DAPs Magic Disney News – by Mr. DAPs
Wreck-It Ralph
Sometimes being what you are supposed to be is the hardest thing to be when there doesn’t seem to be a purpose. That is where Ralph is at the beginning of Wreck-It Ralph. He has been wrecking things in the video game Fix-it Felix Jr. for thirty years and longs to be accepted and embraced as a friend… however, being a “bad guy” this just isn’t a possibility for him. Finally, he can’t take it anymore and decides to go and win a gold medal so that he can be a hero. This involves leaving his game and entering another game at the arcade. This also leads to trouble as Ralph finds himself in places he was never meant to be… or was he. Along the way he makes some friends and learns to embrace who he is.
Wreck-It Ralph is a fun movie. It really does a great job of capturing the look and feel of multiple popular video games. It also has a ton of cameos from characters in video games that span the ages. The story moves along at a nice place and has plenty of humorous moments. The music was fitting and so were the characters. In fact, the whole thing did a nice job of being a complete movie and telling the story without leaving a bunch of loose ends. Anyone who likes video games is probably really going to enjoy this movie.
One thing I would point out for parents. If you aren’t a fan of potty humor for your kids, there is some to be found in this movie. This is nothing new to Disney movies (anyone remember The Lion King and Pumbaa?), there was a bit more than I’m accustomed to. In my perfect world, I probably would have cut this back a bit.
Overall, Wreck-It Ralph is a fun family film. I’m not sure it will go in my “Disney classics” category but I did enjoy it and would enjoy seeing it again. It kept me engaged throughout the movie and I really enjoyed all of the detail that was put into it. I also liked the message of “be yourself” that was very evident in this movie.
I’ll give this one a hat nod, only because I don’t think it’ll be one of my favorites. I would tend to guess that it will be a favorite for bigger gamers than me though! It’s definitely worth seeing.
Paperman
Paperman is the short that is playing in front of Wreck-It Ralph. I’m not going to lie… I loved it. It is a beautiful story that was told and definitely took me on an emotional journey. The storytelling was creative. The music fit perfectly. The main characters were totally relatable and lovable. I’m not going to say much about this short other than you need to see it. It was worth the price of admission and I can’t wait to see it again. I would put it up against any other short that has been put out by Disney or Pixar in recent years. It definitely gets a hat tip!
