Wreck-It Ralph will flood your heart with warm and mushy emotions akin to those Toy Story unexpectedly shoved in your face back in the 90s. The idea is also basically the same as Toy Story, just set in a digital world. Of course, it doesn't make scientific sense. Toys may very well spring to life somehow or another when our backs are turned - that's magic! - but video game characters certainly don't wonder to and fro through electrical wires sprawled out across an arcade floor. We know how electricity works, duh! Nonetheless, it's a fun-filled romp, sprinkled with references to famous games (a personal favourite is the MGS exclamation mark) and even featuring characters from a few of them! It's a recipe for success, however it just doesn't feel like it's as good as it could have been. The question is why...?
Another question: Why has there not been a proper big-budget 3D animated Sonic movie yet? He's been reduced to becoming an 'extra' here, and although his many fans will squeal with glee every time he can just about be seen in the distance, aimlessly walking around like an anonymous market trader on Eastenders, it does feel like a waste of his talent.
It's strange how the film's main focus is the world of video gaming yet has most of its gags revolve around food - and that's where it misses a trick. It feels a little bit like the whole video gaming thing was some sort of bait. We've been had! Before you know it, you're sat watching Disney's half-assed attempt at 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' - which was fantastic and simply cannot be outdone. There's plenty of material out there for ripping the piss out of video games, and indeed their gamers, but perhaps Disney thought it all a touch too niche, so they had to make Wreck-It Ralph more accessible to the millions of kids watching who haven't been hardcore gamers for thirty years.
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| Vanellope - a poor man's Powerpuff Girl. |
Unfortunately, to us older ladies and gents, it feels like a cop out. Not only that, but the way the film portrays gamers seems a little insulting too. Gaming isn't confined to dreary old arcades any more and it's not just for unimaginative children either - gaming now happens in the home, brightly lit and with the entire family, if you own a Wii. If not, you're probably wearing nothing but your pants and a headset, yelling abuse to the sound of gunfire while surrounded by empty packets of Doritos and beer bottles, but still - the point is that gamers are all ages, all shapes, sizes and all genders and the games they're playing are just as diverse.
But, things have to be kept simple for the sake of the children's tiny minds and thank goodness what's left does actually work - it's fun, heartwarming and chuckle-worthy. The voice-acting is superb and there's genuinely some very clever story-telling too - it's intricate, packed with little twists (plus one big one some grown ups won't even see coming) and everything is rounded off nicely, with every character earning themselves a satisfying ending.
It's no Toy Story though. Both DreamWorks and Sony Pictures Animation appear to be doing a better job than Disney lately. Each and every one of their movies comes at the audience from a completely different angle to the last, but all have a distinctive look and 'vibe' and a cracking sense of humour - the sharpest wit and more one liners than you can shake a stick at. Up and coming prehistoric animated adventure 'The Croods' looks set to be made of the same stuff as Megamind and Kung Fu Panda - fun, first and foremost, with a strong set of characters. Things seem to flow more naturally from there, but with Wreck-It Ralph there's this constant sense of waiting-for-something-more-impressive-to-happen that, ultimately, never does. If you missed it at the cinema it's worth waiting for on Blu-ray, but if you managed to catch it in the first place, you'll probably agree that it's not worth revisiting.
★★★☆☆
Roo