Wreck it Ralph

Considering how long video-games have been with us it’s a wonder that its taken Disney nearly 30 years to make a film concerning what has become such a beloved part of teenage life for many across the world.

However, considering the vast assortment of popular characters and iconic games its hardly surprising that its been such a struggle for film studios to successfully bring them to the big screen. Those of us who remember the painful live action attempts at bringing Super Mario Bros and Doom to the cinema, know all too well that studios have been rightly cautious over the merits of attempting such a project.

There have been exceptions of course, with Resident Evil managing to justify a successful film franchise and Lara Croft reinforcing the undoubted acting chops of Angelina Jolie…
So when ‘Wreck it Ralph’ was announced I was excited by the prospect of such a film but weary at the lengthy back catalogue of failed game to film adaptations that act as such stark warning for those directors brave enough to take on the challenge.
Wreck it Ralph took on the challenge from a different angle however, choosing to create a game and its characters and mould them into the larger landscape of more recognisable characters. Fix it Felix Jr. the game Wreck it Ralph originates from doesn’t actually exist, instead it is a noticeable parody of games like Donkey Kong.

By making the film’s protagonists characters from fictional games, it took the pressure off the filmmakers having to worry about doing a particularly arcade favourite justice. Instead they could focus more attention on the character development of Ralph, Venelope and Felix Jr. There are cameos from well known favourites such as Pac Man, Bowser, Street Fighter characters and others as well as a joking reference to Mario “who always turns up late” or in the case of this film, not at all.
Rather than being a film about a video-game, Wreck it Ralph, the film tries its up-most to actually recreate a video-game, with nearly all of the running time placing us within a variety of game universes.

{{ quote The success of Wreck it Ralph comes from the strong emphasis of character development, interiority, a fairly strong, witty script and a meticulous attention to detail.}}

The film focuses on Ralph a bad guy from the now retro game Fix it Felix Jr. who is tired of his role as the villain and sick of the isolation that is associated with his daily routine. Ralph is determined to prove himself worthy of the other characters in his game and sets off on a journey to get a medal worthy of a hero. His quest to acquire such a medal leads him through two different games Sugar Rush and Hero’s Quest and along the way he meets characters that will shape his journey and make him rethink what he truly desires.
Sugar Rush is a bright pink, sweet filled version of Mario Kart whilst Hero’s Quest channels the more modern first person shooter set in a future compromised by Aliens.

The success of Wreck it Ralph comes from the strong emphasis of character development, interiority, a fairly strong, witty script and a meticulous attention to detail. Whilst watching the film I got the same impression I had when first watching Toy Story many years prior to this, that the people involved in the making of the film truly love games, just as those at Pixar truly loved Toys.

There are tonnes of in jokes for the gaming community and enough to keep both modern day and 80s children pleasantly entertained for the entire film.
Wreck it Ralph is undoubtedly one of the strongest animated films I’ve seen for a number of years and for fans of Toy Story makes for compulsory viewing. With lovable characters, a script littered with jokes and beautifully designed 8-bit world, this is my tip for the best-animated feature at the Oscars.