Wreck-It Ralph [Movie Review]

There are movies that slip past me. Some I really wanted to see when they first hit theaters... others, not so much. Wreck-It Ralph is one of those movie that slipped past me. I did want to see it when it first came out. I just never did.

8-Bit glory.

I regret not seeing it until recently. I really mean that. I decided to go on a binge watching animated movies that I missed in theaters and Wreck-It Ralph was the first out the gates.

5 out of 5 stars

And it set a very high bar.
I'll be doing a multi-movie review covering the rest sometime next week. (Wall-E, Tangled, Frozen.)

Bad-Anon, a support group for bad-guys.
M-Bison, Zangief, Bowser, Doctor Eggman...

Click this image and play a game. See how many real
video game characters you can spot in the background.

I'm trying to figure out if this is the first Disney film I've reviewed. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is, which is kinda sad. I grew up singing songs from some of their older movies. I may not be able to carry a tune, but I can still enjoy singing along. Okay, that was an aside... but one of the stranger things about this Disney movie is this. It has almost no songs. There is really only one, during a training sequence.

I'm trying not to spoil this movie, despite the fact that is has been out for over two years (Nov of 2012 in theaters), because if for some reason you, like me, had missed this film, I do not want to cheat you of the enjoyment.

I swear this is meant as a parody of Mario Cart.

This movie is strong. The plot is very powerful. It is about finding oneself and accepting what one finds, about making hard choices, about consequences, about friendship, sacrifice, and even a bit of love. Come on, what Disney movie made in the last 20 years does not have some love story in it... I'm actually asking seriously. If you know of one, comment.

I know it is animated, but I'd love to see some real live
actors/actresses create as much empathy as these pixels do.

There is more depth to this movie than you find in so many modern movies. Examples quickly spring to mind. Jupiter Ascending was about as shallow and vacuous a movie as I can think of. Seventh Son was about as vapid, better than Jupiter Ascending, but that is not a difficult task.  

This movie is also very funny. I laughed loads. It should be obvious to anyone who reads my blog, that I love comedies. Good comedies turn dark days bright. This movie has loads of video game related comedy, and just comedy in general. I also love how Disney just sticks some adult related humor into the movies as well... lines that are just enough double entendre to go over the heads of kids but not adults. Lines like, "That cherry chasin' dot muncher 's not even a part of this game!" Or, "Flattery don't charge these Batteries" (she sticks her chest out at the same time). 

So, if somehow, you were like me and spent the last few years in a cave and have not seen this movie... I heartily suggest you rent, buy, or borrow a copy and watch it. You can bet that I'll be catching Wreck-It Ralph 2 in theaters... whenever it comes out. 

Calhoun, Felix Jr., and Vanellope von Schweetz. The primary characters aside from Ralph.