True Heroes and Villains: A Wreck-It Ralph Essay

Introduction

In 2012, I was really on a roll in going to the movies, especially to see animated ones, even though a few of them were rereleases. But among those that were brand new, I saw Wreck-It Ralph. I wasn't too sure what to think of it when I first saw the trailers, but I decided to give it a shot. And I can honestly say that I'm glad that I did it see it...four times, as a matter of fact! I named it my second favorite animated feature of the year, after only Brave. Having not seen a Disney animated film (not counting those of Pixar) since Bolt, I felt that Wreck-It Ralph was the best I had seen in a long time. Not only do I love arcade games, which is part of why I wanted to see it, but another reason why I love the film was its storyline. Since it is about characters in the world of video games in an arcade, it shows them taking on lives of their own whenever the arcade closes. This reminds me so much of the reason why I love the storylines of the Toy Story films.

Another one of the things I like most about Wreck-It Ralph is how it seems to have a role reversal, in that the protagonist (Ralph) is actually only a villain in his video game in which he inhabits. Despite being programmed as a villain, there are a majority of scenes, including in the beginning, that can give Ralph sympathy from audiences. Other scenes, most especially during his time with Vanellope and their growing friendship, show him as the kind, caring, and selfless person he truly is. Although he initially seems oblivious in thinking that winning a medal (like Felix does as the hero in their game) would make him a hero, it is through his friendship with Vanellope, specifically in helping her gain a better life in her game and sacrificing his life for her, that he learns what it truly means to be a hero.

So I have wanted to do an essay on this film for quite some time, but then I got distracted by Frozen. After some writer's block on how to an essay for it, I came up with the idea to describe Ralph in scenes which show his most tender and caring ways, particularly for when he and Vanellope become friends. Because he plays a video game villain who is not truly a villain, it's the reason for why I also want to discuss King Candy/Turbo, since he plays a hero who ultimately becomes a true villain. In other words, these two are pretty much the antitheses of each other.

Lastly, after having told my good friend Charlie (MunkTransformerLover) that I would do an essay about Wreck-It Ralph, here it is, as promised, and as a dedication to him. I know if you like all of my others, you'll love this one, Charlie!


The Villain Who is Truly the Hero

Even when I saw this film for the very first time, I was pulled into it during the opening minutes because of what Ralph is saying in a monologue about his role as the villain in his game Fix-It Felix, Jr. It is soon revealed that he is expressing this at Bad-Anon on the 30th anniversary of his game (this is the first time he has ever come) to relieve the stress he's been feeling for the last 30 years. Ralph explains that he feels shunned and mistreated by the Nicelanders and other game characters because of his role as the villain, despite the fact that he's actually a very nice person (albeit hot tempered). When it shows the moment of him on the roof with the others, you can see that he wears a sad expression on his face as he watches Felix earn a medal and the Nicelanders praise only him (Felix) on a job well done. Even during the time when the arcade is closed, when Ralph walks over to the dump where he lives, everyone just scowls at him or runs away from him. Then when he is lying against his stump, Ralph sees Felix observing his medals and the Nicelanders inviting him into their building and giving him pie. So all of this during these first few minutes really got my attention and made me feel sympathetic for Ralph since he feels so lonely and left out. Back at the meeting, Ralph confesses that he doesn't want to be the bad guy any longer. The confession shocks the other members of the meeting who fear Ralph's going Turbo. Ralph reassures the others that he only wants a better life, but they say he can't because wanting to change the program can be very dangerous in the arcade, to the point in getting a game getting unplugged for good. They tell Ralph that he can't change who he is, and the better things will be for him if he starts accepting that. When they close the meeting by reciting the Bad Guy Affirmation, Ralph does not join them. He wears another sad look, showing that he is still dissatisfied with what he has been told and that he is not willing to accept the way his life is just like that.

