This movie was a great example of how many ingredients it takes to make a good story.
I was genuinely impressed. From concept to execution, characters to dialogue, set design to sound, the digital world to which we are introduced makes a great stage.
The opening of the movie already sets us in the gaming realm. The time lapse was fun, too. The setup for the story was accomplished cleanly and clearly. The entire concept of a video game-based story reminded me a little of Toy Story, in that it is a world we observe, but know little about.
The characters were interesting. They retained their shapes, colors, proportions, and motions from their original games even when they were in the more three-dimensional realm. For example, the little people from Ralph's world have jolting, boink-ing motions. The ghost from Pac-Man moves in little squares. Fix-It Felix Jr. does that weird hop thing. And, of course, there is Vanellope, who glitches. All of the characters maintained their original "charm" and "personality" although their form was slightly altered.
The dialogue was full of puns and references to both video games and movies. I probably only caught 30%, if that, because I do not game much. However, it was a lot more clever than I was expecting. The storyline was impressive, too. There were two main goals being chased by two pairs of characters, and they were able to have their story told without feeling like one was interrupting the other until, of course, the characters themselves did.
The set design was amazing. The games each had their own personal feel and color and sound palettes. My favorite part was the station. The trains ran through extension cords, and the plugs were the terminals. I thought this was terribly clever. I also liked that the gamers could be seen by the games. It only makes sense. Windows go both ways. Finally, the cake at the party was a fantastic example of how the gaming design was worked into the whole piece. You may notice there was no pink frosting on the cake. When Ralph smashes it, though, all of the walls and people are covered in pink frosting. It's pixely, too. Again, I thought this was clever.
This is sortof a side note, but I appreciated the fact that Fix-It did not realize he was being a bully, and Ralph did not want to be. I see a lot of stories that suggest the bullies always know they are being mean, and enjoy it, and it is the little nice people that are the victims. This film really turned that on its head.
As Aristotle said, "A convincing impossibility is preferable to an unconvincing possibility." That is what makes movies like Wreck-It Ralph and Toy Story and Inside Out, and many others, so enjoyable. We are brought to a place we are already fairly familiar with and shown a possibility that fits in with what we already know, or suspect to be true. Although we know games are code, toys are plastic, and there are no steam-and-steel trains of thought, by engaging our imaginations thus, the storytellers are able to do their best work.
