Well, it was another week with few movies due to the chaos called life right now, but I managed to sneak in a film I wanted to see after I reviewed its sequel earlier this year. And this time, I was just as pleased, if not more! Here’s this week’s lone movie review. As always, thanks for reading! ~ Chris K.
(click on images to enlarge on the screen!)
Animated, Comedy (2012)
Voice talents of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch, Jack McBrayer
A few months ago, I got a chance to see this past year’s best animated feature Oscar nominee, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET. (Click here for that week’s reviews.) I was able to enjoy the sequel in the WRECK-IT RALPH film series despite not having been introduced to the story or characters because the leads were fun to follow and there was such a sweetness in the friendship of Ralph and Vanellope, played perfectly by Reilly and Silverman. This time though, I got the pleasure of getting to see how the two met and some of the growing pains of their friendship as each learns to trust the other.
The basic premise of this animated film series is unique – isn’t is possible that a video game villain might want to be the good guy once in a while? He’s tired of not getting invited to the parties and everyone being afraid of him or hating him. He wants to be liked and treated well like his game nemesis Fix-It Felix, again cast wonderfully with McBrayer filling the hero’s shoes. We follow poor Ralph perched high on the hill at the dump to Bad Anon meetings (a hilarious meet-up of villains sharing their feelings in a therapy-like setting). He sets out on a mission to win a medal, because people celebrate those who win medals, right? He believes this will solve all of his troubles. And then he meets a spirited, confident and boisterous young racer in the popular racing video game Sugar Rush (and did I mention she’s downright adorable, too?) and begins the journey of learning what friendship is all about.
I loved this film — the inside jokes and great 80s and 90s arcade references had me howling. It didn’t hurt to see an old personal favorite Q-Bert show up with some scenes of his own. If you enjoy animated comedies and just haven’t seen this film series, I highly recommend it. Both films are great, but if you can see them in order, that’s what I’d suggest. You’ll appreciate the friendship in part 2 even more when you see the foundation of it. I really needed a smile and this film did the trick for me. Enjoy!
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