Chopping Block Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Review by Nolan P. Smith- Pastrami Nation

(Apple Valley) It’s hard to top a Disney animated feature. The quality, the stories, the emotional connections made: Disney knows how to please an audience. So with it’s latest outing, Wreck-It Ralph, Disney aims at not only its longtime Disney fanatics, but at the gamers of the world as well. Is Wreck-It Ralph a smash hit, or is it simply a wreck?

I will go ahead and get it out of the way now: Wreck-It Ralph is one of the best films of the year. Hands down. The animated film focuses on video game bad guy Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly), who is tired of always being hated and shunned as the bad guy and wants to change: he wants to be a good guy. This leads the hulking wrecker to jump games in order to find a way to gain acceptance, and trouble definitely follows. The hero of Ralph’s game, Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) sets out on a quest to find his “arch nemesis” in order to save their game from becoming obsolete. The quests leads Ralph to encounter some of the most iconic names in video game history, including a superbly done villains anonymous meeting with villains from all types of games coming together.

The quest sends Ralph in to a variety of games, from one that will strike a nerve with Halo/Gears of War fans, to Sugar Rush, where he meets the young Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), a glitch outcast of the dessert world. The interactions between Ralph and Vanellope are really the heart of the story, as each is trying their best to make it in a world that wants nothing to with them. By the end of the film, we get a satisfying ending, a few twists and turns, and a movie experience unlike anything I have ever seen. The characters, the dialogue, the worlds created: this film is setting the bar when it comes to Disney animated features.

Disney did their homework when it came to the world of gaming, as they create such an engrossing, nostalgic tale that I really can’t see anyone walking out of the theatre displeased. Reilly, Silverman, McBrayer, Jane Lynch, the entire casts puts on an amazing performance, easily making this one of the best films of 2012. Do yourself a favor and check out Wreck-It Ralph, I highly recommend it.