Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Most people think so. 83% of audiences gave it a thumbs up based on 12,947 votes. Critics agree, scoring it 80%.

Wreck-It Ralph is the 9-foot-tall, 643-pound villain of an arcade video game named Fix-It Felix Jr., in which the game's titular hero fixes buildings that Ralph destroys. Wanting to prove he can be a good guy and not just a villain, Ralph escapes his game and lands in Hero's Duty, a first-person shooter where he helps the game's hero battle against alien invaders. He later enters Sugar Rush, a kart racing game set on tracks made of candies, cookies and other sweets. There, Ralph meets Vanellope von Schweetz who has learned that her game is faced with a dire threat that could affect the entire arcade, and one that Ralph may have inadvertently started. Wikipedia ↗

Wreck-It Ralph is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Rich Moore. The film follows Ralph, voiced by John C. Reilly, the villain of a fictional 1980s arcade game called Fix-It Felix Jr., who has spent 30 years being ostracized by the other characters in his game despite only playing his designated role.

Tired of being the bad guy, Ralph abandons his game and travels through the arcade's power strip — a central hub connecting all the machines — to other games in search of a hero's medal that will earn him the respect of his peers. His journey takes him through the first-person shooter Hero's Duty and the candy-themed racing game Sugar Rush, where he befriends Vanellope von Schweetz, a glitchy young racer voiced by Sarah Silverman. Wreck-It Ralph was a love letter to video game culture spanning four decades, featuring licensed cameos from iconic characters including Bowser, Pac-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Q*bert in a manner reminiscent of Who Framed Roger Rabbit's treatment of classic animation.

The film's world-building — establishing rules for how game characters exist when the arcade is closed and what happens when a character "goes Turbo" by leaving their game — was inventive and internally consistent. The relationship between Ralph and Vanellope provided genuine emotional depth, with their bond as fellow outcasts giving the film its heart. The film earned $471 million worldwide and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.