Kernel Rating (out of 5):
MPAA Rating: PG Length: 93 minutes
Age Appropriate for: 6+. There are animated characters drinking and kissing; a few bullying incidents; and some scary sequences with hordes of huge bugs and a bad guy who transforms into a clawed insect hybrid. And, it’s fair to note that very young kids won’t get the video game references that make up the bulk of this humor.
At the end of the day, ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ doesn’t veer very much from Disney’s animated formula of heroic, action-loving men and fluffy, princess-adoring women. But the tweaks it puts on that structure and its nods to the videogame universe make ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ rousing entertainment for boys, girls, and parents alike.
By Roxana Hadadi
Disney has been having somewhat of an uneven year, no? “The Avengers” was a huge success, but that’s kind of the only one. Sure, Pixar’s “Brave” made money, but it wasn’t critically adored. “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” fizzled out fairly quickly. And “John Carter” and “Frankenweenie”—well, they basically flopped. And so, with “Wreck-It Ralph,” Disney’s last release of the year, the studio hopes to get back in our good graces—and lucky for Disney, “Wreck-It Ralph” is worth it.