Wreck It Ralph

Guys.  We are almost done.  Just one movie left after this one and we'll have watched all of Disney's feature animated films (that were released as of December 31, 2013), and boy is this film a good one!  It's Disney's Wreck It Ralph.

The film premiered in 2012 and is everything a great Disney movie great movie should be.  The story is captivating, relatable, and heartwarming.  The characters are well-developed and lovable.  There is a fantastic plot twist.  There's a dash of romance, a giant helping of humor, and a truly lovable hero... who just might also be a "bad guy."

Wreck It Ralph tells the story of Ralph, a nine-foot tall video game character who wrecks the building in "Fix-It Felix Jr."  Ralph has been doing the same gig for 30 years, and he doesn't really mind it... it's just no one seems to appreciate him.  And well 30 years is a long time to live alone in a dump...  Meanwhile Felix is constantly awarded medals, thrown parties, and given cake...  So Ralph figures the key to acceptance is finding himself one of those medals.

Ralph is quickly able to procure himself one of those beautiful shiny disks, but before he can head back to his home game in all his shiny glory, he finds himself crash-landed (with a very nasty cy-bug) in Sugar Rush - a sweet-treat themed racing game.  He soon meets Vanellope (a precocious mis-fit) who soon absconds with his medal and uses it to pay the racing entrance fee.  You see Vanellope feels born to race, only trouble is she's never been given the chance to...  Oh.  And she doesn't know how.

To get Ralph's medal back, the unlikely pair join forces to get Vanellope race-ready.  And it looks like things are shaping up perfectly for them to get exactly what they always wanted... Only what ever happened to that cy-bug?

While Ralph and Vanellope are planning to upset King Candy's race in Sugar Rush, another unlikely pair has joined forces to find Ralph and the escaped cy-bug: Felix and the foxy troop leader, Calhoun, from Hero's Duty (the game the cy-bug escaped from).  Felix soon finds himself with a particular honey glow that can be directly attributed to the fierce but lovely Calhoun.

Wreck It Ralph is filled with Disney magic in its clever attention to detail and comedy.  The film makes me grin and laugh at almost every interlude.  And when I'm not appreciating the humor, the film's attention to detail has me shaking my head in wonder.  This film is a beautiful example of Disney creativity and imagination.

On top of all of these things, the film also teaches some very good lessons such as:

• Be yourself.  No one else can be you but you.  And you're important just the way you are.
• Being different is not a bad thing.  The thing that makes you different might be the very thing that makes you shine.
• Friendship is more precious than medals.

The greatest lesson to come out of Wreck It Ralph might be the idea of self-sacrifice.  Ralph makes the hard choice several times to do whatever it takes to save Vanellope.  And Vanellope is just as ready to save her pal as well.  Fix-It Felix and Calhoun also serve as great examples in helping others and risking their lives to save their friends and the inhabitants of Sugar Rush.

Alas, this film is not a musical one.  However, I feel it is worthy to note that the credit song "When Can We Do This Again?" serves as the theme song to Disneyland's new parade "Paint the Night."  It's a winner of a song (and a parade)!

Wreck It Ralph is Disney magic. Ralph is a larger-than-life character with the heart to match.  He also learns some big lessons along the way.  The story is great; the humor is spot-on; and the characters are heartwarming and lovable.  This is definitely a film in the Disney canon that you do NOT want to miss!

I'll leave you with a quote from Bad Guys Anonymous (and Ralph):

There's no one I'd rather be than me.

Coming Up Next: Frozen