Wreck-It Ralph (voice by John C. Reilly) a big lug of a guy, is tired of being a villain as part of the video game Fix-It Felix Jr. Ralph has only one function, using his oversized fists and feet to pound holes in a high-rise apartment building. From there, Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer), a handyman with unlimited skills, comes to the rescue. While Fix-It Felix Jr. is regularly invited to parties by residents of the building, Ralph is relegated to the junkyard.
Eager to know what it feels like to do something good, Ralph leaves the game and heads for Game Central Station (the power strip that powers all of the games). After conning his way into the first-person shooter game “Hero’s Duty,” Ralph is thrilled to learn that he can win a gold medal. Troops are led by tough talking Calhoun (Jane Lynch) in shooting down a series of cybugs. Ralph wins a shiny gold medal and hopes it will make him a hero to the residents of the building.
From there, Ralph makes a stop at a game called “Sugar Rush Speedway,” where he meets glitchy Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) who doesn’t handle the games race cars very well. She aches to join the nearby races overseen by the ruthless King Candy (Alan Tudyk). All of this results in a showdown involving hordes of cybugs.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the story, Wreck-It Ralph is rather emotionally complex, which might be more than younger viewers—probably around five or six—can handle. You teach your kids to be good, and not to be mean. Wreck-It Ralph presents a “bad” guy and a snotty, but funny little brat as it two lead characters. They’re mean to each other and do bad things. They do good things too, but the mixed message might be a little much for a young kid who tends to think in terms of black and white.
Those potential concerns aside, for older kids and adults, Wreck-It Ralph is a winner. Clever from the start, director Rich Moore will have you rooting for the supposed “bad guy” throughout the film. With undeniable originality and unique behavior in each different cyber world, Ralp makes for a wonderful guide through the nostalgic world of arcade games.
As is often the case, Disney has delivered another reference quality presentation that is simply stunning. Presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio, the film starts of in the 2D world before we are introduced to the Fix-It Felix Jr. video game, characters and 3D world. It’s not a stretch to say that this transfer works on every level. From the eye popping colors to the inky black levels, viewers are swept directly into this video game universe. While the 2D presentation is wonderful, the 3D presentation provides a dimensionality to the characters and their surroundings that 2D simply can’t offer. Wreck-It Ralph doesn’t have a whole lot of gimmicky 3D effects, which slows the film’s animation to truly speak for itself. However, when the gimmicks do pop up, they’re actually pretty cool.
Both the 2D and 3D transfers are everything you could want from a high definition transfer. DNR, ghosting or other digital anomalies are nowhere to be found.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix fully utilizes the soundstage during the “Hero’s Duty” and “Sugar Rush” sequences to great effect. There are countless split surround effects as cars zoom through the listening area, cybugs fly around and more. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout. This truly is the kind of disc you use to show off your home theater system to friends!
English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles are included.
Surprisingly, Wreck-It Ralph is a bit lacking in the special features department:
- Paperman: Theatrical Short (HD, 6:34) A young man in an office spots the woman of his dreams in a skyscraper window across the street. How can he get her attention? Paperman is presented in 3D on Disc One and in 2D on Disc Two.
- Bit by Bit: Creating the Worlds of Wreck-It Ralph (HD, 16:40) Director Rich Moore, producer Clark Spencer, writer Phil Johnston, art director Mike Gabriel, co-art director Ian Gooding, effects supervisor Cesar Velazquez, animation supervisor Renato Dos Anjos and other key members of the crew discuss the development, design, animation and personality of Game Central Station and the different game worlds of Wreck-It Ralph.
- Alternate & Deleted Scenes (HD, 14:28) Four deleted and alternate scenes—“Ralph in Hero’s Duty Prison,” “The Maize Maze,” “Vanellope’s Volcano” and “Extreme EZ Livin’ 2″—with an introduction and optional commentary with director Rich Moore.
- Video Game Commercials (HD, 2:39) “Fix-It Felix Jr.,” “Sugar Rush,” “Hero’s Duty” and “Fix It Felix Hammer.”
- Disney Intermission (HD, 9:30) Pause the movie and Chris Hardwick appears to discuss in-jokes and references present in the film. Disney Intermission can also be switched on or off from the main menu.
- Blu-ray Copy
- DVD Copy
- Digital Copy
