Guest Review: Wreck-It Ralph

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By Damien.
Should non-gamers see Wreck-It Ralph?A guest review disguised as an idioticquestion.
Wreck-It Ralph is a video gamecharacter. Or rather, he's a video game villain. He's the bad guy in an arcadegame called Fix-It Felix, Jr. He's the DonkeyKong to Felix's Mario; except, not that lucky, because while the giant ape hadthat 1981 game named after him, Ralph has virtually nothing.There's no fun to be found in being tossed over and over inmud, no respect from his co-workers and no medal to show for it all. Ralph isbored, and wishes he could be a hero.In the months leading up to the releaseof this film one of the main concerns was: "Arenon-gamers gonna get it?"Now, I'm not a non-gamer, but I can stilloffer my best guess on the matter. And here it is:
Not so fast!You wouldn't want me to rush an answer. Besides, before Wreck-It Ralph, if you're lucky (as I was), you'll betreated to Paperman, a fantastic short film directed by John Kahrs. Asimple story, told in a touching way. The animation is beautiful and utterly unique. The short is only seven minutes long, but you still care, you'restill involved. You believe in the characters, and you definitely want a happyending. All in all, Paperman is a must see.Now, let's get back to the arcade...

The Game is on!This film is full of nods to actualvideo games. I won't lie, there are a lot of them. From the worlds of Pac-Man,Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario and more; there's even one from my favouritevideo game saga, Metal Gear Solid. This is truly a gamer-heaven of amovie. So, is it not too much? Isn't Disneyfalling here in the pop-culture-jokes trap that DreamWorks have been, successfully, trying to get out of for the last couple of years? Are thesevideo game nods a stupid mistake? Well, there are two answers to that. Andhere they are:
Wait a minute!I totally forgot to talk about thecharacters. I'm about halfway into my review and I haven't even mentioned Vanellope von Schweetz, whose relationship withRalph is the emotional core of the film. What a jackass am I? (Don't answerthat in the comments, I think you'd hurt my feelings.)So, Vanellope lives in Sugar Rush, butshe's a glitch. She shouldn't be in the game. Everyone in Sugar Rush despisesher, which is one of the things that makes Ralph relate to her. The connectionbetween those two characters is so strong that I found myself shedding a tearmore than once. For both sad and happy reasons.There are also Fit-It Felix, Jr., Sergeant Calhoun, and a real villain. But let's not talk aboutthem too much, it would spoil some of the fun.Back to our problem, yes?
No.There it is. My first answer to thequestion "Are these video game nods a stupid mistake?" is no. It'snot stupid, because it's not just there randomly. It doesn't feel like whatDreamWorks (sorry DreamWorks) used to do. Which was bringing a 21st century nodto a medieval, ogre-filled story - yes, I am looking at you Shrek and JustinTimberlake. That kind of thing felt out of place, and was downright stupid.Whereas here, it's only natural to havejokes about famous video game characters. It's a video game world, after all!Of course you meet Bowser, Robotnik or Ken Masters; of course Sonic loses ringswhen he's hit by something; of course Pac-Man is a cherry-chasing dot-muncher. So, that's my first answer to the question"Arethese video game nods a stupid mistake?": It's not stupid. It's justlogical.But there is another answer. Let's seewhat it is, right now!

You shall not pass!I'm just messing with you. Proceed.
Nope.My second answer is also no. I've alreadystated that no, it's not Timberlake-stupid. Now, what I'm saying is that no,it's not a mistake, because it's not a disaster if you don't get it. The filmdoes not linger too long on the jokes. Before you even start to think about thenod, the story has moved on. So it doesn't matter if you get it or not, becausethese little bonuses come and go in a flash, and if you catch them, good; ifyou don't, you probably didn't even notice there was something to catch.What's important here is the story. Thebeautiful friendship story. The way everything in the script pays off.You can also appreciate the wonderfulwords designed by the Disney artists. The diversity of it, the crazy and funnyvisual ideas, the amazing animation, the top-notch voice talent...Let's just say that while Wreck-It Ralphhas its minor flaws, there is enough wonder in this film to make you happy,whether you play video games or not. I'm not a hardcore gamer myself, and thereare certainly nods that I missed, but that didn't stop me from loving Wreck-ItRalph. And I think it shouldn't stop anybody else going to see it either.
Game Over?My take on Wreck-It Ralph, in theend, is that it's a beautifully crafted movie, an almost perfect combo of fun,drama, twists and great characters. It's my personal favourite animated film ina year full of great animated films (The Pirates!, Brave, ParaNorman,Frankenweenie, Rise of the Guardians, to name just a few...).It's about the main characters first, andthe video game culture references shouldn't worry anybody; as long as you careabout a solid storyline, and if you want to have a lot of fun, you should gosee this film.
Wreck-It Ralph left me with a big smile and wanting more. Continue?

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Thanks to Damien for this great review, we look forward to sharing future reviews of his with you. Be sure to follow him on Twitter, and thanks, as always, for visiting A113Animation!

Wreck-It Ralph is finally released in UK cinemas on 8th February, 2013.