After the meeting, Ralph goes to the Game Central Station to return to his own game. This shows how an outlet that holds the plugs of all different games is like a metro station, and characters ride trains to travel to and from games. Before he enters his game, Ralph sees Q*bert and his friends, who are homeless because their game was unplugged. Feeling sorry for them, Ralph demonstrates his kindness and generosity when he gives them one of the two cherries he brought with him from Pac-Man. Inside Fix-It Felix, Jr., Ralph finds the citizens of his game, and several other invited guests, having an anniversary party without him. Being such a nice person, Felix cannot bring himself to turn Ralph away when he (Ralph) has done absolutely nothing wrong. When Ralph not-so-subtlety gets Felix to invite him in for a slice of cake, the Nicelanders, especially the mayor, Gene, are less than pleased to see Ralph. The awkward moment turns into a heated argument between Ralph and the mayor of Niceland, Gene. When Ralph sees a monster-like figure of him on the cake, he is less than pleased to see that the Nicelanders really see him as villain. Still feeling misjudged by the Nicelanders because of his part in the game, he bluntly tries to have his figure moved on the top with a medal around the neck. However, Gene claims Ralph earning a medal is impossible because he's "just the bad guy who wrecks the building." Their argument angers Ralph to the point where he destroys the cake, proving Gene's point. Ralph then declares that he will win a medal in order to prove himself than he is a hero and not just the villain. None of the Nicelanders believe Ralph is serious, most especially Gene. This point even goes in making me understand that the Nicelanders really do not know Ralph at all. They think that he's really a bad guy just because he's programmed to be one. This illustrates an important point that you should not judge people based on their appearances or action, or even more, in Ralph's case, their programs. Given the fact that no one ever thought to actually communicate with Ralph, all because they never wanted to just because of what he does, this proves that they are not good judges of characters. I think that nearly all of this goes out to Gene, and I don't like him because of how very antagonistic he is to Ralph.

After a disastrous turn in taking a medal and encountering a Cy-Bug from the game Hero's Duty (which is led by Sergeant Calhoun), Ralph crashes an escape shuttle into a go-kart game called Sugar Rush. (However, at the same time, his absence causes a player to think his game is broken, so Felix teams up with Calhoun to find Ralph and the bug.) There he meets and chases a girl named Vanellope Von Schweetz after she steals his medal to use as a coin entrance fee for the next Random Roster Race. The other racers insult Vanellope and destroy her kart, saying that she is forbidden to race since she is a glitch. While watching Vanellope being insulted and pushed into the mud by racer Taffyta Muttonfudge, Ralph sees himself in her, especially after his big argument with Gene. Feeling sympathy for Vanellope because of this reason, Ralph scares Taffyta and the other racers away. Then after he helps Vanellope make a new kart, she expresses her excitement over it (despite its repulsive appearance) and they both sign it. This makes Ralph smile and realize that he can do more than wreck things and is actually capable of bringing happiness to others. However, the moment is short-lived as King Candy (the ruler of Sugar Rush) and his minions arrive and chase Ralph and Vanellope down. Using his large fists, Ralph steers himself, Vanellope, and the kart to the safety of Vanellope's secret hideout in Diet Cola Mountain. While inside, Vanellope confesses that she has no clue how to drive, and Ralph tells her that getting the medal back was going to give him a chance at a better life in his game. Vanellope also tells Ralph that because of her ability, she isn't allowed to race and is constantly treated poorly by the inhabitants of the game. But she admits that racing would give her a chance at a better life, just like the medal would for Ralph, and shows him that she lives alone in the mountain, with only garbage around her. Additionally, when Ralph asks why Vanellope doesn't leave her game for another one, she reveals that, as a glitch, she is unable to do so. Realizing that he and Vanellope are truly more alike than either of them realized, Ralph makes a track in the mountain and helps her learn to drive in preparation for the upcoming Roster Race. Before they leave, Vanellope runs back into her home to get something.

During her absence, King Candy arrives and tells Ralph that if Vanellope were to glitch during a race, the players would think the game was broken and Sugar Rush would be unplugged. Not only that, Vanellope would die along with the game since she cannot escape. Ralph sadly understands the situation and King Candy returns his medal. When Vanellope returns, she gives Ralph a heart medal she made out of candy that reads, "You're My Hero," just in case they don't win the race. This shows her appreciation to him after all that he has done to help her, not to mention she feels this way because Ralph is really the first person who has ever shown her any sort of kindness after years of emotional abuse. Although Ralph is very moved by her gesture, he then tries to dissuade Vanellope from racing. But when Vanellope notices Ralph's medal, she believes he has ratted her out to the King for it, and the two begin to argue. Ralph tries to explain how Vanellope's life is at risk if she races, but she refuses to listen, declaring that she no longer needs Ralph and will go on without him (though she obviously feels that she can't). However, Ralph hangs Vanellope on a lollipop tree and she screams for him to stop as he crushes the kart. Because her dreams of racing and getting a better life have also been dashed, Vanellope glitches off the lollipop tree and looks to Ralph through tears, saying he really is a bad guy. Heartbroken, she runs off, and Ralph, who is also feeling downhearted, returns to his game with his medal. It is this past scene, along with the following one, where Ralph returns to Fix-It Felix, Jr. and stands out on the penthouse balcony, that really gets to me emotionally. This is because Ralph realizes how his actions to make his life better have only made things worse. Not only did he cause trouble for his game by being absent, but he lost Vanellope as a friend and shattered her own chance of a better life over a medal. Despite having been giving the keys to the penthouse from his bargain with Gene, Ralph only regrets everything he has done. Looking at the retrieved medal around his neck, Ralph realizes how selfish he has been and discards his medal to the screen of the game, accepting that he's no hero after all. Then he reaches down and looks at the medal Vanellope gave him, the part that says, "You're My Hero," and sadly (and tenderly) holds it in his fist. The impact of him throwing the first medal knocks off the out of order sign and reveals the Sugar Rush game console. It is on there that Ralph notices Vanellope's picture featured prominently on it. This makes him suspicious of the king's words, so he rushes back to Sugar Rush to find answers.

