As a kid, it is often more fun to root for the bad guys. They’re cool, mischievous and a lot more interesting than the typical heros with can-do attitudes and plastic smiles.

From “Pokemon’s” Gary Oak to “Zelda’s” Ganondorf — lest we forget about big, bad Bowser himself — video game villains are iconic.

“Wreck-It Ralph” turns the convention on its head, with a bad guy who just wants to do some good for once. The pixelated Disney adventure packs vivid animation and wide-eyed thrills to amuse the kiddies, but enough clever wit and joyful nostalgia to entertain adults, too.

It’s a gleeful escape into a surreal electronic world, as Ralph jumps from his own retro 2-D layout to a gritty, first-person shooter and a whimsical candy-coated racing game. The stellar voice acting gives each character a charming persona, led by John C. Reilly’s goofily adorable demeanor as the titular 9-foot-tall lug with giant fists, on his quest through the circuits and wires of Litwak’s Arcade.

The heartfelt, if conventional, redemption story sneaks in countless cameos and references from “Pac-Man” and “Frogger” to “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Mortal Kombat.” “Wreck-It Ralph” is the perfect lighthearted treat to indulge your inner video game nerd.

Inside the arcade is a fictional 30-year-old game called “Fix it Felix, Jr.” It’s a cross between “Donkey Kong” and “Rampage,” where Wreck-It Ralph (Reilly) smashes the buildings of Niceland into rubble so that Fix-It Felix (“30 Rock’s” Jack McBrayer) can patch it all up and win a medal.

Ralph is tired of getting thrown off a roof for doing his job well, so he “game-jumps” to win a medal and the respect of the Nicelanders. First, he wanders into a futuristic first-person shooter called “Hero’s Duty.” He meets a tough, sarcastic platoon leader named Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch) and fights off hordes of gooey Cy-Bugs.

Yet with Ralph gone, “Fix-It Felix, Jr.” is seemingly broken and labeled “out of order.” Felix sets off in search of his foe to save the game, and follows Ralph into “Sugar Rush” — a “Mario Kart”-style racing game in a landscape inspired by “Candy Land.”

Ralph comes across an obnoxious racer named Vanellope (Sarah Silverman), who’s not allowed to compete because she’s a glitch. In “Sugar Rush,” Ralph and Felix navigate Nesquik sand with Laffy Taffy vines, a Diet Cola and Mentos volcano, and even get chased by Devil Dogs.

Ralph reluctantly agrees to help her win the grand prix and beat sly King Candy (Alan Tudyk). The plot may sound a bit cheesy, but c’mon, it’s an animated children’s movie.

The voice actors are all in perfect sync with their animated counterparts. Reilly’s bellowing tone emphasizes Ralph’s big heart, and adds pinpoint comedic timing as he barrels through the movie like a lovable bull in a china shop.

Lynch voices crusty, foul-mouthed commander Calhoun with cold decisiveness. She means it when she says, “Fear is a four-letter word, ladies. You wanna go pee-pee in your big-boy slacks, keep it to yourself.” McBrayer’s “gee willickers” inflection is ideal for the peppy hero with a magic fixing hammer, and Tudyk voices King Candy with the cartoonish silliness of “Alice in Wonderland’s” Mad Hatter.

But the most rewarding aspects of the film are the creative nuances of the arcade world itself. Ralph attends a Bad Guys Anonymous meeting in the “Pac-Man” game led by one of the game’s ghosts, Blinky. He sits down for a drink in “Tapper,” the 1983 bartender game.

Characters move throughout the arcade via Game Central Station, a New York City-like hub situated in a surge protector. “Homeless” characters whose games are unplugged lay begging on the station floor, including Q*Bert holding up a cardboard sign that reads: “@!#?@!”

“Wreck-It Ralph” is a universally enjoyable experience for the entire video game generation, whether they worship “Angry Birds,” “Super Mario” or “Space Invaders.”

Use little brothers or sisters as an excuse to go to the movies. While they’re giggling at poop jokes, older viewers will cherish the trip back to the land of joysticks and 1-Ups.

Published on November 8, 2012 at 12:49 am

Contact Rob: rjmarvin@syr.edu