This movie was different from what I was expecting from the trailers.  In my opinion, it was a little strange at times for a kids movie.

For those of you who have been following this blog for some time, you probably know by now that I’m a sucker for animated movies.  There were some good elements to Wreck-It Ralph, but I also wouldn’t say that it was the best, nor would I consider this one of my favorites.

I’ll start off by saying that I thought the opening animated short, I believe it was called “Paperman,” was VERY good.  It reminded me a lot of another animated short, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made by the same people.  I’m not sure if all of these wonderful animated shorts will ever be compiled into one volume and made available for purchase, but you can bet that if they do I will purchase it.

As for Wreck-It Ralph, I did appreciate the homage to old school arcade video games and their characters, and I also liked the overall concept of the movie in which characters of video games are actually alive and roam about freely “after hours.”  In that sense, it seems kind of similar to the Toy Story franchise.  Many different arcade game characters were featured, but only a small handful of those characters actually played any meaningful roles.  So for those going to see characters like Pac-Man and Sonic, I will tell you right now that you will only see them for a blink of a second.

A word of warning for those bringing really young children.  I think this is a movie probably more appropriate for kids a little bit older, like in the 7-10 range.  Of course, I can’t really speak for all kids, but there were a few scenes towards the end where even I thought it was a little bizarre, and there were about two or three really little kids that didn’t take those scenes very well.  Two of those parents had to take out their kids from the theater because they were crying and upset over what was happening on screen.

I went to see this movie with a friend, and we had differing opinions about it.  She loved it, and I didn’t really like it so much.  I thought it was a little long and some of the scenes didn’t seem too kid-friendly to me.  My friend, on the other hand, thought it was very cute and very well done.  I think ultimately it depends on an individual’s personal movie-going preferences.

FINAL VERDICT: B-