Another solid work of animation from the new and improved Disney animation studios since Pixar took over. It drags a bit in spots but overall a very fun picture set in a videogame world, where the titular Ralph (John C. Reilly) is tired of being the Donkey Kong to a Mario-like hero called Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer). Determined to get some respect, he travels to other games and helps the fallen star of a Mario Kart-like game (Sarah Silverman) regain her rightful place.
Wreck-It Ralph could have been a lazy string of references to classic video games, but the script is smart, CGI animation is near-Pixar quality, and the voice work is generally very good, with exceptional work by Silverman. That said, as an animation geek I was just as pleased by the animated short presented beforehand – “Paper Man,” which combines traditional 2D animation with 3D. This has been hailed as revolutionary, and I suppose it is if you ignore one of the greatest animated films of all time- The Iron Giant- but it is very charming and lovely nonetheless, and I hope that Disney will consider longer projects using these techniques.
Either way, you can’t go wrong with Wreck-It Ralph. Between this and 2010′s Tangled, I am optimistic about the future of Disney animation.
The latest Pixar film is the tale of Merida, a Scottish princess who would rather shoot targets with a bow or climb a dangerous rock face than take lessons in etiquette from her mother. Her father lost his leg in a battle with a particularly fierce bear and her little brothers are hell-raising triplets. Merida’s life reaches a breaking point when three allied clans show up to offer candidates for her hand in marriage, and since the manner of competition is her choice, she chooses archery – and wins her own hand, infuriating her mother and putting the truce between the clans in danger.
I took my 9-year-old son to see Disney’s John Carter today. This film received a lot of negative press in advance of its release, and when it wasn’t a box-office milestone last weekend, the follow-up press was equally unkind, as if to congratulate itself on predicting that the sun would come up in the morning. I don’t often pay attention to entertainment news or sites like Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s interesting to me that everyone I know who has seen the film loved it despite its 51% rating on RT (lower still for “top critics”, but 71% from audiences).