Upon his return, Ralph learns the truth about Vanellope being a legitimate character in the game, but King Candy having tried to delete her code (which turned her into a glitch), from the king's assistant, Sour Bill. Ralph becomes determined to set things right, so he collects the pieces of Vanellope's destroyed kart and barges into the fungeon where both Felix and Vanellope have been imprisoned. After Felix says that Ralph has no idea what it's like to be rejected and treated like a criminal (because Calhoun, with whom he teamed to find Ralph and the Cy-bug, rejected him and Sour Bill threw him into prison), Ralph admits the contrary, which was his everyday life for the last 30 years. Beginning to understand how he cannot change who he is, Ralph asks Felix to fix Vanellope's destroyed kart (the only hope for Vanellope), promising that he will never try to be good again if Felix does so. Finally understanding Ralph's motives, and feeling proud of him for showing that he cares for others and is now on a selfless mission, Felix happily agrees to fix Vanellope's kart. When Vanellope enters the race, Ralph focuses on a jumbo screen near the start/finish line overlooking the race. There he is punched by Calhoun, who tells him that the game is going down because of him, since swarms of Cy-Bugs (reproduced from the one he brought with him in the shuttle, though Ralph thought it died) have been born underground and will attack any minute. Just then, the Cy-Bugs explode from the grounds and begin to ravage through Sugar Rush, which prompts Calhoun to evacuate the citizens. Ralph fights off the bugs so the finish line will stay intact, giving a chance for Vanellope to cross it and hopefully escape the game. But after Vanellope's kart is caught in an explosion with more bugs, which sends her falling off the track, the bugs destroy the finish line. Seeing as the game has little to no hope of survival, Ralph grabs Vanellope and heads for Game Central Station. But because Vanellope is still a glitch, she is unable to leave. Despite this, she accepts the fact that she is about to die and softly tells Ralph to go without her. But since Ralph has grown to care so much about Vanellope, he refuses to leave Vanellope to die and desperately thinks of a way to save her. When he overhears Calhoun telling Felix that the bugs cannot be stopped without a beacon, Ralph quickly formulates an idea to erupt the Diet Cola Mountain, hoping that the lava light will be mistaken for a beacon and attract the Cy-Bugs. But before he can finish the job, King Candy (who has transformed into a Cy-Bug monster after being consumed by one) arrives and attempts to kill him. They battle, but Candy gains the upper hand by lifting Ralph into the air, where he is forced to watch helplessly as the bug swarm closes in on Vanellope.

Willingly sacrificing his life for Vanellope's, Ralph breaks himself free from Candy's grasps. As he falls toward Diet Cola Mountain and to his death, Ralph recites the Bad Guy Affirmation he learned at Bad-Anon and tightly grips Vanellope's medal. Having plummeted from an altitude high enough, his one forceful smash sends the entire crater of Mentos barreling down. Moved by watching Ralph's sacrifice to save her and the game, Vanellope glitches past the Cy-bugs and succeeds in saving Ralph by driving another racer's kart into the mountain and catching him. Together, the two escape the mountain and fall safely into a pond of chocolate as massive amounts of Mentos plunge into the lava, causing the mountain to erupt. The eruption of the mountain produces a beacon that attracts all the Cy-Bugs, including King Candy, and vaporizes them for good, saving Sugar Rush and the entire arcade. Back at the track, Felix fixes the finish line, allowing Vanellope to finish the race. Ralph pushes Vanellope's kart, with Vanellope inside, across the finish line, and she is revealed to be the rightful ruler of the kingdom, a princess, as the codes of Sugar Rush are restored. At this time, the arcade is about ready to open, so Ralph and Vanellope bid each other farewell. Vanellope jumps into Ralph's arms and hugs him, as her way of thanking him for all that he has done for her. She kindly offers him a room in her castle where he'll be happy and loved, to which Ralph humbly denies the offer. He tells and assures her that their friendship is enough to keep him happy, and that he has a responsibility of his own, finally accepting his important role as the bad-guy of his game. After many salutations of farewell and humorous name-calling between the two, Ralph heads back to Fix-It Felix, Jr. with Felix just in time to show Mr. Litwak (the owner of the arcade) that the game is working again, sparing it from being unplugged (which was due to Ralph's earlier absence).

