Back in the day, I spent a lot of time at arcades playing video games. “Galaga,” “Ms. Pac Man” and the original “Star Wars,” in which you piloted an X-Wing down a wireframe 3D trench in an attempt to blow up the Death Star, were my favorites. I’d spend hours in those dark, neon-lit temples trying to beat my high score.
I miss the simplicity of those games and that time in my life. Modern releases like “Halo” and “Skyrim” rarely appeal to me, but give me a good retro-inspired game, and I can easily waste an evening wrapped up in its unpretentious pleasures.
My fondness for classic video games made the new 3D computer-animated Disney movie, “Wreck-It Ralph,” two hours of pure fun. The movie is packed with references to video games new and old, to the point that my wife got tired of me nudging her each time I noticed something cool. In one scene, Sonic the Hedgehog slams into another character, causing an explosion of gold rings. The Pac-Man ghost that leads a support group for video game bad guys can travel only in a straight line. And the non-player characters in an eight-bit arcade game called “Fix-It Felix, Jr.,” are animated in a herky-jerky style, like the sprites in a “Donkey Kong” game. The creators of “Wreck-It Ralph” knew people my age would watch their movie, and included each classic video game reference as a knowing wink.
As entertaining as the Easter Eggs in “Wreck-It Ralph” are, the movie would have bombed had it offered nothing more than pointless nostalgia. Fortunately, a really good story and very appealing characters are a part of the package as well.
“Wreck-It Ralph” stars the titular Ralph as the resident bad guy in “Fix-It Felix, Jr.” Each time a player plunks a quarter into the machine, he climbs to the top of an apartment building and pounds his meaty fists on the roof, causing all of the windows to break. He then drops bricks as Felix makes his way to the top of the building, using his magic hammer to fix the broken glass. The residents cheer on Felix and then toss Ralph off the building at the end of the level. When the arcade closes for the day, the NPCs throw a party for Felix while Ralph goes to sleep alone in a dump.
Ralph grows tired of the routine and decides he wants to be the hero for once, thinking that will make the NPCs like him, so he decides to leave “Wreck-It Ralph” and jump into a first-person shooter titled “Hero’s Duty.” There’s just one caveat: If he dies outside of his game, he’ll never respawn. Ralph’s misadventures in “Hero’s Duty” should make anyone who’s played “Halo” or any of its ilk laugh.
Through a series of more mishaps, Ralph ends up in “Sugar Rush,” a kart racing game. There, he meets Vanellope, a young girl who dreams of winning the big race. Ralph and Vanellope form a friendship that will carry them both to the end of their individual quests.
One of the many things I like about “Wreck-It Ralph” is its strong focus on its characters, including the supporting cast. There’s King Candy, who rules “Sugar Rush” and seems too invested in making sure Vanellope doesn’t race, and Calhoun, the tough-as-nails female leader of the squad in “Hero’s Duty” and the unlikely romantic interest for the tiny Felix, Jr.
The writers never miss an opportunity to play these characters and relationships for a laugh. They also fashioned a script in which each scene builds on the previous one and leads up to several surprising revelations and a truly suspenseful ending.
What won me over, though, is the heart at the center of “Wreck-It Ralph.” Few films achieve the warm glow of the “Toy Story” movies, but the makers of “Wreck-It Ralph” nailed it.
“Wreck-It Ralph” is clever, well written and tons of fun. Best of all, it has the ability to make you and your child smile, whether or not you played games back in the day.
Rated PG for rude humor and mild cartoon action and violence. Three-and-a-half stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.