‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Review

For some unknown reason Wreck-It Ralph was released in the United States three months earlier than here in the United Kingdom, meaning I had to sit here while all the praise rolled in and the Academy Award nomination got announced and I was yet to see it. Finally I have, but did it live up to my expectations?

For anyone who doesn’t know (but lets face it why wouldn’t you?) Wreck-It Ralph is a story of an arcade video game villain named, you guessed it, Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly). Ralph grows tired of being a villain due to his lack of recognition and being forced to live in the dump while his rival in the game, the good guy, Fix-It Felix Jr (Jack McBrayer). received medals, cakes and parties. Eventually, Ralph decides to go ‘turbo’ and abandons his game, causing disruption and hysteria throughout the arcade as he puts several other games in jeopardy of being shut down.

Wreck-It Ralph is ultimately a story about change; it promotes the idea that it doesn’t matter what people think of you, you always have the ability to go against your ‘programming’ and be what you want to be. Whether it’s Ralph being a hero, Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) giving into her feelings and going against ‘the most depressing back story ever’ or Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) turning her ‘glitch’ into something positive. Disney always try and promote these messages to kids throughout their films but that doesn’t mean that Wreck-It Ralph is just for children; there is just as much to behold for adults.

In almost every scene for the first half an hour there are references to hundreds of video game characters of past and present. Whether that be Pac-Man, Bowser, Ken and Ryu, Frogger or Q*Bert, there is something for everyone and part of the fun while watching Wreck-It Ralph is trying to spot all the references to video game history, right down to the 8-bit movement of the residents of Ralph’s game. It has an incredibly authentic video game feel to the world which only enhances the viewing.

The four heroes of the story: Wreck-It Ralph, Fix-It Felix Jr, Sergeant Calhoun and Venellope are some of the best characters Disney have ever come up with in my opinion. I was incredibly impressed with Calhoun and thought she was a great addition to the story but for me, it was Venellope von Scheetz who stole the show. Her animation, the way the character is written combined with Silverman’s voicing talents make her just about the most adorable thing to ever be seen on screen. There are some really heartwarming and also heartbreaking moments between Venellope and Ralph but it becomes one of the best on screen partnerships out there.

And as for the twist… wow! The more you get through the film you realise what the danger is for Ralph and Venellope and you come to accept who the real bad guy is and you’re quite content there. And then Rich Moore (the brilliant director of the film) hits you with a twist that you wouldn’t have seen coming in your wildest dreams but, in actual fact, makes perfect sense. This reveal was one of the most enjoyable parts of the film for me.

Wreck-It Ralph is a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend your time for adults and children alike. For many people Toy Story is seen as the epitome of animation, the best animated film ever made. Now it has true competition.

My Rating: 10/10.

What to Watch – February 2013

February is looking like a very exciting month over here in the UK for film releases. There’s animation, Oscar nominated performances, big laughs and big explosions. Here’s my rundown of the films to look out for over the next four weeks.

 

Bullet to the Head – 1st February

This looks like the speech-slurring Sylvester Stallone is back to his best as he teams up with Fast Five‘s Sung Kang. A very ordinary storyline but throw in some fantastic action scenes and funny one liners and you’ve got yourself one of the most enjoyable action films of the year.

 

Flight – 1st February

Denzel Washington is a man that always delivers and here he is with his latest Oscar nominated performance as a pilot who’s heroic saving of a crashing plane is soon under investigation as he may not be all he seems. With a supporting cast of Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood and John Goodman this has no choice but to be a fantastic drama.

 

I Give it a Year – 8th February

This is probably the film that I am most looking forward to this month. I can’t remember the last time I saw a trailer that genuinely made me laugh out loud as much as this one does. I Give it a Year looks hilarious and I hope that I will not be disappointed, especially since Simon Baker, of The Mentalist fame, is in it!

 

Wreck-it Ralph – 8th February

Nominated for the Best Animated Film Oscar at this years ceremony, Wreck-it Ralph looks set to be able to rival anything that Pixar have done in the past. Set in the world of video games we follow bad guy Wreck-it Ralph in his attempt to prove to himself and everyone else that he is in fact a good guy.

 

A Good Day to Die Hard – 14th February

The fifth installment in the Die Hard franchise promises to be the biggest one yet. And with the introduction of Jai Courtney as McClane Jr it may be a sign that Bruce Willis is ready to pass on the mantle of leading the series, although I highly doubt that!

 

Cloud Atlas – 22nd February

Cloud Atlas‘ narrative structure is one that hasn’t been seen all that often in film and, upon it’s release in America (a good few months earlier than the rest of the world for some daft reason) it instantly divided critics. Despite this, I am still excited to see how the film will play out and really looking forward to seeing how the adaptation of David Mitchell’s epic novel turns out.

News of the Week (12/12/12) – Sequels and Writers

Well this week’s news is all about sequels (some wanted, some not) and scriptwriters being hired. We’ll start with the news that a sequel to 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp (as the Mad Hatter, not Alice), has finally started moving. I don’t say finally because I’ve been waiting ages for a sequel as a fan of the film, but because despite its mixed reviews Alice in Wonderland is the twelfth highest grossing movie of all time so it’s amazing that in a sequel heavy cinema scene that it has taken so long to get off the ground. Linda Woolverton is the woman apparently writing the script, which fits seeing as though she wrote the first film, and hopefully the sequel will be as good as her earlier works: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan.

