BY MICHELLE NGUYEN / PHOTO COURTESY OF DISNEY.GO.COM/WRECK-IT-RALPH

Not many movies can successfully incorporate a combat game, a retro-arcade game, Pac-Man, and Super Mario Bro. into one plot and still have a comprehensive plotline. Video gaming is a growing and successful industry, with $10.5 billion dollars made in revenue in 2009. In 2010, 67% of all households in the U.S. were reported to play video games. Video games make up a large part of the American lifestyle, so it isn’t surprising that a movie such as Wreck-It Ralph, with multiple video game references, would gain a substantial amount of attention.

Produced by Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture, the recently released movie, Wreck-It Ralph, is an animated PG family comedy that can be enjoyed by all ages. Director Rich Moore brings many years of experience of working with animated entertainment to the directing of this movie, having directed episodes of Futurama (1999-2003) and The Simpsons (1990-1993). The character of Wreck-it Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) tries to find peace with himself, attempting to establish his own self-identity.

Wreck-It Ralph plays the part of a video game villain for an old video game in a gaming arcade, Fix-It Felix. Wreck-It Ralph compares his own situation, of being excluded by other characters of his own video game and living in a dumpster, to the situation of the game’s hero, Fix-It Felix, who lives in a  penthouse and is held in the utmost esteem by other characters. Ralph is challenged by the disdain of the other characters, who claimed that he could never be a hero.

    And so Ralph begins to enter other video games in the hopes of winning a hero’s medal and changing the perspective of the other characters. To Ralph, a hero’s medal has more than its face value of being just a hero. To Ralph, the medal holds the key to social acceptance, appearing to be the help Ralph needed to stop feeling as an outcast in his own game and meeting the other character’s on friendlier grounds of interaction. The desire to be accepted by society or by one’s peers is a sentiment that many people can relate to.

This movie contains a good variety of elements, almost guaranteeing that anyone can be entertained by different parts of the movie. Overall, it is an excellent choice for children, families, or those of us who still like to enjoy childish movies every once in a while.

RATING: A