Thursday, October 24, 2013

MYST Post #2



I watched the movie Wreck-It Ralph for my second Movies in Your Spare Time post. After seeing the commercials for this movie on T.V., I had always wanted to watch it, however I did not want to make a trip all the way to the movie theater to see it. Since it was playing on TNT Family one night, I decided I would sit down and take the time to see it. The plot revolves around Ralph, the "bad guy" of his video game, "Wreck-It Ralph". He decides that he was tired of being a bad guy, so he escapes his game and enters others in search of a Medal to prove to everyone else that he is actually good. In this journey, he meets a character named Vanellope, who is ostracized by her game for being a glitch. Ralph is determined to get Vanellope back into her game, defeat the evil King Candy, and save the video game universe.
One scene in particular that impacted me greatly was when Ralph destroys Vanellope's car. Ralph promises that he would help build Vanellope a racing car because she didn’t have one, and help her learn how to drive it. After all this progress we think that Vanellope is finally ready to race, however Ralph finds out that letting her race as a playable character would be disastrous because of her glitching. When he finds out this information, he tells Vanellope he can’t let her race, so he must destroy the brand new cart for her own good. As he is wrecking the cart, we see the innocent Vanellope's eyes welling with tears. Sad music plays, and the audience is forced to feel the betrayal that Vanellope feels. It was a surprisingly emotional scene for such a lighthearted movie like this, and that’s why it stood out to me.


The most unique part of this movie was the plot itself. I’ve never really heard of a successful movie with the setting in a video game world. I think it appealed to a lot more viewers because of this. Speaking from experience, if the movie made me, an 18 year old guy, want to see it, then they must be doing something right. In addition, the characters were really likeable, and the voice actors for were all perfect for each role, John C. Reilly as the large, good spirited Ralph, Sarah Silverman as the innocent yet devious Vanellope, Jack McBrayer (Kenneth from 30 rock) as the timid Fix it Felix, and Jane Lynch as the draconian Sergeant Calhoun. Actors don’t usually play a big part in animated movies, but it was a factor that definitely stood out in this one.

Overall, I would give this Movie a 9/10. For its genre, a predominantly kids movie, it was spectacular in evoking emotion and investing the viewer. It was successful on many fronts; it supplied a good, original story, and maintained the plot's appeal throughout the movie with twists and subtle story lines. The human parts of this movie, the actors, were all extremely good as well, and I thought they fit their roles perfectly. Well I thought everything was done right, it didn’t have anything deeper to it; there was really no sub story or symbolism or anything like that, which I typically enjoy in a movie. However, I realize it’s still just a kid's movie so I will only take 1 point off my overall rating. If you want to watch a good family movie with anyone, and actually enjoy it, I would recommend Wreck-It Ralph. I can't wait until Wreck-It Ralph 2 comes out.

3 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading your review. I have seen parts of this movie but i have never been able to finish it all the way through. I remember being very upset that i wasn't able to finish this film because it was very interesting and i enjoyed watching it. I do have to agree with you that even though this is generally a kids movie that it does appeal to all ages.

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  2. Awesome review, Grant! You make the movie sound really good. Usually anything that involves Disney and movies are going to be a big success later on down the road. It interests me how you say it appeals to all ages, because not many Disney films are set for teenagers. They're usually made for children. So with that said, I'll have to give it a watch some time if it really is as good as you say it is!

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  3. I loved your review for its concise yet very informative manner. In addition I feel that you addressed all the important points. While I have not seen this movie it is clear that it has similarities to the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Despicable Me animated movies. I would agree with you about the plot being in and of itself a interesting idea. As a gamer girl my interest was piqued when I discovered that the movie was in the virtual world. The only suggestion I would make to a movie like that though is that the animation should resemble a video game move vs something more picturesque. As a kids movie it sounds rather interesting though I would hope that the messages that are conveyed are healthy ones and ones that will help a child develop. Given the brainless nature of movies like this I might just end up watching it. Thanks for your review.

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