 ***PLEASE NOTE: A Blu-ray 3D disc is only compatible with 3D Blu-ray players.*** Tagline: This holiday season comes a story for everyone who ever needed a restart on life. Wreck-It Ralph longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes... so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun, Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan -- win a medal -- but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Storyline: Wreck-It Ralph (voice of Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes... so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan -- win a medal -- but soon wrecks everything, and accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Ralph's only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Silverman), a young troublemaking "glitch" from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it's "Game Over" for the entire arcade? Written by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Prepare for adventure when "the most original animated film in years" (Bryan Erdy, CBS-TV) that thrilled audiences of all ages drops on DVD and Blu-ray! From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes a hilarious, arcade game-hopping journey in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph. For decades, Ralph has played the bad guy in his popular video game. In a bold move, he embarks on an action-packed adventure and sets out to prove to everyone that he is a true hero with a big heart. As he explores exciting new worlds, he teams up with some unlikely new friends including feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz. Then, when an evil army threatens their world, Ralph realizes he holds the fate of the entire arcade in his massive hands. Featuring an all-star voice cast and a groundbreaking animated short film, Disney's Wreck-It Ralph has something for every player. Bring home the ultimate reward on Disney DVD and Blu-ray! Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown on February 19, 2013 -- How is it that no one has thought to green-light an animated film like Wreck-It Ralph before now? Videogames have long been a cultural institution, and 8-bit and 16-bit gaming have been winsomely retro for more than a decade. Has it really taken so many years for studio heads and filmmakers weened on Nintendo and Sega to come of age? Did no one in power realize videogames offered a veritable treasure trove of cameos, genres, worlds, references, easter eggs, gags and, above all, untapped, multi-generational potential? Has everyone who's breathed the words "arcade" or "gaming" in a pitch meeting been hushed or summarily dismissed? Or were previous forays into such prospects so uninspiring that they were abandoned early on? Whatever the case, Wreck-It Ralph is long overdue... which might sting a bit more if Walt Disney Animation and director Rich Moore had botched the concept or its execution. Instead, Disney's well-received 52nd animated feature is as slick as it is shrewd, and won't soon be forgotten. Meet our hero. No, not Fix-It Felix, Jr. (Jack McBrayer), the eponymous handyman of the classic arcade game of the same name. Wreck-It Ralph (a brilliantly cast John C. Reilly), the destructive villain of the "Fix-It Felix" universe and, actually, a hard-working, no-nonsense blue collar videogame character who's spent years doing his job, day in and day out, without complaint. But on the eve of his game's 30th anniversary, Ralph begins to long for something more. He starts to wonder what it would be like to be a hero. Before you can say "secret bonus level," Ralph abandons his arcade cabinet, travels to Game Central Station and sneaks into "Hero's Duty," a first-person shooter unlike anything the big lug has ever tackled before. In "Hero's Duty," though, lies a medal, and a medal is all Ralph believes he needs to be a hero like Felix. Nothing goes according to plan, of course, and it isn't long until Ralph's actions threaten the entire arcade, leaving the rookie do-gooder with little choice but to recruit some new friends -- glitchy "Sugar Rush" kart racer Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), tough-talking "Hero's Duty" sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun (Jane Lynch) and eventually Felix himself -- try to right all that he set wrong and learn a few life lessons in the process. Wreck-It Ralph could have been a shameless retread of Toy Story. The premise, story elements and plot devices are certainly in place. But the similarities are just that. Similarities. Moore and screenwriters Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee have penned nothing short of a side-splitting, audience-rousing love letter to both old school and modern gaming, and even nudge past Toy Story in one key regard: licensed cameos. Sonic the Hedgehog. Doctor Robotnik. Q*bert. Dig Dug. The cast of Pac-Man. King Koopa himself, Bowser. Mortal Kombat's Kano. Ryu, Ken, Zangief and M.Bison (among other Street Fighters eagle-eyed quarter jockeys will spot). And that's only a taste of the nods, references and sight gags that await gamers. Glitches. Poorly animated sprites. Genre hilarity. Jabs at gaming clichés and convention. If nothing else, it's clear that the Wreck-It Ralph filmmakers aren't simply aware of videogames or, worse, building entire worlds on the back of a brittle gimmick. They're drawing from a lifelong love affair with videogames, and the gamers in the audience, however young or old, are the ones primed to reap the rewards. And while those who chuckle at the mere mention of a Game Genie or Power Glove will no doubt get the most out of Wreck-It Ralph, casual gamers, button mashers or even those intimidated by the sight of dual analog sticks won't be left scratching their heads or fumbling through an instruction manual. The never-ending stream of layered references bolster the film's entertainment value and credibility, yet rarely get in the way of Ralph's endearing characters, heartwarming identity-crisis tale or sprawling hub-worlds. The only downside? The film's broader strokes also happen to be its flashing orange weak spots. Vanellope turns out to be a fantastic sidekick, irritating though she initially may be, but her game -- "Sugar Rush" -- dilutes the mix. "Hero's Duty" is a wry shot at shooters. "Fix-It Felix, Jr." is a great send-up of Donkey Kong and its early arcade ilk. But Vanellope's cart racer? Suddenly Wreck-It Ralph is home to heaps and heaps of candy puns and chocolate-coated riffs rather than the sort of Mario Kart satire you might expect. There are entire stretches where Ralph could literally be any other animated movie; as if the thought of sticking to their gaming guns, come hell or high water, made Moore and company a bit too nervous. That said, "Sugar Rush" and its... erm, sugar rushing only dominate the second act. Ralph's endgame encompasses its entire third act, the entirety of its game worlds and the culmination of everything from "Hero's Duty" and its Cy-Bug menace to Felix and the Nicelanders' newfound sympathy for the unsung hero in their midst. It never quite returns to the snappy, wall-to-wall referential humor of Ralph's first thirty minutes, but it closes strong and delivers on its promises and premise. Perhaps more notable is the fact that Walt Disney Animation has, at least for the time being, supplanted Pixar Animation as the Mouse House's go-to source of new classics. While Pixar has been on a bit of a decline (Cars 2 and Brave), Disney Animation has been on a roll thanks to Tangled (by my estimation one of Disney's finest), Winnie the Pooh (a disarmingly minimalistic little gem) and now Wreck-It Ralph, which lays the groundwork for plenty of sequels to come. And it's not as if Ralph will need to repeat itself. Videogaming is as vast as cinema, and the satirical soil is more fertile than any one movie could till. Wreck-It Ralph may not be a flawless insta-classic, but it's a solid, oft-times bold first step into a world that begs further exploration. Cast Notes: John C. Reilly (Ralph [voice]), Sarah Silverman (Vanellope [voice]), Jack McBrayer (Felix [voice]), Jane Lynch (Calhoun [voice]), Alan Tudyk (King Candy [voice]), Mindy Kaling (Taffyta Muttonfudge [voice]), Joe Lo Truglio (Markowski [voice]), Ed O'Neill (Mr. Litwak [voice]), Dennis Haysbert (General Hologram [voice]), Edie McClurg (Mary [voice]), Raymond S. Persi (Gene / Zombie [voice]), Jess Harnell (Don [voice]), Rachael Harris (Deanna [voice]), Skylar Astin (Roy [voice]), Adam Carolla (Wynnchel [voice]). IMDb Rating (03/07/13): 7.9/10 from 69,058 users IMDb Rating (12/23/12): 8.2/10 from 21,509 users
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