Ralph is enough

Jetzt reichts! For many years now, Randale Ralph (voiced by Christian Ulmen) has had to play the role of the villain in the videogame Fix-it Felix Jr. day after day, just so that the hard-working handyman Fix-it Felix Jr. ends up looking like the big hero. And while he's still celebrated after work, Ralph spends his free time alone or in a support group for video game villains. But that's over now. Ralph wants to prove to all the characters from his game once and for all that he too can be a hero. And so he sneaks into the modern first-person shooter game Hero's Duty in order to win the coveted Hero's Medal. He actually succeeds in this endeavor, but he can't return to his game that easily. And so he suddenly finds himself in the racing game Sugar Rush, where the cheeky racer Vanellope (Anna Fischer) steals his medal to use as entry money for the next race. Ralph now does everything he can to grab back the proof of his heroism. But his interaction with other games has fatal consequences that could spell the end of all gaming in the great arcade.

With Ralph Enough, Disney delivers an amusing declaration of love for the era of old arcade games. Peppered with little quotes and references to various video game classics, from Pac-Man to Q*Bert to Street Fighter, the film is a real feast especially for game fans of the 80s and 90s. But the younger generation also gets their money's worth from this colourful adventure. Especially in the world of Sugar Rush there are enough nice ideas, high show values and good laughs to entertain especially younger viewers. At times, the whole thing seems a bit too over-the-top and a bit chaotic, but all in all, this unusual glimpse into the secret world of video game characters offers enough fun for an enjoyable afternoon at the cinema.

Tiny points are deducted for the German dubbing, though. The voice actors, especially Christian Ulmen and Anna Fischer, are well chosen and do their best to bring the characters to life. But unfortunately they can't stand up to the comparison with the original speakers. Especially Sarah Silverman as the original voice of Vanellope is so special and so wonderful that Anna Fischer can't match it even with her best efforts. In addition, some of the nice puns also lose their wit, which robs the German version overall of a bit of the bite that can be observed in the original English version.

However, Ralph reichts works very well even in the dubbed version. The idea of the characters going about normal lives after the games are turned off, partying together, forming support groups, or bumping into each other at Game Central Station is full of possibilities, and director Rich Moore makes great use of them. The characters are charming, the visuals are very affectionate and imaginative, and the story also knows how to entertain properly with its good mix of humor, suspense and emotion, even if the Disney-typical sugar coating at the end is a bit thick.

Ralph Enough, whether in the 2D or the quite effective 3D version, whether you love video games or not, is great fun for big and small fans of colorful animated adventures. The film certainly won't be quite a Disney classic, for that it simply lacks that last ounce of magic that has made other animated films by the studio so timeless. But the whole thing is entertaining, charming and very funny. Therefore: just turn off the video game console and go to the cinema! Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp