Wreck-It Ralph (2012) Response

I liked this film. Not much more or less, I thought it was pretty average. It certainly is no Wall-E or Toy Story, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. 

The most compelling aspect of the film was its commentary on social mobility and stratification. Ralph's segregation on the basis of his character trait reflected aspects of society. Additionally, people would not recognize that he may have more than one side to him, they just wrote him off as the villain and separated themselves from him, throwing him into literal garbage. There is clearly social stratification in Wreck-It Ralph and it is definitely meant to represent our culture. Another example of this idea was Vanellope Von Schweetz. She was a glitch throughout most of the film, and as it was explained, glitches cannot leave their game. This shows that glitches - characters of a lower social standing - are limited in their mobility and opportunity. This is very often true in real life too, that people of lower socio-economic levels have fewer opportunities and it is harder for them to better their circumstances, contributing to a cycle.

Vanellope said in the film, "racing is in my code." She never learned to race before, though, because she was a glitch. This is an example of her limited opportunity due to her social standing, causing her to not be able to advance. Eventually, when Ralph helped her learn, she was able to come back to her given position of princess within the game.

This film seems to appeal more to children than adults, especially when compared to, say, Wall-E. The appeal of it appears more in the bright colors and fast motion than the message. Additionally, the concept of an arcade is more exciting to a little kid (although I don't know how common they are for kids now, especially as compared to when their parents were kids). It's appeal to boys and girls though seems equal, unlike many princess films. The retro video games may appeal more to the nostalgia of the parent viewers.

At first while watching, I was thinking the film would be a knock-off of Toy Story with the whole 'when the people go away, the toys come out to play' idea. However, when the film revealed that the characters move through the plugs of the game, and with the area that looked like a train station, I was thoroughly amused.

I can't claim to know much about voice acting, however I loved it in this film. Between John C Reilly, Jane Lynch, and Jack McBrayer, many of the actors already have voices that are somewhat "caricature." This brought extra personality to the characters. Each character was identifiable just on their voice and it deeply enhanced the visuals in a way that I don't think many animated films do (maybe Finding Nemo and Finding Dory). Also, as I look back on the film, I am stuck on the scream from Sarah Silverman (playing Vanellope) and responses from Ralph as he was breaking the car they made together. The emotions that came out in that scene were very strong. 

I did enjoy the film but I absolutely will not go out of my way to see it again.