Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Another animated kid's film presents itself to me. While I'm waiting for heavyweights like The Hobbit and Lincoln, I guess this will have to do. Pop in the DVD and am underwhelmed by Disney's announcement that for my convenience, I will have to sit through their ads or go to main menu - no control over skipping a particular trailer or fast-forwarding through a boring part. I really hate it when companies do this with their DVDs. Hate it. This isn't starting well at all.
But. Then the film starts with  Ralph, voiced by John C. Reilly doing a voice over and we're treated to some classic gaming graphics to represent what the humans see, and then suddenly we're in game and seeing everyone in their glorious three-deeness. Then things really get going. In spite of my early misgivings at what I saw in front of me, I'm liking this film.
Now, in all due fairness, I was expecting to like this film. The buzz around it has been that it has something for kids, whom it is aimed at, but also a little something-something for the adults who "have to" sit through it with them. There are lots of classic arcade references, not to mention appearances by some of the classics - Pac Man and the ghosts, the various denizens of the multitude of Mario games, and Q-Bert. For all I know all of the characters are from real games - zombies, fighting games, driving games, dancing games, first-person shooters. Pretty much all the genres that I'm aware of are there except maybe flight simulation games and the old-school side-scroller space shoot-em-ups.
Is this still a kid's movie? Yes. Is the plot predictable? Yes. But is it executed well? With excellent animation and fun characters? Yes and yes. Even thought I didn't get to see the blu-ray3D version - whatever the hell that is - I liked it. Hmm, I'm picturing some kind of crazy disk that doesn't require a mchine to play. You put it on a tabletop or other flat surface and you spin, like you would a coin or a top and a holographic image appears - it's like magic! It's blu-ray3D! Well, I've got news for you people, I have it under good authority from Charleton Heston that this technology is a sure sign that we're on the path to the apes ruling the world.
John C. Reilly doing the voice of Ralph was perfect. I really can't think of anyone better for it. The other voices were good, too, but not necessarily irreplacable. Jane Lynch might have been. Her tough-as-nails space marine reminded me a bit at times of her coach character on Glee (in a good way) and I'm not sure that anyone else could have pulled that off, but I kind of think that Peri Gilpen might have come close. Sarah Silverman was the voice of Vanillope and while she was good, I think any enthusiastic actress could have pulled that off. The same goes for Jack McBayur as the voice of Felix, he's certainly got that "I'm slightly dumb and plenty gullibe, but a helluva nice guy" voice down, but a lot of actors can do that, though maybe not as recognizably so. The one voice that I guess is completely replacable is that of Alan Tudyk as King Candy, but not because he was so-so (he was rather quite good), instead it is due to him doing a voice. I didn't know that was Tudyk until I saw his name in the credits. In some ways, that makes him my favorite voice for a character in the film. I was thinking as I watched the production credits that it's too bad that all of these big time animated films only use big stars in the main roles speaking as themselves. It would be so much more entertaining to not be thinking of all the other roles I have seen them in, and if the animated version onscreen looks anything like them. There are tons of unknown actors that would do a wonderful job and all I would picture would be the character in front of my face. Or even have the big stars try on another voice as if they were actually cast in a film instead of just reading a script in a recording studio somewhere. This is not a complaint about this film really. This is a comment on the nature of the beast.
And in case you were wondering if there were any easter eggs in the credits (which would be appropriate given the time of year) there is, but so minor and not germaine to the story per se. What is totally worth watching for those of you that skip the extras is the short film Paperman. Very sweet.

Wreck-it Ralph on IMDb

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

Oh Alan Tudyk, one of my friends hates you for Firefly, well more precisely for you character dying in Serenity, because now the new Firefly series won't be the same. She's an optimist. How old are you now, buddy? I'm not asking because you look old, it's just that by the logic of this movie, your character is childhood buddies with Tyler Labine's character, who is supposed to be 26, and I'm not sure that I buy that, though having a full beard messes with how old someone looks, so maybe... But, let's be realistic, you're at least my age, probably a couple of years older, but you stay in shape and I'll be generous and say that I would buy you as a 35 year old, maybe I'd even go so far as to allow you a 33 year old character, one which had lead a hard life. So just how big of an age difference did you have with your childhood buddy? 7 years (see best case scenario above) is a long time for kids, long enough to mean that you would never have been in school together. Maybe you were neighbors. Still, how weird would it be for you, I mean your character, to have best buds with an 8 year old when you were 15? Pretty weird.
Tyler Labine? I don't know you man, but damn brother, thanks for representing and good on you. I can't think of the last time that I saw a larger, shall we say, fellow get the girl, in a full beard none the less (you, not the girl). There were some good action scenes, good physical comedy too, but you didn't let your size ever be the joke. Now, I realize this is probably due to the script and the director as well, but you still could have played it that way, and you didn't. And for the record, I don't really buy that you look 26, I was just trying to rub it in Tudyk's face that he's not a kid any more, for my friend's sake...ya, I did it because of her...
Okay, I guess I shouldn't leave you out, Katrina Bowden. Um, hey. How's it going? I'm guessing you're not really 20, but I believe that you look 20. But, don't count on Hollywood thinking that for much longer, hell in the 2 years since this film came out, you've aged like 10 years in Hollywood time. So, play the young damsel in distress while you can, or you know, the dimwitted but hot receptionist.
Jesse Moss, are you around? Dude, you made a good psychopath. I'm sure you'll get the opportunity to play all kinds of characters throughout your career, but good looking bad guys are always in demand, and I can see a real future in it for you. You seemed to really get into this role, and I appreciate that, because you took it seriously in the context in which it was offered. Nice job.
Eli Craig and Morgan Jurgenson, you fellows wrote an excellent movie. My friend, the one who is not Tudyk's friend, had filled me in on the premise, so I came into this expecting a high cheese factor, and was pleasantly surprised not to be confronted by this. There were so many obvious jokes that you just let hang out there for us viewers to get or not get, but without any explanations that would have made this cheesy. Also, that opening which almost immediately flashes back to "three days earlier" is pretty crafty. Sure, I know that it's an oft used cinematic trick, but the movie doesn't end where it starts. The three protagonists are nowhere near the cabin, and the main antagonist doesn't look like the beginning guy by the end of the movie, so is this immaterial or setting us up for a sequel or just good movie fun? The one thing that I was waiting for, and I admit it was an obvious joke, was for us to find out what Tucker and Dale were on vacation from. You know what I'm talking about, Tucker might work as an accounts manager somewhere, and Dale works at an auto parts store.
Anyways, thanks for the good time, y'all.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil on IMDb