During the finale, it is shown that the Nicelanders have finally learned that Ralph truly is an important part of the game and begin to treat him better. Mary, who was actually the first Nicelander to realize that Ralph is the whole reason why their game gets played in the first place, even bakes Ralph his own cake. Also, Ralph and Felix invite the homeless video game characters (including Q*bert) to help them out on the "bonus levels" of their game during gaming hours. This new addition brings new-found popularity to Fix-It Felix, Jr. Ralph and Felix also build new apartments for the new characters, making Niceland a home for them as well. Indicating that the two have now become best friends, Ralph also serves as the best man at the wedding of Felix and Calhoun (the pair having fallen in love during their adventure together in searching for Ralph and Cy-bugs). The last part involves Ralph speaking in a narrative, in which he says that getting thrown off the roof is the best part of his day. This is because when the Nicelanders lift him, he gets a perfect view of Sugar Rush and sees Vanellope racing, and he is happy to see that Vanellope is loved by the players, even with her glitch. As Vanellope sees and waves to Ralph, Ralph waves back and narrates his last words in a voiceover: "Turns out I don't need a medal to tell me I'm a good guy. 'Cause if that little kid likes me, how bad can I be?" These are definitely the best words I have heard at the end of a Disney film in a long time, because it proves that Ralph has truly learned that earning a medal does not need to prove you are good. Through his actions in saving Sugar Rush and befriending Vanellope, he is able to finally see the goodness within his own heart.


The Hero Who is Truly the Villain

While Ralph is the protagonist of the film, the character King Candy is essentially the complete opposite of Ralph, and not just because the latter is the antagonist. King Candy was originally known as Turbo, a video game character from an old racing game called TurboTime. In the film, Ralph is programmed to be a villain in his own game, but is kind, selfless, cares for his friends, and becomes the hero of this film. Candy, on the other hand, despite being programmed to be the hero of his former game, is actually arrogant, mean-spirited, and becomes a villain. In fact, Candy is actually even a brief glimpse of the type of person Ralph would have become had he become too obsessed with getting what he wanted instead of doing the right thing. This is much like in Brave, with how Mor'du and his ruined kingdom is a glimpse of what would have become of Elinor and DunBroch because of Merida's pride and determination to be free. Ironically, Candy's line when he speaks to Ralph about Vanellope ("Heroes have to make the tough choices, don't they?") indirectly foreshadows Ralph's tough decision in sacrificing himself to save the arcade at the film's climax.

When King Candy was known as Turbo, he was an extremely popular racer in TurboTime who loved the attention from players. But when a new racing game called RoadBlasters got plugged in, that game got more attention than TurboTime. Growing extremely jealous about losing attention for a new game, Turbo abandoned his own game and tried to take over RoadBlasters. As a result of his interference with RoadBlasters's codes, he ended up causing both the new racing game and his own to become unplugged for good. Subsequently, his actions became infamous throughout the arcade, and were nicknamed "Game-jumping" and "going Turbo," which was something that the video game characters were encouraged not to do. This is because dying in a game to which a character is not native results in their permanent death, not to mention "game-jumping" raises the possibility of getting more than one game shut down forever. Unbeknownst to anyone, Turbo actually somehow escaped his game before it was unplugged; thus he escaped termination. He remained hidden until years later, when he took control of Sugar Rush and turned himself into King Candy, with the aid of Sour Bill. He then began to tamper with the games codes by trying to delete Vanellope's code (because she was the game's true ruler), but instead this turned her into a glitch. With Vanellope now a glitch, King Candy was free to rule the candy kingdom. Even worse, he locked up all of the memories that the inhabitants had of Vanellope so that everyone also saw her as nothing more than a glitch, while also believing that he was the rightful ruler. Unfortunately for Turbo, there were two flaws in his plot. In the first place, the game's codes would be restored to normal if Vanellope were to cross the finish line, hence Candy's desperation to keep her from racing. In the second place, her picture was still prominently featured on the side of the game console, which Ralph would discover upon returning to the deserted Fix-It Felix, Jr. and throwing his medal from Hero's Duty after breaking Vanellope's kart.

