Wreck-It Ralph

Release Date: November 2, 2012

Watch Date: March 29 – March 30, 2024

“For decades, Ralph has played the bad guy in his popular arcade video game. In a bold move, he embarks on an action-packed adventure and sets out to prove to everyone that he is a true hero with a big heart in Wal Disney Animation Studios’ Wreck-It Ralph. As he explores exciting new arcade worlds, he teams up with some unlikely new friends, including feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz. Then, when an evil enemy threatens everything, Ralph realizes he holds the fate of the entire arcade in his massive hands.”

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   I love this movie, always have, probably always will.

   I think most people would, and there’s a very simple reason for that: nearly everyone has some sort of memory or positive experience associated with video games. Whether that’s Pong, or King’s Quest, or Street Fighter, or Mario, or Call of Duty, we’ve all done it, we’ve all experienced it, and we can all relate to it. Which makes this movie infinitely relatable, and it manages to do so in a clever way – by balancing movie tropes and video game tropes, by throwing random characters that you’ll recognize into the background, by having bits of dialogue or references that make you feel like a part of an elite club of video gamers, like the Konami Code, while knowing that everyone probably shares this info.

   Also, as a parent of a kindergartener – and I know Vanellope isn’t really a kid but she’s written kind of like a very mature 10 year old – I can relate to the conversations and the flow of discussions between Ralph and Vanellope. I can relate to the connection Ralph gets for his little buddy, how he’d put her over everything, how deeply he cares about her, how much he’s willing to sacrifice for her, and just how much her approval means to him. Which is not something I was appreciating back when this film came out in 2012, but it’s something that hits me extremely hard now in 2024.

   I like the villain, I think he’s done well, though the pacing towards the end feels a little bit rushed with both the villain and the cy-bugs hitting at the exact same moment and not feeling really sure which one is meant to be the more serious problem. The cy-bugs, obviously, could destroy the whole arcade, but this entire time it’s been Vanellope’s plight we’re more wrapped up in and the cy-bugs have felt like a B-Plot.

   I love Fix-It Felix Jr. and I think I always will, his voice actor is charming in everything he’s in, and he’s even more charming when he’s a little adorable guy – a la Mario – who really struggles not quite knowing how to be the Hero outside of his game.

   I get a little annoyed at the premise, because ones job does not determine who one is. After the decades they’ve known Ralph, and other Bad Guys in the arcade, more people in the Arcade should know that Bowser’s not going around shooting fireballs outside of his day job. Zangief isn’t randomly crushing people’s heads like sparrow’s egg between his thighs in the middle of Game Central when he’s off the clock. Ralph is a nice guy, he’s literally just doing his job, and if anyone had taken the time to get to know him during their off hours this entire film wouldn’t even exist. Ralph wasn’t unsatisfied with his job, he was unsatisfied with how people treated him because of his job. That’d be like…deciding a garbageman is uneducated, or a doctor is automatically a good person – I’ve known a lot of doctors and they are not all good people.

   The other unsung hero, ironically, of this film is the soundtrack. I love the soundtrack. It matches the energy perfectly, the songs with lyrics are catchy. I don’t know if I could love this movie half as much without the soundtrack, but I’d probably buy the soundtrack and listen to it all on it’s own without needing any visual input from the movie.

   Honestly, I can see why this movie has had the staying power it’s hard, even if Vanellope and Ralph aren’t wandering the parks. This is a feel good movie that touches on some serious issues, does people’s perception of you make you who you are, but it’s also pretty light in a lot of ways and you can pop it on at any age and feel thoroughly entertained.

   Unfortunately for all, it’s my birthday month next month, which means it’ll all be exclusively my picks, and I hate the sequel, so we’re probably all going to have to wait a little bit before we see the conclusion of Ralph and Vanellope’s story.