One of Disney’s funniest animated films Wreck-it Ralph comes out today in a special 4 Disc Combo Pack that includes the Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy.  The movie features a great voice cast, excellent direction and eye-popping 3D delivery. It is one of my favorites from 2012 and almost matched Oscar winner Brave for attendance worldwide.

Whether you’ve ever heard of the video game “Fix-It Felix” or played it when you were young, Wreck It Ralph provides a fun time in this adventure for the whole family. Filled with action and comedy the animated film grabs you from the start and involves you in a tale of amazement and even inspiration.  From sassy to sinister, clumsy to crusher the characters are likable and engaging.

Ralph (John C. Reilly) has been toiling in the game “Fix-It Felix” for years never getting the recognition he deserves for his part in entertaining youngsters.  Each day as the machines get turned off and the owner of the video arcade leaves, the tenants of their tall apartment house that’s in the video game go to the roof. Here they make a presentation to Felix (Jack McBrayer) the repairman while Ralph gets tossed onto the ground several stories below. On this one occasion however, a private party is being held to celebrate 30 years of the game while uninvited Ralph wanders off to his pile of bricks for some rest.

Ralph (Voice of John C. Reilly) in Game Central Station

Forlorn and hoping that he could be a good guy by night, Ralph barges into the private party where his clumsiness and size makes a mess of things. Still determined to be the star he goes looking for a game that will accept him for himself.  When he bumps into Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) in the “Sugar Rush” game and finds she happens to have a similar problem, they team up to find a way to change everything.

The very imaginative script under the helm of director Rich Moore (The Simpsons Movie) gets played out extremely well that will keep even the littlest of viewers intrigued and laughing.  He works in more aggressive characters for us older folks adding another level to the story so the whole family benefits.  Choosing familiar voices like that of John C. Reilly as Ralph and Jayne Lynch playing the tough Sergeant Calhoun creates a lot of chuckles when they are on screen in their animated characters.

Ralph and Vanellope (voice of Sarah Silverman) get ready for Sugar Rush race

In my estimation however, Sarah Silverman takes the medal for the most hilarious character in animation to date, Vanellope.  This cute little girl with the sassy personality steals the show.  Keeping the funny remarks at a high level throughout the film, it’s hard to watch the cute little youngster and not crack a smile.  Personality wise a dead ringer for little Agnes from Despicable Me, the character Vanellope can easily win over an audience with her big eyes and lovable charm.

The game representations are extremely good showing most of the characters that were the forerunners of arcade machines.  Characters like Q*bert, Pac Man, Mario, Kong, Frog, Sonic, and many more have dropped the pixels and are brought to life in smooth CGI.  While they are not the center of the film, they add the nostalgia for most of us who have put an amazing amount of quarters in their coin slots.

There are over 60 minutes of special bonus features:

• Bit by Bit: Creating the Worlds of “Wreck-It Ralph” – Fans of the film will get a look at five new worlds created for “Wreck-It Ralph.” The short takes viewers into Game Central Station with the artists who brought Sugar Rush, Hero’s Duty and Fix It Felix Jr. to life. This extra intrigued me the most and should be a favorite of adults who love animation.
• Alternate & Deleted Scenes – Four separate scenes are highlighted with an introduction and optional audio commentary from director Rich Moore.
• Video Game Commercials – Viewers can check out the commercials created for the video games featured in the film – Fix It Felix Jr., Sugar Rush, Hero’s Duty and Fix It Felix Hammer.
• “Paperman” – This animated short film played in theaters before “Wreck It Ralph” and it was awarded an Oscar for Best Animated Short. The romantic comedy shows no matter how hard you try to get a ladies attention, it usually happens accidentally and at the most inopportune time.
• Disney Intermission: The Gamer’s Guide to “Wreck-It-Ralph” – When the film is paused, host Chris Hardwick appears on screen to guide viewers through a series of 10 video segments offering an inside look at the many video game references, Disney references and other hidden surprises featured in the film.

As for the Video Quality the 3D pops and the clarity and color are the best I’ve seen so far.  The Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D discs provide 1080p HD with a 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio and the DVD affords 1:39:1 Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions giving near perfect theatrical to small screen display.  Actually since you can pause the Blu-ray I had a lot of fun with seeing some of the characters close-up and with the smooth transition on my television I got to notice others in the background that I missed while watching the first go-around.
The sound quality really stands out on both using the Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D with English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and DVD with English 5.1 and DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital.  I had no trouble hearing all the dialogue, getting a charge out of the sound effects and my speakers had a field day during the Sugar Rush race.  If your system has the capabilities your surround system will get a work out as well.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  A terrific family adventure with a nostalgic blast. (A)

Specifications and additional film information:

• Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Ed O’Neill, and Dennis Haysbert
• Directed by: Rich Moore
• MPAA Rating: PG for some rude humor and mild action/violence
• Genre: Comedy, Animation
• Running Time: 1 hr 41 min
• Street Date: March 5, 2013
• Original Theatrical Release Date: November 2, 2012
• Language: English
• Format: Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD
• Audio: Blu-ray & Blu-ray 3D- English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, DVD- English 5.1 and DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital
• Video: Blu-ray & Blu-ray 3D- 1080p HD 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio, DVD- 2:39:1 Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
• Number of Discs: 4 Disc Combo Pack
• Distributed by: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

BONUS CLIPS:

Creating The 8-Bit World

Creating Hero’s Duty