Ralph wrecks US box office

This past weekend, Walt Disney’s Animation, Wreck-It Ralph secured top spot at the local box office with an estimated $49.1 million in ticket sales.

The family-friendly, hilarious arcade-game-hopping adventure clearly resonated with kids, who were enthralled with the vast video game world and animation created for the outing. In addition, as quoted by Ray Subers on the Boxofficemojo website, ‚’The idea of an 80s-era arcade villain seeking redemption, and the imagery that accompanied that, made the animated movie an easy nostalgia sell for parent who grew up in that period.’ Indeed, Wreck-It Ralph is one film that the whole family can go and enjoy!

In the story, viewers meet Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly), who has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, Jr. (voice of Jack McBrayer), the good-guy star of their game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the role of a bad guy, Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across the arcade through multiple generations of video games to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. On his quest, Ralph meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch) from the first-person action game Hero’s Duty, and feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) from the candy-coated cart-racing game Sugar Rush, who may just be his first real friend. But everything changes when a deadly enemy is unleashed, threatening the entire arcade and Vanellope herself. Ralph finally gets his chance to save the day‚Äîbut can he do it in time?

Expanding the video game world even further, Wreck-It Ralph features cameos from both classic and modern real-life games. Lending their voices, among others, are Roger Craig Smith (Ezio from franchise ‚”Assassin’s Creed‚”) as Sonic the Hedgehog, and from ‚”Street Fighter‚”‚ÄîReuben Langdon (‚”Street Fighter‚”) as Ken, Kyle Hebert (‚”Street Fighter‚”) as Ryu, and Gerald Rivers (‚”Street Fighter‚”) as M. Bison.

Wreck-It Ralph has also been included in the list of 21 animated features that are up for consideration for one of five final nominee spots for the 2013 Best Animated Picture Academy Award. Also included in the list are three other Disney releases, the Disney Pixar Scottish adventure Brave (to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 3 December), the Tim Burton spooky stop-motion animation Frankenweenie (currently in cinemas) and the first ever 3D outing of Disney’s iconic fairy Tinker Bell, Secret of the Wings (releasing this week on DVD and Blu-ray). The final nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday 10 January 2013, with the awards being handed out on Sunday 24 February 2013.

South African fans can witness Wreck-It Ralph crashing onto the big screen nationwide on January 25, 2013 (and in Disney Digital 3D in select theatres).