Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore)

[Watashi]

IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772341/)

http://thedisneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Wreck-It-Poster-2.jpg

[Watashi]

Man, I found this really disappointing.

I expected this to be the Toy Story of video games, but all of the references felt like pandering and added nothing to the plot. Don't get me started on the puns. Every punchline to a joke was a pun of some sort. Most of the film takes place in the game Sugar Rush, which the film drags a lot and becomes uninteresting and turns into a whole different movie (is this movie about games or candy?). There's also a weird love subplot and that is added that makes no sense (even if the best joke of the film comes from it).

It's weird seeing all the cool licensed characters on the poster above because they are barely in it. Dr. Robotnik and that purple Rhino thing is the background for two seconds. Maybe it was a contract thing? I dunno... I wish they would have done more with actual game characters and built a story around the relationship between a gamer and its games.

[Ezee E]

So is this basically a Dreamworks-ish movie then? Dumb.

I want to play the game though

[Watashi]

Best part of Wreck-It Ralph was the short Paperman before it. What an awesome short. Disney/Pixar is absolutely killing it this year with their short films.

[Rowland]

Man, I found this really disappointing.

I expected this to be the Toy Story of video games, but all of the references felt like pandering and added nothing to the plot. Don't get me started on the puns. Every punchline to a joke was a pun of some sort. Most of the film takes place in the game Sugar Rush, which the film drags a lot and becomes uninteresting and turns into a whole different movie (is this movie about games or candy?). There's also a weird love subplot and that is added that makes no sense (even if the best joke of the film comes from it).

It's weird seeing all the cool licensed characters on the poster above because they are barely in it. Dr. Robotnik and that purple Rhino thing is the background for two seconds. Maybe it was a contract thing? I dunno... I wish they would have done more with actual game characters and built a story around the relationship between a gamer and its games.

Best part of Wreck-It Ralph was the short Paperman before it. Agreed 100%.

An 85% from RT? Good lord.

[TGM]

I thought this was enjoyable, even if it was more interested in making candy puns than video game references. That, and it probably says something that the ending credits sequence was the best part of the movie. Still though, I liked it well enough.

Also, did anybody else notice the "Aerith Lives" graffiti? This is one of those movies that I just know you're gonna catch more and more things just hidden in the background the more you see it.

[Watashi]

I thought this was enjoyable, even if it was more interested in making candy puns than video game references. That, and it probably says something that the ending credits sequence was the best part of the movie. Still though, I liked it well enough.

Also, did anybody else notice the "Aerith Lives" graffiti? This is one of those movies that I just know you're gonna catch more and more things just hidden in the background the more you see it.

I immediately noticed it.

What happened at the end?

[TGM]

You missed the credits?

Ralph and the gang visited various game worlds in pixelated fashion. I personally got a big kick out of the Sonic Green Hill Zone, though the Street Fighter bonus stage where Ryu and Ralph demolished that car got the biggest applause of the whole movie from my audience.

[Watashi]

Oh, I thought you meant after the credits.

[Fezzik]

I liked this just fine. It wasn't the greatest thing I've ever seen, but it was fun.

I liked the voice work, especially Tudyk doing his Ed Wynn impression, and (big surprise) Sarah Silverman, who usually annoys the hell out of me.

I agree w/ Watashi, though. Paperman was amazing.

[TGM]

So here's my full review. (http://cwiddop.blogspot.com/2012/11/wreck-it-ralph-or-candy-land-movie.html)

[eternity]

I really liked it in May. It's candy, but it's good candy.

[Spinal]

Less funny than I expected. But more moving than I expected. Well short of a classic, but also well worth seeing. Some nifty surprises and some excellent character work from the four leads.

[Watashi]

Less funny than I expected. But more moving than I expected. Well short of a classic, but also well worth seeing. Some nifty surprises and some excellent character work from the four leads.
What did you think of the short before it?

[Spinal]

What did you think of the short before it?

It was very good. It helped that I had seen The Red Balloon recently.

[KK2.0]

Man, I found this really disappointing.

I expected this to be the Toy Story of video games, but all of the references felt like pandering and added nothing to the plot. Don't get me started on the puns. Every punchline to a joke was a pun of some sort. Most of the film takes place in the game Sugar Rush, which the film drags a lot and becomes uninteresting and turns into a whole different movie (is this movie about games or candy?). There's also a weird love subplot and that is added that makes no sense (even if the best joke of the film comes from it).

It's weird seeing all the cool licensed characters on the poster above because they are barely in it. Dr. Robotnik and that purple Rhino thing is the background for two seconds. Maybe it was a contract thing? I dunno... I wish they would have done more with actual game characters and built a story around the relationship between a gamer and its games.

Now I understand why the movie is called Sugar Rush in Japan.

[plain]

One can see how thinly scripted everything is once the novelty of the first third wears off; a big heart indeed, but often tiresome.

[Rowland]

Now I understand why the movie is called Sugar Rush in Japan.:lol: At least the film was appropriately marketed over there. Blech.

