I do have one problem with Wreck-It Ralph as a film, and I go into that in greater detail here. What follows is a review of the Blu-ray home video release.
Wreck-It Ralph is the latest Walt Disney Studios animated feature film, and was a hit in theaters. So much so there is discussion of a sequel in the works. Arriving on Blu-ray we get the film in a few variations, with DVD, Blu-ray and if you spring for the Ultimate Collector’s Edition, a 3D version on Blu-ray as well.
It’s worth it.
The 3D version of the film is good, and while not everybody has the capabilities to display 3D, this is the direction home video is headed. The disc housing the 3D version of Wreck-It Ralph also contains a 3D version of the Academy Award winning animated short Paperman. It will be nice to have these two items in 3D when, in several years, you do upgrade to 3D.
Paperman is especially effective. The combination of hand drawn and computer generated graphics is blended together so well this really does show what can be done with the short form of animation artistically. In 3D it’s very cool to watch.
Thankfully, if you don’t have a 3D capable television, you’re not going to miss out on the bonus features. I did expect more, however, and it feels like stuff is being held back for another edition of the film to be released at a future point. Missing are an audio commentary and a concept to screen storyboard comparison. And an audio commentary for Paperman would have been good too. I fully expected to see those.
Audio commentary is present on the deleted/alternate scenes, which shows a … wait – why is there audio commentary on the deleted/alternate scenes but not the feature film itself? Apparently an audio commentary was recorded and we don’t get it? COME ON!
Still, check out the deleted scenes. This showcases the development of the film and how it changed over time. It really was a different film. A featurette that runs just over 15 minutes looks at the making of Wreck-It Ralph. It’s a solid look, but certainly could have been longer and more in-depth.
We do get an “intermission” which activates when the film is paused showcasing other stuff, such as the video game cameos. It lasts about 10 minutes, and really this would have been a much better picture in picture type thing. And there’s a few commercials featuring the games created for the film.
Wreck-It Ralph being nice to Q*bert
As for the film itself, Wreck-It Ralph fires on all cylinders. There’s solid character progression, a good plot, and the animation is fantastic. This is certainly the type of animated film one expects from Disney when the studio is in top form. The last few efforts have been really great, so we could be seeing another renaissance from the studio, which would be nice.
Ralph is a big guy. He lives in a stump, which is removed to make way for a building. Out of anger that his home was moved to a dump without even so much as an “please” or eviction notice, he decides to smash the building. This is where Fix-It Felix Jr. comes in. Felix fixes what Ralph breaks. Eventually, if Felix fixes everything, Ralph gets thrown off the top of the building and the level is complete. Such is the plot of the arcade game, one that has been popular for 30 years.
For 30 years Ralph has been smashing and getting tossed into the mud. and he’s had enough. He wants to be a good guy. He wants the nice things in life that the other video game characters get, such as cake, people smiling, and a home that isn’t in the dump.
In a quest to prove himself he leaves his game and winds up causing more damage than good, first in one game then another. Because he isn’t in his game, his arcade cabinet is declared Out Of Order and every character involved is in danger of becoming homeless. Felix tries to find him only to get caught up with another character trying to clean up Ralph’s mess.
The voice acting is great. John C. Reilly is the title character, with Jack McBrayer as the eternally (typcast?) optimistic Felix. Jane Lynch is great as the shooting game character and Sarah Silverman is Vanellope, an annoying kid who both befriends and pesters Ralph in a candy themed racing game.
References abound in Wreck-It Ralph, and not just video game characters. There’s Winchel and Duncan, two security officers, represented by doughnuts. The infamous “Konami Code” is used.
BAD-Anon in Wreck-It Ralph
Acceptance of yourself is a big theme, along with touches of sacrifice for the greater good, and sense of community. Early on there’s a scene with various video game villains are sitting together commiserating about their lot in life. This “BAD-Anon” meeting is a nice scene that could easily have been repeated with a similar scene towards the end of the film. It makes sense how Wreck-It Ralph ends, but I would certainly liked to have seen more of these character round-table type scenes.
Highly enjoyable, Wreck-It Ralph isn’t for the whole family. It’s rated PG, and that film rating is certainly earned. Do use caution when allowing younger viewers to see the film. If you don’t want to read my other blog post about the issue I have with Wreck-It Ralph, it has to do with one character reaching over and ripping the heart out of another character. Ew.