Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph (Rated PG)

• Voiced by John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk
• Directed by Rich Moore
• Plot: The bad guy in a video game sets out to prove that just because he’s a bad guy it doesn’t make him a bad guy.

Of all the animated features that came out this year, this is the one I had been looking forward to the most.  While I’m far from a die-hard gamer, I do enjoy playing them, and I thought this was a clever story and I loved that Disney (under their Touchstone label) was able to work together with other companies and bring a lot of beloved characters into the same world, much like they did in 1988 with “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”.  Pac-Man, Q-Bert, and Streetfighter feature prominently, but there are lots of other games represented, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers.

Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the bad guy in the video game “Fix-It Felix”.  After getting forcefully removed from his stump on a hill to make room for an apartment building, Ralph was relocated to the dump.  During the game, Ralph destroys the building (I’m gonna wreck it!”), and Felix (Jack McBrayer) runs around fixing it with his magic hammer, earning the admiration of the building’s tenants.

After thirty years, Ralph is tired of being the bad guy, and he sets out to make a change.  Unfortunately, the people in his own game only see him as the villain, so he decides to leave his game and become a hero in another game.   This puts his own game in jeopardy as the owner of the arcade (Ed O’Neill) thinks the game is broken since Ralph isn’t in there.

While Ralph treks his way between video games in search of a medal to make him a hero, Felix is on his trail, hoping to save his game and to help Ralph see his value.

Ralph’s journey takes him to a “Halo”-esque war game where he has to battle alien bugs to win a medal.   He also finds himself on the wrong side of the games leader, Calhoun (Jane Lynch).  He then finds himself in the saccharine coated racing game, Sugar Rush.  Here is befriended by a young outcast (Sarah Silverman) who is a glitch in the software.  Alan Tudyk voices King Candy, the ruler of the game.

“Wreck-it Ralph” is nothing short of delightful.  The animation is wonderful, but what would you expect from Disney?  The voice work is impeccable, particularly Reilly and Lynch.  The movie gracefully winds together different elements of popular games, along with the new ones featured in the film (now playable games at the movie’s website).

Gamers and non-gamers alike  will find something to love with “Wreck-It Ralph”.  It’s sure to be a strong contender for Best Animated Feature film of 2012.

And worth the price of admission alone is the wonderful animated short "Paperman" that is featured before “Wreck-It Ralph”.