King Candy displays a variety of negative traits to his personality when he is first introduced, and they become more obvious as the film progresses. Although seemingly beloved by the citizens of Sugar Rush and known for being very giggly (even at the most inappropriate times), Candy is very strict, impatient, and short-tempered. He is very deductive, as shown when Ralph explained that his medal was stolen, and he immediately realized that Ralph's medal was what Vanellope used as a coin to enter the race. Intelligence is another part of him based on how he was able to escape death from TurboTime and reprogram Sugar Rush to make it appear that he was the ruler, when he really wasn't. All the same, Candy proves himself to be very manipulative, being when he gets Ralph to destroy Vanellope's kart, claiming he was trying to protect her, though it was really to prevent his plans of keeping her a glitch from being foiled. Candy also shows signs of being psychotic and sadistic, including when he laughs evilly and yells, "End of the line, glitch!" when he tries to murder Vanellope on the track. This is also shown when he claimed it would be more fun to kill Ralph than show gratitude and showed pleasure in it, and especially so when he tried to force Ralph into watching Vanellope as a swarm of bugs close in and nearly kill her. Most importantly, Candy/Turbo seems to represent the deadly sin of envy, since his jealousy of RoadBlasters lead to it and TurboTime being unplugged, and pride, in the fact he was afraid that his seat of authority would be taken by Ralph.

The biggest point I want to make is the moment when King Candy is revealed to be Turbo. When watching the race on the screen near the finish line, Ralph and Felix witness Vanellope fighting with Candy, who is trying to destroy her kart. As she tries to stop him, Vanellope's glitching interferes with Candy's code, ultimately revealing that this racer is none other than Turbo! Both Ralph and Felix are shocked and speechless at this revelation. With his secret now out, Candy/Turbo reveals his true identity to Vanellope and admits that he reprogrammed the entire game so he could take over it as the ruler. I have to say that I was just as shocked upon watching this moment when I first saw this movie, but I also think it's one of the best and most unexpected twists in a Disney film ever! Much like how it is after you watch Frozen for the first time and learn that Hans is the true villain, there are a few hints that show that Candy is truly Turbo, even before the final revelation.
• He is a powerful racer with great intolerance to losing.
• He bears little, to no resemblance to the other racers' anime style, hinting he is not truly from Sugar Rush.
• He is the only character in the entire game who recognizes Ralph upon first meeting him. This is because TurboTime used to be right next to the Fix-It Felix, Jr. cabinet, and both were also from the same time period.
• When Candy learns that Ralph has game-jumped, he begins to overreact and accuses Ralph of attempting to take over his game.
• In Felix's flashback, if you listen closely, you may notice that Turbo's voice sounds like that of Candy.
• He has access and knowledge of Sugar Rush's code, and uses it to get the medal, even though he claimed no one could regain the medal, making his true motives questionable.
• Candy's data box is noticeably larger than the other data boxes in the CPU room. It is also noticeably redder in color (all others are blue) and all of his data files are completely disorganized.
• Just right before he lies to Ralph about Vanellope and her game causing Ralph to destroy her go-kart, King Candy can be seen panicking as Ralph tries to attack him. This is actually not because he is cowardly, but rather because he is actually aware that he is not supposed to be in Sugar Rush. Since characters that die outside their game ultimately die permanently, if had Ralph successfully got him that time, he would've been killed not only instantly, but also permanently.


Conclusion

I have come to love Frozen because it is an amazing musical fairy tale that has a unique and amazing storyline with cool characters, both heroes and villains. Hans being revealed as the true villain was definitely a great twist since he does not initially appear to be one. In the case of Wreck-It Ralph, I love it because it shows the secret lives that video game characters have when the arcade is closed. But the fact that part of it includes a villain who is really the hero and the supposed hero who is truly the villain, especially with the awesome twist of King Candy being revealed as Turbo, this role reversal definitely makes it another one of the best films I have seen in a long time!

Besides Ralph learning what it really takes to make one a hero, another important lesson to be learned in this film is start accepting who you are, though a little communication can always be a contribution. Ralph shouldn't have done what he did, especially because of how he inadvertently brought the Cy-bug to Sugar Rush. But if you can look at it another way, if he hadn't done this at all, he never would have been able to set things right in giving both him and Vanellope a new "reboot" in their lives.

So there you have it with my essay about the true protagonist and antagonist in Wreck-It Ralph. It's been great to write another essay and for another whole film. So to all of you, farewell until the next essay, have a good day, and I hope you liked another essay by me...especially you, Charlie!