No Pixar? No Problem!: Our Review of "Wreck-It Ralph" (2012)

Directed By: Rich Moore (The Simpsons) 

Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch

Rating: PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence

Run Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Synopsis: Wreck-It Ralph (Reilly) plays the villain in an old, beloved arcade game called Fix-It Felix, Jr. After decades of being disliked for being the bad guy, when he really isn’t one, he decides to leave his game to try and win a medal to prove his worth. Along the way he befriends a 9-year-old girl named Vanellope von Schweetz (Silverman), a racer in a game called Sugar Rush, who’s also ostracized because she’s a “glitch.” Together they try to prove their worth to the world, but unknowingly may ultimately bring doom to their respective games.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! This past weekend Sarah and I went on a little date and caught a showing of Wreck-It Ralph, the latest animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. That’s right, it’s not a Pixar film, but you honestly wouldn’t know it if you went in without any prior knowledge of the film.

It stars John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) as the voice of Wreck-It Ralph, the “bad guy” of a 30-year-old arcade game called Fix-It Felix, Jr. It’s Ralph’s job within his game to play the villain and smash a tenement building to pieces so the namesake of the game, Fix-It Felix, Jr. (30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer) can come along with his magic hammer and fix all the broken windows and be awarded medals by the building’s residents. But it turns out Ralph isn’t really a bad guy, it’s just his role in the video game and he’s tired of living in a dump (literally) and never being given the proper recognition for his contribution to the game’s longevity, so he goes about jumping to other games to try and be the good guy and win himself a medal.

Sarah, this is a film that we’ve been looking forward to ever since we saw the trailer many moons ago. Now that we’ve seen it, what did you think of Wreck-It Ralph?

Sarah: I loved Wreck-It Ralph! I thought that the cuteness of the characters mixed with the modern and classic video games was genius. We talked about in the preview that we were fine with tht fact that Pixar wasn't involved in this movie and I think Disney succeeded in more ways than one. What did you think about Ralph?

Wreck-It Ralph is full of fantastic scenes using classic video game characters, such as this "Bad Guys Anonymous" scene that kicks the film off.

Our Preview of This Week's New Releases (for Friday, November 2nd)

Andrew: Hello readers! Our apologies about not getting our new Six Pack Of... column posted yesterday, I got a little busy with the day job and wasn't able to write my half of it. Sarah did her part perfectly, so put all the blame on me.

That said, it's time now for our preview of this week's new theatrical releases. We have three wide releases coming out this week - the latest non-Pixar animated film from Disney, Wreck-It Ralph; the return to live-action directing for Robert Zemeckis, Flight, starring Denzel Washington; and what looks to be an action and blood-filled romp in The Man With The Iron Fists, starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu.

Sarah, which one would you like to start with?

Sarah: Let's start with the anticipated, Wreck-It Ralph. I am so excited to see this one! It looks like Disney has done it again, bringing together an amazing cast for this animated gem. 

It has a great concept! Ralph is the bad guy in 30-year-old arcade game called Fix-It Felix, Jr., which is also the name of the game's hero. When Ralph realizes that he no longer wants to be the bad guy he decides to check out all the other video games in the arcade to see what it would be like to be the good guy for a change. I think that John C. Reily is the perfect fit for Ralph and with stars like Jack McBrayer (as Felix) and Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman as fellow video game characters, I think this looks like it's going to be a barrel of laughs!

Official Trailer for Wreck-It Ralph