Wreck-It Ralph
Tagline: When the Game is Over, the Fun Begins.
In a cute concept, Wreck-It Ralph stars John C. Reilly as video game character Ralph, who has finally had enough of constantly being bested by Jack McBrayer’s Fix-It Felix in the digital world they inhabit. Intent on showing that he doesn’t always have to be the bad guy, Ralph embarks upon a journey through their arcade — it’s an animation! Just go with it! — via the video games of a generation’s misspent youth.
Anything with Pac-Man in it is always going to be worth your time and the reviewers have been suitably charmed. TIME’s Mary Pols goes all out, admittedly shocked by how much she fell for the film: “The most inventive and entertaining family movie I’ve seen this year, packed with wickedly smart humor and joyful animation.” Roger Ebert doesn’t really disagree, commenting that, “more than in most animated films, the art design and color palette of Wreck-It Ralph permit unlimited sets, costumes and rules, giving the movie tireless originality and different behavior in every different cyber word.” And Variety gives it a boffo notice, stating that “Walt Disney Animation Studios has a high-scoring hit on its hands in this brilliantly conceived, gorgeously executed toon, earning bonus points for backing nostalgia with genuine emotion.” There’s clearly life in video games yet.
MORE: TIME Q&A with John C. Reilly
NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: Two solid choices, which don’t have much, if anything in common, but both seem worthy of your money. If push comes to shove, we’ll take Flight.