Confirming that cooler (better) heads can prevail, Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph proves the House of Mouse’s wisdom beyond the financial to not only purchase Pixar outright, but to install Pixar’s Creative Director, John Lasseter, as the parent company’s Chief Creative Officer in 2006. Since then, the Disney which, just prior, had seen its rote attempts to duplicate a Little Mermaid here and a Beauty and the Beast there saw increasingly diminished results—both critically and commercially—has slowly begun to steer its trajectory back toward the Second Star to the Left.
That Disney’s in-house effort mostly plays like an actual Pixar film is a fine compliment. While Rich Moore’s feature directorial debut is certainly no Toy Story, Finding Nemo or The Incredibles, it comes the closest to finding real heart within its many plot points, delightfully realized setting, and handful of thrilling set pieces. Wreck-It Ralph has more going for it than just dewfall from the magic Lasseter tree—Moore may be a newcomer to directing feature-length animation, but his TV credits include a murderer’s row of many of The Simpsons and Futurama’s best half hours, including classics like, “Marge vs. The Monorail” and “Roswell that Ends Well,” respectively. (The latter netted him an Emmy in 2002.)
The film introduces audiences to a video arcade that houses a fictitious game, Fix-It Felix, Jr., in which the titular character (voiced by John C. Reilly) is the Donkey Kong-esque villain. Decades of playing the same role while being spurned by the “good guy” inhabitants of both his game and those of the others in the arcade, have finally compelled Ralph to “Go Turbo.” Despite the warnings, he game-hops to earn a medal and, thus, the respect of the good guys. His single-mindedness in pursuit of his goal leads to chaos that threatens certain doom to any sprite unlucky enough to be stuck in their cabinet when it’s shut off.
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