Walt Disney Animation Studios first decade of the 21st Century was one of change and uncertainty. The practice of releasing cheaply made straight-to-video sequels to their most successful features was undoubtedly damaging to the Disney brand. The costly failure of ambitious efforts Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 2001) and Treasure Planet (Ron Clements & Jon Musker, 2002) and a shift in public taste toward computer generated features saw Disney lose its position of industry leader to newer animation studios Pixar and DreamWorks. Yet with the release of box office hits Bolt (Chris Williams & Byron Howard, 2008) and Tangled (Nathan Greno & Byron Howard) it appeared that Disney had finally regained their footing in the field of feature animation. Disney’s new-found winning streak continued in 2012 with Wreck It Ralph.
Ideally suited to CGI animation, Wreck it Ralph takes place entirely within the video games of Litwak’s Family Fun Center & Arcade. Titular Ralph is the bad guy from 1980s era 8-bit game Fix-It-Felix Jr. In a plot that somewhat recalls The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993), Ralph (John C Reilly), tired of his bad guy status travels from his own game to hyper-realistic shoot-‘em-up Hero’s Duty to candy cart racing game Sugar Rush in his attempt to earn a medal and prove himself the good guy. En route he befriends glitchy outcast racer Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) whom he aides in her quest to become a champion racer.
The video game worlds are beautifully realised in director Rich Moore‘s visually stunning movie. Every aspect of Wreck It Ralph is top notch from Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee’s screenplay to Henry Jackman’s score to the superlative voice work of Riley and Silverman. Whether you are a gamer or not there is much to enjoy in this genuinely inventive, surprisingly moving modern classic that I believe is one the best movies released by Disney in the post-Walt era, better even than the mighty Frozen (Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee, 2013).
A sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, was released in 2018, my thoughts on which you can read soon...
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