Wreck It Ralph: Movie Review

Wreck It Ralph: Movie Review

Voice cast: John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch
Director: Rich Moore

Ever wondered what happens to the arcade games you play at night?

Well, in a well timed piece of nostalgia, computer animated film Wreck It Ralph provides an answer to a question nobody's ever really asked before.

Wreck It Ralph (Reilly) is the bad guy in an arcade game called Fix It Felix (30 Rock's McBrayer) - it's been 30 years since he first terrorised Felix in the tower block which he inhabits and smashes on a regular basis. But Ralph's had enough of being the bad guy in the game; tired of the lack of recognition for his service to the cause and generally neglected as well as a little jealous of Felix.

So,one day, determined to win himself a medal and redeem himself in the eyes of his colleagues within the games, Ralph decides to follow his dream to be a hero, and promptly absconds into a first person shooter called Heroes' Duty. It's here he meets up with tough as nails CGI sergeant Calhoun (Glee's Jane Lynch) and manages to get the medal he craves. But, even though he does, he accidentally sets in motion a chain of events which could wreck everything when he inadvertently brings a virus from the Heroes Duty game into another....

Wreck It Ralph is a colourful blast of video game nostalgia, which is smart, funny and bright and breezy.

Reilly is great as Ralph, the big outsider doofus who simply wants to no longer be the bad guy. And Sarah Silverman isn't annoyingly perky and endearingly cute as Vanellope, the rogue star of karting racing game, Sugar Rush. The two pair up as outsiders in a world which has rejected them because of their differences and inevitably form a loveable bond. Likewise, McBrayer and Lynch make a good mismatched duo as Fix it Felix and the Marine sergeant.

The idea (and major pull) is that it Wreck It Ralph looks at the psychological impact of being a baddie and explores the world of computer gaming which has never been done before. Wreck It Ralph never loses sight of its emotional core even as the gorgeously spot on animation swirls around the screen. Thanks to great vocal talent, a smart and respectful script which acknowledges the debt of the 80s video gaming world (and its myriad of characters), it's a virtual joy to behold.

Also, worth you heading to this on time is the gorgeous black and white animation, Paperman about a pair of office workers who meet one day on a train station. Magical and memorable, this is animation at its absolute best and a salute to simpler times.

Rating: