Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph is currently my favorite movie. It unseated my previous favorite movie which reigned from 1995 until 2012. I will post about that movie as well here very soon. So, what makes Wreck-It Ralph my favorite? It is a lot of little things, really. For starters, the music and sound effects in the movie scratch that nostalgia itch fiercely! If you were a kid in the late 1970s or early to mid 1980s, you will immediately recognize the video game sounds they have mixed into the soundtrack for the movie. They took that theme and ran with it for the music as well. It is so well done, that I could just listen to the soundtrack and be happy.

Ok, but what else? What makes it my favorite? Well, aside from the strong nostalgia factor, there are also the characters. Wreck-It Ralph is a very interesting character in that he is the "bad guy" but he doesn't want to be the "bad guy." I love, LOVE that the movie starts with various video game villains/opponents sitting around in a "Bad-Anon" support group talking about how they are "bad guys" but that doesn't make them "bad ... guys." Genius! I also love the whole "Toy Story" what-they-are-doing-when-you-aren't-watching thing, applying it to video games was just an incredible idea, and one I would love to see play out in as many scenarios as they can dream up for sequels. In addition to Ralph, the misunderstood brute, there is Vanellope Von Schweetz -- another misunderstood character in a similar situation as Ralph in her own game. She is clever, has a sharp wit, is cute as bug's teeth, and is voiced by Sarah Silverman, whom I love!
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Vanellope clearly becomes Ralph's adopted daughter during the course of their adventure, and he starts to put her needs and wants ahead of his, culminating in him making a major decision for her near the end of the movie which to this day when I watch it throws cold shivers down my spine. I LOVE that he adopts her and starts to look after her, it is a great message, and a fantastic development for his character (and for her character as she starts to come to terms with finally having someone in her life).
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In addition to the two main characters of Vanellope and Ralph, the side-story characters of Calhoun and Fix-It Felix, Jr. are very believable and quite entertaining. Calhoun comes across perfectly as a tough soldier with a wounded kitten inside, and Felix is the perfect Disney hero-type who thinks he can do no wrong, and is a very nice person -- even though he is perfectly clueless outside of his own game, and has no practical life experience at all. The romance story that takes place in the side-story is very cute, and was very well written and acted.

Is that everything that makes the movie my favorite? No, like I said, it is a lot of little things. I love the other racer characters like Candlehead (very cute, with a cat-like smile), and Taffyta is a great little antagonist/brat. King Candy is a great/goofy character, and sour-Bill does some spot-on deadpan humor. The environments are beautifully drawn/rendered, the animations are clean and smooth, the voices are fantastic (I LOVE Sarah Silverman!), and the pacing is very well done. There is a twist near the end which I DID NOT see coming and made the movie all the more interesting.

And, in keeping with the theme of this blog, the movie isn't dark and depressing. Yes, it does touch on some serious issues (the game characters think they'll die if their game is unplugged, which is silly, because games are unplugged and moved around all the time -- but the video game characters wouldn't know that), and characters talk about and try to kill some other characters, but the only character that actually gets killed is the evil villain/monster, which isn't done graphically -- oh, and the monster/bug things (the Cybugs) but nobody's going to shed a tear for giant, murderous roaches being killed :)

I LOVE this movie! I've seen it dozens of times since it came out, it is one of the few movies I own a digital copy of which I have downloaded to my tablet so I can carry it around with me. The music and sounds are nostalgic, the theme of the movie is awesome, the characters are fantastic/funny and believable, and the settings are amazing. Watch it, and I am sure you'll agree with me :)