<Review by: Daylynn DeSouza>

Directed by Rich Moore. Starring John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk

As a fan of video games both old and new, I must say that Disney has outdone themselves with this movie, there’s just so much to talk about in this movie. But let’s start with what has becomes tradition with animated movies these days. The ever so amusing animated short you’ll be treated to at the beginning of the movie.

Paperman is an amusing, heart-warming little short that takes place in 1940s New York. It’s a pleasant blend of traditional 2D animation and 3D animation with a love story that seems familiar at first (I thought it was going to much like the short film Signs by Patrick Hughes) but takes a pleasant turn with some help from a little magic. I found myself invested in the characters as soon as the magic came into play. It’s almost enough to make you believe in love again.

Now to the movie itself, I’ve been looking forward to this movie ever since I seen the first trailer for it several months ago. While it does take place in a videogame world, it’s a story that even non-gamers will enjoy, a world where the characters in all our favourite arcade games come to life and mingle with each other once everyone has left. My absolute favourite part about the movie is the absence of any major love story. Our protagonist isn’t trying to win the heart of their soul mate.

Without revealing too much about the movie, let’s get into the plot. As you may have guessed, our protagonist is Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly), the “bad guy” in a video game called ‘Fix-It Felix Jr.’ who is tired of being taken for granted by everybody else in his game. So he decides to leave his game earn a medal and become a hero to prove to everybody that he can be a good guy too. And; what better place to become a Hero than ‘Heroes Duty’ (A nice little spoof of ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘HALO’)? Without an antagonist in the game, the video game and all its inhabitants are at risk of being unplugged.

Felix the protagonist of Ralph’s game decides to follow Ralph and get him back to the game before it get’s unplugged. Felix (Jack McBrayer) finds his way to ‘Heroes Duty’ and teams up with the lovely Calhoun (Jane Lynch), the leader of the squadron in ‘Heroes Duty’. You know what? It’s pretty impossible to give you a synopsis of this movie because there is just so much I do not want to leave out. Long story short, Ralph forms a sort of brotherly bond with a little girl named Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) in a game called ‘Sugar Rush’ – which I thought was pretty lame at first because it was in a world made entirely made out of candy, but later on I found myself wanting to play it – and they team up to both attain their dreams and eventually end up saving each other and the entire game of Sugar Rush where something unruly is afoot and something horrible and creepy is underfoot! (Da da da! Queue the ominous music!)

This is one movie that says to me, Disney is back to making magic. The amount of tiny titbits for gamers and non-gamers alike are too many to list. It’s flooded with gaming references and characters that you’ll love but it’s been done in a way that even non-gamers can enjoy. And whilst I maintain that I was merely sweating from my eyes, people might say that I did tear-up at some points during the movie. If this is what Disney movies are shaping up to be like, I can’t wait for the next one.

I was already impressed by Disney’s Brave, so Wreck-It Ralph makes two great animated movies this year and Paperman makes two great animated shorts (the other one being Brave’s La Luna). This is a movie for everyone… I don’t know why we received this little gem a week after America, but I’m glad we got it. So, get out your old Nintendos, lie to your boss or your spouse and get ready for a taste of nostalgia… This movie is a definite must watch.