Wreck-It Ralph

My last reviewed film, Cloud Atlas, had many things. A straightforward plot was not one of them. But my latest reviewed film, Wreck-It Ralph, is an ode to a medium known for straightforward plots: video games.

Each time someone plays the Arcade Classic Fix-It Felix Jr., Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) smashes up the Niceland appartments. Then, the titular character (Jack McBryer) fixes it up. The good guys celebrate by giving Felix a Medal and Ralph a flight off the roof.

After thrity years, Ralph finally has enough. Ralph decides to leave his own game and head for the new Shooter Game Hero's Duty. Once he defeats the game's mutant Cy-Bugs, he'll finally have a medal of his own. But by accident, Ralph gets tossed into the Candyland racing game Sugar Rush. There, he loses the medal to the game's glitch outcast, Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman). To get it back, Ralph has to help her win a race that'll get her into the game's lineup.

Unfortunately, Ralph's game-jumping threatens to put Fix-It Felix Jr. out of business. Not only that, but a Cy-Bug's followed Ralph into Sugar Rush. Once it multiplies, the end of the Arcade World is sure to follow. To save the games, Felix tags along with Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch) of Hero's Duty to enter Sugar Rush.

Rich Moore, known for his work on The Simpsons and Futurama, makes his feature debut here. It's a film that has plenty of references to, and cameos from, various real life games. Rather than swamp the film in in-jokes, the screenplay focuses directly on its own original characters. Whether alone or together, its main characters are all likable individuals. Even King Candy (Alan Tudyk) of Sugar Rush is quite likable until his rotten secret is revealed. Overall, it's actually less about video games and more about folks who are video game characters.

As a 3D Movie, Wreck-It Ralph has plenty of visual spectacle. It's most obvious in the delicious game world of Sugar Rush, complete with baked goods as race cars. All the other game worlds, whether its the film's original works or the actual titles, are rendered wonderfully in their own art styles. Seeing what those game worlds looked like behind the screen was also fun to see.

Whether you're a gamer or not, Wreck-It Ralph is lots of fun in either 3D or Flatscreen. Either way, you'll get an amazing short film, Paperman, to start the "game" with.