Wreck It Ralph is the best Disney Animated feature since. . .
since. Wow. I'm going to go with Beauty and the Beast
even though they're really different genres.
Wreck It Ralph is unique in the Disney cannon. It isn't a princess movie and strictly
speaking, there aren't anthropomorphized animals. But Wreck It Ralph does present itself as a quest
film which isn't unique.
Quest driven characters are forced by circumstance to transform themselves. Recent examples include Tangled, How
to Train Your Dragon and Kung-Fu Panda. In contrast, Wreck It Ralph goes on a quest as a direct result of
wanting to transform himself. The quest
is the result of characterization and not the purpose.
Most people are probably aware of the basic plot by now. Classic arcade character Wreck It Ralph is
tired of being a bad guy and wants to become a good guy. In doing so we're presented with a menagerie
of classic and modern video games and characters. What the previews fail to show is how well
written this film is.
Wreck It Ralph contains action, sentiment and comedy galore. What's amazing is that the viewer is never
overwhelmed by the world that is created.
Instead of just being escapist, the viewer feels the genuine danger that
the protagonists are in and wants them to win. The big surprise is that all of the film's diverse sub-plots fall into place perfectly.
Visually, the CG of Wreck It Ralph is more functional then spectacular. The greater emotional CG utilized for Tangled is not on display here. But the various
types of CG employed, from basic to complex, help deepen the world and pull the
viewer in. Which is a lesson director
RIch Moore learned while working on the Simpsons and Futurama - the world itself
is a character.
Wreck It Ralph reminds me most of another John Lasseter inspired film,
The Brave Little Toaster. In the early
1980's Lasseter had pitched The Brave
Little Toaster to Disney as one of the first CG films. Not getting it, Disney fired him and made the
film with traditional hand drawn animation.
Fast-forward a couple of decades and Lasseter returns to Disney as head
of animation.
Wreck It Ralph has been on and off the shelves at Disney since the late
80's under various names such as High Score, Joe Jump and Reboot Ralph. But Disney couldn't make Wreck It Ralph
before John Lasseter took over. They had
the idea but they couldn't execute it. This was always Lasseter's film to
make. It was his quest to redeem Disney and he came
through for us all.
4/4 stars
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