Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

I was supposed to be be seeing either Flight or Argo today, but to my disappointment I missed both showtimes, and I was in a tight time frame where I could see anything. So my friend really convinced me to check this one out. Boy, what a great time it was.

Wreck-It Ralph is really wonderfully created. Its visual design is brilliant and its action pieces pretty amazing. The world it builds, and all of the little details from various video games, is pretty wonderful to look at and experience. Even some characters move in the precise way they actually do in video games. But what makes this gloriously colorful spectacle of a world work is the screenplay. The jokes hit all the right places, the characters are all lively and written with skill that goes beyond what we have come to expect from a simple kids' film like this. The few commercials and trailers I saw had been sure to let audiences know just how "pretty" this film looked, but what makes it a truly great film is that it has a great story and great dialogue to back up the visuals. The voice performances are pretty incredible, and perhaps because I recognized such people like Reily, Silverman, McBrayer, and Lynch, but even others did wonders with their characters.

Overall, the film follows a clear pattern and formula for kids, but the real surprise is that none of it made me roll my eyes or cringe. It's incredibly entertaining and enjoyable for anyone. Pretty much everything is done in a very respectable manner, and the film hits greatness in the writing, direction, voice performances, and visual design. The only real flaw in it that I gathered was the inclusion of a Rihanna song, which really took me out of the world the film created and kinda put a plaster on it from pop culture. Or maybe it's because I hate the song... Still, this is another truly great animated film that does stand out from others this year in its own way, and one that's admirable and satisfying in all the best ways. I loved it. Highly recommended.