 

Wreck-It Ralph absolutely smashed the box office when it was released over in America and fast became a hit with audiences and critics alike. Disney have been fast to get a sequel rushing ahead with their animated feature. Despite the fact that Wreck-It Ralph was full of cameos from very famous video game characters there was one very obvious omission, everyone’s favourite Italian plumber (because how many do you really know?) Mario! Well with the sequel Disney are trying to find an organic way to implement him into the story saying they will put him in if they can find him something good to do, so good news for video game fans and movie fans alike.

 

Columbia are working on a remake of the children’s classic film Jumanji. The 1995 original was a tale of kids who have to deal with the dangers of the jungle when the titular board game starts unleashing animals and more as they play. Although there is no director or stars attached to the project Columbia have now hired a writer and that is Stranger Than Fiction scriptwriter Zach Helm. Although Stranger Than Fiction was well received his only attempt at family films so far, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, was not so well received.

 

Earlier this year it was announced that Fantastic Four was set to receive a reboot directed by Chronicle director Josh Trank. Well it has now been announced that the release date for Fantastic Four will be March 6th 2015. This, in my view, is a horrible move being as though some big ‘geeky’ franchises are also set to continue in 2015: The Avengers 2 and Star Wars: Episode VII are both set for release that year. Long awaited Ant-Man also has a 2015 release date; the Justice League movie is slated for a release in 2015 although I highly doubt that will come to fruition. Point is, the superhero market is very liquidated in 2015 with bigger films than the Fantastic Four reboot and after the shambolic original two films will anybody care about this attempt at a reboot when The Avengers 2 hits screens?

Should Disney Make an Oscars Push for Marvel’s The Avengers?

Warner Bros. have this week announced their intentions to push The Dark Knight Rises forward in hope of getting a few Oscar nominations. The Dark Knight won two Oscars and received another six nominations although none of these were in any of the ‘big five’ categories. Disney have decided that they are not going to push The Avengers for Oscar nominations and instead will concentrate on their animated features: Brave, Frankenweenie and Wreck-It Ralph. On the surface of it this seems a strange choice as The Avengers became one of the highest grossing movies of all time and is one of the most well loved films of this year! Have Disney made the right choice?

Acting

There are four categories at the Oscars for acting: Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. After you decide who in The Avengers is adjudged to be the Lead Role and who is Supporting then you have to think does anybody really deserve a nomination? Mark Ruffalo came out of The Avengers really well, as did Clark Gregg but none of these really did anything to warrant an Oscar. Before it’s release I was touting Robert Downey Jr as a potential Oscar candidate but I wasn’t blown away with his portrayal like I was in Iron Man. As for the female characters Scarlett Johansson put in a good performance but nothing Oscar worthy. Tom Hiddleston is considered by many to be the best actor among the cast but I think there have been better performances than his in other Oscar-worthy films.

Ruffalo and Hiddleston get along much better off screen!

Direction

Joss Whedon made himself a God among geeks with The Avengers but how good was his direction? He told a fantastic story and put together some incredible set pieces including the unforgettable continuous shot during the final battle. However, his technique came under fire from cinematographer and long time Christopher Nolan collaborator Wally Pfister as his camera angles apparently didn’t make much sense in terms of telling a story. Unfortunately, there won’t be any recognition for Whedon’s direction here.

Best Picture

As I mentioned earlier The Avengers became the third highest grossing film of all time and nobody could avoid the huge superhero mash-up this year. I gave it a 10 out of 10 in my review because it is everything that I could have hoped for, it was easily among the best films of the year! However, it seems to be that more often than not, Oscar winners for Best Picture are usually more serious film and you can see that The Avengers was made to be fun and enjoyable. You could say that, much to its credit, The Avengers was made for comic book fans rather than the critics and that could damage it’s hope of a nomination here, especially seeing as how The Dark Knight didn’t even get recognition in this category.

Best Adapted Screenplay

For me, this is the most likely category that The Avengers will feature in. Joss Whedon is a fantastic writer for television and now he has shown that he can tell wonderful stories on the big screen too. Whedon’s writing was what made The Avengers what it is and his dialogue, character development and interaction was fantastic. I think it is a much more well written film than a lot of what we have seen this year (including The Dark Knight Rises) and I do hope that it does receive a nomination here.

So they’re the biggest categories discussed and my opinions on The Avengers‘ chances. Of the rest I don’t think a nomination is out of the question in categories such as Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design or Best Visual Effects but at the end of the day, who remembers the winners of those awards? I think Disney made the right call not to make a serious push for The Avengers‘ Oscars chances.

Disney Looks Set to Win Again: Wreck-It Ralph Trailer

UK Release Date: 15th February 2013.

Stars: Rich Moore (director), John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch.

Plot: A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfil his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.

With Disney raking in all the money from Pixar and Marvel these days it seems as though their feature length films will become less frequent and they seem to be focussing more on their animated shorts. However, with the release of Wreck-It Ralph I think Disney will be proving that they haven’t lost their touch at all.

Wreck-It Ralph is the latest animated family film from Disney and it seems as though there will be plenty to enjoy. As it is a Disney film you have to sort of expect it to just be a hit commercially anyway. However, I do think that older people, teenagers and young adults will probably get the most from Wreck-It Ralph because it features cameos from video game characters that were popular when this sort of audience were younger.

Among the cameo stars are Bowser from the Super Mario games, Sonic the Hedgehog and his rival Doctor Eggman, Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter,one of the flashing ghosts from Pac-Man: Clyde, Kano from Mortal Kombat, Neff from Altered Beast and the Paperboy. With a rich and vast range of characters I think adults will be more than happy to sit through Wreck-It Ralph.

Obviously with it being Disney you have to imagine that Ralph will leave his ‘bad guy’ days behind him and become a good guy in his own video game, but even if you know the ending Disney always manages to take you on an unforgettable journey along the way. And that if more important than the ending.