Ralph in Video Game Land
For 30 years Ralph has been the expert wrecker in "Fix-It Felix" but when at the end of the day the customers are gone and the video game characters get on living their own lives Ralph is left feeling unloved and not part of the gang. With his fellow characters telling him bad guys can't win medals which good Ralph sets out on a mission to prove them wrong by winning a medal in another game. But their are repercussions to Ralph's actions as not only for it lead to "Fix-It Felix" in danger of being scrapped for developing a glitch but Ralph ends up on a quest involving a glitch in a candy-coated racing game. It leads to Ralph discovering what it really means to be a good guy.
I am not a big gamer, in truth I don't think I ever have been despite wasting a fair few hours on video games and so other than the appearance of a Pacman Ghost I didn't recognize any of the other characters in "Wreck-It Ralph", in fact I don't know which characters were video game inspire and which weren't. It isn't a major issue as "Wreck-It Ralph" is still an entertaining movie without the knowledge but I am sure familiarity would help no end.
But as I said it doesn't matter greatly as "Wreck-It Ralph" despite its video game idea is actually quite a typical idea and it even reminded me a bit of "Toy Story" with the secret life of video game characters coming to life when the customers go away. But I also saw a bit of "Shrek" in there as well with are over sized hero getting a few things wrong on his adventure but making friends, having a good heart and learning what is important. As I said it is typical which is why that familiarity with video games probably helps to make the movie work.
But even so judged purely as a modern animation "Wreck-It Ralph" ticks the boxes; the animation work is good, the character voices are fun and the humour is variable enough so that whilst most of the humour is aimed at a more youthful audience there are a few jokes which work for grown ups as well.
What this all boils down to is that "Wreck-It Ralph" is a fun way to spend 100 minutes and it is up there with most modern animations. But with its video game references I am sure familiarity with the games it references improves things no end.
