacrificing ending! #crying

• Vanellope is a princess! But she chooses to be president instead. #america

• Disney movies...the only place it's okay for a grown man to be friends with a little girl.

• And they all lived happily ever after.

• But fuck this song. It plays at work and it can go die.

Final Thoughts

I was weary of Wreck-It Ralph, but I did my duty and went to see it in theaters fully expecting to be disappointed by Pixar's dirty fingerprints all over it. But I, of course, was pleasantly surprised how Disney it felt. It tugs at the heartstrings without beating you over the head.  The screenplay is tight and although it jumps from game to game, there aren't any weird tangents or extra bullshit. Everything is relevant to the story. All the characters are fully realized, even Sour Bill, the Nicelanders, and the Gamer Girl. There is terrific world-building within the three main games featured, as well as Game Central Station and Litwak's Family Fun Center & Arcade.

There is no reason why I should like Wreck-It Ralph as much as I do. I am not a gamer. I've played a lot of Tetris in my time, but somehow that doesn't really count. I don't think I've ever been in a real arcade either. The whole culture is a little before my time to be honest, but I have an appreciation for it. And I love the over arching theme of a dying, no longer relevant entertainment venue. So no, I don't get all the jokes--and I never will--but I've come to peace with that. This movie is not for me, in the way that The Princess and the Frog is for me, but I'm still allowed to like Wreck-It Ralph.

I have but one complaint.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
STTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPP!!!
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Favorite Character

Sergeant Calhoun

Favorite Moment -- Ooooooh...so tough! I'll go with Ralph sacrificing himself.

Favorite Song -- "Sugar Rush" performed by AKB48