[EyesWideOpen]

This was awesome. The Sugar Rush stuff was the best part of the movie.

[Winston*]

Don't get me started on the puns. Every punchline to a joke was a pun of some sort.

Man, I laughed at all the dumb candy puns. "Nesquik sand".

Didn't particularly want to see this but ended up really enjoyed it. Found myself suprisingly invested in this story by the end, which I think Reilly and Silverman's great vocal performances had a lot to do with.

[Henry Gale]

Wow, I thought this was insanely enjoyable.

After watching the movie, looking over some of the classic episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama that Rich Moore was behind suddenly made it clear where some of his obvious sensibilities extended here. It's all just so heartfelt, funny, tightly scripted, and beautifully realized in ways films of any design don't often tend to achieve, let alone animation.

Disney, please go ahead and make this your new flagship animation franchise. The storytelling (and obviously marketable spinoff franchising) possibilities are endless with the world created here, and one that I would absolutely love to see visited over and over (and even nobly run into the ground), especially if Moore and the cast (especially Reilly, who apparently did significant script work on it) all stay involved.

I love ParaNorman, but I now wouldn't be so mad if this took this year's animation Oscar.

[ledfloyd]

Yeah, I'm in agreement. Wats' disavowal of this is kind of bewildering. The candy puns slayed me, and Alan Tudyk was incredibly good. Just a really fun heartwarming film. I was surprised how crushed I was at one point (pun partially intended).

[Ezee E]

Pretty annoying to me once the movie abandons the actual video game characters, and invents its own worlds and games. What the heck is Sugar Rush? May as well just be referencing board games at this point. The movie really comes to a halt when it gets to Sugar Rush also. I'm not quite sure why it takes Felix and the girl so long to find them. And then a training montage to "Shut up and Drive." Yuck.

Thematically, it has a good message, but there's really not much that I enjoyed out of it besides the initial "bad guy meeting."

[Rowland]

Pretty annoying to me once the movie abandons the actual video game characters, and invents its own worlds and games. What the heck is Sugar Rush? May as well just be referencing board games at this point. The movie really comes to a halt when it gets to Sugar Rush also. I'm not quite sure why it takes Felix and the girl so long to find them. And then a training montage to "Shut up and Drive." Yuck.

Thematically, it has a good message, but there's really not much that I enjoyed out of it besides the initial "bad guy meeting."This is actually titled Sugar Rush in Japan, which I think is a perfect crystallization of my chief argument against the film, amidst many. I'm not even convinced that some of its messaging is all that great either: "Yeah kids, be yourselves, which means to accept your lot in life; everybody has their purpose within the grand scheme of things, even if you are condemned by social engineering to living in a trash heap. And girls, just as with so many retrograde Disney fantasies, deep down you're really an entitled princess, so don't let those catty bitches get you down!" This still strikes me as one of last year's most inexplicably overrated releases; it's Shrek for the gamer set, with the candy-colored, racing-centric second half having been done better just recently by Speed Racer. And I wanted to punch Sarah Silverman in the face after enduring her eardrum-shredding vocal performance.

[Ezee E]

Rowland and I are the only ones to actively Con this? Jees.

[Watashi]

Rowland and I are the only ones to actively Con this? Jees.

Um....

[Rowland]

Um....I'm pretty certain he's referring to the thread rating, where even you were mixed. Which is fine, at least you leaned negative enough to vote nay for the poll.

[Ezee E]

I'm pretty certain he's referring to the thread rating, where even you were mixed. Which is fine, at least you leaned negative enough to vote nay for the poll.

This.

[Winston*]

And I wanted to punch Sarah Silverman in the face after enduring her eardrum-shredding vocal performance.

She was great.

[ledfloyd]

She was great.
Indeed. And I can't say enough about Alan Tudyk.

[Rowland]

She was great.Surely a matter of taste.

[Winston*]

Surely a matter of taste.

I thought you didn't care for candy puns.

[Rowland]

I thought you didn't care for candy puns.Those got old quick as well. Was that entire section intended as product placement for all the candy brands that I imagine must have been sponsoring the film? Did anybody notice any Mentos packages promoting Wreck-It Ralph in stores? Or was it all one massive plug for theater candy?

[Grouchy]

It's a good movie of its kind, with typical Disney character arcs and events, but well done.

I agree that it was disappointing that the main plot of the film involved only made-up games and not the existing franchises. That would make for a much more memorable movie.

[Sven]

This movie taught me that it's okay to have aspirations so long as you're actually a secret princess.

Bewildering reception. Some fun jokes.

[Dukefrukem]

There are hits of genius and the film is well crafted, but the first 15 minutes deceive viewers the film is going to be something it is not. There are tons of references to Street Fighter, Sonic, Pac-man, and a dozen other classic video games that never make another appearance in the film. Most of the screen time takes place in a made up candy themed racing world that resembles Mario Kart. It's cute and it's fun and worth watching but I was really hoping for some mainstream characters. I understand this is due to licenses and copyrights, but it would have been nice to see an animated movie like this with more Kano.