Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph is now in theaters, and though some of us are waiting until Sunday to take our little ones to see the tale on the big screen, we know many of you rushed out to see the movie on opening day.
From Walt Disney Animation Studios and Emmy®-winning director Rich Moore comes “Wreck-It Ralph,” a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping adventure. For decades, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voice of Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero.
What did you think? Was it worth the build up and hype? Should Disney leave the 3D animation to Pixar and focus on traditional animated movies, or was this the best video game movie to come down the line since Toy Story made reliving your childhood cool again?
Use the comment section below to share your thoughts and ideas about the movie.
10 Comments
Borrowing the ‘secret world of our amusements’ from Toy Story, and mashing it with the ‘world hopping/grand central station’ elements from Monster’s Inc, I found it to be one of the weaker Pixar offerings to be honest
I was a bit disappointed, I guess. There were lots enjoyable video game in-jokes and action sequences. Of course it looked great, but I felt the story was pretty thin, and frankly a bit confusing…too many elements flying together at the end I guess. All in all it left me a little flat, but it was OK for what it was.
Absolutely loved it. My biggest concern going in was that the Disney created characters and the established characters wouldn’t really mesh together and it would seem too pandering. I’m 23 and got almost all the references which helped, but I found myself actually caring about the characters they created and that arcade world they lived in.
I watch on average 2-3 new movies in theater a year and found it a fun and exciting piece of Pixar craftsmanship. Not the greatest movie sure, but it was definitely worth going to watch it. I will probably go see it again just to see how many more references i can spot. Solid 4/5 for me.
Both of your comments point out something that can be rather troubling for Disney going forward. While Disney owns Pixar, this is in no way a Pixar production, but a Walt Disney Animation Studios production. Does this mean that anything that is in 3D with the Disney logo on it is automatically assumed to be a Pixar joint? That perception by audiences does a disservice to both companies (even though they are owned by the same parent company), and weakens both brands in the end. This has been something that has been percolating in the back of my mind for a number of years since the total take over of Pixar by Disney, as I wondered how long it would take for the average tissue to be called a Kleenex… Looks like this is that moment.
Now that you mention it I actually recall thinking it was odd that the Pixar lamp sequence wasn’t shown at the beginning. Couple that with the wonderful short at the start of the film, a Pixar trademark, and I understand the confusion. I eveb asked my wife after it was over if she’d heard John Ratzenberger do any voices, because I’d missed him.
I think it does do Pixar a disservice if projects they aren’t producing get incorrectly associated with them. All the marketing certainly made it seem like another Pixar film, maybe the Lasseter connection helped blur that line? I guess when people think Disney 3d, they think Pixar…
John Lasseter was the executive producer on this movie, which is its one true Pixar connection… but it is not a Pixar flick. I liked it a lot more than Brave though, and the animated short was very good too. I liked it a lot. Not as good as the Toy Story movies… but up there with some of the other Pixar flicks. I liked it much better than the Ice Age or Madagascar movies. Could be used as a franchise movie with sequels/games to follow. I’m 43 and I got almost all of the video game references. Very cute movie. My 7 year old daughter liked it and my wfe liked it a lot too.
I went with my wife and 14 year-old daughter and we all loved it. From the in-jokes, to the message of the message of the movie, I loved every bit of it. A big part of the movie’s success, I think, was that the movie was flawlessly cast. It was just perfect.
As far as brand confusion, that’s something that has always cracked me up. A lot of people seem to think that if it’s computer-generated animation, it’s Pixar. I know people who think Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon is Pixar. It doesn’t make sense to me. Every movie’s trailer has the production company’s logo in it. If it doesn’t have the Pixar logo, why do people assume it’s Pixar? This one showed the Disney logo TWICE, once in front of the “Paperman” short (which was wonderful) and again in front of the feature. I don’t know what Disney can do other than putting up a “Not Pixar” slide in front of the movie.
Went and saw it with The Boy. We really enjoyed it. A lot more than I expected to. Good story, good message, great cameos (both from the games and the voice over work), and some great animation. I loved how the Wreck-It Ralph characters were all jittery like the 8-bit games of old. Nice from top to bottom.
Maybe the “Not Pixar” banner should run during the commercials advertising the movie :)
I thought the movie was a good production and the nostalgia elements really helped.
I agree the story was a little weak. My wife thought it was an ok use of time, but I’ll likely pick up the blu-ray when it comes out.
Worth the money! I liked it it was just as I expected it to be. Silverman was really good as Vanellope. I still got “S-U-G-A-R Jump into you racing car Sugar Rush” on the brain.