Wreck It Ralph
2012100 minutes
rated PG
by Scott Mendelson
It is perhaps slightly disappointing that Disney's latest animated feature is not so much an example of branching out so much as pouring the same drink into a new glass. Just as Pixar's Brave (review) seemed like an attempt to fit alongside the standard Disney princess mold, so too does Wreck It Ralph (trailer) exist as a Disney cartoon that would rather have a Pixar logo at the front. But in the end Wreck It Ralph is a Disney cartoon through-and-through, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It is vividly animated and generally entertaining, and it uses its video game settings as the basis for any number of clever jokes. But truth be told the film is not really about video games, merely using the video game format as a colorful wrapping for a rather conventional story. In hindsight its story is actually somewhat generic, not going as far off the reservation as Meet the Robinsons (review/essay) or even Bolt. It's a witty and charming film, but it's slightly dispiriting how often it teases us only to skirt back to genre convention.
