Friday, November 23, 2012

Wreck-It Ralph

Get out your quarters, we're playing reviewing Wreck-It Ralph!

Wreck-It Ralph(John C. Reilly) is the villain of the arcade game Fix-it Felix Jr. When Ralph doesn't get enough appreciation, he decides he wants to be a hero and game jumps in search of fame and glory!  But without Ralph, Fixit Felix Jr. is in peril of being shut down permanently!  Along the way, Ralph meets a little racer, Vanellope(Sarah Silverman), who's in a similar situation. Can Ralph help Vanellope and find what he's looking for in time?

Well before we get into Wreck-It Ralph they have a short before it called Paperman and I just want to OH CRAP HOLY VAGINA BISCUITS IS IT GORGEOUS WOW DAMN SHIT MAN say how beautiful it is. Great character design, great simple story, not a word spoken, lovely score, and wonderful animation. It's 3D integrated with 2D. It's not cell-shaded, it's 3D that actually looks like 2D.  It's amazing how far we've come with animation.  This is one of thsoe shorts that's so beautiful you cry.

So anyways this Wreck-It Ralph movie is pretty good too.

But seriously it is really quite good.  It drags in the middle a bit and the third act is probably not what a lot of people were expecting, but it is a fun engaging moving movie.

I love the theme of someone tired of the monotony of life wanting something new. It fits perfectly with videogame characters, who are literally programmed into doing what they do and being who they are.  And Wreck-It Ralph is a movie about those who try to change it, and those who embrace it.

It's kind of a weird message when you think of it.  This character with a terrible job, he can't really change it and if he does, his whole ecosystem will collapse, so instead he's simply got to find the happiness in it. If this wasn't a kids movie I'd complain how subversive a message it was trying to put out, trying to keep the little workers down saying they should be happy in their place. Hmm.

The movie has a way of bringing up these really tough decisions of morality: do you sacrifice your dreams for the good of the people and the social order, or do you pursue your dreams and risk sacrificing your whole world?  Unfortunately, it doesn't stay a tough decision(becuase this is a Disney movie afterall) and it comes down to a more black-and-white very evil bad guy trying to control everything scenerio, like most Disney movies.  Not that it's a bad narrative, it's still engaging after the fact, but I wish it kept asking the big questions.

Anyways, this is an animation, let's talk about some animations!  I wouldn't say they're breathtakingly realstic like a Pixar movie with hand-woven 3D threads of cloth, but it is up to snuff.  More than that is the character design and environmental design that's incredible.  A lot of care was taken in the building of each of the game worlds and it shows.  It's especially prevalant in Sugar Rush, the game we spend the most time in.  The graphics are fun and colorful, and the designs of all the cars, people and game mechanics are inventive.  What really stand out are all the animations.  The "sprites" that are shown in 3D still have all their 2D mannerisms and the movements as a part of their programing, while they're next gen counterparts all move fluently. It's an inspired bit of animation.

Being as this is a videogame movie, there are tons of videogame references. It doesn't hurt the viewing if you don't understand all of them, but it's cake if you do.  It's fun to see characters from other franchises like Zangief pop up and take on meaningful roles.  The voice acting is great.  Even though you're aware it's John C. Reily as Ralph, it doesn't matter because he's just so perfect for the role. That goes for Jack Breyer as Fix It Felix Jr., Sarah Silverman as Vanellope, and Jane Lynch as Calhoun.  No, the real voice performance is by Alan Tudyk. I'll let you find out which character he voices.

Y'know, I'd say I'd want this as a videogame(I can imagine a great game with Ralph breaking things and Felix fixing them) but they've already made one for the Wii, DS, and 3DS, and it looks pretty crap. Can anyone say if it's good or not?

I saw this in 3D, and I can't say it was worth it.  Sadly, I pretty much forgot I was wearing glasses throguh the entirty of the movie, so best not to bother.  Another thing to think about, Skrillex made a song for this movie. And the soundtrack(including that) is pretty good.  It can get pretty pop song-y, but not so much that they break into a pop sing-and-dance number at the end.

Wreck-It Ralph is a great story about a guy who feels stuck in place.  It's fun, silly, got tons of action and references, and like most Disney films, it's an engaging story. It's gorgeous and I highly recommend checking it out!

THE GOOD: Beautiful, great animation, great story, great characters and voice acting, interesting mythos they created, fun and funny, great for adults or kids, fun soundtrack, paperman short is beautiful.

THE BAD: A bit slow in the middle, 3rd act is unexpected, 3D is not worth it, some of the soundtrack is very poppy.

THE VERDICT: $$$$$ Go see it! This is a great animated feature for kids and adults alike.

MOVIES LIKE IT: Toy Story, Wall-E, Shrek, The Incredibles

ONE-SCENE METAPHOR: The bad-guy meet-up group is a really fun way of introducing the characters and shoehorning some information that might have seemed clunky somewhere else. Also, who knew Zangief could be so poetic?

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