Wreck-It-Ralph

Watching Wreck-It-Ralph for the second time made me seriously question how I failed to remember the movie after the first time!  This is honestly one of the best, well-thought out, and emotionally gripping Disney movies I have ever seen.  If you have never seen it, stop reading immediately, and please go watch it!!  Since this movie was made in 2012, the first time I watched it, I was not that young, but I would say that this is definitely one of those films that you re-watch as an adult and gain so much more out of it than you would as a child.  From the very beginning to the very end of the film, lies deeper meaning, understanding, and lessons about self-image and acceptance – by others, and most importantly, by yourself.

Since it is always better to end on a good note, I am going to start off by commenting on my least favorite characters: I absolutely despise Gene, Turbo, and all the other characters in Sugar Rush, besides Vanellope.  First of all, Gene is rude, exclusive, and just flat out annoying.  He provoked Ralph in the first place, which leads to Ralph ruining the 30^th anniversary cake, and ruining the party.  However, everyone just blames poor Ralph L.  Also, Turbo is just the meanest, most selfish, and most irritating character in the film and that’s pretty much all I have to say about him – he truly deserves the punishment he receives at the end.

Now onto the characters I love: RALPH.  Ralph is a character that is so easy to sympathize with, and shocker!, he’s considered a villain in the video game world.  However, every time he is upset and comments on how he is confined to his bad guy role instead of being given the chance to be the good guy for once, I truly feel for him.   In fact, we see that he is a good guy, despite what others might think of him, when we see him give up his food to homeless video game characters.  He has empathy and good intentions, and that’s why it’s so easy to relate to, sympathize with, and support the “villain.” 

On a technical note, I love how this film connects the arcade world with the real world.  For example, whenever we see the video game characters travel to and from each arcade game, we see a small light move through the wires.  Also, when it is daytime and the games are on, we see the film from both the human point of view and the video game world point of view.  I think it is well-crafted and interesting to see the main characters of the film from a different perspective, the roles that they are trapped in playing and how they appear to the outside world.

My favorite scene of the whole movie is at the end where Ralph states that he loves when the people lift him up and throw him off the building, because when that happens, he’s able to gain a glimpse of Sugar Rush, and see Vanellope.  And don’t even get me started on when he comes to the realization that he doesn't need a medal to prove he's a good guy – if Vanellope likes him, he must be good.  I watched this movie with my friend, and she started crying at this one moment – I was almost there, I was definitely teary-eyed though.

Since Ralph can’t get his own medal, I love how this movie is named after the bad guy instead of the good guy:  Wreck-It-Ralph as opposed to Fix-It-Felix.

Let’s not forget the Bad Anon Chant:

"I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be, than me."

The last sentence is a message that everyone should learn and always remember.